This week, Insider is assessing the stability of the coaching situation for each team in a Power 5 conference. On Monday, we examined the ACC; the Big Ten is up next.
The Big Ten features four first-year coaches and quite possibly the most improved division in the sport. The Big Ten East's top three coaches -- Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Ohio State's Urban Meyer -- boast a 75.3 career winning percentage. That doesn’t leave much room for anyone else in the division, including Penn State’s James Franklin.
These rankings go in descending order from least to most stable. Keep in mind that stability is not solely determined by whether a program will want to part ways with its head coach if there are perceived failings; often, success will make it difficult, if not impossible, for a program to keep a coach from leaving for a seemingly better job.
Here is the breakdown of each Big Ten coaching situation.