Is NFL experience necessary?
How much did NFL experience help Nick Saban with recruiting? (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Is it important in today's recruiting game to have a head coach who has NFL experience? That's a great question so I did some research on the Scout.com Top 25 2008 Recruiting Rankings. Of the top 25 schools, 13 of them had a head coach who was either a head coach, coordinator or position coach at the NFL level.
Nick Saban, Alabama
Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
Pete Carroll, USC
Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
Ron Zook, Illinois
Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College
Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh
Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Ty Willingham, Washington
Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
Les Miles, LSU
Dennis Erickson, Arizona State
Now, obviously there are plenty of great recruiters out there who defy the trend like Mark Richt, Bob Stoops and Jim Tressel, but this will be something to watch over the next few years to see whether or not it becomes increasingly important in the industry. It's tough for an 18-year-old kid to reject a man walking in his house with a bunch of Super Bowl bling on his fingers.
