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snippychicke · 11 months ago

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Me? Becoming obsessed with Hazbin Hotel? Nahhhh...

Okay, yes. I am.

So here! Have some wholesome threesome between Husker, Angel, and (gender neutral) Reader! Maybe someday I'll make more out of it, but for now, mostly fluff and a little spice.

You had been desperate to sell your soul. Needing to escape the asshole that was the reason you were in hell in the first place. (Ok, yes you had killed him in a rather… savage manner, along with his goons, but he had started it.)

Overlord Husk had tempted you into a little wager. A little game of cards which totally hadn't been rigged in his favor. But you had been willing to do anything regardless, at least he had given you an (un)fair shot.

Yet despite his Overlord status, Husk wasn't that bad of a man (demon? Cat? Owl?) to be under--in more ways than one. To the rest of hell there wasn't much between you, other than you worked at his casino with at least a dozen other souls that were bound to him. A little dancing, a little waitressing, a little work at the tables as a dealer. You were a jack of all trades, but you were safe. Safer than you had been when you were alive.

Happier too.

Because when the ‘day’ ended, you often found yourself wrapped in furry arms, claws tracing up and down your arms as the Overlord of Gambling murmured sweet nothings in your ear with that deep voice. Then laying a plush bed decked in black and crimson bedding with the Overlord above you, wings spread wide as he takes what you offered freely.

And as time passed, you only grew closer behind closed doors. They say demons didn't feel love, but you weren't sure what else it could be. Lust didn't have you slow dancing in the kitchenette of the Casino's royal suite, or confessing the regrets you harbored from life in lieu of pillow talk and wiping away tears with soft kisses.

And then Alastor entered the stage. You had been working that fateful day as the others felt their bindings change. Sure, Husk had lost a hand or two before, and therefore a few souls, but it was never very many and he generally won them back.

But that day it had been everyone. You had watched as everyone paused and stared at the heavy chains of a new Overlord in both confusion and horror. You held onto the ribbon tied around your wrists, as if you could will it to stay the same as you were the last to still be owned by Husk.

Then the delicate ribbons became thick heavy chains that made you cry out in shock and disbelief. Husk had risked your soul… and lost.

It was even worse when Alastor appeared on the casino floor, Husk beside him looking absolutely defeated. Alastor's grand speech fell on deaf ears, because all you could do was stare at your lover. Part of you was hurt that he would ever gamble you, while part of you reasoned he must have been absolutely desperate, considering the collar and chains that now linked him to the Radio Demon.

You could see his plea for forgiveness in his eyes, and you realized you had to love him to forgive him.

Because you did.

---

Husk wasn't the same afterwards. Depressed and full of self-loathing with an even worse habit of trying to find the nonexistent sunshine at the bottom of the bottle. Nothing you could do or say seemed to help, though you didn't give up.

Alastor hadn't cared if you stuck around or not, yet you did anyway. The Hazbin Hotel was far too big for little Nifty to clean by herself-- especially considering your new coworker preferred to chase down bugs and dust bunnies to kill.

You didn't find things that bad, all things considered. Sure you had loved the glamor and glitz of the casino, but the Hazbin Hotel had its own charm. Maybe it was because you had never been at the top but lived your life (and part of the afterlife) at rock bottom, while Husk had been among the greatest and most powerful before his metaphorical wings had been clipped.

Actually, you actually were happier working at the hotel than the casino, though it was greatly overshadowed by the rift that had formed between you and Husk. Even though you forgave him, he hadn't been able to forgive himself.

And then Angel swanned in. You were so used to bantering with patrons of the casino you didn't think twice about doing the same with the flirtatious twink. You actually found it fun to flirt back and forth over a drink or two, especially when you heard Husk huff in an almost laugh, light returning to those dark gold eyes of his.

You had missed his sly smile so much. If you flirting with some other demon was all it took, you would happily do so.

And slowly you started to see parts of the demon you loved come back.

Especially when Angel would try to convince you to do something more than flirt and you turned him down each time. ‘I prefer my men a bit huskier,’ you'd tease as you pressed your finger to Angel's lips and pushed him away gently. ‘Plus I'm not good at the whole casual sex thing.’

That would always gain a chuckle from Husk, though Angel never quite got what was so funny.

One night Husk cornered you in the hall, to your surprise. It had been such a long time since you had felt his paw-like hands trail along your body, his deep voice reverberating against the skin of your neck as he admitted how much he liked to watch you banter with the sex-worker.

If you had any positive feelings for the guy upstairs, you would have called Angel a god-send. As time passed, you knew your own feelings were getting into the mix no matter how hard you tried not to be enamored by the star. It wasn't the over-the-top showy persona, but those moments you were able to catch the man behind the mask. The soft, witty demon you enjoyed bantering with.

You knew you weren't the only one, judging by the fond looks you saw Husk shoot towards Angel when the pink demon would snort a laugh, his walls temporarily down.

‘We both like him, don't we?’ You posed late one night, only to have Husk try to bury his face in your chest with a groan. You chuckled as you rubbed his ear, a deep purr quickly emitting from his chest and against your loins as he continued to lounge between your legs.

‘Him, and not that fake-ass that he pretends to be,’ Husk finally admitted before peeking up at you. ‘...You don't mind?’

‘Well, I mean we are demons so being hypocritical would be par for the course… but you also know me too.” You were emotional, bonding quickly with anyone showing you a hint of kindness.

A smile grew, showing his sharp teeth. ‘You know, I have imagined you and him going at it a few times, and damn if that wasn't the hottest thing ever.’

Convincing Angel was far more challenging. Less to the idea of polyamory, but the simple idea that both of you liked him. Not Angel Dust, but the real Angel (because he did not like being called Anthony). That took time, arguments, and a few barbed words as Husk was able to get through to him.

You weren't good with arguments, but convinced him with honest kisses and more sincere flirting. Soft touches that reassures him more than anything.

And when finally you all three were piled into bed in a tangle of too-many limbs and the odd wing, the room full of both laughter and other sounds of bliss, you were pretty sure you'd give heaven the middle finger if they tried to take either of them from you.

(And when Heaven really did, they found out why you were in hell in the first place. Righteous fury and desperation to protect those you loved went hand in hand and made you a force to reckon with.)

#husker hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel #hazbin angel dust #huskerdust #husk/reader #angel/reader #husk/reader/angel

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helluva-hazbins · 6 months ago

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How’s the sexy life treating Husker? Is he active in scores? Does he ever get desires to be intimate? When he was an Overlord did he have an active sex life?

Husker as an Overlord: Alias The Cardsharp Demon. He was nothing if not an overtly self indulgent individual. Often times giving over to his impulsive needs and desires. Entirely drunk on power in all forms and addicted to the thrill involved with risk-taking as not only a hobby but an uncontrollable act to feed his need for a different sort of high all it's own. If he saw something that caught his eye or fancy, he made it his, any potential partner that sparked an interest was in his bed sooner than they could bat an eye, he was immensely persuasive, given he could easily read any social cue or "tell" nearly immediately and used it to his advantage without remorse. Luck was always on his side with gifts and abilities like his. Manipulation and control at his paw-tips.

Nowadays...Husk, all that's left of the broken, former Overlord is fine, not contented and certainly not appeased, but fine to take it all in stride and be alone, often times barking out that he'd "lost the ability to love long ago", at least this way he doesn't feel like he's adding to ruining anyone else's life. He doesn't seek much bedroom action and he often avoids any advances. After his loss against the Radio Demon, he experienced something of an Ego Death, hitting what he'd call "rock bottom" and being "shit out of Luck", leading him to seek comfort in simpler things such as over-drinking. Despite being something of a hypocrite and giving off advice to others not to "seek answers at the bottom of a bottle".

#muse!Husker #sinday meme #answered #thx anonny I love opportunities for writing my take on Husk!

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uneasylisteningradio · 5 years ago

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Audio and Playlist for November 2, 2019: Height

It’s songs about LITERAL HEIGHT, being up high or down low or being tall or short! link to downloadable audio

Playlist:

Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night (Uneasy Listening theme song) Cheap Trick - On Top of the World

DJ speaks over Trees - Parable of the Mustard Seed Part 2 (Above the Earth)

Eddie Cochran - 20 Flight Rock Liz Phair - 6'1" XTC - Ten Feet Tall Cardboard Zeppelin - Ten Story Building Minor Threat - Small Man, Big Mouth

DJ speaks over The Clean - At the Bottom

Deathside - The Lowest Culture Shock - Sky Hight Television Personalities - 14th Floor Fess Parker - Abraham Lincoln (The Tall American) Husker Du - Eight Miles High

The Poppy Family - Living too Close to the Ground Wire - Advantage in Height Pixies - The Navajo Know The Louvin Brothers - The Great Atomic Power T. Rex - One Inch Rock

The Moving Sidewalks - The 99th Floor Minority - High Flyer Nick Lowe - 36 Inches High Letter People - Mr. T Chameleons - As High as You Can Go Christine Lavin - Doris and Edwin (the Movie) Butthole Surfers - I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas

PJ Harvey - 50 Foot Queenie Chelsea - High Rise Livin' The Pretty Things - She Was Tall, She Was High Iggy Pop - Five Foot One Redd Kross - Look Up at the Bottom The Sugar Canyon - On Top of the World

Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain The Feelies - The High Road Gene Austin - Five Foot Blue, Eyes of Blue Crippled Youth - Walk Tall, Walk Straight

Iron Maiden - Flight of Icarus

#radio #community radio #height #punk #music #playlist #podcast #1920s pop music #heavy metal #garage rock #psychedelic rock #indie rock #glam rock #coutnry music #new wave #post punk

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paulisded · 5 years ago

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Live Ledge #406: Best Albums of 2019

This was another great year in music. So great, in fact, that many hours were spent narrowing down the year's release into the standard Ledge format of the 40 best albums of the year. In particular, it was a year that really saw a resurgence in anthemic power pop. It was also a year that saw a number of psych-rock bands so widely expand their sound and songwriting that a two-record set was necessary. Here's my list, and look for another similar post featuring the great reissue and box sets of the year.

1. Mikal Cronin, Seeker. Every year there is a record or two that deserves to find an audience outside of its typical subgenre. This year it’s the latest by Mikal Cronin, a stunning record that retains the psych-rock template of his past yet showcases a giant leap in songwriting. This record should be all over mainstream rock radio.

2. Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock. After a handful of records featuring dark, ferocious rock closer to his Husker Du days than his more poppy records with Sugar, Mould’s latest finds him possibly as close to happy as we’ve ever seen him. Ok, maybe happy is too strong of a word. Whatever it is the attitude is different, although still accompanied by his trademark buzzsaw guitars.

3. Pernice Brothers, Spread the Feeling. The most welcome comeback of the year. Every band featuring Joe Pernice seemed to acknowledge one major influence missing from most Americana bands and that’s his love of ‘80’s college rock. Just imagine a country-tinged power pop band that clearly loves Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths, and Lloyd Cole.

4. The Muffs, No Holiday. Such a tragedy. Two years ago, Muffs leader Kim Shattuck suddenly found herself unable to grip a guitar. It turned out to be ALS. Determined to finish one last album she gave all she could even as she quickly deteriorated from the disease. Eventually she was leading recording sessions while connected to a breathing tube. Sadly, she died less than two weeks before the release of one of the band’s best albums.

5. Purple Mountains, Purple Mountains. Purple Mountains was David Berman’s first project since the demise of Silver Jews in 2019, and it was a stunning display of his quirky songwriting skills. Unfortunately, the personal demons that had always been present in his art turned his big comeback into a tragedy, as he took his life just weeks after the record was released to glowing reviews.

6. The Resonars, No Exit. In a year that saw power pop rediscover its balls, The Resonars proved they always had their share of testicular fortitude. And it’s all the work of one man, Matt Rendon, who has over the last two decades created six albums of this sort of catchy but raucous power pop.

7. Kiwi Jr., Football Money. Power pop’s closest relative just has to be jangle pop, and both genres are at its best when the songwriting is as catchy as a late ‘70’s Nick Lowe single. There’s hooks galore on this Toronto band’s debut release.

8. Wand, Laughing Matter. There’s always been a bit of a fine line between psych and prog, and those lines have definitely narrowed in today’s crop of prog-rockers. One proof is the return of the double album, which every psych band seemed to release in 2019. The strongest record of that sort may have to be Wand’s fifth record, which succeeds by actually stripping back their sound a bit.

9. Wreckless Eric, Transience. It’s been a real treat to see the resurgence of Eric Goulden in the last few years, as album after album have ranked as his best ever. The latest sort of comes closest to his solo performances, as he lays tracks and tracks of both clean and enhanced acoustic and electric guitars over backing tracks laid down by Amy Rigby, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, jazz horn player Artie Barbato, and The Rumour’s Steve Goulding.

10. Tim Presley’s White Fence, I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk. Presley reportedly spent four years recording what may be the masterpiece of his career. How to describe the finished product is not easy, though, as various influences and sounds flow in and out of each and every track, yet there is an intimacy here that makes it feel like Presley just whipped up this musical cocktail in one long, intense evening.

11. The Cowboys, The Bottom Of A Rotten Flower. Good old punk-influenced straight up rock and roll. Nothing more, nothing less. And when it’s as good and as catchy as this it doesn’t need to be anything else.

12. Twin Peaks, Lookout Low. Five years ago, this Chicago-based band’s fabulous record Wild Onion was described by one of the band members as heavily influenced by Exile On Main Street. This record’s classic rock influence appears to be the first two records by The Band. That’s not to say they sound anything like either the Stones or The Band. No, in this case there is a laid back feel to their guitar-based indie rock that feels as if it’s straight out of a Woodstock basement.

13. The Dates, Ask Again Later. Garrett Goddard has been a member of a number of bands over the years, including King Tuff, Personal and the Pizzas, and The Cuts. His first record heading The Dates may have just topped anything else he’s ever worked on in the past. The melodies and hooks just melt in your ears, and the musical accompaniment throws The Byrds, Big Star, Shoes, Smithereens and seemingly a dozen other bands into the greatest blender ever invented.

14. Wilco, Ode To Joy. After Tweedy’s pair of solo acoustic records, I think I was ready for a full blown rock and roll Wilco album. It has been a while, right? Unfortunately, Ode To Joy comes off as a full band version of those solo records. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good. It’s very good. It just wasn’t what I needed from a 2019 Wilco album.

15. Guided By Voices, Zeppelin Over China. Another year, another trio of Guided By Voices records. Their second wind as a band has been nothing but stunning, as evidenced by this double album of almost nothing but anthems.

16. Tijuana Panthers, Carpet Denim. Every year there seems to be a new band that showcases elements of surf rock in their punk-influenced lo-fi garage sounds. What a shocker to find out that this is their sixth album! What sets them apart from others like them, besides the strength of their songwriting, is the ocassional elements of doo wop harmonies. Who knew that The Buzzcocks and Dion could co-exist in the same song?

17. Peter Perrett, Humanworld. After no new tunes for over 25 years, we now have two records in three years by the former leader of The Only Ones! Like 2017’s How The West Was One this record succeeds simply because Perrett isn’t trying to recreate the glory days, nor is he attempting to jump on current trends. Instead he accomplishes what real artists do, which is to create a sound that fits the song.

18. Frankie and the Witch Fingers, ZAM. Another great psych rock double album that incorporates and combines all sorts of atypical influences, including kraut, prog, and even a little funk.

19. Sweet Things, In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time. It may be hard to find a more varied rock and roll album than this debut record, as it jumps around from blues to soul to country to glam rock. There’s cameos by Alejandro Escovedo and members of The Uptown Horns. It’s the most ambitious trashy garage rock record I’ve heard in quite some time.

20. Cherry Pickles, Will Harden Your Nipples. As their bandcamp states, “one guitar, two drums, the basement band you always wanted to start”. This trio proudly combines all sorts of “outsider art” into a minimalistic sound that would certainly impress the namesake of the record’s best song “I Still Miss Lux”.

21. Ty Segall, First Taste. The prolific singer/guitarist was a bit quiet this year, actually. Well, for Segall a quiet year is one that only features a studio album, a live album, and a box set of outtakes. What makes his only new record of the year stand out is that there reportedly is not a guitar to be found on it! No, it’s not a synth-pop record. In fact, it ultimately isn’t that much different than what we’re used to hearing.

22. Pale Lips, After Dark. Gotta love snotty, hook-driven garage-punk that’s clearly inspired by major doses of The Muffs and The Ramones mixed with spoonfuls of surf and Spector-era girl groups.

23. The Darts, I Like You But Not Like That. This record was not what I expected. At all. Who would have predicted that Alternative Tentacles would put out such a sexy collection of horror-punk?

24. CTMF, Last Punk Standing. Nobody has so proudly hosted the flag of ‘60’s garage-punk as Wild Billy Childish. Well, “proud” is probably not the correct word to use, as Childish is as cantankerous as The Fall’s Mark E. Smith. Yet he consistently puts out records full of simple yet catchy guitar anthems, and this one is no exception.

25. Jordan Jones, Jordan Jones. What happens when you take the pop/rock highlights of ‘70’s AM radio and ramp it up a bit with power pop energy? You get this wonderful debut record.

26. The Mystery Lights, Too Much Tension! A melting pot of different styles rarely mesh well, but this New York band’s second album somehow manages to roll in and out of genres. A synth track leads into a homage to the Stooges which is then followed by a ‘60’ dance party. How do they get away with it?

27. Juliana Hatfield, Weird. It’s only fitting that an album dominated by a theme of being a lonely introvert would be created by one artist playing almost every instrument. That’s the case of the latest Hatfield collection of originals, and it’s one of the best of her career.

28. Kevin Morby, Oh My God. Rolling Stone recently described the Kansas City native as a “secular guy with a spiritual side”, and that’s never been more evident than on his fifth album. RS goes on to compare this record to Dylan’s gospel years but it’s actually more similar to a record like New Morning, where Biblical imagery is referenced but not necessarily the main topic.

29. Drahla, Useless Coordinates. Post-punk also made a comeback this year, and one of the best purveyors of that sound is this trio of Wire fanatics. And like Wire there’s a bit of a ferocity in this record that’s missing in much of their post-punk cohorts.

30. Gino and the Goons, Do The Get Around. Take Chuck Berry, The Sonics, Motorhead, The Ramones, The Stooges and a few other “rawk’ legends and toss them into a blender and you get the dirty sound that Gino and the Goons have mastered over the course of five records. You know what you’re getting from these guys, but they always deliver.

31. Young Guv, Guv I & II. The side project of Fucked Up guitarist Ben Cook could be described as a lo-fi tribute to bands such as Big Star and Teenage Fanclub. But then out of the blue comes a synth tune that’s almost danceable. It’s just part of the charm of this double record.

32. Ravi Shavi, Blackout Deluxe. Some records are sleepers. They don’t work the first time you hear them. They may not even work on the fourth or fifth airing. Then suddenly you can’t stop listening. That’s the case with this new wave-influenced, Prince-obsessed, garage rock group.

33. ATOM, In Every Dream Home. Just like the previous record, ATOM didn’t work for me at first. Then suddenly I had to race to the stereo to crank up the volume. What changed? Well,it helps when the musicians are Australian indie rock heavy weights led by Crime and the City Solution’s Harry Howard.

34. Geoff Palmer, Pulling Out All The Stops/Brad Marino, Extra Credit. (Tie) I can’t possibly vote for one of these records to be higher than the other. The pair both were members of the The Connection and The New Trocaderos. Both of them are veteran power pop performers who have written more than their share of catchy tunes. And both may have put out the records of their careers.

36. Honey Radar, Ruby Puff Of Dust.. A lot of reviews of this Philly band compare them to Guided By Voices, but I honestly don’t understand why. Yet it’s what made me check them out, and I do appreciate their fuzzy psych-rock sound.

37. Titus Andronicus, An Obelisk. Produced by Bob Mould and recorded at Steve Albini’s Chicago studio, Titus’ sixth album is their most straight ahead to date, although as always leader Patrick Stickles’ lyrics are open to interpretation.

38. The Dream Syndicate, These Times. While most band reunions never result in worthwhile albums (or any new music at all), there are instances where the second run rivals the first. That’s the case with these leaders of the mid-’80’s “Paisley Underground”, and it’s mainly because they refuse to just rest on their laurels.

39. Jesse Malin, Sunset Kids. The teaming of Malin with Lucinda Williams may seem like a head scratcher, but it actually works! Not only does Williams produce the album, she duets with him on a handful of the album’s tracks. The end results may be quieter than a typical Malin album but the tunes are also as strong as a typical Malin album.

40. More Kicks, More Kicks. Haven’t I said that this was a year for great power pop? Here’s another one. This time it’s a UK group, and like the others I’ve highlighted there’s nothing wimpy here. It’s pop music that absolutely rocks.

After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! You can find this show at almost any podcast site, including iTunes and Stitcher...or

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!

Note: Tracks from the albums listed above were presented in reverse "Casey Kasem countdown" order. In two instances (Darts/Pale Lips and The Muffs/Purple Mountains), songs were erroneously flipped in error. I apologize for this mistake.

1. More Kicks, I'm on the Brink

2. Jesse Malin, Room 13

3. The Dream Syndicate, Bullet Holes

4. Titus Andronicus, Troubleman Unlimited

5. Honey Radar, Cornflake ESP

6. Brad Marino, Broken Record Baby

7. Geoff Palmer, All The Hits

8. ATOM, No Future

9. Ravi Shavi, Riding High

10. Young Guv, She's A Fantasy

11. Gino And The Goons, Pills In MY Pocket

12. Drahla, Gilded Cloud

13. Kevin Morby, OMG Rock n Roll

14. Juliana Hatfield, Staying In

15. The Mystery Lights, I'm So Tired (of Living In The City)

16. Jordan Jones, Rumors Girls

17. CTMF, You're the One I Idolise

18. Pale Lips, Some Sort Of Rock n' Roll

19. The Darts, Don't Hold My Hand

20. Ty Segall, Taste

21. Cherry Pickles, I Still Miss Lux

22. The Sweet Things, Dead or Worse

23. Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Purple Velvet

24. Peter Perrett, Love Comes On Silent Feet

25. Tijuana Panthers, Path of Totality

26. Guided by Voices, Your Lights Are Out

27. Wilco, Everyone Hides

28. The Dates, pictures with rene

29. Twin Peaks, Laid In Gold

30. The Cowboys, Female Behavior Book

31. White Fence, I Love You

32. Wreckless Eric, Strange Locomotion

33. Wand, Walkie Talkie

34. Kiwi jr., Murder in the Cathedral

35. The Resonars, The Man Who Does Nothing

36. The Muffs, No Holiday

37. Purple Mountains, That's Just the Way That I Feel

38. Pernice Brothers, Mint Condition

39. Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock

40. Mikal Cronin, I've Got Reason

#scott hudson #live ledge #realpunkradio #best albums of 2019 #indie #garage #punk #psych

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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College football’s open head coaching jobs in 2017, ranked by attractiveness

This will be updated as new jobs open throughout the season.

College football’s silly season got underway early in 2017. By the start of November, five FBS programs were officially in the market for new head coaches.

The qualifications to be a head coach at any level of college football are significant. But not all jobs are created even close to equal.

This is a ranking of the attractiveness of currently available positions. It’s based on money, recruiting advantages, expectations, fan enthusiasm, athletic department functionality, and anything else that might come into play.

One big disclaimer: Ties to a given region, school, or athletic director might make these rankings different for a particular coach.

The best available job: Texas A&M

Last coach: Kevin Sumlin

It’s a good enough gig that Jimbo Fisher might leave Florida State for it.

The Aggies job comes with huge expectations, despite the program reaching double-digit wins exactly once this millennium. The administration has a horrible track record of not supporting the last guy when times were tough. That’s the bad.

The good is that A&M was one of the 10 or 15 best recruiting teams in the country under Sumlin, and it’s position as an SEC West program in Texas should allow it to keep racking up lots of talent. Kyle Field just got a big renovation, and the school is going to throw tons of money at whoever it hires next. (A potential hitch is the inexplicable buyout the school owes Sumlin, but the school will find cash.)

If someone does this job right, A&M could win the SEC and contend for a national title. That’s been true of lots of coaches who haven’t pulled it off, but it’s still possible.

2. Nebraska

Last coach: Mike Riley

The basics:

Yes, we know it isn’t 1995. But so what?

The Huskers can’t rely on a lack of roster limits, which helped during their successful run under Bob Devaney. Tougher academic requirements have limited the recruiting pool they enjoyed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so much so that in 1996, Sports Illustrated predicted the end of Nebraska’s era. Their identity is different without being in the same conference as Oklahoma and Texas.

So that makes it a harder job. But this is still a job that can pay an awful lot of money to play in one of the biggest conferences, where a good coach can win 10 games on a regular basis.

That’s not a bad job.

That’s a pretty great job.

The Big Ten West is winnable, and Nebraska pays well to coach in front of sellout crowds. Not bad.

3. Arkansas

Last coach: Bret Bielema

It’s not easy to recruit in Texas and Louisiana, especially when you’re not one of the teams that’s actually from those states. Arkansas doesn’t have a lot of elite players inside its borders. But the Razorbacks have close proximity to talent-rich states, and their stadium in Fayetteville is nearing the end of a big, beautiful renovation.

Arkansas still has to play annual games in Little Rock, at least for now. War Memorial Stadium there isn’t well regarded, and it doesn’t help recruiting to play there. But there are enough avenues to getting good players that this should be a good job.

The Hogs don’t currently have a permanent AD. That’s not great.

4. Tennessee

Last coach: Butch Jones

You can recruit here, even though prospects weren’t alive the last time the Volunteers were great. The state has a handful of elite recruits every year, and bordering states have plenty of talent. UT signed the No. 4 class in the country just three years ago.

The East is the more upwardly mobile of the SEC’s two divisions. Neyland Stadium has close to 100,000 people in it every game. The athletic department’s in the top 10 in annual revenue.

The downside is that expectations are high, despite Tennessee’s years of mediocrity and being stuck with Alabama on the cross-division schedule.

Also, the Greg Schiano fiasco likely damaged UT’s attractiveness significantly. Is UT really going to lure a top-tier candidate after its fans shouted down the last attempted hire in an unprecedented fashion?

5. Arizona State

Last coach: Todd Graham

It’s sort of wild that Graham just got fired, given ASU’s recent history.

Since peaking under Bruce Snyder in the mid-1990s — the Sun Devils went 11-1 in 1996 and damn near won the national title, then went 9-3 the next year as well — ASU has proved capable of brief, high ceilings.

Snyder won just 17 games from 1998-2000 and was replaced by Dirk Koetter, who helped to build the Boise State machine and went 9-3 in 2004 but otherwise averaged 6.2 wins per year. He was let go after back-to-back seven-win seasons and replaced by Dennis Erickson, who stormed out with an 8-0 start, then 23-31 from then on.

Todd Graham came to Tempe in 2012 and immediately established a higher level. ASU improved from 6-7 to 8-5 in his first year, 10-4 and won the Pac-12 South in 2013, and won 10 games again in 2014, finishing 12th in the AP poll (their highest finish since 1996).

6. South Alabama

Last coach: Joey Jones

There’s plenty of talent in the area. USA is low on the pecking order, but you can rise quickly in the Sun Belt. Consider Troy, which went 3-9 and 4-8 before a 10-win season in 2016.

7. Rice

Last coach: David Baliff

There’s tons of talent in and around Houston, and Rice — though it’s been terrible lately — won 18 games in 2013 and 2014. This can work.

8. Kent State

Last coach: Paul Haynes

The MAC lets teams go up and down quickly (see NIU and WMU the last few years). Athletic offensive linemen grow on trees in the Midwest, and Ohio State and other Power 5 programs don’t have space for all of them. Stranger things have happened than some smart offensive coach coming to a place like Kent, building up a good spread system, and winning a league.

9. UTEP

Last coach: Sean Kugler

Has little money and is in the middle of nowhere.

Previously open jobs, by the order they appeared above

Florida

Last coach: Jim McElwain New coach: Dan Mullen

A huge brand in arguably the best recruiting state in the country. The state produces tons of blue-chip talent each year. The athletic department has huge revenues, and you’ll make good money. (McElwain was over $4.5 million.) This is still a school that’s won two national titles in the last decade or so.

Expectations are high, but this is a great time to get in. The Gators have forgotten how to play offense, so if you can score 30 per game and win fun, you’ll be a hero. The SEC East remains winnable, with only Georgia looking like an elite.

UCLA

Last coach: Jim Mora New coach: Chip Kelly

One great thing: It’s in Los Angeles, and there’s tons of talent.

But the Bruins are No. 2 in the city to USC, and they’re even lower on the pecking order given all the city’s professional teams. National coaching names mostly aren’t from the West Coast, and they’re often not keen to pay what it costs to live luxuriously there. Bruins fans have high expectations that the program has rarely met.

Mississippi State

Last coach: Dan Mullen New coach: Joe Moorhead

Starkville’s a hard place to win, but Mullen laid out a good blueprint in getting to eight consecutive bowl games and touching the No. 1 ranking a few years ago: Scheme smart, develop players, and capitalize on your heightened national status by landing the occasional four- or five-star kid who puts you over the top.

The team Mullen left behind crushed LSU and almost beat Alabama this year.

Ole Miss

Last coach: Hugh Freeze New coach: Matt Luke

A ton of wild cards, because Ole Miss is in the middle of an NCAA case (timeline here). It’s been a while since the Rebels have won big and not gotten into trouble afterward.

Their recruiting has gotten a lot worse in the last two cycles, 2017’s team is lousy, and NCAA sanctions could include free transfers out. The next coach might have a long rebuild in the constantly shuffling SEC West and get fired before he ever makes a bowl game.

Still, this job comes with fervent fans and access to fertile recruiting areas.

Oregon State

Last coach: Gary Andersen New coach: Jonathan Smith

The Beavs offer a hard enough job that Andersen just left at least $12 million on the table to stop doing it. There’s not much elite talent in the Pacific Northwest, and Oregon and Washington are above OSU in the pecking order. OSU’s near the bottom of the Power 5 in revenue, and the Pac-12 North is difficult.

But, hey: Power 5 school!

Georgia Southern

Last coach: Tyson Summers New coach: Chad Lunsford

GS has one of the most passionate fan bases in the country, and it’s used to winning. The Eagles were a power in I-AA but went off the rails under Summers.

Coaching at Georgia Southern requires a choice: Do you install a nationally popular spread offense, or do you run a version of the flexbone option, which GS rode to success for years? The flexbone is central to the Eagles’ identity, and Georgia has a talent pool for it. (Former GS coach Paul Johnson still runs it effectively at Georgia Tech.)

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