The coaching carousel in college football was very active this year with many top jobs opening up after former coaches failed to meet expectations. Some gamers, for the sake of realism, always start off their dynasty with a school that has a greenhorn coach at the helm.

With that in mind, I am going to evaluate each new coaching position in a quick hitting manner to give you a basic overview of what to expect at each new open job as you try to select a dynasty team.

NCAA Football always assigns prestige rankings to programs, which in turn affects your seasonal goals that you must accomplish. With that in mind, I have given programs three overall ratings: high expectations, neutral expectations and low expectations. Within those, I have labeled each school's difficulty level from 1-10 on how hard it will be to meet the expectations of the alumni and boosters.

One thing to keep in mind as you read these: I am assuming you are playing at a difficulty level that will give you realistic results. So obviously, if you are playing Junior Varsity or are just incredibly good at the game, the difficulty ratings and comments won't mean much to you. The ratings and comments are geared towards the average NCAA players who are playing the game on a challenging level of difficulty.

Check out the list and let me know your thoughts, I'm sure there will be plenty!

High Expectations, Win Now

Arkansas
Last Year's Record: 8-5
Returning Starters: 13
Level of Difficulty: 8

If the expectations levied on you are realistic, expect to have a tough time keeping the Arkansas faithful happy. The Hogs fired successful coach Houston Nutt after he posted consecutive solid seasons. Expect the expectations to include an SEC Championship, but with the lack of talent at the skill positions you are going to be hard pressed with win one until year two or three.

The Maize and Blue find themselves under (expensive) new leadership this year.

Michigan
Last Year's Record: 9-4
Returning Starters: 10
Level of Difficulty: 5

There isn't much talent returning to Michigan, especially on offense where just two starters from last year will be returning. Of those, one is a fullback and the other an offensive tackle. With the big expectations at Michigan, you are going to have to try to hit the ground running. The good news, your defense should be able to carry you through the first three games before having to face Wisconsin and Illinois in back-to-back weeks. A Big Ten title in year one is probably unrealistic, but you can definitely manage one by year three.

Georgia Tech
Last Year's Record: 7-6
Returning Starters: 9
Level of Difficulty: 6

The pressure will be on you to bring Georgia Tech back to a level they were playing at in the early parts of the 1990s, when they actually won a national championship. Unfortunately for you, the Yellow Jackets aren't returning a lot of talent so year one might be a bit dicey. The good news: Your team is young and should mature over time, which should leave you with a really good team in two to three years. The expectations will be bowl victories and a conference championship, both of which you should be able to realistically accomplish in three years with such a young team.

Hawaii
Last Year's Record: 12-1
Returning Starters: 8
Level of Difficulty: 10

On this list, Hawaii will be the toughest job to actually keep your job at. You will be expected to win WAC championships and tons of ball games. The problem? Recruiting from Hawaii in NCAA '09 will be hard. What will make it even harder is the fact you return just eight starters from last year's 12-1 team, so don't expect to gain much interest from players in the lower-48 after turning in an almost .500 year. Winning a WAC crown in three years is doable, but only if you can recruit well enough in the first year or two with less than stellar teams.

Nebraska
Last Year's Record: 5-7
Returning Starters: 12
Level of Difficulty: 8

At Nebraska, expectations are to win the Big XII and a national championship. If NCAA Football 09 models this correctly, your task will be to do both in your first three years, or at the very least, make a BCS bowl. With a decent core of talent returning in year one, you should be able to win some games, but a Big XII title might be out of the question with Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech all sporting much better teams this year (three of which are on your schedule). However, given some time and some good recruiting, you could turn the Huskers into the power they were during the past several decades. Don't be surprised if the fans are left wanting more though.

College football fans eagerly anticipate the days of old with the Cornhuskers.

Texas A&M
Last Year's Record: 7-6
Returning Starters: 9
Level of Difficulty: 6

Texas A&M and Arkansas both suffer from the same disease: They both see programs in their area (LSU, Oklahoma, Texas) that are seeing a lot of success and they feel they should be in the same league. Thus, when a coach only delivers one great season in three, he tends to get the boot. In NCAA Football 09, the game should list the expectations to be almost identical to Oklahoma and Texas, which could create a big problem for you. A&M plays in one of the toughest, if not the toughest division in college football: the Big XII South.

With just nine returning starters, one of which being the "can't hit the broadside of a barn" Stephen McGee at QB, you are going to have to hope the running game and your defense can get it done for you in year one. After that, you are going to have to recruit Texas hard and start pooling your talent. A turnaround can be accomplished, but it is going to take at least two or three years.

UCLA fans want to be more like USC in terms of on-the-field success.

UCLA
Last Year's Record: 6-7
Returning Starters: 9
Difficulty: 5

UCLA is very similar to both A&M and Arkansas in that their fans see the success of USC and think their program should be at the same level. Thus, while building your program, your task will be to unseat USC as the king of L.A. In year one, with a slew of new players at the skill positions on offense and with tons of new faces on defense, your task will be quite tough. The schedule is difficult, with Tennessee, BYU and Fresno State all dotting the non-conference slate. None of those games are guaranteed wins, much less pushovers. If you can survive the first year, your recruiting should start building your program up and moving you towards national prominence. Expect to have to beat USC at least once though.

West Virginia
Last Year's Record: 11-2
Returning Starters: 13
Difficulty: 2

Expectations are up at WVU after the whitewashing of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl last year. Expect the Mountaineer faithful to be expecting a national championship, especially in year one where you will start the season ranked in the Top 10. With Pat White and Noel Devine leading the way through a schedule tailor made for an undefeated run, expect to be able to continue to win past year one. Big East titles and national titles both should be within your grasp every year you coach the Mountaineers.

Fans in Morgantown are talking National Championship this year.

Neutral, Need to Show Progress

Baylor
Last Year's Record: 3-9
Returning Starters: 13
Difficulty: 8

Playing as the Big XII doormat will not be easy. With a decent amount of returning players and with a nice recruiting base, you could turn the Bears into a Bowl team and more in just three years.

Turning around the Bears will not be easy.

Houston
Last Year's Record: 8-5
Returning Starters: 11
Difficulty: 5

With a friendly recruiting base and high expectations, you will have to make a splash early to keep the fans happy. If you are decent at the game, expect to win a couple of C-USA titles in your first three years.

Navy
Last Year's Record: 8-5
Returning Starters: 12
Difficulty: 5

Navy is an Independent school, so you can make the job as difficult or as hard as you would like. If you do things right, you could easily keep the Midshipmen as the class of the service academies.

Southern Miss
Last Year's Record: 7-6
Returning Starters: 10
Difficulty: 4

You have a young team and your biggest goal will be to win the C-USA. Chances are, you will make a run at that each year, so as long as you recruit well, expect to keep your job as long as you want it.

Washington State
Last Year's Record: 5-7
Returning Starters: 14
Difficulty: 7

You won't be projected very high in the conference in your first year that is for sure. Get your wins while you can, and build up to a Pac-10 Championship. With a good recruiting class in year one, it will be possible.

Ole Miss
Last Year's Record: 3-9
Returning Starters: 13
Difficulty: 8

Playing in the SEC West will not be easy, you might very well serve as the whipping boy for several of the powers the first year or so. However, your expectations shouldn't be much higher than a bowl game and an SEC Championship birth. Both should be doable by year three.

Ole Miss will need some help to get back atop the SEC elite.

Full Rebuilding Mode

Colorado State
Last Year's Record: 3-9
Returning Starters: 9
Difficulty: 8

The digital CSU fans will probably remember the good ol' days, so expect some high expectations. Unfortunately, you will have to build up to them, and by year three you will have to make a bowl game.

Duke
Last Year's Record: 1-11
Returning Starters: 14
Difficulty: 10

Duke was my toughest dynasty program to take over, so good luck with this one. It probably will take all three years just to make a Bowl game and another year or two to contend for the ACC. If you recruit well, you might be able to speed things up a year or so though.

Northern Illinois
Last Year's Record: 2-10
Returning Starters: 18
Difficulty: 7

You have to have good first few years. If you don't capitalize on your experienced guys to attract good recruits, you may not be able to clear the hump and meet expectations.

SMU
Last Year's Record: 1-11
Returning Starters: 11
Difficulty: 4

The SMU fans will want to remember the days of the Pony Express, so it would be wise to not disappoint. With some solid talent returning and an endless pool to pick from, if you can't rebuild SMU you might need to reconsider your life goals.