A story published at BannerSociety.com recently, written by Steven Godfrey, made the claim that Mark Stoops has the best job in college football.

The conclusion reached by the author required some explanation. He wasn't making the case that UK football is the nation's most prestigious job. But the Cats' SEC affiliation coupled with the hefty paychecks being sent out and reasonable job security helped Godfrey arrive at that conclusion.

Cats Illustrated writers Jeff Drummond and Justin Rowland share their thoughts, in response, on just how good a job the head coaching position for UK football really is.

Jeff Drummond: I think Mark Stoops has re-written the manual, so to speak, for the head coach’s job at Kentucky. When he took the job, it did not have a lot going for it outside of a chance for someone to coach in the SEC. In previous years, that usually meant getting someone who may have been past their prime or someone at the other end of the spectrum with limited experience. If a guy did not fare well, he was part of the “graveyard of coaches.” If he did well, he was usually gone for a bigger opportunity within a short time. Stoops has smashed the latter scenario by heading into his eighth season with the Wildcats. And it doesn’t appear that he’ll be looking for the exit any time soon. If he does eventually decide to leave, he will do so leaving this a much more attractive job for the next guy in line.

Justin Rowland: I know what Godfrey is saying and in theory I can get on board with some of it. In the big picture some coaches may value job security and not feeling constantly under the gun more than just finding the most prestigious job out there. I don't agree with the author's conclusion that it's the best job in the country. For instance, there probably aren't too many coaches out there who would turn down the Alabama or the Notre Dame job to stay at Kentucky if the money were right. The main problem I had with Godfrey's piece -- and it makes some really good points -- is that just maybe three years ago it was commonly said that UK was one of the toughest jobs in college football. Northernmost school in a southern conference, lack of historical success, brutal league, perception of being a basketball school.

Now, because of Stoops' success, his raising expectations on the recruiting trail, and the administration's newfound excellent commitment to football, especially monetarily, I think it's fair to say UK is indeed a much better job than it used to be. But it's not an easy job. It took a ten-win season for Stoops to really win over almost the entirety of the fan base.

I'm prepared to say that before Stoops, the UK football head coaching position was a bottom tier job at the Power Five level. But because of what he's done, it's now middle-tier, or maybe top 25-35, when you factor the expectations aren't quite as unreasonable as some other places.

It used to be that Kentucky was thought of as Vanderbilt in the East. Now South Carolina is coming back to earth and the Wildcats have a solid program in the division, which seems much less daunting than it did in the 90's.