One of the quieter coaching cycles in recent years has started to stir.

Texas A&M's firing of Jimbo Fisher marked the first performance-related dismissal this season. One day later, Mississippi State fired Zach Arnett, whom Fisher and the Aggies had defeated just two days earlier. Those moves doubled the power conference vacancies in a 24-hour span, as A&M and Mississippi State joined Northwestern and Michigan State. On Sunday, Indiana, Houston and Duke became the latest schools with coaching vacancies after firing the Hoosiers fired Tom Allen and the Cougars fired Dana Holgorsen and Mike Elko left the Blue Devils for the Texas A&M job.

Northwestern became the first program to fill its vacancy, promoting interim coach/defensive coordinator David Braun into the permanent role. On Saturday, Michigan State became the second, hiring Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith. On Sunday, Mississippi State State agreed to a deal with Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Libby and Texas A&M agreed to a deal with Duke coach Mike Elko.

It's time to take stock of the nine power conference jobs that have opened since the summer and break down the pros and cons of each job as well as the top candidates. Coaches and their agents are studying the jobs to determine whether it's worth throwing their hats (or visors) in the ring.

Schools will intensify their searches in the coming weeks, wanting to fill vacancies before the transfer portal opens Dec. 4.

Below is a ranking of the Power 5 jobs that have opened since the summer. It's based on the quality of the job through the eyes of coaches.

Jump to:
Duke
Houston
Indiana
Michigan State
Mississippi State
Northwestern
Oregon State
Syracuse
Texas A&M