Ranking the 2008 Head Coaches
Let the debates begin ... Ranking 1 to 60
By
Richard Cirminiello
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2008 Coaching Rankings - 61
to 119
60. Rich Brooks, Kentucky – Kudos to Brooks, who has tuned out
the critics and reinvented himself in Lexington after three decades of
coaching in college and the NFL. His best days are clearly in the rear
view mirror, but he still has enough left to milk eight wins and a Music
City Bowl victory in each the last two years.
59. Troy Calhoun, Air Force – Calhoun was an unexpected star in
his first season as a head coach, guiding the Falcons to nine wins and a
bowl game to earn Mountain West Conference coach of the year honors.
Facing massive turnover, it’ll be interesting to see what he does for an
encore in Year 2.
58. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville – Good or bad, one season should
not define a coach. Sure, he was awful last season, but he didn’t
elevate Tulsa in four seasons by accident. Given another year or two to
clean house in Louisville, he’ll be able to restore a reputation that
took a big hit in 2007.
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57. Art Briles, Baylor – Briles proved his mettle and offensive
ingenuity in five years at Houston, winning 34 years and a Conference
USA championship in 2006. If he’s the first coach in a generation to get
something out of Baylor, he’ll soar well past this point. History says
it’ll be a daunting challenge.
56. Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College – Just how good of a head
coach is Jagodzinski? Now we'll find out. He won 11 games in his Eagle
debut, but that was with a cupboard of talent that Tom O’Brien left
fully stocked. The next few seasons will give a much better indication
of where he belongs.
55. June Jones, SMU – Plenty of coaches can produce fancy
offensive statistics. Jones, however, has had a history of parlaying
lots of yards into lots of wins. He won nine games on six different
occasions at Hawaii, capped by last year’s flirtation with perfection.
If he wins on the Hilltop, they’ll canonize him in Dallas.
54. Dick Tomey, San Jose State – Even at the age of 70, Tomey is
proving he still has it, routinely attracting Pac-10 dissidents and
leading the Spartans to nine wins and a bowl victory just two years ago.
He’s seen it all over the last four decades, and hasn’t lost his passion
developing young talent.
53. Chris Ault, Nevada – Quick, name the only Hall of Fame coach
in the WAC. Yeah, it’s Ault, who has 177 career wins and is a wiz at
making halftime adjustments. He hasn’t skipped a beat following a
decade-long layoff from the game, getting the Pack into three
consecutive bowl games.
52. Al Groh, Virginia – Groh is never going to be cuddly or a
friend of the media, but he’s a consummate professional who runs an
NFL-style program and is well-respected by players and their parents.
Although greatness will continue to escape him, his teams are
well-coached and rarely blown out.
51. Frank Solich, Ohio – Solich’s three-year stop in Athens has
proven that he can still coach and develop talent. He’s had a profound
impact on the Bobcats, making them competitive in the MAC and getting
them to a bowl game in 2006, snapping a 28-year stretch of futility.
50. Ron Zook, Illinois – Everyone knew Zook could recruit, but
last year, he showed he can coach a little too, getting the Illini to an
improbable Rose Bowl. He may never be a dynamite Xs and Os guy, but
that’s why good assistants are hired. As a program builder, he’s proving
to be outstanding.
49. George O’Leary, UCF – O’Leary has dusted himself off
following the whole Notre Dame flap, and rebounded nicely in Orlando.
Not only does he have the Knights winning league championships, but he’s
also been a catalyst for major improvements in the program’s facilities.
48. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame – Yes, Weis has a sharp offensive
mind and can recruit, but last year’s 3-9 collapse and a couple of ugly
bowl losses have red flags going up all over the place. He needs to stop
the bleeding as quickly as possible, or else the scrutiny and pressure
will reach unbearable levels.
47. Ralph Friedgen, Maryland – Has Friedgen run out of tricks in
College Park? Stunningly good in his first three seasons, he’s drifted
back to the pack, playing .500 ball over the last four years against ACC
competition. Hailed for his offensive game-planning, the Terps have had
problems developing quarterbacks.
46. Howard Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic – What
Schnellenberger is doing in Boca Raton at the age of 74 is bordering on
incredible. Almost a quarter-century after coaching Miami to a national
championship, he has the Owls winning bowl games and on top of the Sun
Belt just seven years after playing their first game.
45. David Cutcliffe, Duke – Best known for his role in the
development of the Manning brothers, Cutcliffe also has a solid track
record as a head coach. He directed Ole Miss to two Top 25 finishes in
six years, giving Duke its most accomplished coach since Steve Spurrier
was in Durham.
44. Todd Graham, Tulsa – It’s been two years on the sidelines and
two very successful seasons for Graham in Conference USA. In 2006, he
led Rice to its first bowl game in 46 years. In 2007, he guided Tulsa to
10 wins, shrewdly hiring Gus Malzahn away from Arkansas to run his
offense.
43. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss – Nutt is set to begin his fourth
stint as a head coach, carrying a reputation for getting maximum
production from his players. In 10 seasons at Arkansas, he made it to
seven bowl games and was a respectable 42-38 in SEC play. He’ll be a
step in the right direction for Ole Miss.
42. Joe Tiller, Purdue – It’s easy to forget just how futile the
Boilermakers were before Tiller got on campus. He’s had just one losing
season in his last 15 years as a head coach, and is a pioneer of sorts
for bringing his wide-open passing attack to the traditionally
conservative Big Ten.
41. Pat Hill, Fresno State – Hill’s “anybody, anytime, anywhere”
attitude resonates throughout a program that’s had considerable success
against larger schools. His teams are always tough, physical, and built
on a solid running game. The Bulldogs have been to eight bowl games in
nine years, but a WAC title has escaped them since Boise State joined
the league.
40. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State – It took Dantonio all of one
season to begin changing the culture around Michigan State, a school
known for its inconsistency. He’s already brought more discipline and
toughness to East Lansing. The wins will follow before too long.
39. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa – Will the
real Kirk Ferentz please stand up? Is it the one who went 31-7 between
2002-2004 or the one who seems to be losing control of his program, on
and off the field? Maybe he’s not a superstar, as originally believed,
but he’s a whole lot better than the Hawkeyes have played the last three
years.
38. Bobby Bowden, Florida State – Although Bowden’s legacy is
already in Fort Knox, it doesn’t appear his brilliant career will have a
storybook ending. The Seminoles have slipped considerably, and the reins
are gradually being handed over to heir apparent Jimbo Fisher. Hard as
it is to fathom, Florida State has won 10 games just once in the last
seven years.
37. Gary Patterson, TCU – One of the biggest surprises about
Patterson is that the Horned Frogs have been able to retain him for so
long. He’s 62-25 over the last eight years, winning three league titles,
playing in seven bowl games, and finishing ranked five times. He’s just
48 and poised for a big promotion.
367. Gary Pinkel, Missouri – Pinkel sure has come a long way
since being in danger of losing his job just a couple of years ago.
Mizzou is being rewarded for its patience, getting a dozen wins last
season and being right back in contention for a Big 12 championship.
35. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas – Yeah, yeah, Petrino won’t be on
your Christmas card list, but his shifty off-field behavior doesn’t mean
he can’t coach. Forget the NFL experiment. It was a terrible fit.
Instead, focus on those Louisville years, when the Cards went 41-9 and
had one of the top offenses in the country.
34. Tommy Bowden, Clemson – While Bowden has been solid over the
last 11 seasons, spectacular has eluded him. Not since the Tulane days
has he won a conference championship, and he’s yet to deliver a 10-win
season at Clemson. If it doesn’t happen this fall, the locals will be
howling.
33. Phil Fulmer, Tennessee – Whether Fulmer’s glass is half full
or half empty probably depends on your geography. While there’s no
denying he’s been very successful over the last 16 years, folks in
Knoxville point to a 10-year stretch without an SEC title and zero top
10 finishes since 2001.
32. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU – It took a few years, but BYU has
found its man to build a bridge back to the program’s golden years. In
successive seasons, the Cougars have swept the Mountain West and
finished ranked in the polls. If Mendenhall keeps this up, his name will
replace Lavell Edwards’ outside the stadium.
31. Joe Paterno, Penn State – Of course Paterno is a legend, but,
like Bowden, this decade has been a weak facsimile of the glory days
around Happy Valley. While he was named national Coach of the Year in
2005, he’s also had four losing seasons since 2000. Oh, and during that
time, the Lions are a pedestrian 32-32 in Big Ten play.
30. Dan Hawkins, Colorado – The Hawk is beginning to get off the
ground, comforting news for impatient Colorado fans. Although he has
just eight wins in his first two seasons, the Buffs improved
dramatically in 2007 and continue to upgrade the talent level. Once he
gets his system flowing, look out, Big 12.
29. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA – Say what you will about Neuheisel’s
off-field shenanigans, but the guy knows how to produce results. At both
Colorado and Washington, he won twice as many games as he lost and three
times finished in the top 10. How he handles this next gig after a
six-year absence will define him as a coach
28. Butch Davis, North Carolina – Davis derailed his own career
path when he left Miami for an ill-advised stab at the NFL. Now that
he’s back at the college level, he’s poised to restore his reputation at
a school brimming with upside and possibilities. Remember, the ‘Canes
don’t win the 2001 national championship if Davis didn’t fix things
years earlier.
27. Jim Leavitt, South Florida – His off-beat style wouldn’t sell
in Ann Arbor or South Bend, but he’s right at home in Tampa. The literal
architect of the program, what he’s done in just over a decade has been
remarkable. Before long, he’s going to have the Bulls playing in a BCS
bowl game.
26. Randy Edsall, Connecticut – Edsall has been a borderline
miracle worker in Storrs, transforming this basketball school into a
legitimate threat in the Big East. His teams may not be that sexy, but
they’re always well coached, especially on the defensive side of the
ball.
25. Mike Riley, Oregon State – No one in the Pac-10 gets more
overlooked than Riley, who has quietly been outstanding in his second
tour of Corvallis. He doesn’t get elite recruits to Oregon State, yet
his teams are always well-prepared, winning 39 games and four bowl games
over the last five seasons. Players love him. So does the
administration.
24. Mark Mangino, Kansas – Last year was no fluke for Mangino or
the Jayhawks. He’s got this program headed in the right direction after
busting out with 12 wins and an upset of Virginia Tech in the Orange
Bowl. He and his staff overcome a shortage of blue-ribbon recruits by
doing a bang-up job of developing the kids they land.
23. Mike Leach, Texas Tech – Leach doesn’t get nearly enough
credit for what he’s doing in Lubbock. Fueled by an offense that no one
can stop, the Red Raiders have been to eight consecutive bowl games and
haven’t won less than eight games since 2001. If he can somehow bump
Tech to another level, the top 15 will be calling.
22. Chris Petersen, Boise State – If he wasn’t committed to being
in Boise at this stage of his life, Petersen would be coaching for more
money and in front of much bigger crowds. One of the bright young
offensive minds in the game, he’s already 23-3 with the Broncos,
including the one-for-the-ages upset of Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta
Bowl.
21. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin – Bielema has taken the baton from
Barry Alvarez and kept the momentum going in Madison. In two seasons,
he’s already 21-5 with a 12-4 mark in Big Ten games. The scary part?
He’s only 38 and likely to get even better with more experience on the
sidelines.
20. Tom O’Brien, NC State – O’Brien is a rock of a head coach, an
old school disciplinarian who preaches fundamentals, a strong running
game, and toughness on defense. Give him more time and a couple of
recruiting classes, and he’ll do for the Pack what he did for Boston
College.
19. Greg Schiano, Rutgers – After a century of futility, Rutgers
is relevant on a national level. That wouldn’t be possible without
Schiano. It took a few years to get traction, but now that the Scarlet
Knights have been to three straights bowl games, more and more talent is
deciding to stay home.
18. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati – Kelly simply wins wherever he goes.
At Grand Valley State, he was the undisputed star of the Division II
coaching ranks. It took three short years before he turned Central
Michigan into a MAC champion. And in just over a year at Cincinnati,
he’s already 11-3 with two bowl wins. Can the Bearcats keep him for very
long?
17. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech – All you need to know about
Johnson is that he turned Navy into a perennial winner that bowled five
years in-a-row. That’s heady stuff. Everyone wants to know if his option
attack will flourish in the ACC; if it stalls, he’s flexible enough to
adapt on the fly, especially with better talent.
16. Jeff Tedford, California – Last year’s collapse may have
tarnished Tedford’s a bit, but he’s still one of the top all-around
strategists and coaches in America. How soon everyone forgets that Cal
was in disrepair before he arrived in 2002. Now the Bears are a
first-division Pac-10 team that expects to be ranked every year.
15. Mike Bellotti, Oregon – The dean of Pac-10 coaches, Bellotti
begins his 14th season as the head Duck. While Oregon has
tapered off since delivering back-to-back top 10 finishes earlier in the
decade, it’s still good for eight wins and a bowl invite every season.
When things started getting stale, he had the foresight to hire Chip
Kelly to ignite the offense.
14. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State – Whether he’s in Corvallis or
Miami, Erickson simply knows how to get the job done. He’s nomadic, but
he wins wherever he puts up stakes. Getting perennial underachiever
Arizona State to 10 wins and a first place Pac-10 tie last year was
proof he’s getting better with age.
13. Mack Brown, Texas – Although he doesn’t belong on the Mt.
Rushmore of college coaches, it’s hard to argue with his knack for
attracting talented personnel or cranking out 10-win seasons. A second
conference championship at Texas would help solidify his spot near the
top of the rankings.
12. Les Miles, LSU – Miles can be unconventional and a little
kooky at times, but what’s not to like about the results? He laid a
foundation for success at Oklahoma State, shocking Bob Stoops twice, and
has gone 34-6 in Baton Rouge with an SEC and national title. In his last
three bowl games, his Tigers have whipped Ohio State, Notre Dame, and
Miami by an average score of 40-14.
11. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina – Has Spurrier lost his magic?
It’s a fair question considering he’s gone 33-36 in his last five
seasons, including the two-year debacle with the Washington Redskins.
Although he’s yet to get the Gamecocks over the hump, he’ll continue
hovering around the top 10 unless things really start going south.
10. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan – Forget for a moment all of the
controversy that surrounded his exit from West Virginia. The guy can
coach. Rodriguez built the Mountaineers into a national contender
without attracting cream-of-the-crop recruiting classes. Over the last
three years, the school won 33 games, including the Sugar, Gator, and
Fiesta Bowls, all but the last with Rod on the sidelines.
9. Nick Saban, Alabama – Love him or despise him, Saban is a
winner who will out work and out recruit the competition in order to
reach his goals. His defenses are always tough and smart, and his
record, especially at LSU, speaks for itself. He’s college football’s
version of Bill Belichick, a personal friend of the ‘Bama coach.
8. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn – While he doesn’t get the attention
of some other SEC coaches, Tuberville has been every bit as good this
decade. Playing in the toughest conference, he’s gone a sterling 59-18
over the last six years, while winning 5-of-6 bowl games. He’s also
owned ‘Bama the last eight years.
7. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech – The Hokies will never be able to
thank Beamer enough for what he’s done in Blacksburg over the last two
decades. From humble beginnings, he’s created a monster that’s strung
together 15 consecutive winning seasons. More impressive, his teams have
gotten better since joining the ACC, winning two of the last four
championships.
6. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest – There’s a reason he’s been flooded
with job offers following each of the last few seasons. Few coaches do
more with less than Grobe does at tiny Wake Forest, a program that does
a fantastic job in the area of player development.
5. Mark Richt, Georgia – Richt was already one of the nation’s
premier coaches, but really took off in 2007, guiding a young Bulldog
team to 11 wins and a No. 2 ranking in the final AP poll. He’s 72-19
with a couple of SEC championships and bowl victories in five of the
last six seasons. Oh, and at 48, he’s just getting warmed up.
4. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma – Yeah, he’s had a rough time in January
bowl games, losing the last four, but his Sooners have been remarkably
consistent otherwise. Since winning the national championship in 2000,
Oklahoma has gone 90-17, winning the Big 12 five times, and earning
squatter’s rights in the top 10. If he can solve the BCS woes, the top
overall spot is within reach.
3. Jim Tressel, Ohio State – When the Buckeyes plucked Tressel
from Youngstown State seven years ago, few envisioned this much success.
Ohio State has won or shared the last three Big Ten championships,
leaving the rest of the league in its wake. Although there’s fallout
from losing the last two BCS title games, about 110 schools could only
dream of playing in back-to-back BCS title games.
2. Pete Carroll, USC – Whenever a university hires an NFL coach,
it’ll point to Carroll as the measuring stick. Modestly successful as a
pro coach, he’s found his calling in Los Angeles, winning six straight
Pac-10 titles, five BCS bowl games, and a pair of national
championships. An ace recruiter and player’s coach, he hasn’t finished
lower than No. 4 in the final rankings since his debut in 2001.
1. Urban Meyer,
Florida – In many ways, Meyer is the perfect blend of youth, energy, and
experience. He can motivate and recruit as well as anyone in the
country, and he’s emerging as a game-day coach. He’s methodically
climbed the ladder, using Bowling Green and Utah as stepping stones for
his current gig in Gainesville. If he can handle the expectations for
perfection, the national championship in 2006 won’t be his last.
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2008 Coaching Rankings - 61
to 119
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