College Football: Top 25 head coaches ahead of 2018 season

Herm Edwards comes in at 25 as one of the more debatable coaches making this list. In his first year at Arizona State, his track record is historic. Spending the last few years in the TV booth, and before that coaching in the NFL, his ability to coach in today’s college football is uncertain. However, he brings great wisdom and experience to impart upon the young players at ASU.

Paul Johnson earns a spot in the top 25 based on the job he has done at his last two schools. Prior to Georgia Tech, Johnson turned around the Navy program and propelled them into the top service academy they are today. In his first year at Georgia Tech, he took the team to the ACC Championship Game and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. As the ACC continues to improve, he keeps his team competitive running the Triple Option offense.

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Dan Mullen has recently been hired to turn the Florida Gator program around. Florida has clearly had enough talent to compete with anyone in the past few years. However, it is has appeared as though the coaching has not found a way to employ the talent. Coach Mullen took Mississippi State to eight bowl games in all of the last eight years. As the winningest coach in Mississippi State history, look for Mullen’s legacy to only improve.

Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald falls into the category of coaches who is able to recruit and develop players better than many other coaches. With less talent than that of many other schools, Fitzgerald is able to lead his team to winning seasons year in and year out. There’s a reason why he’s been at Northwestern for so many years. He competes in the Big Ten despite coaching at a school that is academically incredibly difficult. Give him more talent and he’d have more wins.