The 2018 college football season is right around the corner and these 25 head coaches pace the sport as the best in their field.
Now before we get into the weeds of the rankings, we must establish what criteria is being considered in these rankings. Initially, we will narrow down our considerations based on some of the more obvious criteria.
- Wins and winning percentage
- Bowl game appearances and championships
- Experience
- Consistency
However, one of the most important, yet overlooked, aspects of a head coach is their ability to run a program. Because not all head coaches are play callers. Many of the best coaches spend very little time involved with the “Xs and Os”. Therefore, in order to consider how good a coach is, one must also consider the following:
- Ability to hire and run a staff
- Recruiting
- Dealing with the media
- Mentoring young men
- Inevitably, handling misconduct
Essentially, consider a brand new college program is started. The rankings follow who you may want to start up the program as the head coach. Let’s get into the rankings.
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.
Justin Fuente revitalized the Memphis football program and established the Tigers’ presence as one of the top programs in the American Athletic Conference. His performance earned him an offer to coach at Virginia Tech, and he has not disappointed. As Fuente continues to exceed expectations at Virginia Tech, look for him to find himself in a big-time program that takes a chance.
Mark Dantonio has shown great ability winning games in a tough Big Ten conference. However, despite winning multiple conference championships, he has never won the big game (well unless you count the 2013 Rose Bowl game, but that was five years ago). The athletic department has come under fire, but Dantonio has seemingly handled everything the right way and came out with a 10-win season in 2017 after a 3-9 campaign in 2016.
It’s hard to discredit what has been accomplished by Lincoln Riley in just one year at Oklahoma. Taking a tremendous Georgia Bulldog team deep into overtime in a thrilling Rose Bowl game last year demonstrates Riley’s potential at Oklahoma. Yet, he did indeed have the Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield. On that same note, he essentially let Baker run the wild wild west through his repeated disrespect and lack of sportsmanship on the field. Riley’s coaching ability will truly be tested this coming year, giving us a better idea of whether this past year was a fluke.
Although his record at Vanderbilt wasn’t great, James Franklin has done an incredible job in the past two years at Penn State. In 2016, Penn State won the Big Ten title, and this year, went 11-2 with a win in the Fiesta Bowl. Additionally, it should be recognized that Franklin has essentially turned around the Penn State program, bringing them up as a top program again in college football. Furthermore, we all remember Franklin sprinting down the field to ensure his player shook the opposing teams hands. Whether or not this was a little excessive, he earns points in the sportsmanship category.
Probably the most surprising coach on the list, Ken Niumatalolo comes in at No. 17. But let’s consider a few facts. Since he has taken over at Navy, the Midshipmen have made it to a bowl game 10 out of 11 seasons.Additionally, Navy has competed for the AAC championship twice in the first three years of the conference existence.
The AAC has very good Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Temple programs in addition to USF and the disputed 2017 national champs, UCF. With all the limitations and constraints that come with running a football program at the United States Naval Academy, Niumatalolo builds a team to compete with the likes of Notre Dame, year in and year out.
Mike Gundy may seem a little high on the list, however, he earns big points in the consistency category. Reaching a bowl game in every season since 2006 is hard to do, no matter what program you’re coaching. Furthermore, a top-three finish in the Big 12 in every season except one (2014) in the past decade is incredible. However, in the past few years, Oklahoma State has struggled to put together a complete season that has capped off with a big bowl win.
Mark Richt is one of the most established and accomplished coaches on this list. After a great 15 years at Georgia, Richt was let go, and was quickly hired by Miami. His success his first two years at Miami demonstrates his ability to quickly turn around a program. At one point last year, Maimi was ranked No. 2 in the country. Additionally, Richt won Coach of the Year in 2017. We’ll have to see if he can lead the Hurricanes to the top of the ACC in 2018.
A legend in the coaching word, Bill Snyder has shown incredible consistency and has the most experience out of any head coach in college football. He has multiple coach of the year awards, has developed many assistant coaches to become successful head coaches and has made Kansas State a contender for many years. Although he does not have many “big” wins under his belt, Snyder has an all time record of 210-110-1 at Kansas State. This is quite impressive given the lower level of talent at KSU and competing in the Big 12 since 1989.
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Coaching at Notre Dame is a tough job to maintain. The fans are ruthless and the administration is unforgiving. Every year Brian Kelly’s job is on the line. Yet he has kept his position for eight years now. The reason being is that he embodies the values for which the university stands. Kelly is able to produce wins and take teams to bowl games despite an incredible academic workload for the players, and runs a strict and disciplined program. Put Kelly atop any other program and they would compete for their conference championship every year.
Coming on scene in just the past two years, Scott Frost has taken an under-the-radar team to an undefeated season, beat Auburn and won a disputed national championship. That team was the University of Central Florida — yes, UCF. His best defensive player had only one hand. His starting quarterback, who was eligible, did not even declare for the draft.
Frost accepted the job at Nebraska prior to the Peach Bowl game against Auburn. And where 99 percent of coaches would have kept their perfect season and ran to go recruit for their new team, Frost kept loyal to his team and stayed to play as a massive underdog in their bowl game, risking his undefeated season. The Big Ten is very different than the AAC but Frost’s best qualities as a head coach are not impacted by the conference in which he coaches.
Gary Patterson is TCU’s winningest coach with a record of 160-57. Furthermore, he has taken the team to a bowl game 12 of the past 13 years, winning all but three of those games. Additionally, he commands great respect from other head coaches. Last year, after a very strong start, TCU finished the season at 11-3. Look for continued, yet quiet, success from Patterson and the small school in Fort Worth, Texas.
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Jimbo Fisher’s dominance while coaching the Florida State Seminoles has placed him among the best college football coaches. Great records nearly every year (with 2017 as the exception) and big wins in bowl games as the norm, Fisher holds the highest winning percentage in FSU history. To continue, a national championship in the Alabama domination era is impressive in itself. Fisher looks to reinforce his success with a struggling Texas A&M program.
What Kirby Smart has accomplished in just two years in the SEC East is remarkable. If it weren’t for Alabama’s savior in Tua Tagovailoa, he would have claimed his first title as a head coach against his previous boss, Nick Saban. A defensive guru, Smart has put together one of the most dominant defenses the SEC has seen in years. Also, the recruiting classes for Georgia over the past two years projects Georgia to be strongly competitive in the SEC for years to come.
When you build two struggling programs up to the top of their conferences, and stay there, you earn yourself a lot of credibility as a head coach. Chris Petersen averaged less than two losses a year in his eight years at Boise State. Then, after a couple years to warm-up at Washington, he reached the Pac-12 Championship Game in both of the last two seasons and a New Year’s Six bowl. Petersen has yet to win a big game at Washington, but no doubt it’s on the horizon.
Quiet dominance. That is how I would describe Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers over the past two seasons. In a conference that truly is a handful of very good teams “just beating up on each other”, Chryst has made it to the Big Ten title game in each of the past two seasons. Additionally, he has won all three bowl games in the past three years. The Holiday, Cotton, and Orange Bowl were all significant bowl games, so the big game is no issue for the head coach. All this has been accomplished with essentially no misconduct. Chryst is a top-tier head coach.
Giving Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide two losses in five years is actually a significant accomplishment. Additionally, winning a national championship in the Saban era is also very tough to do. And keeping a job in the SEC for five years with a conference record of only 25-15, means you must be doing something right. Gus Malzahn has still made a New Year’s Six bowl the past two years with a decent chance of beating Alabama and winning a national title because he’s just that good of a coach.
Wait who? That’s right. Chip Kelly is back. Let’s not forget what he accomplished in his last three years at Oregon before taking his talents to the NFL. In 2009, he lost in the Rose Bowl. In 2010, he was undefeated until a loss in the national title game. In 2011, he had one loss season and a win in the Rose bowl. And in 2012, he had a one-loss season and a win in the Fiesta Bowl. In those years, Kelly had people seriously considering if the Pac-12 was the best conference in college football. With him back on the West Coast, look for Kelly to rely upon his strong recruiting ties in Southern California to lead UCLA to the top of all of college football.
David Shaw’s leadership and development of young men, paired with his dominance of the Pac-12 North since 2011, brings him to No. 4 on the list. Furthermore, Shaw demonstrates what it means to have such great loyalty to his alma mater. Shaw played at Stanford and has been with the program since 2007. Look for him to keep Stanford atop the Pac-12 for many years to come.
Two undefeated seasons with two different teams. Three national championships with two different teams. Three conference losses in the past six years. Urban Meyer has shown that he can win, and win big, with any team. In 2014, he went through three quarterbacks from the start of the season and still won the National Championship. A true mastermind, Meyer is an all-time great coach.
Dabo Swinney comes in at second for a few reasons. First, he has been to the national championship twice in the last three years. Secondly, he isn’t really an “Xs and Os” coach, and that’s a positive. Where some coaches are heavily embedded in the direct schematics of the game, Dabo is much more of an inspirational player’s coach. Swinney has brought Clemson to the top of the ACC and to the top of college football and should remain their for years to come.
Are you surprised? Six national championships and over 15 assistant coaches who have gone on to become head coaches. Nick Saban’s relentless pursuit of excellence and winning makes him the greatest coach of all time. The consistency and energy required to coach teams that are competing for the national championship for upwards of two decades is unworldly. Saban is the example for any coach in any sport.