College Football: 25 greatest head coaches of the 21st century

Best college football coaches of 21st century: 24. Bill Snyder

• Kansas State Wildcats (1989-05, 2009-18)

Bill Snyder simply has to be on this list somewhere. I mean, he’s a legend. However, most of the accolades on his résumé have to do with how long he has coached at Kansas State. Since this list only focuses on the 21st century, most of Snyder’s career cannot be considered.

However, Snyder’s 16 seasons in this century with the Wildcats have still been fruitful. He has won at least 10 games in five of those seasons. In six of those years, the Wildcats ended the season ranked in the AP top 25. They haven’t really been great, but they’ve been consistently good over a long stretch of time.

Even though this ranking is focusing on the 21st century, you have to add in that Snyder completely built Kansas State. If they ever have any amount of success in the foreseeable future, it will be thanks in large part to what he has done.

Even if you focus on the past 19 years of college football, Snyder having been with one program is impressive. He even came back out of retirement in 2009 to lead the Wildcats once again and then proceeded to coach 10 more years in the Manhattan stadium that is named after him and his family.

This just doesn’t happen in today’s age of college football. Whether it’s because people get fired or they move up the ladder to bigger programs, coaches seem to always leave. Snyder is an exception and a legend in the Big 12.

However, Snyder still isn’t perfect. His record in the 21st century in his bowl games is only 5-7. There were multiple seasons where Kansas State missed a bowl game entirely. However, he exceeded every expectation, and he is truly a college football coaching legend.

With over 100 wins since 2000 and a strong legacy on his side, Snyder slides onto the list at No. 24.