Which programs have had the best and most accomplished current college football head coaches from this past decade?
After inspecting and analyzing the accomplishments of the most proficient and accomplished college football head coaches over the past decade, there are a select group of coaches who have impressive resumes with division and conference championships as well as bowl victories and playoff appearances.
Current and soon to be Hall of Fame coaches are still going strong, while a few less experienced guys have emerged as up-and-coming potential Hall of Fame members. But where do they stack up against one another?
When commentators, sports writers and people on social media compile sports lists, it most likely includes personal biases and is highly subjective in some cases. Very similar to the rankings of the best and most accomplished college basketball coaches, this list of rankings of coaches follow a comparable format.
Even though this list may have flaws and is not perfect and the point system is not flawless, it gives some analytical and math based analysis to eliminate the subjective factors that many lists are made and comprised of.
There are many factors and criteria that were taken under consideration:
- The previous condition of the program good or bad, prior to becoming a head coach.
- The perception and reputation of being or not being a great Xs and Os coach or being a pure defensive or offensive-minded coach.
- The amount of time that a head coach has been coaching in the FBS or in a Power Five conference.
- Ability to recruit highly-rated players as part of an incoming class of student-athletes.
- Factoring in a coach being at a traditional powerhouse program or a lower level Power Five program.
- The ability or inability to handle off the field issues such as having their program being put on NCAA probation or sanctions.
- Not critiquing how the coach influences the ADs handling of the schedules in terms of it being difficult or easy when scheduling non-conferences games each season.
- How well the coach is perceived to make in-game decisions and play calls during games.
- The ability to hire assistant coaches who recruit well and help advance the program overall.
Second, the list of coaches had to meet only two specific requirements:
- Current FBS head coach
- Won at least one national title and or conference title in a Power Five conference, AAC, Mountain West or was in the College Football Playoff in the past decade.
Third, below is the criteria and scoring breakdown to determine the ranking of the top coaches in the FBS over the past decade:
- 40 points for a national championships
- 30 points for College Football Playoff appearances
- 20 points for regular season conference titles
- 15 points for division titles
- 10 points for bowl game victories (includes playoff games)
- 5 points for bowl appearances (Includes playoff games)
- 5 points for every season with 10 or more wins
The coach had to be a head coach at an FBS school from the period covering the seasons from 2009-18. Had to win at least one national championship and/or a conference championship while a coach in a Power Five conference or upper echelon Group of 5 conference during the span of the last 10 seasons. Coach has to be currently coaching an FBS team.
It’s nearing the end of the regular season for 2019 so statistics from this season are not included on this list.
Let’s now take a look at the top 15 college coaches.
15. Mack Brown (Texas, North Carolina)
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 1 division title: 15 points
- 2 bowl wins: 20 points
- 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
- 1 season with 10 or more wins: 5 points
Total coaching points: 70
14. Clay Helton (USC)
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 2 division titles: 30 points
- 2 bowl wins: 20 points
- 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
- 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points
Total coaching points: 100
13. James Franklin (Penn State, Vanderbilt)
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 1 division title: 15 points
- 4 bowl wins: 40 points
- 8 bowl appearances: 40 points
- 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points
Total coaching points: 125
12. Kirby Smart (Georgia)
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearances: 30 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 2 division titles: 30 points
- 2 bowl wins: 20 points
- 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
- 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points
Total coaching points: 130
11. Chip Kelly (Oregon, UCLA)
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 3 regular season conference titles: 60 points
- 2 division titles: 30 points
- 2 bowl wins: 20 points
- 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
- 4 seasons with 10 or more wins: 20 points
Total coaching points: 150
10. Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)
This is only Lincoln Riley’s third year as a head coach and all of them have been at Oklahoma. In a short period of time, he has won the Big 12 twice, won at least 10 games every season and took the Sooners to the College Football Playoff in two straight seasons. He has a very bright future and he could possibly be up there with Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney when it’s all said and done.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 2 College Football Playoff appearances: 60 points
- 2 regular season conference titles: 40 points
- 2 division titles*: 30 points (Big 12 doesn’t have divisions but the two top teams qualify for the conference championship game)
- 0 bowl wins: 0 points
- 2 bowl appearances: 10 points
- 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points
Total coaching points: 150
9. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame, Cincinnati)
Brian Kelly’s resume is complicated for many reasons and in particular the Fighting Irish not being in a conference hurts his coaching ranking based on this criteria. He did win a conference title at Cincinnati but left for the Notre Dame head coaching job the following year. The NCAA also vacated the wins for the 2012-13 season and even though Kelly has been successful as the Fighting Irish head coach, on paper it is not as impressive as you would think.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 30 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 4 bowl wins: 40 points
- 9 bowl appearances: 45 points
- 4 seasons with 10 or more wins: 20 points
Total coaching points: 155
8. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)
Mike Gundy has done more as a coach this past decade than many fans realize. He has taken the Cowboys to a bowl every year and has won their bowl game seven of those times over the past decade. He has lead Oklahoma State to six seasons of 10 or more wins the past 10 years and he has without doubt built a stable and consistent program in Stillwater.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 1 regular season conference title: 20 points
- 1 division title: 15 points
- 7 bowl wins: 70 points
- 10 bowl appearances: 50 points
- 6 seasons with 10 or more wins: 30 points
Total coaching points: 185
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led his team to a 12-1 season in 2011, winning the Fiesta Bowl
- Led his team to three straight bowl victories (2016-18)
- 1 Big 12 title (2011)
- 1 Big 12 South title (2010)
7. Gary Patterson (TCU)
Gary Patterson, similar to Mark Dantonio, has a respectable resume this past decade. However, he has not had as much success recently as he had earlier on this past decade. He however has led the Horned Frogs to four regular season championships and has won 10 or more games six times this past decade. He also has taken TCU to nine bowl games, having won six of those. He, like Gundy, has a respectable program at TCU and he will have his team competing for Big 12 titles in the future.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 4 regular season conference titles: 80 points
- 6 bowl wins: 60 points
- 9 bowl appearances: 45 points
- 6 seasons with 10 or more wins: 30 points
Total coaching points: 215
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led his team to an undefeated season in 2010, winning the Rose Bowl
- Led his team to a New Year’s Six bowl victory in 2014 to go 12-1
- 3 Mountain West (2009-11) titles
- 1 Big 12 title (2014)
6. Mark Dantonio (Michigan State)
Mark Dantonio is the record holder for most wins as a Michigan State coach. He built a strong, respectable and relevant program as he led the Spartans to their first Rose Bowl victory since 1988. He also captured three Big Ten titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
In 2015, the Spartans won the Big Ten East title before capturing the conference championship and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. However, since the magical 2015 run, the Spartans have not captured a division or conference title and have won 10 or more games only once the past four seasons.
However, during the past decade, he’s had five seasons of 11 or more victories. He also has five bowl victories and has lead the Spartans to nine bowl games over the past 10 seasons.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 30 points
- 3 regular season conference titles: 60 points
- 3 division titles: 45 points
- 5 bowl wins: 50 points
- 9 bowl appearances: 45 points
- 6 seasons with 10 or more wins: 30 points
Total coaching points: 260
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led the Spartans to College Football Playoff in 2015
- 3 Big Ten conference titles (2010, 2013, 2015)
- 2 Big Ten Legends titles (2011, 2013)
- 1 Big Ten East title (2015)
5. David Shaw (Stanford)
David Shaw did what his predecessor was unable to do at Stanford and that was win a Pac-12 title. Not only did he win the Pac-12 for the Cardinals in 2012, he won the conference again the following year and for a third time in 2015 — an impressive feat for a program with very high academic standards and he captured the first conference championship for Stanford since they last accomplished a conference championship in 1999. He also netted five Pac-12 North titles from 2011-17.
Shaw has accomplished a lot as his time as the head of the Cardinal program and has won at least nine games in seven seasons from 2011-18. He could have left to go to more high-profile program but has stayed at Stanford and built a very strong and stable program.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
- 3 regular season conference titles: 60 points
- 5 division titles: 75 points
- 5 bowl wins: 50 points
- 8 bowl appearances: 40 points
- 5 seasons with 10 or more wins: 50 points
Total coaching points: 275
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led Stanford to three consecutive BCS bowl games from 2011-13
- He has lead the Cardinals to two Rose Bowl victories in 2012 and 2015
- 3 Pac-12 titles (2012, 2013, 2015)
- 5 Pac-12 North titles (2011-13, 2015, 2017)
4. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State, Texas A&M)
Jimbo Fisher is one of a select few coaches that won a national championship this past decade that is still currently coaching at the collegiate level.
In 2013, led Florida State to a national championship finishing 14-0. From 2010-13, he led the Seminoles to four straight bowl victories. From 2012-16, he had Florida State earning a berth to five straight BCS, CFP or New Year’s Six bowl appearances. Fisher left the Seminoles to become the head coach at Texas A&M were he led the Aggies to a nine-win season and a Gator Bowl win in his first year.
- 1 National Championships: 40 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 30 points
- 3 regular season conference titles: 60 points
- 4 division titles: 60 points
- 6 bowl wins: 60 points
- 8 bowl appearances: 40 points
- 6 seasons with 10 or more wins: 30 points
Total coaching points: 320
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led Florida State to a national championships in 2013
- He lead the Seminoles to five consecutive BCS, CFP or New Year’s Six bowls from 2012-16
- 3 ACC titles (2012-14)
- 4 ACC Atlantic titles (2010, 2012-14)
3. Chris Petersen (Washington, Boise State)
Chris Petersen did well at Boise State before taking his current position as head coach of Washington’s football program — he has stepped down, technically, but will finish the 2019 season.
Prior to his time in Washington, he led Boise State to an undefeated season in 2009 capped off with a win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. He also led the Broncos to four straight bowl wins prior to leaving to Seattle to be the head of the program at Washington.
As the head coach of the Huskies, he led Washington to a Pac-12 North title as well as a conference crown. From 2016-18 his team won 10 or more games and won the Pac-12 North division each of those three seasons. The 2019 season has not gone as planned but during this past decade, there is little doubt of Petersen’s accomplishment as a head coach.
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 30 points
- 7 regular season conference titles: 140 points
- 3 division titles: 45 points
- 5 bowl wins: 50 points
- 10 bowl appearances: 50 points
- 7 seasons with 10 or more wins: 35 points
Total coaching points: 350
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led Boise State to an undefeated season and BCS bowl victory going 14-0
- He led Washington to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2016
- 2 Pac-12 titles (2016 and 2018)
- 3 Pac-12 North titles (2016–18)
2. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
Dabo Swinney has dominated the ACC of late and has challenged Alabama, beating them twice to earn two national titles. He is considered by many as a coach who took over a program and took it to heights it has never seen before.
It may have been a bumpy journey with some not so great early seasons for Dabo but now his team is dominating the ACC and is on track to win the conference again and look to qualify for the playoff in 2019.
Clemson, along with Alabama, is considered the most respected and powerful college football programs in the entire nation. Swinney is responsible for that and he being ranked No. 2 on this list should not surprise anyone. Like Nick Saban, he built a kingdom and has started building an empire that will last for years to come.
- 2 National Championships: 80 points
- 4 College Football Playoff appearances: 120 points
- 5 regular season conference titles: 100 points
- 7 division titles: 105 points
- 9 bowl wins: 90 points
- 13 bowl appearances: 65 points
- 8 seasons with 10 or more wins: 40 points
Total coaching points: 600
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led Clemson to two national championships in 2016 and 2018
- Led Tigers to four consecutive College Football Playoff appearances
- 5 ACC titles (2011, 2015–18)
- 8 ACC Atlantic titles (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015–19)
1. Nick Saban (Alabama)
Some coaches build kingdoms, Nick Saban built an empire this past decade as the head coach of the Crimson Tide.
Not only did he dominate his opponents in order to expand his empire, he started off on his quest for dominance in arguably the toughest division in all of college football which is the SEC East. No coach comes close to his five national championships in the past 10 seasons and he has taken Alabama to four straight national title games. He has won the SEC West title seven straight seasons.
Every season for the past decade, he has lead Alabama to 10 or more victories. No coach in America has come close to what he has accomplished as an FBS head coach. He more than likely will be considered the greatest college football coach of all time when it’s all said and done.
- 5 National Championships: 200 points
- 5 College Football Playoff appearances: 150 points
- 6 regular season conference titles: 120 points
- 8 division titles: 120 points
- 10 bowl wins: 100 points
- 14 bowl appearances: 70 points
- 10 seasons with 10 or more wins: 50 points
Total coaching points: 810
Coaching highlights, accomplishments over past decade
- Led Alabama to AP and BCS national championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012
- With the beginning of the College Football Playoff, he lead the Crimson Tide to national championships in 2015 and 2017
- 6 SEC titles (2009, 2012, 2014-16, 2018)
- 8 SEC West titles (2009, 2012-18)
Are you surprised by the order of the top 15 coaches on this list?