College Football: Ranking 10 best head coaches from past 5 seasons

1. 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. For the past five seasons, he and his team have accomplished more than any other coach or team in all of college football.

In 2015, Swinney and his team took a large step forward in the right direction. Clemson won their first two games easily scoring 41 or more points and winning by 31 or more points.

In their third game, they traveled to Louisville and played in a relatively low-scoring game that resulted in the Tigers defeating the Cardinals by a field goal, 20-17. The following game, Clemson would face their first ranked opponent of the season.

Swinney had his team prepared to host No. 6 Notre Dame. In yet another, not so high scoring game, Clemson showed grit and determination in beating the Fighting Irish by two points, 24-22. The Tigers would jump up in the rankings to No. 6 after that victory. Clemson was gaining more and more confidence and even more importantly, they were progressing with a large amount of momentum.

The Tigers would defeat both Georgia Tech and Boston College at home and by double digits before traveling on the road for two straight games. Clemson would dominate Miami in every way as they beat them by a score of 58-0. In a more competitive game against North Carolina State, Swinney and his team would win in a high scoring affair by a final score of 56-41.

Clemson would then face their second nationally ranked team of the season when they hosted No. 16 Florida State.

Against the Seminoles, it was not a high scoring game and it was the Tigers defense that really stepped up, holding Florida State to only 13 points. Swinney and his team would end up defeating the Seminoles by 10 points as well as Syracuse who they traveled to play the following week. Clemson would then easily defeat Wake Forest before traveling to face their in-state rival.

As Clemson entered the game as the No. 1 ranked team in the country and South Carolina was unranked and having only won three games on the year, it figured to be a lopsided game. The Tigers defense was dominating the Gamecocks offense in the first half with Clemson going into halftime with a 14-3 lead. Going into the fourth quarter, both offenses found their rhythm. South Carolina scored the first touchdown in the quarter and narrowed the Tigers lead to only three points.

However, Clemson would score twice in the fourth quarter and with a late Gamecocks touchdown, Swinney and his team survived an upset by their rivals, 37-32.

Clemson would be put to the test the faced off with their neighbors to the north in the ACC championship game. No. 10 North Carolina entered the game with their only loss of the season being in the season opener when they lost by four points to South Carolina. The Tar Heels were the ACC Coastal champions as Clemson was the ACC Atlantic champions.

The game was competitive and high scoring and North Carolina even had a lead entering the second quarter. The Tigers offense would be too much for the Tar Heel defense to handle in the end as Clemson captured the ACC title by a final score of 45-37. The Tigers were heading into the playoff as the No. 1 seed.

Against the No. 4 seeded Oklahoma Sooners, Swinney would be facing his first top-five ranked team of the season. Oklahoma led Clemson at the half, leading by one point entering the second half. However, the Tigers defense pitched a shutout in the second half and Clemson’s offense scored three touchdowns giving Swinney and his team a 20-point victory and an opportunity to win a national title.

Clemson would start which would become the best rivalry over these past five years when they faced off against Alabama in the national championship game. In what would be a remarkable and competitive game as both teams went back and forth. At the half, the game was tied at 14 apiece. In the third quarter, Clemson would take a three-point lead heading into the final quarter. However, Alabama would outscore the Tigers 24-16 in the fourth quarter giving the Crimson Tide the national title.

Unfortunately for Swinney and his team, their only loss of the season came in the national championship game where they lost by only five. However, Clemson let the entire college football community know that they were ready for the national stage and they intended to not only expect to continually make the college football playoffs but to compete to win national championships.

In 2016, Clemson had a more difficult regular-season schedule and they hoped that would pay dividends later on in the season. Swinney and his team opened up on the road as they traveled to face Auburn. Clemson in a tough defensive battle found a way to win, 19-13.  The next game would be very close as well but it came as a surprise.

When the Tigers hosted Troy in week two, it was supposed to be a relatively easy game for the No. 2 Clemson team. However, the Trojans who would end up winning 10 games and winning their bowl game, gave the Tigers everything that they could handle. At halftime, Swinney and his team were only up by three points. In the third quarter, neither team would score meaning Clemson was only up by a field goal at home entering the final frame.

Both teams scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but a field goal late in the game gave the Tigers some cushion in a 30-24 victory. Clemson would win their next two games easily by double digits before being tested again.

Swinney and his Tigers welcomed in No. 3 Louisville which came into the game undefeated. Surprisingly, Clemson would not score in the first and third quarters. However, even though the Tigers gave up double-digit points in three quarters to the Cardinals and their future Heisman quarterback, Clemson would come out victorious with a 42-36 win.

The Tigers would easily defeat Boston College on the road but they would once again play an unranked opponent that would give them everything that they could handle.

In what was not supposed to be a difficult game for Swinney and his No. 3 Tigers, Clemson hosted unranked NC State. The game itself ended up having to go to overtime to determine the winner. The Clemson offense had a difficult first half as they only scored 10 points. To make matters worse, NC State would outscore the Tigers in the second half, forcing overtime. Clemson would score a touchdown in overtime to remain undefeated.

Things didn’t get easier in their next game as Clemson traveled to play at No. 12 Florida State. It was a game of quarters where the Tigers outscored the Seminoles in the first and fourth by a combined score of 31-6.  However, Florida State would outscore the Tigers in the second and third 28-6. Clemson’s field goal kicker went three for three on field goals helping the Tigers to a 37-34 victory. After a decisive 54-0 shutout of Syracuse, Clemson would experience something that had not happened since November of 2014.

Pittsburgh came into town and what should have been a relatively easy win for Swinney and his team was far from it. It appeared defense seemed optional for both teams in the first half as Clemson went into halftime with 28-27 lead. In the second half, adjustments were made but the Panthers’ defense and field goal kicker really stepped up in the fourth quarter outscoring the Tigers 9-0 to giving them the 43-42 upset against the No. 2 team in the nation.

Swinney and his team would bounce back easily defeating Wake Forest and South Carolina to once again become the Atlantic champions.

In the ACC title game, Clemson faced No. 23 Virginia Tech. Even though the Hokies kept it relatively close, the Tigers led the whole game and would capture another ACC championship with a 42-35 victory to once again make it to the playoff.

As the No. 2 team, Clemson would face off against No. 3 Ohio State in the semifinal. It could be argued that Swinney and his team placed their best game of the season in the Fiesta Bowl as they shut out the Buckeyes by a score of 31-0. The victory was a sign of things to come as the Tigers would once again face Alabama in the national championship game.

In the national title game, Alabama steadily held the lead entering the fourth quarter. Entering the final quarter of the game, the Crimson Tide led 24-14. Then Swinney and his team really stepped up in the fourth quarter outscoring Alabama, 21-7 to give Clemson the crown.

Becoming national champions officially made the Tigers a top three program in the country and some would even argue that along with Alabama, Clemson was one of the top two programs in college football.