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4 most underappreciated college football head coaches

By Chris Peterson

Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh lifts the Big Ten Championship Trophy with his team after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh lifts the Big Ten Championship Trophy with his team after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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There are a lot of great college football head coaches but here are four head coaches who are routinely underappreciated. 

We are in the heart of the college football offseason. Spring football is taking place across the country but we are still a good six months away from games being played.

That means it’s the perfect time for some college football debate and one of the best topics is always college football head coaches.

Bruce Feldman released an interesting top-25 ranking of college football head coaches not long ago and while some got the credit they deserved, some didn’t, such as Jim Harbaugh who ranked No. 12 on the list.

Harbaugh hasn’t won as much as some expected when he left the NFL for Michigan football but he’s won more games than most college football head coaches, yet, he’s still underappreciated. Not as much now that he’s won a Big Ten championship, but he’s not really viewed as the elite head coach that he should be.

And Jim Harbaugh isn’t alone.

There are others that don’t get their due and we’ll break down four college football head coaches who are routinely underappreciated and start our list with Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh

Harbaugh has won conference championships at Stanford and Michigan, not to mention his success at the NFL level leading the 49ers to three NFC championship games, as well as a Super Bowl appearance.

While some college football fans and analysts have regarded Harbaugh’s time with Michigan as a disappointment, they are holding him to a ridiculously high standard.

In six full seasons (one was limited to six games due to COVID-19) Harbaugh has never had a losing season and won at least 10 games four times. He won the Big Ten championship this past season and also beat Ohio State.

Yes, his record against rivals isn’t great. But Ohio State has been at the height of its powers and Harbaugh still found a way to get Michigan back to the top. He’s 3-4 against MSU (0-2 against Mel Tucker) and 1-1 against Notre Dame, yet he’s got a winning record or is at least .500 against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Iowa — the other big-time programs in the Big Ten recently.

Harbaugh was interested in the NFL and some have used that against him, saying he didn’t even want to coach at Michigan. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He’s back at U-M and I don’t see him leaving.

I do see Michigan being a national title contender for years to come though and Jim Harbaugh is the biggest reason why.

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