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Power ranking Big Ten football head coaches ahead of 2022 season

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, left, and Ohio State's Ryan Day have not always had the friendliest relationship.Harbaugh Day composite 2
Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, left, and Ohio State's Ryan Day have not always had the friendliest relationship.Harbaugh Day composite 2 /
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Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald reacts to a play against the Michigan State Spartans during the fourth quarter at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald reacts to a play against the Michigan State Spartans during the fourth quarter at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /

We’re getting to the “good but not great” portion of the power rankings. Jeff Brohm is a good coach, but he’s not quite great.

I can be swayed by some Big Ten title-contending seasons in the near future. He has put together some impressive teams in West Lafayette, but the Boilermakers are just 28-29 overall in five seasons under Brohm and they’re known more for spoiling serious contenders’ seasons than winning their own division. That could change in 2022 following up his best season yet.

PJ Fleck came to Minnesota from Western Michigan with a ton of hype and while he’s provided some decent results, he still hasn’t quite lived up to it all.

Minnesota is fresh off a 9-4 season and two years removed from winning 11 games so he’s trending in the right direction, but if the Gophers don’t take another step forward in 2022, Fleck’s seat could get a little warmer. He has some solid pieces for the upcoming season, but I’m not sure it’s enough to win the Big Ten West.

Honestly, I’ve been in the “Pat Fitzgerald is overrated” camp for a few years now and while I also do believe he’s a solid top-half-of-the-Big Ten coach, I also think he gets too much credit for having a good season every 3-4 years.

Fitzgerald has won 10 games three times in Evanston which is a pretty impressive feat and he’s 5-5 in bowl games with two division titles. He’s a good coach, but I’m going to need to see more 8-4 or 9-3 seasons than 5-7 ones for me to call him great.

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