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Ranking college football’s top 25 head coaches for 2022

By Connor Muldowney

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama coach Nick Saban shake hands at midfield after their game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.Bama618
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama coach Nick Saban shake hands at midfield after their game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.Bama618 /
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Jan 1, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda reacts in the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels in the 2022 Sugar Bowl at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda reacts in the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels in the 2022 Sugar Bowl at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /

Surprised to see Kalani Sitake in the top 25? You shouldn’t be, he’s been one of the best coaches in the country over the past two seasons. Although it’s not impossible to win at BYU, picking up 21 wins in two years with some tough opponents is rather impressive. Outside of one bad season in 2017, BYU has been really solid under Sitake and I foresee another good year in 2022.

I feel like my opinion on Pat Fitzgerald changes every single year. One season, he goes 9-3 or 10-2 and makes the Big Ten title game and he’s a legit NFL coaching candidate and the next, he goes 3-9 and is in the Big Ten’s cellar. Well, this might just be the season he flirts with the NFL again as he got it started with a surprise win over Nebraska in Ireland. Fitzgerald is doing what not many coaches could do: win at Northwestern.

Before Sam Pittman, Arkansas was the laughingstock of the SEC. Chad Morris didn’t win a single conference game in two seasons before he got fired. Pittman came in for the 2020 season and immediately won three conference games. He took it one step further in 2021 and went 9-4 and was competitive in pretty much every game. The Razorbacks finished the season ranked No. 21 and have come a long way under Pittman.

Many were skeptical about the hire of Mel Tucker away from Colorado after just one 5-7 season in 2019, but Michigan State saw the vision. Although he went 2-5 in his first season, he turned things around quickly with an 11-2 second year, capped off with a Peach Bowl win. On top of turning things around on the field, he’s recruiting at a very high level and he’s brought the excitement back to East Lansing.

I have Dave Aranda just one spot ahead of Tucker despite both coaches having similar turnarounds in two years at their respective schools. Why? Because Aranda won the Big 12 title last year and also won 12 games. On top of that, he also beat Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Baylor is going to be a favorite to win the Big 12 again. What a great hire this was.

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