Saturday Blitz
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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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Dec 31, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell takes the field with his team prior to the game against the the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2021 Cotton Bowl college football CFP national semifinal game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell takes the field with his team prior to the game against the the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2021 Cotton Bowl college football CFP national semifinal game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

If you told me a decade ago that Luke Fickell would be one of the top 10 coaches in college football, I would have had you committed. He took over as interim head coach following the Jim Tressel debacle and he posted a losing record in his first season with the Buckeyes. He was quickly replaced by Urban Meyer.

Fickell’s alma mater didn’t want to give him another chance to prove himself in 2012 and he slid into a defensive coordinator role with the Buckeyes under Meyer for five seasons.

Fickell quickly worked his way into the national spotlight as a national title-winning coordinator in 2014 and then three years later, he accepted a job at Cincinnati. He’s been with the Bearcats ever since.

It’s hard to list a Group of Five coach this high, but Fickell has really been that dominant in the AAC and even led the Bearcats to the playoff in 2021. Cincinnati became the first-ever Group of Five team to make the playoff thanks to Fickell.

Some day he’s going to make a Power Five program very happy and become its head coach.

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