14 for '14: Best head coaches in college football

[Grahambo]

14 for '14: Best head coaches in college football | NFL.com

Um, BK?

 

[IrishLion]

I don't think Patterson belongs on that list at the moment.

But rankings like these are stupid regardless... you could flip-flop all of them outside of Saban and it doesn't make much difference. They're good coaches because they've all got their "niche," and ranking the importance of that "niche" is futile for the most part (I think).

 

[notredomer23]

Pretty terrible list IMO.

A top 10 without Spurrier, Miles, or Kelly is very surprising to me. Heck not even a mention of Malzahn, although I guess it could be a little early in his career for that.

for me, it would be :
1. Saban
2. Meyer
3. Dantonio
4. Snyder
5. Miles
6. Stoops
7. Spurrier
8. Fisher
9. Kelly
10. Peterson

 

[Bluto]

I think Dantonio and Shaw should be 1 and 2.

 

[Ndaccountant]

What's with all the love for Dantonio? I think he is a good coach, but not clearly above a Stoops, Miles, Richt, etc.

 

[Bluto]

What's with all the love for Dantonio? I think he is a good coach, but not clearly above a Stoops, Miles, Richt, etc.

He's done just as much as those guys with arguably less talent. Richt shouldn't even be in the conversation in my opinion considering his teams consistently underachieve.

 

[irishog77]

What's with all the love for Dantonio? I think he is a good coach, but not clearly above a Stoops, Miles, Richt, etc.

Yep.

He's a 9-4 coach (on average) in a terrible big 10 conference with a losing bowl record at michigan state.

 

[Corry]

He's done just as much as those guys with arguably less talent. Richt shouldn't even be in the conversation in my opinion considering his teams consistently underachieve.

He recruits the talent. Winning in spite of recruiting should not be a plus. If anything history has taught us that the most important aspect of being a HC is recruiting. For that reason it's Saban and everyone else.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

He recruits the talent. Winning in spite of recruiting should not be a plus. If anything history has taught us that the most important aspect of being a HC is recruiting. For that reason it's Saban and everyone else.

Agree, however at the same time, these coaches are not all on the same level playing field when it comes to recruiting. Schools like ND or Stanford offer great academics, but the challenges that come with it often deters top talent. Some schools simply dont have the social or academic benefits that are on par with other schools to offer players. And then you factor in the whole bagman idea and some of the other shady doings that go on at some schools and in some conferences that other schools don't have the interest, or in some cases the opportunity to offer.

I think for the purposes of a best "coaching" list, the criteria should relate more to the coaches ability to get most out of the players that they have on their team...there is no perfect formula for this...too many variables. Could Saban succeed as a head coach at Notre Dame? Maybe, but who knows. I think guys like D'Antonio and Kelly could excel anywhere, with or without academic challenges and having to do it above board. IMO, before he left for the NFL, Harbaugh was in a class of his own in the college coaching ranks.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I also think although it is early in his head coaching career, Charlie Strong deserves consideration here. Have to think Texas will be a juggernaut again in a few years.

 

[Ndaccountant]

He's done just as much as those guys with arguably less talent. Richt shouldn't even be in the conversation in my opinion considering his teams consistently underachieve.

I think if you would swap the two, MSU would do about the same or worse as what UGA does in the SEC. Hence, my comment on not a step above Richt. In my mind, they are about equals.

 

[GATTACA!]

He's done just as much as those guys with arguably less talent. Richt shouldn't even be in the conversation in my opinion considering his teams consistently underachieve.

Kelly always kicks his ass and actually has made it to a title game. Dantonio is a hipster flavor of the month pick. Kelly is a much better coach IMO.

 

[BobD]

Further proof that opinions are like assholes.....

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Although already rooted in opinion, that list will have a seismic shift in another 2 years.

Mora, Malzahn, BK, and Strong will be mainstays (if they stay).

 

[irishog77]

Charlie Strong isn't moving up any lists until he starts getting some players to UT.

His announcement as coach and last month surge in recruiting was a loud dud, and then the 1st year buzz and excitement boom most coaches are able to capitalize on...Chuck has somehow managed to get less people excited about his school.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Charlie Strong isn't moving up any lists until he starts getting some players to UT.

His announcement as coach and last month surge in recruiting was a loud dud, and then the 1st year buzz and excitement boom most coaches are able to capitalize on...Chuck has somehow managed to get less people excited about his school.

IIRC, that was the concern some UT fans had about him. He is not an outgoing guy that will play to the media like Brown did.

 

[Redbar]

Les Miles sits in one of the most talent rich (per capita) states in the country. He has always had good D coordinators Chavis has done a good job, but until he got Cam Cameron to coordinate the offense, he was exposing himself as not a very good coach. Even most LSU fans will tell you he is a moron. Very nice guy? Good motivator? Good recruiter (at the flagship school in the state)? Yep! Good head coach? Organized? Good offensive mind? Heck no!

There is a reason he will never leave that job, even for Michigan, because you can win a lot of games and recruiting battles being average at LSU.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Les Miles sits in one of the most talent rich (per capita) states in the country. He has always had good D coordinators Chavis has done a good job, but until he got Cam Cameron to coordinate the offense, he was exposing himself as not a very good coach. Even most LSU fans will tell you he is a moron. Very nice guy? Good motivator? Good recruiter (at the flagship school in the state)? Yep! Good head coach? Organized? Good offensive mind? Heck no!

There is a reason he will never leave that job, even for Michigan, because you can win a lot of games and recruiting battles being average at LSU.

Then I guess that means DiNardo was the equivalent to Ty?

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Les Miles sits in one of the most talent rich (per capita) states in the country. He has always had good D coordinators Chavis has done a good job, but until he got Cam Cameron to coordinate the offense, he was exposing himself as not a very good coach. Even most LSU fans will tell you he is a moron. Very nice guy? Good motivator? Good recruiter (at the flagship school in the state)? Yep! Good head coach? Organized? Good offensive mind? Heck no!

There is a reason he will never leave that job, even for Michigan, because you can win a lot of games and recruiting battles being average at LSU.

I'm in the minority, but think Miles is a hell of a coach. IMO, he fields one of the only teams that consistently hangs with, or beats Bama.

 

[Redbar]

Then I guess that means DiNardo was the equivalent to Ty?

Saban did the work on building the walls around the state, which is why he can come in and take a few great ones, Miles has benefitted from the modern day SEC which is very home state oriented.

 

[Redbar]

I'm in the minority, but think Miles is a hell of a coach. IMO, he fields one of the only teams that consistently hangs with, or beats Bama.

I live around, work with, and am literally up to my eyeballs in Tiger fans, up until the Cam Cameron hiring most of them wanted his head. Today I would say most realize he is better than average and aren't calling for his head. He usually has the team ready to play, but his sideline decisions and situational awareness are sometimes baffling. When they are going up against an evenly matched opponent less Les is usually better for the team.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

He usually has the team ready to play, but his sideline decisions and situational awareness are sometimes baffling.

This is his detractors biggest argument, but for every "D'oh!" moment, he does pull some rabbits out of his hat. He is the textbook definition of a riverboat gambler.

It seems some people like to say he is an "idiot" when a mistake is made, but dismiss the positive gambles as "lucky." His record speaks for itself IMO.

 

[Redbar]

This is his detractors biggest argument, but for every "D'oh!" moment, he does pull some rabbits out of his hat. He is the textbook definition of a riverboat gambler.

It seems some people like to say he is an "idiot" when a mistake is made, but dismiss the positive gambles as "lucky." His record speaks for itself IMO.

I hear you and I am not trying to change your mind or anything but that year where he kept rolling the dice, he admittedly didn't realize it was fourth down on one and his decisions leading up to some of the "gambles" necessitated the need to "gamble". Also the fact that to lose to Tennessee and Ole Miss at that time would have had the "bag men" calling for his head. He is very popular with the University big wigs and I think his record has rightfully earned him some leeway with the diehards.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Les has been a victim of his own success somewhat. He finally gets a decent QB in Mett (baggage and all) but he lost so much on defense it really hurt him. Plus, his handling of off the field issues leave a lot to be desired. Still, he seems to always have his teams right there in the mix most years. Top 10 coach? Probably not given all the talent he has. Able to beat anyone on any given Saturday? Absolutely.

He has a pretty solid team again but the QB situation will need to work itself out and a few new faces on defense will have to step up.

 

[T Town Tommy]

On the "list"...

don't put much stock in to off season lists for anything. There are several great coaches at lesser schools and if given the right opportunity they could thrive.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

delete

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Yep.

He's a 9-4 coach (on average) in a terrible big 10 conference with a losing bowl record at michigan state.

There is no need to bring Bo Pelini into this.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I really don't get the hype around D'Antonio either. I work with a MSU fan, and he realizes it's not D'Antonio that is making the team, but Pat Narduzzi. It's easy to field a consistently good defense when you have arguably the best DC in college football on staff.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I don't care about any of those guys except "my guy". And with Kelly everything I see says "great coach." He overhauls entire systems, not just offenses and defenses, but strength, nutrition, sociology/team-building, fine detail, recruiting scope and cleverness, on and on.... Had he had any luck at all with a well-rounded quarterback, he'd be a Notre Dame legend already, just like he is a legend at every other stop he's had.

I had to suffer through Terry Brennan and Joe Kuharich in my undergrad days, getting the "honor" of being in the second ND class to graduate with a football team with a four year losing record. When we healed over thanks to Parseghian and Devine, life started feeling good again on saturdays --- we still didn't win every game by the way. Then along comes Lou and you could just see that he was a genius.

After watching Faust and Willingham and even the lop-sided competence/incompetence of Charlie, Coach Kelly is frankly awesome --- he is, despite his different personality, just like Ara and Lou. I saw this in him as soon as some of his policies and philosophy became clear. We are blessed, gentlemen. We REALLY need to keep him. He's in Saban's and Meyer's class, and a much better person as a CEO.

The list? Who gives a sh!t?

 

[tussin]

I don't care about any of those guys except "my guy". And with Kelly everything I see says "great coach." He overhauls entire systems, not just offenses and defenses, but strength, nutrition, sociology/team-building, fine detail, recruiting scope and cleverness, on and on.... Had he had any luck at all with a well-rounded quarterback, he'd be a Notre Dame legend already, just like he is a legend at every other stop he's had.

I had to suffer through Terry Brennan and Joe Kuharich in my undergrad days, getting the "honor" of being in the second ND class to graduate with a football team with a four year losing record. When we healed over thanks to Parseghian and Devine, life started feeling good again on saturdays --- we still didn't win every game by the way. Then along comes Lou and you could just see that he was a genius.

After watching Faust and Willingham and even the lop-sided competence/incompetence of Charlie, Coach Kelly is frankly awesome --- he is, despite his different personality, just like Ara and Lou. I saw this in him as soon as some of his policies and philosophy became clear. We are blessed, gentlemen. We REALLY need to keep him. He's in Saban's and Meyer's class, and a much better person as a CEO.

The list? Who gives a sh!t?

Yeah, pretty much this.

OMM eluded to it, but I think Kelly's biggest strength is his ability to completely adapt and overhaul his offensive and defensive philosophies based on the current roster. He is really one of a few head coaches in the country that can do that. In fact, I don't think I can think of one other that does it as well as BK. Kudos to him, I don't think many of us will realize how great he is until he is gone.