So there are two elite coaches in the country?
If that's your definition, cool. It just clarifies things. I don't think there are 10 people in the country who would have the success that Kelly has had at ND. To me, that's elite. If you disagree with the premise (i.e., there are 10 elite coaches in the country), that's fine. If you disagree with the definition, that's just semantics.
Furthermore, Saban and Meyer aren't coming to South Bend. Urban flat out said that he didn't want that challenge.
I never argued who was coming to South Bend to replace BK. We are talking about who BK is as a coach. Nobody said we were trying to run BK out of town. I, in fact, said I hope he stays and continues to coach. I hope he wins a championship. But as of right now, he simply has not proven to be an elite coach at an elite (most fans still think of ND as elite) football program.
Further, elite means winning and winning consistently, regardless of the context. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are (have been) elite golfers, nobody would argue with that. There doesn't have to be a specific number of active elite at any given time, but the definition of the world elite points to those at the top of their profession over an extended period of time.
There are plenty of coaches who have done well in big time college programs over an extended period of time and can either be considered elite or in the process of putting together an elite coaching resume. Add Patterson and Stoops to the discussion. Even though Stoops has been less than top 3 coaches the last few years, his track record puts him the discussion of career elite. Stoops has eight conference titles, one conference division title, and a national championship to his name.
Les Miles has a national championship, conference title, and conference division title to his name. He has a 13-win, a 12-win, 3 11-win and two 10-win seasons to his name.
Jimbo Fisher (while being a scum bag) has a national championship, 3 conference titles, and one conference division title, a 14-win, a 13-win, a 12-win, and a 10-win season to his name in only 5 years at FSU. That's good.
Bill Snyder is near an elite but sort of elite minus. He has 2 conference titles and 3 conference division titles. No national championships, but he does have 5 11-win and 2 10-win seasons to his name. Near elite especially given his program disadvantages (location, school, recruiting).
Art Briles has 3 conference titles, one conference division title, 2 11-win and 2 10-win seasons to his name. He is not elite, but may be put in that discussion if he continues his current success at Baylor.
Marc Dantonio has 2 conference titles, a conference division title, a 13-win, 2 11-win, and a 10-win season to his name after 8 years at Michigan state.
Chris Peterson had 5 conference titles at Boise, including a 14-win, a 13-win, 3 12-win, and a 10-win season. He is now at Washington trying to rebuild that program.
i'd add a guy like Charlie Strong **if** he builds up a decent resume at Texas, but the jury is still out. What he did at Louisville was fantastic, and he is taking over an out of control program that needs discipline and focus. It will take a couple of years, but I expect that Texas will once again become a top program as we can began to discuss the merits of Strong as an elite head football coach.
BK is on the level of Sumlin, a guy who took a second tier program near the top and then has been less than elite at a top tier program. Both have had pretty good records and certainly can coach, but neither has won anything consistently yet while having multiple seasons of over 4 losses at their latest stop. Certainly, both have immense potential but neither are elite.
