If you could choose any college coach to run your program, who would your top 5 choices be? Keep in mind that to be successful in the college game you need to be both a skilled game coach and a skilled recruiter (failure to bring in top recruits has doomed many good coaches on the college level.) Mine goes as follows: 1) Jim Tressell: A master game coach who knows how to do just enough to win. His players go to war for him every game, and his sparkling record in the Big 10 (especially against archrival Michigan) is just an added bonus. His ability to replenish the Buckeye's talent year in and year out is just an added bonus. 2) Pete Carroll: I don't particularly like Carroll, but his accomplishments at USC are undeniable. His teams have always been slightly overrated due to weak PAC 10 competition, but he's amassed an amazing amount of talent and won an amazing amount of games. 3) Tommy Tuberville: Tuberville is probably the most surprising name on this list, but in my opinion you can't leave him off. He's created and led some really talented teams in the toughest conference in college football by far and IMO if he played in the PAC 10 or the Big XII he could have a dynasty going at Auburn. 4) Bob Stoops: Stoops' job at Oklahoma has been remarkable, and the fact that the last few seasons for the Sooners have been considered "down years" shows the powerhouse that he has built. Like Tressell, he has a remarkable conference record, especially against his chief rival Texas. The only reason that he doesn't come in higher on this list for me is because he's playing against inferior competition (the Big XII is cakewalk outside of the Sooners and Longhorns.) 5) Urban Meyer: The only reason that Meyer is not higher on my list is because he didn't win at Florida with his own players. He's clearly an offensive genious and a good motivator, but he has to prove that he can bring in a powerhouse team of his own. If anybody has the potential to move high up this list in only a few years, it's Meyer. HM: Nick Saban, Mack Brown, Jeff Tedford, Rich Rodriguez
W/ what Carroll has done at USC I'd have to put him at the top. Tressell is grat but Carroll played for the title in 3 straight years.
A lot of people talk about Kirk Ferentz, now I don't follow college sports all that closely, but why is his reputation so big if he's not one of your top 10 coaches? Is he over-hyped?
I say yes, Ferentz is a little overhyped. He's done a nice job at Iowa, but the bottom line is that he's only 3-3 in bowl games and he's never reached a BCS. He has to prove a little more to leapfrog the other guys on my list.
It's not that those are bad names but I do have some complaints I think Tuberville while a good coach should not be on that list. I understand that the SEC is a tough conference but the bottom line is results. Aside from the year they should have played in the title game Auburn hasn't been close to a national title. I don't undertsand how you can knock Meyer for winning with a talented yet underachieving team coached by Zook when Tressel did the same with John Cooper's players (with the exception of Clarett). When I read the title my initial thought was Bob Stoops #1 but have sinced changed my #1. #5) I think this is highly debatable but Greg Schiano, he took over the worst program maybe in college football history and last year Rutgers was a dropped pass away from the Orange Bowl. He recruits well and he is obviously a great coach. You might say he needs to win more before he is on this list but IMO what he has done at Rutgers is leaps and bounds what any coach has done at any school in the last 10 years. #4) Paul Johnson: I know when you saw this you said who? Where does he coach. Well he is the coach at the US Naval Acadamy and he has done an amazing job with the Middies. I undertsand he hasn't been to any BCS bowls or beaten anybody that is an elite team but considering he doesn't even get to recruit his players and doesn't know who any of them are until they enroll in August to have a team play in 4 bowl games is an amazing accomplishment. Even more so in 5 years at Navy he is 5-0 against Army and 4-1 against Air Force for the most dominating run in service acadamy history. He also had Navy ranked in the top 25 season ending poll for the 1st time since 1963. Was 2004 Bobby Dodd coach of the year and finalist for both Bear Bryant and Eddie Robinson awards following 2003 season. #3) Urban Meyer: Has had results everywhere he has coached. Bowling Green results, Utah took them to the BCS and had them on winning track a year before that BCS run although Ron Meyer did a good job at Utah before him Meyer made Utah a national story and now at Florida 2nd season and a national title. I don't think it's that hard to win at Florida but I am not basing this on his previous results but Florida wasn't exactly a national title contender under Ron Zook. #2) Bob Stoops: He took over a dead Oklahoma program. When the most exciting player produced by Oklahoma in the 90's was Cale Gundy there are problems. Stoops has won a national title and played in another and maybe was screwed out of one this year. Maybe the competition in the Big 12 isn't great but while Stoops has been at Oklahoma Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas State have all played in BCS Bowl games so it's more than just Texas and Oklahoma. #1) Pete Carroll: Like Oklahoma USC was a dead program when Carroll took over. Under Paul Hackett (no surprise) USC was one of the worst programs in the PAC 10 losing annually to teams like Washington St, Arizona and Stanford. Carroll has 2 national titles and if not for Vince Young a 3rd. He has played in 5 BCS games and have lost a total of 3 games in the PAC 10 the last 4 years. He does it all, recruit, win and have fun. If there was ever a coach meant for the college game it was Carroll. Honorable mention: Jim Tressell, Mark Richt, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, June Jones Guys you have never heard of: Gary Patterson TCU, Bronko Mendenhall BYU, Chris Ault Nevada
1) Urban Meyers 2) Tressel 3) Tuberville 4) Schiano 5) Stoops 6) Carroll 7) JOE-PA 8) BOWDEN 9) Beamer
Spurrior should be top 10, his record at Florida speaks for itself, and he is slowly turning around South Carolina into an SEC force....they have the number 5 overall recruiting class coming in this season in the nation....number 5, and for South Carolina to do that is really amazing, watch out for them in the next 2 or 3 years.
beat me to it...too bad usc is losing sidney rice, but they could be a sleeper team next year, and definitely a force in the next few
If Spurrier can get the gamecocks to the top of the SEC, then he jumps to the top of my list. Same thing with Nick Saban.
They have the best WR recruiting class in the nation coming in ranked by rivals.com.....including a 5 star recruit that is 6-1 200 and says he runs a 4.27! They also have like 3 or 4 other 4 star WR's coming in....Sidney Rice will be a loss, but not such a big one when you consider that.
1. Pete Carroll 2. Urban Meyer IMO, these 2 are so far away from the rest of the pack because their team (in Meyer's case - teams) have been amazingly dominant in the last 5-10 years. 3. Tressell Has gotten very lucky in one NC game and looked like crap in the other, but still a fantastic recruiter and great defensive mind. 4. Spurrier Offensive genius, who dominated at Florida and is slowly building up South Carolina to a powerhouse. I put him over Schiano because he's doing this in the SEC, while Schiano in the Big East. 5. Schiano To take a team with absolutely nothing good about them except playing in the first game ever and make them a BCS contender in 4 years is amazing. Outstanding. Remarkable. Tip your hat, he may be moving up on this list in the coming years.
I had Spurrier in my honorable mention. I think what he did at Duke and what he is doing at South Carolina is more impressive than what he did at Florida. I might be crazy in saying that but I think most good coaches could have Florida a national power on a yearly basis. That is not a knock on the guy but moreso on Ron Zook. I think there are alot of good college football coaches that get passed over in this conversation. I think a guy like Mike Price is an incredible coach and most people only remember him from the screw up at Alabama but he took Wazzou to 2 Rose Bowls. I think Joe Tiller at Purdue is another good coach but because Purdue isn't exactly a powerhouse he gets overlooked. Of course playing Michigan and Ohio State every year make it easy for him to get overlooked. I think Mack Brown is another great coach, look what he did at North Carolina before he won a national title at Texas. He had a basketball school in the preseason championship discussion at least twice. Phil Fulmer another great coach. Rocky Long is name most people don't know but he led New Mexico to like 4 bowls in the last 7 years. Before that they had only played in 2 bowls and way back in the 60s. This was a good topic so I think we should try to keep the discussion going....
let them chase bowden and joe pa, cuz the lists see here are top 5 coaches looking into the future. otherwise uve left out the greats.
I agree with a lot of your points, but I just can't see Schiano (who has had one really good season in the Big East) over Tuberville (who has built a consistent power in the SEC.) A few other underrated coaches IMO are Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech and Pat Hill at Fresno State.
Urban Meyer took an unknown Utah Team and made them a BCS contender....He made Alex Smith a top draft pick (who since has seemed to have flamed out) He took over a Ron Zook team....and within two years had them win the national championship. Sorry but HE is the best coach in colelge right now. I would also say that Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia is a very unheralded coach. He took a WVU team that was pretty crappy and has turned them into a national contender.
I do agree with both of these coaches being high up, but Alex Smith has not flamed out. On a team where he has no offensive weapons except a decent #2 WR and an overrated TE, he put up a so-so season and has made great strides. We'll see how he is in 2 years before we form a true, bold opinion on him.
i think Dick Tomey of San Jose State deserves honorable mention...how about a turnaround for a team who has so little in the recruting , and winning a bowl game after so many years of misery
Gotta go with the Visor. Spurrier always manages to keep it interesting, even when he doesn't have too much to work with.
i agree all the people above are solid coaches but a very underrated coach is Tom Obrien who is now at NC State who was a strict discipline guy at BC who established a very reputable program. He may not be near the top but id love to see him in the NFL, reminds me of a mix of Coughlin(Pre Giants) Discipline attitude and Mangini-esque ability to bring in players under the radar and have them produce and contribute to their full potential
