Top coaches, Part Deux

By Tim Cottrell
Sports Writer/Designer
Published: May 29, 2008

As I mentioned in this post, I’ve been thinking long and hard about who the best coaches are in college football right now.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as easy a task as I thought it might be. There really are more good (or at least mediocre to above average) coaches than bad ones right now, at least roaming the sidelines for BCS schools.

So with that in mind, I thought of a few different ways to do this.

One would be to rate coaches simply on Xs and Os and game management, and see who came out on top there. Also, the coaches who can be perceived to be doing more with less would be high up this list, as well.

Second would be to rate the top coaches right now in terms of the total coaching package — coaching, recruiting, delegating to quality assistants, maintaining a program, being an ambassador for the program, etc. Because just being a good football coach doesn’t guarantee you big-time success, just as being good at only one of these other criteria won’t get you very far.

And I would also be remiss if I didn’t take a look at the career achievement awards — the coaches who have done the best job over the long haul, even if they aren’t necessarily at the top of the heap these days. I’m just going with BCS conferences, because at this point I’m not as familiar as I should be with non-BCS coaches.

So, here are the coaches who, in my opinion, are near the top when it comes to just coaching football.

1. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
Grobe has an unusual style when it comes to practice and preparation, but what he’s done at Wake Forest has been incredible. He’s compiled a 46-39 record in seven years, which might not be all that impressive until you consider they were 24-54 in the seven years preceding his arrival. I think it’s safe to say there’s only one school in the ACC where it’s more difficult to win in football (Duke) so what he’s done there is pretty special, highlighted by the 2006 ACC Championship.

2. Jim Tressel, Ohio State
Tressel arrived in Columbus to a team that had been long on talent but short on coaching and discipline during the John Cooper era, and promptly won a national championship in his second season. He has since won two more conference titles and played for two more national championships, and has the Buckeyes poised to dominate the Big 10 unchecked for another couple years until Rich Rodriguez gets things rolling at Michigan.

3. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Sure, he’s slipped a little bit since returning from the NFL and has finally relinquished play-calling duties, but the Ol Ball Coach still knows how to get it done. The fact that he was able to win at Georgia and beat Kentucky last season with the team he has (not to mention some of the other big wins and near-misses he’s had there) shows you what he can do.

4. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
All coaches pay lip service to winning with defense and special teams, but Beamer has lived it. While he’s never exactly had a dynamic offense, it hasn’t mattered because he’s always been so strong everywhere else. Just watch this season when ESPN does one of its obligatory Virginia Tech practice look-ins.

5. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Stoops took an Oklahoma program that had fallen on hard times and immediately turned it back into a national powerhouse. There have been plenty of slips over the years, but his time as a defensive coordinator at Kansas State and Florida showed he could coach, and he hasn’t shown any different in a decade as a head coach.

6. Nick Saban, Alabama
The man was able to beat Michigan a few times at Michigan State and nearly won a Big 10 title in his last year there (and had the good sense to get out while the getting was good) won a national title at LSU and brought in most of the major contributors to the team that won this year and has Alabama poised to be a national contender by the 2009 or 2010 season.

7. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
Yeah, there have been some questionable losses, and he’s not exactly the most high-character guy, but he’s a master of the spread offense. Whether it be as offensive coordinator at Tulane and Clemson or as head coach at West Virginia, he gave teams that didn’t have as much talent an equalizer. He’ll struggle this year at Michigan, but that was a program that needed a change and he was about as good a change (at least in a pure football sense) as they could hope for.

8 (tie). Butch Davis, North Carolina, and Urban Meyer, Florida
Davis built Miami back into a powerhouse before leaving for the NFL, and took North Carolina from laughingstock to competitive laughingstock in just his first season there. He’s a sharp mind, and he’ll have the Tar Heels rolling before long.

10. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
Croom is limited by a lot of factors where he is, which is why he will, ultimately, fail there, but there’s no denying he’s a first-class coach and person. He got Mississippi State back into a bowl game on the strength of a strong defense and a few sharp moves, and they’ll be competitive from here on out in an SEC that just keeps getting tougher.

Just missed the cut: Greg Schiano, Rutgers; Mike Bellotti, Oregon; Brett Bielema, Wisconsin; Brian Kelly, Cincinnati; Houston Nutt, Ole Miss; Tommy Tuberville, Auburn; Mike Leach, Texas Tech; Mark Mangino, Kansas; Jim Leavitt, South Florida; Jeff Tedford, California

So there you have it. As I’ve said, this is just one man’s opinion. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone (as I probably will with the other lists).

So now, we try to rank the top current coaches using every factor.

1. Pete Carroll, USC
Carroll isn’t the sharpest football mind in the world (see his time with the Jets and Patriots, in case you need evidence), but he can recruit, he’s a great ambassador for his program, he’s hiring fantastic assistants and he’s doing nothing but winning. The Pac-10 has gotten better in recent years, making things a bit tougher on him, but right now there’s not a guy running a stronger program.

2. Tressel
Has positioned himself at the top of his conference, with little resistance other than from Michigan (who will be a non-factor this year and probably next), and knows how to win.

3. Stoops
Has recruited like a madman and brought himself to the top of the Big 12,  and then watched all potential resistance (Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas State) other than Texas die painful deaths. This program is at the top for as long as he’s on top of his game.

4. Mack Brown, Texas
Another coach not incredibly high on the football IQ level, but knows how to pluck away sharp assistants (as Alabama and Auburn fans found out this year) and recruits unbelievably well. Brought Texas back from the doldrums.

5. Saban
Assuming he sticks around and stays interested (and hopefully avoids some of the snares his predecessors at the Capstone ran into), he’ll have Alabama right up there with the perennial contenders.

6. Meyer
Assuming he stops making up new recruiting tricks for the NCAA to ban, he’ll keep on recruiting well. I kind of question how long he’ll be able to maintain what he’s doing since he seems to be burning a lot of bridges, though.

7. Beamer
Right now has the destination spot in the ACC, and as long as he’s around (which I can’t imagine will be too much longer) the Hokies will be a force to be reckoned with nationally.

8. Mark Richt, Georgia
Took a program that seemed destined to always be an also-ran and has won two conference titles and looks to be preseason No. 1 this year (much more on that as we get closer to the season). Strong recruiter, great guy, can’t do much better.

9. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State
Has won everywhere he’s been. Already has Arizona State poised to challenge USC in the Pac-10, won two national championships at Miami.

10(tie). Rodriguez and Grobe
Rodriguez will struggle this year, but he’s at one of the two Big 10 schools that can actually win and win consistently, and assuming he recruits the kind of players he has been will run roughshod over everyone in conference other than Ohio State, and most everyone out of conference. Grobe won’t win any national titles, but the fact that he can build a competitive program at Wake Forest says a lot about him.

Just missed the cut: Leavitt; Randy Edsall, Connecticut; Tuberville, Les Miles, LSU; Gary Pinkel, Missouri

Sure to be on or very near this list by 2010: Davis; Bo Pelini, Nebraska; Bobby Petrino, Arkansas; Rick Neuheisel, UCLA

And as far as the career achievement award goes, I don’t really want to try to rank them, but at the top would obviously be Penn State’s Joe Paterno and Florida State’s Bobby Bowden.

I’m only including coaches I haven’t mentioned so far, so that only leaves Phil Fulmer of Tennessee and Joe Tiller of Purdue that I can think of, although you could certainly mention current N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien for the job he did while at Boston College.

As I’ve said, I’m sure I left someone out. By all means, let me know about it.