Athlon CFB Coach Rankings

#1      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
#2      

LurkLongandProsper

L
C-U
LurkLongandProsper
I wouldn't worry about these. There are 65 teams in the P5, and they put Lovie at #65. Considering he is a brand new (head) coach to CFB, it's not unreasonable to make him do something before trying to place him. He's given benefit of the doubt to be placed above the trash of the P5 (hazell, for example) when you consider ND and coaches like Herman, etc are in there. No issues with the placement
 
#3      

AutoPoster 3000

AutoPoster 3000
AutoPoster 3000
I'm not sure what D.J. Durkin has accomplished to rank five spots ahead of Lovie Smith. 38 years old and zero head coach experience. I get it, they're hoping to catch lightning in a bottle there but hiring a HC that young tends to blow up in your face as often as it works out.
 
#4      

GameOfThrows

G
GameOfThrows
Apparently Athlon isn't impressed by a man with a winning career record in the NFL, most spent in the Bears organization who lacked (and still do) a franchise QB.

Oh, and he led a Rex Grossman-quarterbacked team to the Super Bowl. He also almost got the Bears to the Super Bowl for a second time but had to face Aaron Rodgers in the 2nd half of the NFC title game with Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie behind center. (lost by only one TD by the way)

I've never been a Bears fan, so I can look at this more objectively than a lot of Illini fans, but I think Lovie Smith will be quite successful coaching in college. He had a career record in the NFL of 89-87. Take out his first season in Chicago (5-11, QB carousel of injured Rex Grossman, Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, and Jonathan Quinn) and Tampa Bay (2-14, rookie QB) and Lovie Smith's record for his other 9 seasons is 82-62. That is 82-62 and "a second year James Winston" might be the best QB he ever had! (note: Jay Cutler is 67-67 as a starter in the NFL, decent at best, literally average actually)

I am quite happy to have the 65th best coach in college football on our sideline!!!

Go Illini. Let's take the West!

PS: forgot to mention that by comparison in limited sample sizes of 2 seasons each, Nick Saban (15-17) and Steve Spurrier (12-20) couldn't even crack .500. Both of those coaches are on their way to the college football Hall Of Fame I think.
 
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#5      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
They kinda did a poor job of defining the criteria there, lets try to do better!

First of all, in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons, it's tough to mix Power Five and non-Power Five guys. The jobs are too different and the guys are in too different of stages of their careers. Let's stick with the P5.

And then you have to come up with a clear criteria. Listing the most accomplished coaches biases the list towards old guys that might be past their best and undervalues excellent new prospects. You could also do a hot seat ranking, but that punishes coaches in elite jobs for the higher expectations that they've helped create.

I think the best way to do it is as a fantasy draft. If a random (geographically neutral) school were drafting coaches, what order would they go in? This is assuming the coach takes over and brings their whole staff with them in an effort to build a program over time. So age matters. It's a "who would you trade for who?" analysis.

Let's do it!

1. Urban Meyer
2. Jim Harbaugh
3. Nick Saban (I refuse to believe a 64 year old would go ahead of Meyer or Harbaugh)
4. Jimbo Fisher
5. Bob Stoops
6. Dabo Swinney
7. Mark Dantonio
8. Brian Kelly
9. Gary Patterson
10. David Shaw
11. Jim McElwain
12. Dan Mullen
13. Hugh Freeze
14. Mike Gundy
15. Pat Narduzzi
16. Chris Petersen
17. Les Miles
18. Pat Fitzgerald
19. Bret Bielema
20. Kirk Ferentz
21. Jim Mora Jr.
22. Butch Jones
23. Todd Graham
24. Justin Fuente
25. David Cutcliffe
26. Sonny Dykes
27. Kirby Smart
28. Mark Richt
29. Kyle Whittingham
30. Bobby Petrino
31. Mark Helfrich
32. Gus Malzahn
33. Kevin Sumlin
34. James Franklin
35. Lovie Smith
36. Paul Johnson (should be 20 spots higher, but people discriminate against his offense)
37. Charlie Strong
38. Rich Rodriguez
39. Dino Babers
40. Larry Fedora
41. Paul Chryst
42. Mike Leach
43. Mark Stoops
44. Bronco Mendenhall
45. Dana Holgorsen
46. Will Muschamp
47. Matt Campbell
48. Dave Doeren
49. Mike Riley
50. DJ Durkin
51. Barry Odom
52. Clay Helton
53. Kliff Kingsbury
54. Bill Snyder (Not fair to him, but he has very little value starting something new)
55. Chris Ash
56. Gary Andersen
57. Steve Addazio
58. Jim Grobe
59. Derek Mason
60. Dave Clawson
61. Kevin Wilson
62. David Beaty
63. Tracy Claeys
64. Mike MacIntyre
65. Darrell Hazell
 
#6      

GameOfThrows

G
GameOfThrows
At the risk of sounding like a total lunatic, there are only a handful of college coaches that I would even consider taking over Lovie Smith.

Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dantonio, Patterson, Shaw, Fisher, Miles, Stoops, Mora, Swinney, Peterson, Kelly, and Herman. That's about it imho.

You could certainly make a case for Bielesma, Mullin, Richt, Sumlin, Gundy, Babers, Fedora, Strong, Narduzzi, Helfricht, Cutcliffe, Fuente and Brohm and maybe a few others, but I look at this list and think, Lovie Smith is as good or better than any of those coaches.

Though successful, I wouldn't want Petrino or Freeze.

Coaching in the NFL is so much more competitive and difficult than in college especially if you do not have a franchise QB which Lovie never had.
 
#7      

AutoPoster 3000

AutoPoster 3000
AutoPoster 3000
In some respects the list illustrates to me why Lovie's ceiling is so high here. So many of the coaches between #30 and #90 are interchangeable. Was a good assistant/coordinator. Was a good recruiter. Got their HC break after 10-20 years climbing the ladder in CFB with maybe one or two brief NFL stints. Hell, that pretty much describes even Beckman. Lovie just leaps off the page from that pack even if you aren't an Illini fan. He's in a totally different mold. Certain recruits are going to hone in on that. They have to.
 
#8      

IAmChrisFarley

I
IAmChrisFarley
Second and Chalmers said:
They kinda did a poor job of defining the criteria there, lets try to do better!



First of all, in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons, it's tough to mix Power Five and non-Power Five guys. The jobs are too different and the guys are in too different of stages of their careers. Let's stick with the P5.



And then you have to come up with a clear criteria. Listing the most accomplished coaches biases the list towards old guys that might be past their best and undervalues excellent new prospects. You could also do a hot seat ranking, but that punishes coaches in elite jobs for the higher expectations that they've helped create.



I think the best way to do it is as a fantasy draft. If a random (geographically neutral) school were drafting coaches, what order would they go in? This is assuming the coach takes over and brings their whole staff with them in an effort to build a program over time. So age matters. It's a "who would you trade for who?" analysis.



Let's do it!



1. Urban Meyer

2. Jim Harbaugh

3. Nick Saban (I refuse to believe a 64 year old would go ahead of Meyer or Harbaugh)

4. Jimbo Fisher

5. Bob Stoops

6. Dabo Swinney

7. Mark Dantonio

8. Brian Kelly

9. Gary Patterson

10. David Shaw

11. Jim McElwain

12. Dan Mullen

13. Hugh Freeze

14. Mike Gundy

15. Pat Narduzzi

16. Chris Petersen

17. Les Miles

18. Pat Fitzgerald

19. Bret Bielema

20. Kirk Ferentz

21. Jim Mora Jr.

22. Butch Jones

23. Todd Graham

24. Justin Fuente

25. David Cutcliffe

26. Sonny Dykes

27. Kirby Smart

28. Mark Richt

29. Kyle Whittingham

30. Bobby Petrino

31. Mark Helfrich

32. Gus Malzahn

33. Kevin Sumlin

34. James Franklin

35. Lovie Smith

36. Paul Johnson (should be 20 spots higher, but people discriminate against his offense)

37. Charlie Strong

38. Rich Rodriguez

39. Dino Babers

40. Larry Fedora

41. Paul Chryst

42. Mike Leach

43. Mark Stoops

44. Bronco Mendenhall

45. Dana Holgorsen

46. Will Muschamp

47. Matt Campbell

48. Dave Doeren

49. Mike Riley

50. DJ Durkin

51. Barry Odom

52. Clay Helton

53. Kliff Kingsbury

54. Bill Snyder (Not fair to him, but he has very little value starting something new)

55. Chris Ash

56. Gary Andersen

57. Steve Addazio

58. Jim Grobe

59. Derek Mason

60. Dave Clawson

61. Kevin Wilson

62. David Beaty

63. Tracy Claeys

64. Mike MacIntyre

65. Darrell Hazell
Click to expand...



You can't have Harbaugh over Saban. Harbaugh doesn't have a championship, doesn't have a P5 conference championship, and well, Saban is Saban. With this said, Harbaugh can put himself in the top 2-4 spots in the next few years, but not right now.

Urban and Saban are head and shoulders above the rest right now.
 
#9      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
IAmChrisFarley said:
You can't have Harbaugh over Saban. Harbaugh doesn't have a championship, doesn't have a P5 conference championship, and well, Saban is Saban.
Click to expand...

Saban is also 64, 12 years older than Harbaugh, and he also just lost his most trusted assistant.

This isn't who is the better coach, this is who would you pick to take over your program right now and into the future.

Leave aside whatever character concerns you have, you would take Nick Saban to take over at Illinois right now instead of Jim Harbaugh? I would humbly disagree.
 
#10      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
Second and Chalmers said:
They kinda did a poor job of defining the criteria there, lets try to do better!

First of all, in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons, it's tough to mix Power Five and non-Power Five guys. The jobs are too different and the guys are in too different of stages of their careers. Let's stick with the P5.

And then you have to come up with a clear criteria. Listing the most accomplished coaches biases the list towards old guys that might be past their best and undervalues excellent new prospects. You could also do a hot seat ranking, but that punishes coaches in elite jobs for the higher expectations that they've helped create.

I think the best way to do it is as a fantasy draft. If a random (geographically neutral) school were drafting coaches, what order would they go in? This is assuming the coach takes over and brings their whole staff with them in an effort to build a program over time. So age matters. It's a "who would you trade for who?" analysis.

Let's do it!

1. Urban Meyer
2. Jim Harbaugh
3. Nick Saban (I refuse to believe a 64 year old would go ahead of Meyer or Harbaugh)
4. Jimbo Fisher
5. Bob Stoops
6. Dabo Swinney
7. Mark Dantonio
8. Brian Kelly
9. Gary Patterson
10. David Shaw
11. Jim McElwain
12. Dan Mullen
13. Hugh Freeze
14. Mike Gundy
15. Pat Narduzzi
16. Chris Petersen
17. Les Miles
18. Pat Fitzgerald
19. Bret Bielema
20. Kirk Ferentz
21. Jim Mora Jr.
22. Butch Jones
23. Todd Graham
24. Justin Fuente
25. David Cutcliffe
26. Sonny Dykes
27. Kirby Smart
28. Mark Richt
29. Kyle Whittingham
30. Bobby Petrino
31. Mark Helfrich
32. Gus Malzahn
33. Kevin Sumlin
34. James Franklin
35. Lovie Smith
36. Paul Johnson (should be 20 spots higher, but people discriminate against his offense)
37. Charlie Strong
38. Rich Rodriguez
39. Dino Babers
40. Larry Fedora
41. Paul Chryst
42. Mike Leach
43. Mark Stoops
44. Bronco Mendenhall
45. Dana Holgorsen
46. Will Muschamp
47. Matt Campbell
48. Dave Doeren
49. Mike Riley
50. DJ Durkin
51. Barry Odom
52. Clay Helton
53. Kliff Kingsbury
54. Bill Snyder (Not fair to him, but he has very little value starting something new)
55. Chris Ash
56. Gary Andersen
57. Steve Addazio
58. Jim Grobe
59. Derek Mason
60. Dave Clawson
61. Kevin Wilson
62. David Beaty
63. Tracy Claeys
64. Mike MacIntyre
65. Darrell Hazell
Click to expand...

Mark Richt a lot lower than I would have him. That was a ton of success at UGA. I know he never won the "big" one, but hanging around 10 wins each year is a lot. 15 years at GA, 145-51, 83-37 in the SEC, almost 50 games over .500.
 
#11      

IAmChrisFarley

I
IAmChrisFarley
Second and Chalmers said:
Saban is also 64, 12 years older than Harbaugh, and he also just lost his most trusted assistant.



This isn't who is the better coach, this is who would you pick to take over your program right now and into the future.



Leave aside whatever character concerns you have, you would take Nick Saban to take over at Illinois right now instead of Jim Harbaugh? I would humbly disagree.
Click to expand...



Give me Saban over Harbaugh for the next decade. Coaches can coach well into their 70's, and Saban will be at Bama as long as they're national title contenders.

Harbaugh won't be at Michigan for another decade, let alone another 5-6 years.

BTW, his most trusted assistant is still on staff. His name is Scott Cochran.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#14      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
I'd have Chris Petersen a bit higher on that list. What he built at Boise State was nothing short of amazing, and he sustained it for several years before he left. He's starting to get UW on the right track, as well. He's only 51, too. Richt should be Top 20. Lovie would definitely be at least Top 25-30 for me, unproven at the college level or not.
 
#16      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
Second and Chalmers said:
Is he? The harder I look at what he's doing there, the less I see.

He would have been top 10 two years ago. I think his stock has taken a hit since then.
Click to expand...

He didn't inherit a lot there, similar to what Lovie is starting with here. I have confidence they'll both get there.
 
#17      

IAmChrisFarley

I
IAmChrisFarley
Second and Chalmers said:
Is he? The harder I look at what he's doing there, the less I see.



He would have been top 10 two years ago. I think his stock has taken a hit since then.
Click to expand...



Sark's players didn't fit his style, but I do agree with you. He should have stayed at Boise and been the Mark Few of college football.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#18      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
BananaShampoo said:
He didn't inherit a lot there, similar to what Lovie is starting with here.
Click to expand...

Huh? He inherited 3 straight Top 25 classes from Sark (a level of recruiting that he has not kept up btw) and they were ranked in the preseason his first year.

I'm not giving up on him, but I don't think there's any logic pretzel you can twist that doesn't make his first two years there a disappointment based on the (well deserved) hype.
 
#19      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
Second and Chalmers said:
Huh? He inherited 3 straight Top 25 classes from Sark (a level of recruiting that he has not kept up btw) and they were ranked in the preseason his first year.

I'm not giving up on him, but I don't think there's any logic pretzel you can twist that doesn't make his first two years there a disappointment based on the (well deserved) hype.
Click to expand...
Like IAmChrisFarley alluded to above, the players he inherited didn't fit his style of play/coaching. Give him another year or two and I can see them doing big things. I do agree with Farley again, though, that he should have stayed in Boise. He had a good thing going!
 
#20      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
I'm thinking 1. Saban; 2. Harbaugh; and 3. Meyer. I like where Lovie has been placed in the couple of lists above. Love has a good enough track record to be there, with room to rise up if he succeeds and room to drop if he doesn't.