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Top Coaches in College Football (Merged All)

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If you guys don't mind me throwing in a Div.III coach, my #1 would be
Larry Kehres of Mount Union. His numbers are really unbelieveable.
In his 19th year.
119-1 in the last 12 regular season games.
205-18-3 career.
Div. III coach of the year 7 times.

This guy has had numerous offers from DI schools but has turned them down repeatedly as he simply loves Mount Union.
 
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Sloopy45: Pete Carroll: Hasn't proven he can run the table yet, and loses a lot of games that he shouldn't. He lost 2 games in '02 with one of the best teams in the country, and lost to the Fighting Tedfords with the best team in the country last year.

That doesn't sound too much different than good old Lloyd, other than '97. Pounded at home by Iowa two years ago and losses to fairly weak Oregon and Notre Dame teams in the last two years. Carroll has been pulling in some outstanding recruiting classes as of late and turned around USC's program. scUM was not in the shape USC was when Lloyd took over. They both have a split national championship.
 
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Mudvayne: Before I go any further, I want to say that I am not criticizing Carroll. My negative comments about him are in comparison with Lloyd Carr.

"That doesn't sound too much different than good old Lloyd, other than '97."

But the fact remains: he did it and Carroll hasn't. Undefeated seasons don't happen too often in any particular coaches' career. Woody coached 28 years and he did it thrice (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). Bobby Bowden's been coaching forever and he has only ran the table once. The fact that Lloyd did it (even if it is only once), and Carroll's teams haven't is relevant to me.

You can also make a strong argument that the '97 scUM team was inferior talent-wise to the '03 Trojans and played much, much tougher competition ('97 Big Ten vs. '03 Pac 10). The '97 scUM team had to go through a very good Ohio State team, a very good PSU team, and a decent Wazu team in the Rose Bowl that year. That's another argument in favor of Carr. When he had the team to do it, he did it.

"Pounded at home by Iowa two years ago and losses to fairly weak Oregon and Notre Dame teams in the last two years."

I can't argue against that. Again, Lloyd and Carroll may have the same weakness as a coach (losing games that they shouldn't), but Carr (IMO) has all of my aforementioned positives that make me rank him ahead of Carroll.

"They both have a split national championship."

Hang on a sec. First off, Lloyd's championship was an undefeated season. Carroll's wasn't. The only thing that kept dUMb from winning it outright was the fact that the BCS wasn't in place, and the stupid Big Ten/Pac-10 Rose Bowl rule was. Carroll lost a game and was at the mercy of the computers. Big Difference.
 
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There should be a little love for Larry Coker, even if many of us aren't fond of his team. He's a solid recruiter and game day coach, always beats his rivals, had a 34 game win streak going, hasn't been in any bowl game other than a BCS game, and has the toughest job in the country -- keeping the egos of his players in check. :p

I wouldn't put him at #1, but I think he's consistently the most under-rated coach in the country. His teams are generally well-prepared and fundamentally sound. I'd put him ahead of Carroll.

Top 5:

1. Tressel. Recruiting, preparation, game day coaching, and keeping his team cool under pressure. He may not run the Fun and Gun, but Al Davis would love him -- "Just win, baby!"

2. Bob Stoops. Letting his teams come out flat for big games loses points. What happened last year? Kansas State? Oklahoma was better than that. A LOT better. Otherwise, he's another guy who recruits the talent and gives them a winning game plan. Wins over arch-rival Texas are great, but what about OK State?

3. Coker. For all the reasons listed above. If we couldn't have Tressel as HC, I'd take Coker.

4. Richt. Georgia is resurgent for one reason only, their coach. He's recruited well, and his teams play fundamentally sound. Getting to play in the BCS bowls is one thing, but you have to make the big dance to get higher on the list.

5. Bob Pruett. I agree, those in-game adjustments were pretty impressive. It's also impressive what he's done with a program that was I-AA not too long ago. Can you imagine Tressel bringing Y-town State into D1A, then a few years later going into the 'shoe and taking OSU down to the wire? How in the hell he ever gets players to Huntington, WVa is beyond me. That town has ZERO to offer. BTW, if you're questioning this ranking, ask yourself this -- "If Bob Pruett got hired at Michigan tomorrow, how would I feel?" Yeah, #5.
 
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lots of good coaches for this.. lets see

tressel :)
myer X
franchionne(sp) X
stoops :)
carrol X
richt X
pruett X
alvarez :(
ferentz :)
coker :(
holtz :(
carr X
saban X
miles X
tiller X
tedford X
Fridge X

so lets eliminate some, first franchionne no way should a&m have been that bad last year. saban: im not really all the impressed, he is a great recruiter but one year doesnt do it. myer: needs to show it at a big school before he can be called elite/dito for pruett but he is close.
Carr?? hmm sloop made some valid points but i don't think a top five coach would allow for so many letdowns. Richt is another bigtime recruiter but hasnt actually won ANYTHING yet.. Just like in the heisman race Carrol is losing points because of his teammates see ya do it without chow and ill be impressed. holtz is a great game day coach but without the lure of ND he doesnt seem to be able to recruit all that well. Fridge, personally i think the most overrated coach in the country.. sorry maryland


NEAR MISSES: Alvarez, plays great in huge games but just like carr, too many letdowns.
Coker, inhereted a dynasty, and is good enough to keep it going but that alone i dont think puts him there maybe if he can maintain this level for a couple more seasons ill change my mind.
miles, tedford, stoops minor, and tiller may be on the cusp but i have a hard time handing any of them a top five spot... still no titles


winners:
Tressel duh
stoops well i think he is overrated as well but not so much that he belongs out of the top 5
Ferentz: would some nfl team PLEASE hire this guy already... his teams are only going to keep getting better.

well crap i ran out of coaches... maybe im too harsh...
 
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SI.com - Writers - Stewart Mandel: Unveiling the nation's 10 best and five worst coaches - Wednesday July 11, 2007 2:48PM

Top 10 best coaches headed into the 2007 season
1) Pete Carroll, USC: Carroll's "worst" season since 2002 last year still involved 11 wins, a Pac-10 championship and Rose Bowl victory. He followed that up with a fifth straight top-three recruiting class.
2) Urban Meyer, Florida: Now 61-12 in six seasons as a head coach, Meyer has demonstrated a keen ability to adapt to his personnel, winning a national title while utilizing a receiver (Percy Harvin) and a QB (Tim Tebow) in lieu of a reliable tailback. Not a bad recruiter, either.
3) Jim Tressel, Ohio State: Throughout last year's 12-0 regular season, you could tell every last Buckeye marched to the beat of his coach. Tressel knows how to play to his team's strengths, whether by playing conservative during the '02 title season or spreading things out with Troy Smith.
4) Mack Brown, Texas: Another year, another 10-win season for the 'Horns, who have now posted six in a row. Last year's 10-3 finish came despite starting a freshman quarterback (Colt McCoy) and enduring a season of injuries and suspensions to what became an oft-torched secondary.
5) Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: As mentioned previously, Stoops' reputation has taken a hit in recent years, but let's keep things in perspective. The Sooners still won 11 games and a Big 12 title last year despite Rhett Bomar's dismissal and Adrian Peterson's injury.
6) Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: After suffering a brief drop-off post-Michael Vick, the Hokies have won at least 10 games in four of the past five seasons and had the nation's top-ranked defense in each of the past two years (and No. 4 the year before that).
7) Jim Grobe, Wake Forest: Grobe was already highly respected before last season. Then he led a moderately talented team (compared to the NFL-stocked rosters elsewhere in the ACC) to a conference title, even after losing his starting quarterback and tailback to injury. Clearly, the guy can coach.
8) Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: Rodriguez has been running the spread-option since before anyone knew what it was, but it's amazing how much recognition it can garner -- and how you can post consecutive 11-win seasons -- once you have Pat White and Steve Slaton.
9) Mark Richt, Georgia: You can't argue with his overall results -- 61-17 and two SEC titles in six seasons -- but Richt drops a few rungs this year for his mishandling of the Dawgs' quarterback situation early last season (when Georgia lost to Kentucky and Vandy) and the Sugar Bowl meltdown the year before.
10) Gary Patterson, TCU: Does anyone get less credit for running a consistently successful program than this guy? Since 2002, the Horned Frogs have posted records of 10-2, 11-2, 11-1 and 11-2 (wedged around a 5-6 aberration) and beaten the likes of Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
Just missed: Rutgers' Greg Schiano, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, USF's Jim Leavitt, Navy's Paul Johnson and Cal's Jeff Tedford.
Click to expand...
 
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Bob Stoops star has fallen a bit.
Mack is a great recruiter. Just a good coach.
Meyer......Nice combo of recruiter and very good coach.
Carrol.......Very good recruiter and fine defensive coach. How would he do in another big conference....Big Ten...Sec? Best coach in the game?
How good is Houston Knutt? Very under rated. Maybe even top five good?
 
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