Jump to content
Posted
comment_713935

Both Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman ranked the Top 25 coaches in college football. BK was ranked #8 by Feldman and #6 by Mandel. I think that's about right. I know many on here dislike BK and don't think he is a great coach, which is understandable given his track record in big games. But I think their rankings pretty much line up with the national perception that he is currently a Top 10 coach. Winning a CFP game would push him into the Top 5, IMO, given all that he has accomplished in 10 seasons at a place where it has been very difficult to win for the last 30 years.

 

Feldman

 

1. Nick Saban (Alabama)

2. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

3. James Franklin (Penn State)

4. Ed Orgeron (LSU)

5. Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)

6. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M)

7. Kirby Smart (Georgia)

8. Brian Kelly (ND)

9. Kyle Whittingham (Utah)

10. Scott Satterfield (Louisville)

11. Gary Patterson (TCU)

12. Mike Leach (Mississippi State)

13. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)

14. Dan Mullen (Florida)

15. PJ Fleck (Minnesota)

16. Matt Campbell (Iowa State)

17. David Shaw (Stanford)

18. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan)

19. Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)

20. Lance Leipold (Buffalo)

21. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)

22. Ken Niumatalolo (Navy)

23. Chip Kelly (UCLA)

24. Mario Cristobal (Oregon)

25. Mike Norvell (Florida State)

 

https://theathletic.com/1654112/2020/03/05/bruce-feldman-ranking-the-25-best-coaches-in-college-football/

 

Mandel

 

1a. Nick Saban (Alabama)

1b. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

3. Ed Orgeron (LSU)

4. Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)

5. Kirby Smart (Georgia)

6. Brian Kelly (ND)

7. James Franklin (Penn State)

8. Dan Mullen (Florida)

9. Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)

10. Bill Clark (UAB)

11. Kyle Whittingham (Utah)

12. PJ Fleck (Minnesota)

13. Mario Cristobal (Oregon)

14. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M)

15. Ken Niumatalolo (Navy)

16. Mark Stoops (Kentucky)

17. Jeff Monken (Army)

18. Scott Satterfield (Louisville)

19. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)

20. Mike Leach (Mississippi State)

21. David Shaw (Stanford)

22. Bryan Harsin (Boise State)

23. Mike Norvell (Florida State)

24. Luke Fickell (Cincinnati)

25. Matt Campbell (Iowa State)

 

https://theathletic.com/1654673/2020/03/05/stewart-mandel-ranking-the-top-25-coaches-in-college-football/

Featured Replies

comment_713952

I agree more with Feldman’s list. Kelly is right around the tail end of top 10 coaches. Frankly, I think Mandel’s list is all f’d up. Both Ferentz and Campbell should be way higher. Look at the geographical regions where these guys have to recruit. There’s nothing there. They’ve got farm kids and undervalued 2-3* kids from Chicago, Stl, and Cincinnati. That’s it.

 

Orgeron and Smart need to pushed further down. I still don’t buy Orgeron as a top 10 coach. We’ll see what he can really do without Burrow and Joe Brady this yr. I don’t think Leach should be on this list. I think he gets more credit bc of his personality, but he never really broke through big at Wazzu. I don’t think he’ll fair that well at MSU.

comment_713955
I agree more with Feldman’s list. Kelly is right around the tail end of top 10 coaches. Frankly, I think Mandel’s list is all f’d up. Both Ferentz and Campbell should be way higher. Look at the geographical regions where these guys have to recruit. There’s nothing there. They’ve got farm kids and undervalued 2-3* kids from Chicago, Stl, and Cincinnati. That’s it.

 

Orgeron and Smart need to pushed further down. I still don’t buy Orgeron as a top 10 coach. We’ll see what he can really do without Burrow and Joe Brady this yr. I don’t think Leach should be on this list. I think he gets more credit bc of his personality, but he never really broke through big at Wazzu. I don’t think he’ll fair that well at MSU.

 

Maybe, but Mandel having Bill Clark of UAB on his last at all makes me more comfortable with him. Look at UAB's history and tell me that Bill Clark isn't a tremendous program builder and coach. Remarkable what he's done there.

  • Author
comment_713958

I like parts and hate parts of both lists.

 

Feldman is too high on Franklin (#3 in the country???), Patterson (hasn't won a conference title since '14), Chip Kelly (if anyone listens to their weekly podcast, The Audible, this is no surprise - Feldman LOVES Chip Kelly). He's too low on Mullen (Top 10) and Cristobal (should be around 15 based on what he did last year and his recruting abilities).

 

Mandel is too high on Orgeron (yes he won a title, but he couldn't get a job 5 years ago - let's see what LSU's record is 2020). Too low on Satterfield (what he did at Louisville last year is a miracle) and Campbell (should be around 15 for what he does at Iowa State).

comment_713959
Maybe, but Mandel having Bill Clark of UAB on his last at all makes me more comfortable with him. Look at UAB's history and tell me that Bill Clark isn't a tremendous program builder and coach. Remarkable what he's done there.

 

I agree. However, I wish they laid out the criteria for their selections. Is this supposed to be based on what’s already been accomplished or is it forward looking? Or is it a mix?

comment_713960
I like parts and hate parts of both lists.

 

Feldman is too high on Franklin (#3 in the country???), Patterson (hasn't won a conference title since '14), Chip Kelly (if anyone listens to their weekly podcast, The Audible, this is no surprise - Feldman LOVES Chip Kelly). He's too low on Mullen (Top 10) and Cristobal (should be around 15 based on what he did last year and his recruting abilities).

 

Mandel is too high on Orgeron (yes he won a title, but he couldn't get a job 5 years ago - let's see what LSU's record is 2020). Too low on Satterfield (what he did at Louisville last year is a miracle) and Campbell (should be around 15 for what he does at Iowa State).

 

Patterson looks like he peaked 5 yrs ago. Kelly does not deserve to be on any list, his UCLA teams have been bad. I think Pruitt should be somewhere bw 15-25. He did an excellent job the 2nd half of this season restoring some dignity to the Tennessee program.

comment_713963

I don't agree that Jimbo or Orgeron are better than Kelly. Orgeron has soooo much talent. Add a good qb who just gets it, and Orgeron looks like a genius, but wait until that great qb is gone. Orgeron will be slightly above average again. If Jimbo was great he'd be doing better than he is at A&M or than he did at FSU.

 

I think Kelly is doing fine. He's had his dips, but I think he learns and I think he's really done well getting us back in striking distance. He's done a good job of getting talent, too. Orgeron and Fisher have never had to truly fight for talent.

comment_713966
I don't agree that Jimbo or Orgeron are better than Kelly. Orgeron has soooo much talent. Add a good qb who just gets it, and Orgeron looks like a genius, but wait until that great qb is gone. Orgeron will be slightly above average again. If Jimbo was great he'd be doing better than he is at A&M or than he did at FSU.

 

I think Kelly is doing fine. He's had his dips, but I think he learns and I think he's really done well getting us back in striking distance. He's done a good job of getting talent, too. Orgeron and Fisher have never had to truly fight for talent.

 

Difficult to say that Kelly elevated recruiting over Weis when you look at his 10 year recruiting record.

 

Orgeron at Ole Miss seemed to elevate their recruiting

 

34 2003 Cutliffe

33 2004 Cutliffe

32 2005 Cutliffe / Orgeron

15 2006 Orgeron

17 2007 Orgeron

31 2008 Orgeron / Nutt

 

At LSU, Orgeron at least did not have them slip back from where they were with Miles

 

Fisher at A&M elevated recruiting

 

2016 18 Sumlin

2017 13 Sumlin

2018 17 Sumlin / Fisher

2019 4 Fisher

2020 6 Fisher

 

While FSU has declined

 

4 2014

3 2015

3 2016

6 2017

11 2018 Fisher / Taggart

18 2019 Taggart

22 2020 Taggart / Norvell

 

Seems to me that Fisher needs to be considered a great recruiter given that he has averaged Top 5 classes at schools which are not Top 5 without him as Head Coach

comment_713973

Weis may have restocked the cupboard after Ty, but Weis had a bad habit of recruiting guys who reached their ceilings in high school. Kelly is a MUCH better recruiter...I mean, that’s a fact. It’s undisputed when you look at depth, play, and success.

comment_713975
I don't agree that Jimbo or Orgeron are better than Kelly. Orgeron has soooo much talent. Add a good qb who just gets it, and Orgeron looks like a genius, but wait until that great qb is gone. Orgeron will be slightly above average again. If Jimbo was great he'd be doing better than he is at A&M or than he did at FSU.

 

I think Kelly is doing fine. He's had his dips, but I think he learns and I think he's really done well getting us back in striking distance. He's done a good job of getting talent, too. Orgeron and Fisher have never had to truly fight for talent.

 

a QB he got to transfer there, who went from being rated a undrafted QB to the #1 pick (probably). Kelly hasn't had a QB besides Tommy Rees improve under his reign. Maybe Coach O isn't a better coach but he sure seems to be able to recruit and get the right guys and staff on board with his shtick, whatever he is doing worked, they won huge games. More than Kelly can say.

comment_713989
I agree more with Feldman’s list. Kelly is right around the tail end of top 10 coaches. Frankly, I think Mandel’s list is all f’d up. Both Ferentz and Campbell should be way higher. Look at the geographical regions where these guys have to recruit. There’s nothing there. They’ve got farm kids and undervalued 2-3* kids from Chicago, Stl, and Cincinnati. That’s it.

 

Orgeron and Smart need to pushed further down. I still don’t buy Orgeron as a top 10 coach. We’ll see what he can really do without Burrow and Joe Brady this yr. I don’t think Leach should be on this list. I think he gets more credit bc of his personality, but he never really broke through big at Wazzu. I don’t think he’ll fair that well at MSU.

 

Really about Leach?! What was Texas Tech before he got there, what he accomplished when he got there and look at them now. Now do the same with with Washington State. The man is a stubborn azzhole but he can coach qbs and win games. He also has had to win at places that aren’t known for winning. He’s 20-23 on my list...

comment_714000
Really about Leach?! What was Texas Tech before he got there, what he accomplished when he got there and look at them now. Now do the same with with Washington State. The man is a stubborn azzhole but he can coach qbs and win games. He also has had to win at places that aren’t known for winning. He’s 20-23 on my list...

 

Wazzu had a solid run under Price. He took Texas Tech to new heights when the Air Raid spread was still new. Now everyone in the B12 runs that offense. His teams are ALWAYS bad, not just ok, but bad on Defense. I think his personality shields him from legitimate criticism

comment_714005
Wazzu had a solid run under Price. He took Texas Tech to new heights when the Air Raid spread was still new. Now everyone in the B12 runs that offense. His teams are ALWAYS bad, not just ok, but bad on Defense. I think his personality shields him from legitimate criticism

 

I agree about his defenses they are always bad. However, Texas Tech has never been good without him. He helped influence a culture in the b12 that they still run today. That should tell you something right there.

Washington State...Price? How long ago was that 2002? Sheesh. They were one of the worst programs in FBS before Leach took over for them. He had them in the playoff hunt for one season.

Honestly, I can’t wait for him to get down in Mississippi in that SEC country and start lighting up those “vaunted defenses.”

Why don’t you give some of these coaches props for a change. Not everyone is Brian Kelly....

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.


Guest
Reply to this topic...