By John Sarianides
People love lists right? We all love lists because we use them as the impetus to debate sports. With the college football season around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to give you my list of the top coaches in college football today.
Here goes!
1. Nick Saban, Alabama: No brainer. Saban has won five national championships between LSU and Alabama and has a .782 win percentage in his career. Saban is also one of the top recruiters in all of college football. He has signed 42 five star recruits during his time at Alabama. Sure, Saban has his detractors but no one in the country runs a better program than him.
2. Urban Meyer, Ohio State: Meyer has won two national championships in his career. He is one of the best offensive minds in all of college football and a tremendous recruiter with in-roads all across the country. Meyer has a love, hate relationship with college football fans but there is no denying he is one of the best coaches in the country.
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson: Swinney has this goofy, good ol southern boy persona about him but underneath that is a man who is a fiery competitor and a tremendous recruiter. Clemson is routinely in the top five in recruiting every year. Winning a national championship last season validated Swinney as one of the best coaches in all of college football.
4. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State: If you watched the Showtime show last season that chronicled the 2016 season Florida State Seminoles, you saw first hand what kind of a competitor Jimbo Fisher is. Fisher has led Florida State to a national championship and is a renowned quarterback developer. He is one of the best offensive coaches in the game, utilizing a pro-style offense that takes advantage of all of the talent that he and his staff have assembled in Tallahassee.
5. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: Harbaugh just might be the best football coach on this list. He is as good an offensive coach as there is in all of football. He is also a tremendous recruiter. Sure, he can be weird sometimes but Harbaugh’s players love playing for him and for the University of Michigan. He has made it a special place again. Harbaugh has yet to win a national championship but I have a feeling the Wolverine faithful won’t have to wait much longer to raise the crystal ball.
6. Gary Patterson, TCU: Patterson is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. Using the 4-2-5 defense, Patterson has built one of the best programs in the country at TCU. Patterson is a tireless recruiter who has well established coaching ties throughout the state of Texas and the midwest. Most defensive coaches preach running the football and playing good defense. Patterson preaches uptempo, explosive offense and playing good defense.
7. David Shaw, Stanford: Shaw is a man after my heart. He is a multiple offensive coach who utilizes a pro-style offense and loves to pound the football. Shaw is one of the best recruiters in the country. It is not easy recruiting at academic schools like Stanford but Shaw and his staff are constantly adding elite talent and competing for PAC-12 titles.
8. James Franklin, Penn St.: Franklin is one of the best closers in all of college football when it comes to recruiting. He is smart, passionate and he knows how to connect with kids. He is also a terrific offensive coach who knows how to maximize his players talents. Penn State is on the way back to the top again and are on the brink of becoming a player again in the national championship picture.
9. Bobby Petrino, Louisville: Petrino has a checkered history in terms of his reputation but there is no denying he is one of the top offensive minds in the game today. He turned Lamar Jackson from an an athletic quarterback with alive arm into a Heisman Trophy winner. Petrino is also a good recruiter who has established relationships with high school coaches across the country. Petrino brought Louisville back to prominence in his first go around on the job and he has now made them a national title contender.
10. Kyle Whittingham, Utah: You don’t hear much about Whittingham because he is tucked away in the mountains of Utah but Whittingham is a great defensive coach and an even better recruiter. Whittingham has well established in-roads in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Samoa. He gets players to come to Utah and the proof how competitive the Utes are Year in and year out.
Others: Tom Herman, Texas, Matt Rhule, Baylor, Jim McElwain, Florida, Mark Richt, Miami (Fla), Kirby Smart, Georgia