Ranking every Power Five coach in college football

The college football offseason really hits full swing in May. This is when kickoff times, early betting spreads, and coach rankings are released to the public.

A few weeks ago, The Athletic released their top 25 coach rankings, and this week the fine folks at CBS went deeper with rankings from 1-25 and 26-65. The panel of media personalities included every FBS coach and the results were very interesting.

For the second season in a row, Mark Stoops found himself in the top 25. The head football coach is on good ground and leapfrogged Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh this season, but still finds himself behind a handful of coaches in the SEC.

On this week’s episode of 11 Personnel, Nick Roush and I got together and discussed the rankings. To give us a fair point of view to grade the rankings, yours truly decided to compile my own rankings for the second season in a row.

Now felt like a very good time to put all of my college football knowledge to the test. Here is how I see the Power Five head football coaches heading into 2021. This is not as easy as one may think.

1.) Nick Saban, Alabama

2.) Dabo Swinney, Clemson

There are only two coaches that are in the top tier and they are the two guys with multiple national championships. Saban is in a world of his own seven national titles, but Swinney has two of his own with six consecutive College Football Playoff appearances. Everyone is chasing these two.

3.) Kirby Smart, Georgia

4.) Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

5.) Ryan Day, Ohio State

6.) Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

7.) Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

8.) Dan Mullen, Florida

9.) James Franklin, Penn State

10.) Mack Brown, North Carolina

11.) Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

12.) Kyle Whittingham, Utah

13.) Gary Patterson, TCU

14.) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

I have quite often pumped the brakes on the Fitzgerald love having Mr. Northwestern at No. 23 in last year’s rankings. However, the 46-year-old just continues to win claiming another Big Ten West title last year. The Wildcats have five top 25 finishes in the last nine seasons proving that Fitzgerald truly is one of the best program builders and sustainers in the sport.

15.) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

16.) Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Another coached I have pumped the brakes on, Campbell cashed in with the big season last year. The Cyclones beat Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl following a very close loss to Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship Game. The former Toledo head coach returns for year six in Ames in 2021 and has most of his team returning. Some are considering Iowa State a College Football Playoff darkhorse.

17.) Ed Orgeron, LSU

18.) Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

19.) Mario Cristobal, Oregon

20.) Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

21.) David Shaw, Stanford

Recency bias is a very real thing that occurs when making these rankings. While judging each coach, it can be easy to forget about things that happened just a couple of years ago. The last two Stanford head coaches still get points for what was done previously in Palo Alto. Harbaugh has the gigantic Ohio State monkey on his back, but there was a top-five finish at Stanford in 2010 to go along with four top-20 finishes in six years at Michigan. Shaw is 8-10 the last two seasons but had six top-20 finishes in his first seven seasons at Stanford. These two deserve credit for the past, but each needs to get things turned around quickly.

22.) P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

23.) Mark Stoops, Kentucky

24.) Tom Allen, Indiana

25.) Mike Leach, Mississippi State

26.) Chip Kelly, UCLA

27.) Greg Schiano, Rutgers

28.) Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

29.) Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia

30.) Herm Edwards, Arizona State

31.) Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri

The biggest riser in the rankings, Drinkwitz jumped 29 spots after just two seasons as a head coach. Drinkwitz, 38, is now 17-6 as a head coach with a conference title and top-20 finish at Appalachian State to go along with a .500 record in a 10-game SEC season at Missouri. The former Gus Malzahn assistant showed some major coaching chops last season while making some impressive moves on the recruiting trail.

32.) Bryan Harsin, Auburn

33.) Chris Klieman, Kansas State

34.) Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh

35.) Neal Brown, West Virginia

36.) Dave Doeren, NC State

37.) Jeff Hafley, Boston College

Remember this name. Hafley, 42, had a ton of success in the NFL before becoming the defensive coordinator at Ohio State. That landed him the Boston College gig and the first season was a raving success. The Eagles finished the season 6-5 after being picked to finish in the bottom of the ACC. However, Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec could be special at quarterback while the team always looked prepared. On the recruiting trail, Hafley and his staff seem to have a very good eye for talent. This has the feel of a coach that could rise very quickly.

38.) Dave Clawson, Wake Forest

39.) Jeff Brohm, Purdue

After winning consecutive C-USA titles at WKU, Brohm has seen some shine come off at Purdue. The former Louisville quarterback is just 12-19 over the last three seasons and is breaking in his third defensive coordinator in three years this fall. His contract is huge, but Brohm needs to start bringing more wins to Ross-Ade Stadium.

40.) Clay Helton, USC

41.) Lance Leipold, Kansas

42.) Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech

43.) Justin Wilcox, California

44.) Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

45.) David Cutcliffe, Duke

Speaking of recency bias, I contradict myself here. Cutcliffe has had an outstanding career and led Duke to a division title and five bowl appearances, but the Blue Devils are 7-16 over their last two seasons fresh off Cutcliffe’s worst season in Durham. The veteran has gone back and forth with calling plays and not calling plays the last two seasons as things seem to be trending very badly in the wrong direction. Coming up with these rankings can be difficult.

46.) Mike Norvell, Florida State

47.) Bret Bielema, Illinois

48.) Jimmy Lake, Washington

49.) Sam Pittman, Arkansas

50.) Steve Sarkisian, Texas

51.) Mel Tucker, Michigan State

52.) Manny Diaz, Miami

53.) Mike Locksley, Maryland

54.) Scott Satterfield, Louisville

55.) Scott Frost, Nebraska

Man, the fall occurred fast for both of the Scotts. Each finds themselves towards the bottom of the rankings in 2021. Satterfield enters year three with many doubts. The Cards were 4-7 last season with an 0-4 record in one-possession games, but major questions loom. The roster has talent issues while a bunch of assistants bolted for other jobs after the boss flirted with South Carolina. This could be the beginning of the end.

Over in Lincoln, Scott Frost is 12-20 after three seasons with no real glimmer of hope out there. The Cornhuskers lost a ton of good players to the portal while recruiting the state of Florida heavily when Frost was hired has seemed to backfire. The Huskers have major questions and a 6-6 season should probably be the goal in year four. That doesn’t exactly sound like Nebraska football.

56.) Josh Heupel, Tennessee

57.) Karl Dorrell, Colorado

58.) Nick Rolovich, Washington State

59.) Dave Aranda, Baylor

60.) Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech

61.) Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

62.) Dino Babers, Syracuse

63.) Matt Wells, Texas Tech

64.) Jedd Fisch, Arizona

65.) Shane Beamer, South Carolina