The greatest coach in college football history wonders aloud how the SEC could possibly be so cruel to the Crimson Tide. Before Ohio State, Bailey spent two years as a recruiting analyst at Notre Dame. The opportunity to win games was the biggest factor here. At Sam Houston State, one of Wrights linemen (P.J. Has coached multiple all-conference and future NFL running backs, including Miles Sanders at Penn State and Charles Sims and Wendell Smallwood at West Virginia. After feeling his way around early in his Bulls tenure, Leipold went 24-10 in his last three seasons before landing this Kansas job. After a 9-4 2008 season, Bill Cubits Broncos fell to 22-27 over the next four years. Theyre listed alphabetically. A former college baseball player at UC Davis, Gonzalez got his first opportunity as a football coach in 2007 and has been at TCU since 2012, working and learning under one of the top defensive minds in the country in Gary Patterson. Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Helped Rutgers tie for second in the Big Ten with 19 takeaways last season,almost double what the Scarlet Knights tallied in 2019 (10) despite playing four fewer games. Washington, who has known Ohio State coach Ryan Day since they were together at Boston College in 2003 and 04, joined the Buckeyes staff after Day became coach. Charges dropped against Georgia WR Rara Thomas, UCLA, Kelly agree to extension through 2027, Four Pac-12 programs renew contact with Big 12, NCAA committee approves new college football rules, Saban sounds off on proposed permanent opponents. Highest-Paid OC/QB Coaches: 1. Here are the 25 best college football coaches in America heading into the 2022 season. 1 recruiter in the country in 2020 and is No. Holt was a great receiver for the Wolfpack. Northwestern is not a historically good football program. But Saban is still No. 1 or No. 12). Big 12 Baylor: Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood. Other college support staffers or NFL staffers who received votes: Stephen Adegoke (Michigan); Max Bullough (Alabama); Jamar Chaney (Mississippi State); Steve Cooper (Nebraska); Zachary Crabtree (Oklahoma State); Ty Darlington (Oklahoma); Jon DeCoster (Cleveland Browns); Ross Douglas (New England Patriots); Declan Doyle (New Orleans Saints); Will Johnson (Oklahoma); Conner McQueen (Oklahoma); Nick Perry (Atlanta Falcons); Ryan Osborn (Michigan); Effrem Reed (Michigan State); Ronnie Regula (Miami); Zac Robinson (Los Angeles Rams); Spencer Whipple (Arizona Cardinals); Nick Williams (Texas A&M). Among them were sacks per game (2.2) and tackles for loss per game (8.0). Is a former Sooners player (2000-01) and the younger brother of Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom. Not a single Indiana coach won more than 50% of his games since Bo McMillins run between 1934 and 1947. In 2019, Bowman helped Austin Peay win its first Ohio Valley Conference title since 1977. Is the eldest son of Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz, who also has been a head coach at UConn (1994-98), East Carolina (2005-09) and USF (2010-12). Limited Ads. On3 is a registered trademark of On3 Media, Inc. nine non-Power 5 coordinators you need to know. He rushed for 1,125 yards during the Fighting Irishs run to the College Football Playoff last season. Syndication Montgomery By Seth Galina Jul 7, 2021 In the past three years, four A&M defensive linemen have been selected in the first four rounds of the NFL draft. Was his fathers offensive coordinator at Miami Booker T. Washington from 2009-13 and then served as the teams coach in 2014 before being hired at FIU. 1 in the FCS. Mark Hudspeth improved the Rajin' Cajuns' win total from three to nine in his first year in charge, which started a four-year run of 9-4 finishes and a New Orleans Bowl victory each season. These college football head coach rankings are a shoutout to the underdog and the unwanted, a chance to recognize those who might not be in the national spotlight but deserve their moment for clawing their programs up from the depths and steering it toward a new, compelling future. Darrin Chiaverini, Colorado -- $550,000* 6. Its hard to truly describe the offensive mess that Florida found itself in before Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville. Arrived at Army as a quality control coach, then was promoted last year to tight ends coach. He was Auburns recruiting coordinator in 2019 in addition to being the Tigers secondary coach. NFL-style clock rules could come to college football, but the most extreme proposal will not. Top 10 returning wide receivers in college football for the 2022 season. Was brought to Ohio State by former Buckeyes and current Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, who remains high on Bailey. Was Greg Schianos first hire for his Rutgers staff. Fisher quickly got the program back on track, though, winning 78% of his games and bringing home a National Championship. Breaking news. 9 nationally in rushing offense (252.2 yards per game). Is a highly respected and connected figure in south Florida. 56 nationally in pass defense in 2019 (222.2 yards per game) to No. During his oneyear as the Tornadoes coach, Harris led the team to a 14-0 record, a state title, a No. Led by Wright and his group, UTSA ranked No. Mullen had them up to 29th in Year 1 and 30th in Year 2, and then they exploded with an 11th-place finish in 2020. Cortez Hankton, Georgia -- $550,000+ 6. (McClendon was set to follow Mario Cristobal to Miami before returning to Athens.). Regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country. Coached one of the more productive tight ends in the SEC last season (Kenny Yeboah) after mentoring 2019 Freshman All-American Jalen Wydermyer at Texas A&M and Mackey Award finalist Albert Okwuegbunam at Missouri in 2018. Simmons is one of two coaches to coach two Biletnikoff winners Michael Crabtree and Dede Westbrook and the Sooners' passing game has been one of the nation's best during his tenure. Has been Georgias pass game coordinator since 2019. In-depth analysis. Josh McDaniels Coaching Rsum. And this is precisely why Dabo could be seen as more successful than Saban the Clemson program is not an important program in college footballs history, unlike the Crimson Tide. Thomas Stidham and Jim . Wright, who was promoted to co-coordinator this offseason, previously led the way as the Roadrunners broke multiple school records during his first season at UTSA in 2019. Joker Phillips, NC State -- $415,000+21. To put that into perspective, thats the same percentage allowed by Clemson during this four-year stretch and better than the figure posted by Alabama (55.1). Also is Boston Colleges defensive pass game coordinator. Interviewed for the Boston College coaching job two years ago and turned down the Tennessee coordinator job this past cycle. Under Williams, USC allowed just 216.3 passing yards per game last season, its lowest number since 2013. Kentucky welcomed Stoops in 2013 but won just 12 games in three seasons. Just as importantly if not more Army had lost a record 12 straight to eternal rival Navy before Monken arrived. A former West Virginia and Florida A&M quarterback, he won the Doug Williams National Offensive Player of the Year award as a senior at Florida A&M in 1999. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Smith, who filled in as the Hokies defensive play-caller during a 45-24 win over NC State, was promoted to defensive pass game coordinator earlier this year. And we have a history of Saban turning around other programs. As a player, Simpson was a starting cornerback at South Alabama in 2010 and 11, when current UAB coach Bill Clark was the Jaguars defensive coordinator. Aided by Gonzales and his group, TCU has finished No. Also is a respected special teams coordinator. Has coached so well since arriving at West Point in 2014, he has passed 2 other . He lost the first two rival games in 2014 and 2015 to make it 14 straight but has since won four of the last five. Previously worked under Grinch at Washington State. In his second season as the offensive coordinator at St. Ambrose (an NAIA school in Davenport, Iowa), Drinkalls offense ranked No. 1 for the 2022 recruiting cycle. While playing in eight games for Miami last season, he caught four passes for . George McDonald, Illinois -- $550,000+11. Junior Adams, Oregon -- $575,000+9. A 2004 second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers. Here's how the full list breaks down: 1. Even with Fisher serving as offensive coordinator, the team stumbled to three seven-win finishes in the last four years of the Bowden era. Charlie Fisher, Arizona State -- $400,000 9. Has received NFL interest each of the past two years. Played and learned under coaches such as Will Muschamp and Ted Roof and got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant under Roof at Penn State (2012) and Georgia Tech (2013-14). "In life I would never advise anyone to be where they are not wanted," he sent in a text to his players on his way to Coral Gables. Posted 130 catches in six NFL seasons, including 47 catches for 754 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. A former All-Big 12 tight end at OU who played five seasons in the NFL. 1), kick-return average (No. 2 ranking nationally from USA Today and was a finalist for U.S. Army All-American National Coach of the Year. 2 out of ranking fatigue, but this is their rightful spot. In Smiths first season at Virginia Tech, cornerback Dorian Strong developed into a Freshman All-American. The former Buffalo Bulls head coach is set to take over a program that has been a shambles since the end of the Mark Mangino era. Hartline was the only non-coordinator among the 15 semifinalists for the 2020 Broyles Award, which is presented annually to the nations top assistant. One could assume that Riley is just continuing the tradition of excellence left by Bob Stoops, but the Sooners experienced a big dip in offensive output in the mid-2010s. Has received interest for both college and NFL jobs in recent years, including from Notre Dame in 2019. A rise this rapid from the FCS ranks is almost unheard of. He landed one of the. Drew Mehringer, Texas -- $350,000 10. 12), pass efficiency defense (No. Kasey Dunn, Oklahoma State -- $410,000 7. Turned down a job offer from Michigan this offseason. PFF's 2021 College Football Preview Magazine. Dameyune Craig, Texas A&M -- $675,000 5. That came after Powledges 2019 return man at Louisiana (Raymond Calais) earned first-team all-conference honors and led the Sun Belt in kick-return average. The Bulldogs were the only SEC team with multiple 50-plus-yard kick returns. Rejoined Will Healy in 2019 after one season at Minnesota. Has worked or played under several other prominent coaches, including Ohio State coach Ryan Day, ex-Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson, Florida State coach Mike Norvell and UCLA coach Chip Kelly. Is one of the latest coaching stars to emerge from the tree of former. There were only two new entries in our top 25 at this point 12 months ago. His move to rival Oregon was profitable for him and for his replacement, JaMarcus Shepard. After all, coaches who win a seemingly endless number of games arent necessarily good, and those who lose games arent necessarily bad. From 2016 to the present day, this is the No. In fact, it is a historically bad football program. That win rate climbed to 76% in the excellent Danny Ford era, leading to Clemson's first National Championship win in 1981, but then they went back to being Clemson between 1990 and Dabos full-time appointment in 2009, winning 61% of their games during that span. Turned down an NFL linebackers coach job and an SEC defensive run game coordinator opportunity this past cycle. His team constantly made it to the Top 5 rankings for record-breaking 14 seasons! Dameyune Craig, Texas A&M -- $700,000 4. Another stint in the NFL led to the Alabama job, where he has won six National Championships. Since 2006, theyve had five. Was UCFs quarterbacks coach last season after working as an analyst in 2019. Anyone who saw him play at N.C. State knew the Rams and the Greatest Show on Turf got something special. To help develop Drake Maye and the Heels' quarterbacks, Mack Brown is bringing in one of the NFL's most accomplished quarterbacks coaches. David Johnson, Tennessee -- $505,000 4. Also has worked and learned under Billy Napier at Louisiana, one of the nations top up-and-coming head coaches. According to Football Scoop, that man is Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver coach Cortez Hankton. Also received interest for the Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach opening. Led a special teams unit that ranked second in the SEC in kick-return average (28.0). Lavine, a former walk-on, added 310 rushing yards. As a new season approaches, let's take a moment to compare Saban's accomplishments -- and those of other active coaches -- to the best of college football's modern times. Woodson, an ex-Ole Miss defensive back, also has the defensive pass game coordinator title at Florida State. The wide receiver position at Miami has been a loaded spot for the 'Canes since Eddie Brown signed with The U out of Miami Senior High School . Mario Williams Where he plays: USC 2021 stats: 35 rec, 380 yards, 4 TD Williams was a reliable fixture for Oklahoma a year. Ranked as one of the top recruiters in the Big 12 for the 2021 recruiting class. Contributed to Southern Utah winning the Big Sky championship in 2017 with a defense that forced 29 turnovers and ranked third in the conference in scoring defense. David Johnson, Tennessee -- $505,000 4. Lonnie Galloway, North Carolina -- $440,000+19. Led the way for BCs 2021 class that was the Eagles top-ranked group in the modern recruiting era. Interviewed for the job as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach before the Eagles hired Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.