TSN's Elite Coaches

[Dryden]

The more I think about this, the more I convice myself that Mike Leach probably belongs here. Leach (and Hal Mumme) molded Kentucky into a force in the late 90s, setting over 100 school and 40+ SEC records and making Couch a top draft pick. Oklahoma did a complete u-turn worst to first in his one year there in 1999, and the Sooners are still reaping the benefits of the offense he jump started with his one year mentoring Heupel. Since arriving at Texas Tech his teams have smashed every record imaginable and gone to five straight bowl games. Slowly, the recruiting classes are getting better, the running game just might explode this season with Taurean Henderson in the backfield, and the talent on the lines and the defense is gradually making strides (sacks allowed has been cut almost in half since 2002).

Meh, maybe Leach falls somewhere in the Top 11-20 range, but if guys like Spurrier, Hawkins, and Tedford are getting a sniff of the Top 10, Leach deserves at least an honorable mention. That 'air-raid' Kentucky team, lead by Tim Couch of all people (!), hung 800 yards on Louisville once. If that's not 'fun-n-gun,' I don't know what is.

That Leach has duplicated this success three times now, and most recently in Lubbock of all places, which is probably lucky to get to pick what's left over of the players Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma don't want, is a statement.

[daddyphatsacs]

Ferentz is a great coach, but he sure does get a lot of love for never winning a major bowl game. Until then..........he isn't a major coach in my book.

[AirForceBuck]

Originally Posted by lvbuckeye

Pride: i hope you didn't take my comments personally, because they weren't...

as for 'not exactly bottom of the barrel,' seriously, you can't do much worse than 1-10... Iowa flat out SUCKED BALLS when he took over... he has taken a terrible team to a higher stratus than at any time in it's long history without the blue chip talent of the perrenial powers... i think he's a [censored]ing amazing coach, but i guess that's JMHO...

the thing that i find most amusing is that you included Larry Coker in your top ten... if you are telling me that Coker would do a similar job in Iowa City than he's doing in Coral Gables, then i don't even know how to respond... Miami consistently has top 5 talent, and all Coker has done is lose one more game each year than he did the year before... 12-0, 12-1, 11-2, 9-3... there's no way that he would replicate 3 straight top 8 finishes in Iowa if he can barely even do that in Miami... all Coker needs to do is not [censored] things up, and the Canes will finish in the top 10 each year on talent alone... you simply cannot say the same for the Hawkeyes...

Well its more of Ferentz year of going 1-10, IMO, that hurts his record. As for Coker, I personally look at his track record of the last four years and see that in Miami he has went 44-6. In those victories Coker led his Hurricanes to two consecutive NC Title Game appearances (2001-02), won a National Title, won 3 consecutive Big East Championship Titles (2001-02-03), has out scored his opponents (total points) by at least 165 points each year (395 pts. his first year), has kept the rectruiting level above par and has beaten Florida St. & Florida a combined 7 times (in 4 years = everytime he played the teams). Do I think he has turned around the program? He11 no, lol. The program has been very good through the 90s and very good going into his tenure. Do I think hes a consistant coach however? Yes, his years at Miami mirror in Tressels to the facts that he took over a well known powerhouse football program and kept the traditions going at a higher level than most schools in the country. I just feel that if Tressel gets the credit for it, Coker might as well to. Im sure there are objections that Tressel took over a 6-6 Cooper squad, but at the time OSU had the talent, and more so needed the right coaching directions.

Its VERY difficult to mix and match coaches that have improved teams, taken over high powered teams, won more games, won more titles, anjd/or have just been steady all in the same Top 10. Every coach in my Top 10 has had its own circumstances going into their schools and have different reasons for being there - case in point = Cooker and Ferentz.

[lvbuckeye]

fair enough... i can totally see your point of view...i guess it's subjective... and i don't want people to think that i'm slamming Coker as a head coach-- he's obviously pretty good... i just wonder sometimes what these super high profile guys would do if they had to basically start from the ground up...

take Nick Saban for example... he is clearly a damn good coach, but i wonder how much i should actually credit him for basically one good season at Mich State... and concerning LSU, when you consider the fact that Louisiana and Mississippi produce the most NFL talent per capita in the U.S., is it really all about coaching, or is it about signing unbelieveable talent? Les Miles has walked into an awesome situation down in Baton Rouge, and he better get some pretty good results, or my opinion of him will drop pretty fast... the Tigers are LOADED with talent at the skill positions... i dunno... like i said, subjective...

awesome sig, BTW...

[buckeyeboy]

Pete Carroll is the most overrated man on the planet. Good recruiter? Yes. Good coach? Nope. This season will prove me right, now that he's without his ace offensive coordinator.

[lvbuckeye]

i don't know about that... Pete's D's have been pretty darn good over the last 3 seasons...

[Wingate1217]

These things are hugely cyclical. Over the past 10 years several coaches would have made the list based on their team's success at about the time the poll would have come out. Think the past few years and I bet Mike Belotti from Oregon, Ty Willingham (formerly of ND), Bobby Bowden, Ralph Friegden (Maryland) Dennis Franchionne (Formerly of Alabama, now Texas A&M) etc. would have made the list some time or another. Sorry for butching some of the coaches' names.

[Jaxbuck]

Any list that has Fulmer and Mack Brown as 2 of the top 10 coaches in America is so fundamentally flawed it might as well have my name in there as well.

[stxbuck]

Joe Tiller should be up there, IMO-Purdue is more difficult to recruit to than Iowa. Tommy Tuberville also should be up there-he has really built up Auburn.