Category: Football

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Who will be the Next College Football Coaching Giant?

For college football in the early ‘70s, it was a time when college football icons roamed the sidelines on Fall Saturdays. So familiar and synonymous with their school that one needn’t hear their surname to identify them. Bo, Woody, Joe, Ara, Bear, and Darrell were coaching legends and they ruled the college football landscape, and out on the West coast, John McKay at USC was dominating the Pac-8 Conference. Yes, the Pac-8 Conference.

For those who are too young to remember that would be Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Joe Paterno at Penn State, Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama, and Darrell Royal at Texas.

Not long thereafter, other coaches rose to national prominence, namely, Tom Osborne, Barry Switzer, Bobby Bowden, Lou Holtz, Lavell Edwards, Vince Dooley and John Robinson. In time, Steve Spurrier, Phillip Fulmer, and Mack Brown would eventually join the exclusive national championship coaching fraternity.

Last year saw long-time sideline stalwarts Frank Beamer and Spurrier retire from the coaching ranks. So what coaches today would be considered coaching giants? Certainly Nick Saban of Alabama, with five national championships, ranks amongst the all-time greats. Saban’s five national titles trails only Bear Bryant who won six.

Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, with three national championships, one at Ohio State and two while at Florida, is certainly another. Saban and Meyer are in a class by themselves with multiple national championships. In addition, Meyer ranks third in all-time winning percentage (.8508) trailing only Knute Rockne (.8811) and Frank Leahy (.8643).

In the next group of coaches that have won a national championship and multiple conference titles would include Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and Les Miles at LSU. Stoops has brought Oklahoma back to prominence and has one national championship and the Sooners are a perennial national power winning nine Big-12 titles during his tenure.

Florida State under Fisher has won three ACC titles and like Oklahoma, is also a perennial national contender. Miles has won two SEC championships (2007 and in 2011), which are not easy to come by especially when you face Alabama and Saban every year. Another national championship for any of these three coaches would elevate their status to that of a coaching giant.

Saban and Meyer have won seven of the last 10 national championships. Stoops, Fisher and Miles would love to join them as multiple national championship winning coaches. College football playoff appearances may soon become a coaching measuring stick much like Final Four appearances are for college basketball coaches.

Then you have the group of coaches that have won multiple Power Five conference championships: Bret Bielema (formerly Wisconsin now Arkansas), Marc Dantonio (Michigan State), Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), Mark Richt (formerly Georgia now Miami), David Shaw (Stanford), Bill Snyder (Kansas State), and Dabo Swinney (Clemson). Bielema, Shaw and Swinney are all in their 40s. More on that later.

Shaw and Dantonio are known to consistently do more with less than most other coaches, having regular success by getting more out of their players than some other coaches might. Despite not winning a conference championship, when it comes to coaches doing more with less Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern has to be near the top of the list as well.

If Bielema can revive the Arkansas program and win an SEC Championship, he would separate and distinguish himself from the shadow cast by Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin. By winning conference championships in both the Big 10 and SEC conferences Bielema would then join Meyer with that unique distinction and certainly elevate his coaching level status.

As for the current top coaches that haven’t won a conference title, that would include Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly because of Notre Dame’s independent football status and Jim Harbaugh (formerly at Stanford and now at Michigan). Harbaugh’s Wolverines will be one of the favorites, if not the favorite, to win the Big 10 title this year.
It’s not always easy for successful college coaches to avoid the siren call of the NFL. Saban, Spurrier, and Bobby Petrino each took their shot in the NFL and were unsuccessful and returned to the college ranks. Harbaugh is one of the few that had success at both the college level and in the NFL.

For a coach to average 10 or more wins a year puts them in select company. The following coaches at major college football programs are in that group: Fisher, Marc Helfrich (Oregon), Tom Herman (Houston), Meyer, Chris Petersen (Washington), Shaw and Stoops. Three of those coaches are in their early 40s: Helfrich, 42, Herman, 41, and Shaw, 44 in July. Herman has been a head coach for only one season, but it was quite a head coaching debut as the Houston Cougars went 13-1 last year with a 38-24 victory over Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Petersen, 51, is 12th all-time in winning percentage with a .8168 mark.

In case you were wondering, Meyer, Shaw and Stoops are ahead of Joe Paterno’s pace to win 409 games, provided they decide to coach that long. It certainly helps that there are more football games now than back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when 11 and 12-game seasons including bowl games were the norm. Now, some schools have 13 and 14-game seasons.

Meyer turns 52 in July. At the end of last season at the age of 51, Meyer had 153 wins in 14 seasons as a head coach. Paterno, at age 51 had 112 wins, and after his 14th season had 131 wins.

After his fifth season at Stanford and at the age of 43, Shaw has 54 career wins. After his fifth season at Penn State and at the age of 44, Paterno had 42 wins. Shaw turns 44 this July.

Stoops has coached at Oklahoma since 1999 and will turn 56 this September. After 17 seasons, Stoops has won 179 games. After 17 seasons and at the age of 56, Paterno had won 162 games. Stoops’ winning percentage of .7956 is 17th all-time amongst college coaches.

Fitzgerald, 41, has 70 wins in his 10 seasons at Northwestern. Kelly, 54, has won 226 games in 26 seasons as head coach, with 118 of those while at Division II Grand Valley State University.

As for the best young coaches in college football, and by young, meaning in their 40s, Shaw, Swinney and Herman are in that group.

Swinney, 46, once again this year will have Clemson in the national championship picture and could join the exclusive list of coaches to win multiple conference championships and a national title. Don’t be surprised if in 2016, Swinney and Harbaugh continue their ascent on the college football coaching mountain.

John Baranowski is a sports historian and contributor to newspapers, sports publications and sports websites.

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M FOOTBALL 2016: WOLVERINES COMPLETE 15 ALLOWED 2016 SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE SESSIONS WITH FAN ANTICIPATION AND EXPECTATIONS SURGING. AN ESTIMATED 45,000 FANS WERE IN ATTENDANCE.

The period since the Wolverine’s win in the Citrus Bowl has been an outstanding Coach Harbaugh success on behalf of his Wolverines.

It is widely recognized that Harbaugh favored circus entertainment as a youth, and Michigan’s sometimes quirky, but always effective and intense second year head coach, has a natural touch of Ringling Brothers or Barnum and Bailey at times, as he invokes his innovative football ideas. It is predictable that he will set one trap and then another as the rules allow to enhance his charges position. Even so, he is no snake oil salesman, but honestly is totally dedicated to his winning ways, and enjoys his job.

The first week of practice at IMG in Florida provided a vehicle to tweak some of the SEC coaches who argued laughable concerns, as well as keeping the program in a national attention spotlight, and perhaps establishing a Florida recruiting presence.

How much it actually will help recruiting is to be seen, but the net benefit appears outstanding in all regards. That Harbaugh donned a Tigers uniform and coached first base, at a Detroit Tiger’s spring training game, was another nice touch.

The acquisition of one of the most highly touted defensive players in the country, Rashan Gary, was the cherry on the sundae of this year’s recruiting cycle. Gary was introduced at half time as were the rest of the 2016 recruits. He will be on board in the fall. It will be interesting to watch his progress on defense. He has the physique to immediately contribute.

So the beat went on through the end of spring training. It went nothing but well.

The unpredictable Harbaugh did not hold a post-game presser according to reliable reports. I must admit that I was unable to be there because of a recent total knee replacement. Hopefully, that is all I have to miss of the 2016 season.

There appears to be a real competition at Quarterback. Wilton Speight and John O’Korn had success both passing and running. Both scored a running TD. Shane Morris threw a TD from the wide receiver position, and an interception, but will likely also be in the QB competition. Shane threw an ill-advised jump ball late in the first half, after a nifty scramble, but Dymonte Thomas made him pay via an athletic interception. Shane’s use at WR was interesting.

Intensity levels and team enthusiasm were great.

This looks to be one of the best defenses in recent memory as it matures. While there were defensive bright spots Friday, they were being reigned in. For example, Peppers usage. Those usages will likely be more multiple later.  It is predictable that Don Brown’s defense will be hell for leather. It will be all out. More evidence of that is to come.

John O’Korn quarterbacked the Maize, and was responsible for the first and last TDs of the game. Losing 14-13, O’Korn’s Blue team could not punch in what would have been the winning points on a failed two point conversion. The Henry Poggi dive was stopped short, as confirmed by an official and Harbaugh on review.

To me it seemed as though O’Korn won the QB day, but only by the slimmest of margins. He hit Drake Harris on a nice 30-yard out to the 11 as part of a 70-yard, 15-play drive to the game’s first 6.

Drake Harris had a good afternoon, as did defender Mike McCray, who had a 6-yard TFL during the drive. Hope this oft injured pair can stay on the healthy side for a change.

Ty Issac was very productive at running back. He has a couple of years left, so it is critical he make a move now or become addicted to pine. Looks like he has now established an appropriate mindset, and is in better physical shape.

A lateral to wide out Shane Morris set up a TD pass to a wide open Drake Johnson. It was Blue 7, Maize 0. They had already matched last year’s spring game TD production.

Winton Speight’s Maize fought back. Speight was 3 of 4, with a 31-yard TD completion to Jake Butt to make it 7 up in the second quarter.

Shane Morris threw an ill-advised bomb that was athletically intercepted by an alert DyMonte Thomas to end the half.

Winton Speight was productive in the second half too, managing a nifty 6-yard run for six and the Maize had the winning points. He also ran another for 9-yards.

Brandon Peters got some time at the QB throttle. He looks good.

Late in the game a roughing the passer penalty facilitated a TD run by the Blue team. Morris caught a short pass and motored 25-yards to the 13-yard line. John O’Korn scrambled and ran for the score, and it was Blue 13, Maize 14. The dive for two from the two failed. Game over.

While one has to be careful leaping to conclusions after a spring game as talent is split between teams and for other reasons, it seems safe to say the both offense and defense are improved over last year at this time. It is appears there will be encouraging answers for problems and shortcomings.

I am really looking forward to fall camp, and know you are too.

Go Blue!

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