USA TODAY: Big Ten football coach rankings start with Curt Cignetti, Ryan Day https://share.google/Vhq4z5OW8WtuBWs8f

Arminius

Schell's Beer Fan
Joined
Jan 20, 2024
Messages
320
Reaction score
396
Points
63
I start disagreeing at 7 only to get more irritated with the anti-Minnesota/PJF bias.

GoGophers!

10. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
The consistency is commendable: Fleck has reached the postseason in every non-COVID season except for his 2017 debut, when Minnesota finished one game shy of bowl eligibility. The Gophers haven’t gotten over the hump after an 11-win 2019, though, even if they’ve been able to carve out some distance from the Big Ten’s second tier.

 
Last edited:



Over the last four years, PJ'S B1G winning percentage is exactly .500, and you have to go back 5 years to find a season where he finished better than one game over .500 (5-4). I think it's fair to make an argument that consistency and the 2019 high water mark warrant a higher ranking, but being ranked right around the middle of a conference that PJ has had us right around the middle of for the last several years doesn't feel like an egregious injustice.
 



I'd put PJ with personally, he is a better coach than Rhule, and IMO Campbell, but I understand why they put Campbell higher Lots of good coaches in this league, Schiano, Fitz and Fickell have all had the type of success that we are craving for at their peaks. I think Brahn at 17 is insane and honestly not sure how Locksley isn't number 18. Guys like Chesley and Odom had success at previous stops but this conference is a whole different animal
 







Whittingham, Campbell and Rhule all should be in the bottom half. Even Riley at #6 is pretty debatable. Fleck is top half...#7-8 IMHO.
Last year, Riley had a very good year, so I’m not surprised he’s higher. Coming into last year, I would not have had him in the top ten.

Rhule has had enough time to prove himself in the B1G, but has not done so. Lower half is correct until he has at least one 8-4 season, and then I’d still be suspect.
 

Oh great, another ranking of Big Ten coaches that's just the prior year's standings with absolutely zero adjustment for the degree of difficulty winning at one school versus another.
 

Over the last four years, PJ'S B1G winning percentage is exactly .500, and you have to go back 5 years to find a season where he finished better than one game over .500 (5-4). I think it's fair to make an argument that consistency and the 2019 high water mark warrant a higher ranking, but being ranked right around the middle of a conference that PJ has had us right around the middle of for the last several years doesn't feel like an egregious injustice.

Yes, but here are the conference records over the last FIVE years:

2021​
6​
3​
2022​
5​
4​
2023​
3​
6​
2024​
5​
4​
2025​
5​
4​
Total
24​
21​
0.533333​

That's exactly what you said but it should be noted that four of the last five years had winning conference records and that 2023 season looks very different from the others (that truly was a bad team). The only other current Big Ten teams to have winning conference records in at least four of the last five years (including in the PAC 12) are: Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, and Iowa.

I also think that we have harder schedules now than we did in the former conference when we played 6 games each season against the Big Ten West. In the upcoming season we play Indiana, Michigan, Washington, Penn State, and Iowa. How often did we play 5 potential top 25 to 30 conference teams when we were in the Big Ten West?
 



Whittingham, Campbell and Rhule all should be in the bottom half. Even Riley at #6 is pretty debatable. Fleck is top half...#7-8 IMHO.
I think a case can be made that both Bielema and Ferentz should be ranked higher than they are. Rhule seems to be a darling for some reason. Riley seems to do less with more and ranking Whittingham where he is is just throwing mud at the wall.
 





Top Bottom