Detroit Free Press Ranks the Big Ten Coaches (#6. PJ Fleck, Minnesota)

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per the Detroit Free Press:

14. Mike Locksley, Maryland
13. Lovie Smith, Illinois
12. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
11. Mel Tucker, Michigan State
10. Scott Frost, Nebraska
9. Jeff Brohm, Purdue
8. Tom Allen, Indiana
7. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
6. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
4. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
3. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
2. James Franklin, Penn State
1. Ryan Day, Ohio State

detroitsportsnation.com

Detroit Free Press ranks the best Big Ten college football coaches

The news that Big Ten college football fans had been waiting to hear was confirmed last month – we will indeed be having a 2020 season. The festivities will be getting underway October 24. And as the preparations continue, one publication is taking a closer look at each of the head coaches and...
detroitsportsnation.com detroitsportsnation.com

Go Gophers!!
 


Fitzgerald has never gone to the Rose Bowl with Northwestern as a coach. He did as a player, 25 years ago, but I don't know how much weight that should carry. Scott Frost is probably the only head coach in the Big Ten to have won a national championship as a player, but should that place him as the top coach in the Big Ten? Ryan Day took Ohio State to the college football playoff, but not a Rose Bowl. Frost and Fleck I think are the only ones in the Big Ten who have taken group of 5 times to a NY6 bowl.

I can understand an argument that Northwestern football could be in a much worse place than it is if not for Fitzgerald, but I don't think a Rose Bowl appearance as a player should have too much bearing on the ranking.
 

These list without any context are useless. Harbaugh was great at Stanford but as bad a Brady Hoke at Michigan. Ryan Day is some guy that might be great with a good start but the jury is out. Chryst is probably pretty great, but they just fail in the big game almost every time so far.

PJ is as deserving as a 1, or 2 rating as anyone. If I had to rank them I'd put James Franklin #1, and Fleck #2. I respect Ferenz as well, but they just have not won the big games enough.

I'll never understand how Harbaugh got it done at Stanford, but just sucks beyond belief at Michigan.
 

Sparlimb said:
I know Northwestern is down, but Fitz has gone to the Rose Bowl. I don't rank anyone above him that hasn't. And he did it at Northwestern.
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Pat Fitzgerald that is under .500 in the big ten and hasn’t gone to the rose bowl as a coach?
That pat fitzgerald?
He took over a program where Gary Barnett won the big ten and Randy Walker also won a share.
He hasn’t won the big ten.
he hasn’t gone to a rose bowl.

He is a really good coach. But you giving him rose bowl appearances that don’t exist inflates how good people think he is
 


oak_street1981 said:
These list without any context are useless. Harbaugh was great at Stanford but as bad a Brady Hoke at Michigan. Ryan Day is some guy that might be great with a good start but the jury is out. Chryst is probably pretty great, but they just fail in the big game almost every time so far.

PJ is as deserving as a 1, or 2 rating as anyone. If I had to rank them I'd put James Franklin #1, and Fleck #2. I respect Ferenz as well, but they just have not won the big games enough.

I'll never understand how Harbaugh got it done at Stanford, but just sucks beyond belief at Michigan.
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The list doesn’t really matter.

Anyone could be ranked differently for different schools and it be right

I think jury is out in Mel Tucker. I think Locksley is awful.
Other than that nobody in the conference is worse that solid.
 


oak_street1981 said:
These list without any context are useless. Harbaugh was great at Stanford but as bad a Brady Hoke at Michigan. Ryan Day is some guy that might be great with a good start but the jury is out. Chryst is probably pretty great, but they just fail in the big game almost every time so far.

PJ is as deserving as a 1, or 2 rating as anyone. If I had to rank them I'd put James Franklin #1, and Fleck #2. I respect Ferenz as well, but they just have not won the big games enough.

I'll never understand how Harbaugh got it done at Stanford, but just sucks beyond belief at Michigan.
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Sucks beyond belief? He has gone 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 10-3, and 9-4 at Michigan, playing in some pretty good bowl games. We would kill to have a run of success like that. Brady Hoke went 7-6 and 5-7 his last 2 years.

Ferentz has won BCS bowls, and Chryst has lost the big games that we hope to one day get to play in.

I'm as big of a PJ fan as anyone, and believe he will eventually climb up this list, but to have him where he is now is completely fair. Overall I'd say it's a pretty good list, you are just being a homer. And shame on you for making me defend the three teams I hate the most all in one post.
 

Cayman said:
Fitzgerald has never gone to the Rose Bowl with Northwestern as a coach. He did as a player, 25 years ago, but I don't know how much weight that should carry. Scott Frost is probably the only head coach in the Big Ten to have won a national championship as a player, but should that place him as the top coach in the Big Ten? Ryan Day took Ohio State to the college football playoff, but not a Rose Bowl. Frost and Fleck I think are the only ones in the Big Ten who have taken group of 5 times to a NY6 bowl.

I can understand an argument that Northwestern football could be in a much worse place than it is if not for Fitzgerald, but I don't think a Rose Bowl appearance as a player should have too much bearing on the ranking.
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My bad, I thought he had. He has won the west but didn't win the championship game. In fact looking back, his record isn't all that great. Couple good years and lots of fringe bowl team. I still think he's a heck of a coach...
 



Sparlimb said:
My bad, I thought he had. He has won the west but didn't win the championship game. In fact looking back, his record isn't all that great. Couple good years and lots of fringe bowl team. I still think he's a heck of a coach...
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Yeah and I’m fine with crediting him if you have the viewpoint that, with a lesser coach, Northwestern could easily end up being the type of program that only makes a bowl game 2 or 3 times a decade and never sniffs the top 25, and Fitzgerald has clearly exceeded that bar.
 


i'm okay with it - turn around and have similar type of success in the next handful of years and he'll be right up there.

We're obviously biased here as we know this success will be sustainable, but you can't blame others for wanting an encore IMO.
 





Gophers1992 said:
Sucks beyond belief? He has gone 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 10-3, and 9-4 at Michigan, playing in some pretty good bowl games. We would kill to have a run of success like that. Brady Hoke went 7-6 and 5-7 his last 2 years.

Ferentz has won BCS bowls, and Chryst has lost the big games that we hope to one day get to play in.

I'm as big of a PJ fan as anyone, and believe he will eventually climb up this list, but to have him where he is now is completely fair. Overall I'd say it's a pretty good list, you are just being a homer. And shame on you for making me defend the three teams I hate the most all in one post.
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Jim Harbaugh was not hired at Michigan to lose to Ohio State five straight times and look like crap in bowl games. That is what counts, and he has failed.
 


oak_street1981 said:
Jim Harbaugh was not hired at Michigan to lose to Ohio State five straight times and look like crap in bowl games. That is what counts, and he has failed.
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Wisconsin is 0 forever in Rose Bowls in recent years and that is not a good thing either, the fans get a little tired of it. Sure Barry got it done but that is Barry.
 

oak_street1981 said:
Jim Harbaugh was not hired at Michigan to lose to Ohio State five straight times and look like crap in bowl games. That is what counts, and he has failed.
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Edit, looking like crap and losing in Bowl games is a MIchigan tradition, at least a Bo S. tradition.
 




I’m stumped by the praise for Franklin. Since he came to PSU, his teams are 1-5 against OSU, 2-4 against Michigan, and 2-4 against MSU. What is it that makes people say he’s one of the two or three best coaches in the B1G?
 

pk2 said:
I’m stumped by the praise for Franklin. Since he came to PSU, his teams are 1-5 against OSU, 2-4 against Michigan, and 2-4 against MSU. What is it that makes people say he’s one of the two or three best coaches in the B1G?
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He has won a big ten title for a program coming off one of the biggest scandals in the history of modern athletics?

his teams are 42-11 (28-8) in their last 53
 

pk2 said:
I’m stumped by the praise for Franklin. Since he came to PSU, his teams are 1-5 against OSU, 2-4 against Michigan, and 2-4 against MSU. What is it that makes people say he’s one of the two or three best coaches in the B1G?
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His is a top notch recruiter who is loading PSU with blue-chip players. If that is the most important aspect of being a coach (which I would argue), then he's one of the best in the Big Ten.
 

6. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
4. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
3. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
2. James Franklin, Penn State
1. Ryan Day, Ohio State

Of these guys, they never take recruiting area and reputation inherent to their school into account. If they did, The rankings would probably look more like this:

1. Chryst
2. Ferentz
3. Fleck
4. Franklin
5. Day
6. Harbaugh

Just look at the 4 and 5 stars on each roster and the historical performance of each team. Harbaugh is doing McDonald's with Manny's meats. Fleck did the opposite last year. Chryst and Ferentz always overperform their players recruiting rankings.

Come to think of it, based on my arguments, Fleck should be #1!

Just like in Basketball its easy to recruit to UNC, Duke, and UCLA. It's hard to make it happen at a non blue blood l;ike Wisconsin.

God, I hate using them as an example.​
 


If you were the athletic director at a B1G school with a football program in the doldrums, and you had your choice of any current B1G football coach to turn your program around, which coach would you hire?
 


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