The Athletic: Mandel's Top 25 College Coaches

mngg11

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https://theathletic.com/4289512/202...ch-rankings-mandel?source=user-shared-article

Rhule is ranked 16th having been gone for several years, that's a bit of BS in my eyes.

21. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota (2022: No. 18): Fleck’s Gophers quietly notched their second consecutive 9-4 campaign and are now 32-14 over the last four seasons. Crazy stat: Minnesota had posted only two nine-win seasons in the previous 110 years. (Though it did win five national titles in the eight-game era.)
 
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Other rankings:
1a Saban
1b Smart
3 Dabo
4 Brian Kelly
5 Lincoln Riley
6 Harbaugh
7 Day
8 Whittingham
9 Fickell
10 Franklin
11 Leipold
12 Monken (?)
13 Clawson (?)
14 Gundy
15 Klieman
16 Rhule
17 Dykes
18 Heupel
19 Kiffin
20 Mark Stoops
21 PJ
22 Freeze
23 Jimbo (???)
24 Jonathan Smith (Oregon St.)
25 Matt Campbell (?)

Also mentioned: Kalen DeBoer (Washington), Jamey Chadwell (Liberty), Norvell (FSU), Sitake (BYU), Willie Fritz (Tulane), Jeff Traylor (UTSA), Troy Calhoun (AF), Shane Beamer (SCar)
 

Rhule is a tough one to rank. He has definitely shown to be a successful turnaround guy, but he left for the NFL before we could really see how well he sustains things. I'm biased and would rank PJ ahead of him, but for the most part the names below him don't jump out to me as being snubbed.

I like Leipold and think he's a good coach, but I also think 11 seems a bit high but then again after the top 7-8 or so on that list it gets a little muddy.
 

Rhule is a tough one to rank. He has definitely shown to be a successful turnaround guy, but he left for the NFL before we could really see how well he sustains things. I'm biased and would rank PJ ahead of him, but for the most part the names below him don't jump out to me as being snubbed.

I like Leipold and think he's a good coach, but I also think 11 seems a bit high but then again after the top 7-8 or so on that list it gets a little muddy.
My thoughts as well, 7, 8 guys have separated themselves from the pack and then it gets muddy. When you see a list like this...it is apparent PJ is a viable target for lots of schools looking for coaches. He has a lot of positives.
Will we go 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 with a bowl win in the '23 season? As much as we run the ball, another RB from the portal in spring would be nice, along with another OL guy. We are probably ok but running the ball is a very big part of who PJ is. I don't see us chucking it around to a significant increase even if AK8 is elite.

Brohm, Ferentz, Fitzgerald and Bert the Illinois guy are in the muddy group too?
 

My thoughts as well, 7, 8 guys have separated themselves from the pack and then it gets muddy. When you see a list like this...it is apparent PJ is a viable target for lots of schools looking for coaches. He has a lot of positives.
Will we go 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 with a bowl win in the '23 season? As much as we run the ball, another RB from the portal in spring would be nice, along with another OL guy. We are probably ok but running the ball is a very big part of who PJ is. I don't see us chucking it around to a significant increase even if AK8 is elite.

Brohm, Ferentz, Fitzgerald and Bert the Illinois guy are in the muddy group too?

Classic comment by the author, Mandel, in regards to why Ferentz wasn't ranked...

A note about Kirk Ferentz: I did not consider the Iowa coach this year because I consider his continued loyalty to son Brian as OC to be an act of negligence.

BOOM!!!

IMG_2857 3.GIF
 


My thoughts as well, 7, 8 guys have separated themselves from the pack and then it gets muddy. When you see a list like this...it is apparent PJ is a viable target for lots of schools looking for coaches. He has a lot of positives.
Will we go 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 with a bowl win in the '23 season? As much as we run the ball, another RB from the portal in spring would be nice, along with another OL guy. We are probably ok but running the ball is a very big part of who PJ is. I don't see us chucking it around to a significant increase even if AK8 is elite.

Brohm, Ferentz, Fitzgerald and Bert the Illinois guy are in the muddy group too?
I believe Gophs will pass more than you're thinking. Should be more balanced.
 

I believe Gophs will pass more than you're thinking. Should be more balanced.
I think they will pass more too. I just don't think it will be anything like 60% of the time. I do kind of expect it to be more than they run. But, tough to say...we gotta be able to actually do it well. I think we will, but if we can't we won't force it based on history.
 

Franklin and Leipold are way overrated. Franklin just seems to have tread water at arguably a blue blood program. Leipold is 45-50 as a FBS coach. Calhoun is on par or better than Monken. Stoops, Ferentz, and Gundy are underrated. Riley is overrated too just because he’s never won anything big while only coaching elite programs that he didn’t build. No Mac Brown mention?
 
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Franklin and Leipold are way overrated. Franklin just seems to have tread water at arguably a blue blood program. Leipold is 45-50 as a FBS coach. Calhoun is on par or better than Monken. Stoops, Kiffin, and Gundy are underrated. Riley is overrated too just because he’s never won anything big while only coaching elite programs that he didn’t build. No Mac Brown mention?
He's basically averaged 9+ wins a season at PSU. Won the Rose Bowl and ended up ranked #7 last year. I guess if treading water is maintaining PSU as an elite program, then I agree.
 



He's basically averaged 9+ wins a season at PSU. Won the Rose Bowl and ended up ranked #7 last year. I guess if treading water is maintaining PSU as an elite program, then I agree.
Yeah if anything from what I read Franklin tends to get way underrated. He’s had multiple 11 win seasons playing in one of the toughest divisions in CFB. And when he got to PSU they were still recovering from sanctions.
 

He's basically averaged 9+ wins a season at PSU. Won the Rose Bowl and ended up ranked #7 last year. I guess if treading water is maintaining PSU as an elite program, then I agree.
He hasn’t elevated the program, one conference title. They used to be level with OSU and Michigan, I don’t think that is the case now.
 

Yeah if anything from what I read Franklin tends to get way underrated. He’s had multiple 11 win seasons playing in one of the toughest divisions in CFB. And when he got to PSU they were still recovering from sanctions.
Lucky for him all the sanctions were inexplicably waived when he took over.
 

Jimbo Fisher must be getting consideration for his ability to land, mostly by pay for play, top level recruits. Can't imagine his coaching has much to do with it!
 



I think they will pass more too. I just don't think it will be anything like 60% of the time.
FYI Robbie, there were only 8 teams that passed it over 60% of the time and only 52 passed it over 50% of the time out of the 131 teams. We only threw it 34% of the time last year.

I do kind of expect it to be more than they run. But, tough to say...we gotta be able to actually do it well. I think we will, but if we can't we won't force it based on history.
The emphasis on going to get 2 good portal WRs and BMS coming back are indicative that we’ll be throwing more.

As the analyst said during the WI game, see he AGREED with me, Fleck has featured a run heavy O ( only the three service academies ran it more last year than we did), is because that’s the best personnel he had and methinks, he wanted to establish it, prior to becoming more of a passing team, ala Saban’s tenure at Bama. That’s playing chess and not checkers.

I see us in the 43-46% range.
 
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FYI Robbie, there were only 8 teams that passed it over 60% of the time and only 52 passed it over 50% of the time out of the 131 teams. We only threw it 34% of the time last year.


The emphasis on going to get 2 good portal WRs and BMS coming back are indicative that we’ll be throwing more.

As the analyst said during the WI game, see he AGREED with me, Fleck has featured a run heavy O ( only the three service academies ran it more last year than we did), is because that’s the best personnel he had and methinks, he wanted to establish it, prior to becoming more of a passing team, ala Saban’s tenure at Bama. That’s playing chess and not checkers.

I see us in the 43-46% range.
I don't get the people enamored by air raid throw it all over the place offenses! Do they realize that it takes a toll on defenses because they're on the field about 60% of each game? I'll take a 55-60% run team all day long!!!
 

I don't get the people enamored by air raid throw it all over the place offenses! Do they realize that it takes a toll on defenses because they're on the field about 60% of each game? I'll take a 55-60% run team all day long!!!
Fun to watch, but not good strategy
 

I don't get the people enamored by air raid throw it all over the place offenses! Do they realize that it takes a toll on defenses because they're on the field about 60% of each game? I'll take a 55-60% run team all day long!!!
It is less direct than you think. Washington (11 wins) had the #1 pass offense and had a TOP of 52%. Gophs pass offense was ranked #115 and had a TOP of 57%. Sounds like a lot of difference, but the difference is 3 minutes. Tennessee (11 wins) was dead last at TOP of 42%, and #5 in pass offense.

The potential problem with a very run-heavy/TOP focused offense is the inability to score quickly when needed, and there have been games in the past two years where that became apparent for the Gophs.
 

It is less direct than you think. Washington (11 wins) had the #1 pass offense and had a TOP of 52%. Gophs pass offense was ranked #115 and had a TOP of 57%. Sounds like a lot of difference, but the difference is 3 minutes. Tennessee (11 wins) was dead last at TOP of 42%, and #5 in pass offense.

The potential problem with a very run-heavy/TOP focused offense is the inability to score quickly when needed, and there have been games in the past two years where that became apparent for the Gophs.
I agree the ability to pass the ball when needed is important and PJ ran the ball too much. Glancing at the passing statistics, it seemed to me that Washington had more of a controlled passing attack and Tennessee was more of a quick strike offense. I wonder if the inexplicable loss to S Carolina was due to the Tennessee defense being too worn down by being on the field so much. If Tennessee was more balanced, perhaps they would have been National Champs instead of UGA.
 




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