Coaches Rankings: PAC-10 and Sun Belt Editions

.  Stockstill has led the Blue Raiders since 2006, going 17-20 in that time.  His team appears on the verge of breaking through with a conference championship, but for whatever reason, all of the pieces just have not clicked.

 

 

6.  Ricky Bustle, ULL.  Since taking over in 2002, Bustle’s teams have shown considerable improvement.  They have won at least six games in three of the past four seasons. 

 

These have been the program’s first non-losing seasons since 1995.

 

 

7.  Mario Cristobal, FIU.  Cristobal is one of those coaches who many believe will continue to improve.  His team was able to do that last season going from 1-11 in 2007 to 5-7 last season.  With a few more recruiting classes, this might become the dominant program in the Sun Belt.

 

 

8.  David Elson, Western Kentucky.  Elson has led the Hilltoppers since 2003, guiding the transition from I-AA to full-fledged I-A (oops, FBS) status.  The program still has a long climb ahead.

 

Elson’s I-AA teams were successful, however, and if he is able to recruit, Western Kentucky could shoot up the Sun Belt standings.

 

 

9.  Todd Dodge, North Texas.  To be brutally honest, the “Dodge Ball” experiment is just not working.  Dodge is 3-21 at North Texas, and his defenses have been brutalized, partially due to the aggressive offensive style.

 

The 2007 squad allowed 74 points to Navy, while in 2008, Rice was able to a 77-20 victory.

 

 

 

Behind the Rankings

 

These rankings are not simply my arbitrary opinion but rather a combination of objective and subjective elements to determine the value of each coach in the country.  Ratings were calculated using the following:

 

Head Coaching Experience (up to four points):  Years of previous head coach experience

 

Previous Titles (up to two points):  One point for national titles (.5 if won with different school) and one point for conference championships (.5 if won with different school)

 

Performance over time (up to three points):  For coaches with less than five years at a school, the coach’s winning percentage at the school is compared versus previous five seasons winning percentage.  For coaches with more than five years at a school, the overall winning percentage is compared to percentage over the last three seasons.

 

Coaching Skills (up to 12 points):  This is much more subjective.  How well does a coach recruit, motivate, and develop his players.  At what level is he able to game plan, make adjustments, etc?

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?