Decade Dominance: 10 College Football Coaches Who Could Rule This Decade

Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Mack Brown, Jim Tressel, and Bob Stoops.

To those who don't follow college football, they may seem like just everyday ordinary names, but to those that truly know the sport, the names are recognized as legendary.

Those six are legends of a decade. The turn of the millennium signaled dominance for these six coaches. Each of them won at least one national championship during that time and brought their respective programs to unmatched success during the last ten years.

It's debatable as to who exactly was "the coach of the decade" but there's no denying that all six of these men brought some pretty heavy criteria and credentials to the table.

Now as we turn the calendar to a new decade, it's time to look at which coaches could find that same type of success in this brand new 10-year span.

With Carroll off to the NFL, Meyer having some health concerns, Stoops seemingly always up for a new job, and the rest getting up there in age, it seems like the crown for "coach of this decade" is up for grabs and anyone's for the taking.

10. Gene Chizik: Auburn

After finishing a combined 5-19 in his two seasons at Iowa State, many questioned Gene Chizik's hire as Auburn's Head Coach over Turner Gill back in December of 2008.

The critics were trying to make the hire out to be an issue of race, which given the circumstances was fair, but they were missing the big picture. Chizik, a former defensive coordinator for the Tigers, wasn't brought in because of the color of his skin; he was hired because of his familiarity with the program and its recruiting circles.

This offseason, after guiding his young team to an eight-win season and a New Year's Day Bowl victory, Chizik proved he could put his team's positive results on the field to good use on the recruiting trail as he pulled in a top-ten recruiting class filled with exciting talent for the future.

9. Steve Sarkisian: Washington

Going into his second season as head coach at Washington, Steve Sarkisian has the benefit of returning senior signal caller Jake Locker, who many are classifying as the top QB in the nation.

That’s good news for Coach Sark because he’s certainly no stranger to succeeding with strong quarterback play. During his time at USC, Sarkisian had the benefit of players such as Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Mark Sanchez.

More importantly, while at USC, Sarkisian had his mentor Pete Carroll, from whom he learned the type of enthusiasm it takes to run a successful top-notch football program.

The 36-year-old coach now looks to bring that kind of atmosphere to Seattle for the long term.

Sarkisian laid the groundwork during his first season in 2009, finishing just one win away from bowl eligibility and upsetting his former mentor Carroll in one of the most exciting wins the school has seen in quite some time.

8. Skip Holtz: South Florida

Jim Leavitt molded South Florida into a dangerous threat in his 15 seasons as head coach; now it's up to new coach Skip Holtz to turn them into a full-fledged contender.

Holtz knows a thing or two about being a dangerous threat; he picked off both West Virginia and Virginia Tech during his time as East Carolina's main man. He also built his Pirates team into a conference contender with a steady influx of talent through recruiting.

Lou's son had to battle for players with bigger name schools like UNC, NC State, and others, and was viewed as a lower conference afterthought. Yet, somehow Skip was still able to manage his Pirate team to consistent success.

Holtz will once again be an afterthought in the state—this time behind programs like Florida, FSU, and Miami. But with a wide talent base at his disposal, the 46-year-old coach should have no trouble finding players to compete for a conference championship regularly.

7. Randy Edsall: UConn

One man who could be standing between Holtz and a Big East title is UConn's Randy Edsall.

The Huskies coach helped usher the program through the transition up to the top level of football when UConn joined the Big East back in 2004. Since joining the conference, Edsall has won at least eight games in four out of six seasons.

Not too shabby for a team that rarely gets any national attention from major media.

During the 2009 season, Edsall showed off his true leadership ability after the tragic death of Jasper Howard by guiding his heartbroken team to an eight-win season and a win over South Carolina in the Papa Johns Bowl.

It may have taken a tragedy to realize what a special coach and man Randy Edsall really is. But now we all know that the coach could have some big things in store for UConn in this decade.

6. Randy Shannon: Miami

Randy Shannon played linebacker for the Canes during their heyday in the late 80s when the the team was loaded with swagger and attitude. After his playing days were over, Shannon continued on with the program as a graduate assistant and worked his way up the coaching ladder from there.

In December of 2006, Shannon reached the top of that ladder when he replaced Larry Coker as the team's new head coach.

Randy saw that the team had hit a bit of lull after starting off the decade like gangbusters.

Shannon has slowly been building the Canes back into the team that once ruled college football. The program has improved its win total by two games season in each of the 44-year-old coach's three seasons.

Da U isn't completely back yet, but it's beginning to resemble it's old dominant ways. Don't be surprised if Miami rules the ACC sooner rather than later.

5. Jimbo Fisher: Florida State

Another perennial Florida power that has fallen off recently is the Canes' archival, the Florida State Seminoles.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden dominated back in the 90s but eventually his age caught up with him and the rest of the conference caught up with his team. Once a top-five mainstay, FSU was only able to muster up two double-digit win seasons in the new millennium. Thus, it was obvious a replacement was sorely needed for the 80-year-old coach.

The Noles couldn't have found a better replacement than Jimbo Fisher.

In 2007, Fisher, a former Nick Saban protegé, officially became the "coach in waiting" (that cute term that an increasing number of college football teams are using these days) for the Noles.

It may have taken three seasons, but Fisher has finally arrived ready to lead the Seminoles back to ACC dominance.

Bowden put the program on the map, and now it's up to Fisher to keep it there.

4. Chip Kelly: Oregon

Things didn't exactly start off great for Chip Kelly last season.

In his first game as head coach of the Ducks, Kelly's team looked thoroughly inept against Boise State, and the offensive guru's offense looked downright awful.

Add to that star RB LeGarrette Blount's complete meltdown after the game, and it looked like Kelly had bitten off more than he could chew trying to replace Mike Bellotti.

Patience is a virtue, though.

Kelly quickly showed he could deal with a little turmoil by leading his team to a Pac-10 championship and a Rose Bowl berth.

It seems like everyone wants to play in a spread offense these days, and few can match the high-octane one Kelly employs.

Was Oregon's triumphant upset of USC last season really the changing of the guard in the Pac-10?

3. Lane Kiffin: USC

Not if this man has anything to do with it.

USC won't start out the decade with a bang (a two-year bowl exclusion will make sure of that), but if Kiffin can keep the recruits coming like former head man Pete Carroll did, then he should have a great shot at success.

Kiffin may not have proven his worth as a head coach in the win column yet, but if there's a reason for optimism, it's the fact that the 35-year-old has the ability to connect with the kids.

Lane may rub a lot of people the wrong way, but one group that seems fond of the former Tennessee coach is elite high school football players.

You can bet that Kiffin is going to continually stack up the talent, the only question is can he stack up the wins too?

2. Brian Kelly: Notre Dame

One coach that has stacked up the wins over the last three seasons is Notre Dame's Brian Kelly—33 of them to be exact.

Kelly is a builder in every sense of the word and he seems like the perfect fit to re-energize an Irish program trying to come out of the doldrums of the Charlie Weis era.

Coach Kelly has a plan and it seems like a good one.

Notre Dame may be one of the most hated college football teams in the country, but it's hard to have anything but appreciation when you watch a guy like Brian Kelly coach up his players.

Notre Dame has flirted with the thought recently, but now under Kelly, it seems like they may actually be back—in a big way.

1. Bo Pelini: Nebraska

Two seasons, 19 wins.

Those are Bo Pelini's credentials going into this decade as Nebraska's head coach.

Pelini has Nebraska back to playing Nebraska football—hard-nosed running and tough-minded defense, as the program prepares for the move to the Big Ten after next season.

The move brings about many new exciting challenges and opportunities for the Cornhuskers and could signal a change and a return.

It could mean a change to a new conference but also a return to superiority. Under Pelini, Nebraska has a chance to flourish in its new digs.

They're back to playing Nebraska football once again and that certainly doesn't bode well for the team's future opponents.