Coaches Rankings: Mountain West and MAC Edition

Coaches Rankings—Mountain West and MAC Edition

These rankings are a combination of several factors, including longevity, coaching skills (recruiting, player development, game planning), and impact on winning.  For a full explanation of the data that was used for these rankings, see “Behind the Rankings” at the end of these lists.

Because change in winning percentage, as well as experience as a head coach, counts in these ratings, many times, new coaches will “sink to the bottom” as there is no data to use for evaluation purposes.

Mountain West Conference

In the past few years, the Mountain West has become very top heavy, and the three sterling programs (BYU, TCU, and Utah) have demonstrated the skill to be consistently considered potential “BCS Busters.”  

The coaching in the conference has likewise been upgraded, with some of the “stale” programs upgrading to younger, more dynamic coaches, like Steve Fairchild and Troy Calhoun.  New Mexico and Wyoming got into the act this season and welcome new coaches as well.

1.  Gary Patterson, TCU.  Though he has never led the Frogs to a BCS berth, they have been close a few times.  Likewise, TCU has pulled enough upsets that BCS teams are hesitant to schedule them, and Patterson is the reason why.

He coaches tough, aggressive defenses, which have resulted in a career .730 winning percent.  In addition he has won two conference titles with the Frogs (Conference USA in 2002 and the Mountain West in 2005).

2.  Bronco Mendenhall, BYU.  Mendenhall has led a resurgence of Cougar football and they are winning like they did in the Edwards era.  BYU has been a consistent Top 25 program over the last few seasons, finishing ranked in the final polls for the past three seasons.

For five seasons prior to Mendenhall, the Cougars were barely treading water, winning at just a .525 clip.  In his four seasons, he is 38-13 (.745) with back-to-back MWC titles in 2006-2007.  Over the past three seasons, his Cougars are 22-2 in the Mountain West.

3.  Kyle Whittingham, Utah.  After 10 seasons as Ute defensive coordinator, Whittingham continues to build the program first brought to prominence by Urban Meyer.  His teams have progressively improved each season, capped with last season’s undefeated 13-0 record and a No. 2 finish in the AP poll.

How well his team moves forward from their success will be significant.  If Whittingham continues the success, he could easily supplant Patterson as the league’s best coach.

4.  Troy Calhoun, Air Force.  Running his version of the triple option (the “spread flex”), AFA alum Calhoun has re-energized a program that had become stagnant in the final years of Fisher DeBerry.  The Falcons should be able to reclaim the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy soon, replacing Navy.

Unfortunately for Air Force, there is a ceiling on success.  Given the strength of the big three in the Mountain West, further upward mobility will be difficult. 

However, Calhoun is a winner, garnering the 2007 Mountain West coach of the year award while going 17-9 in two seasons.

5.  Steve Fairchild, Colorado State.  Fairchild inherited a program that had not won more than six games in a season since 2003.  He won seven in his initial campaign as head Ram.  If he is able to return the Rams to the glory days of the Lubick (under whom he was an assistant), then he will shoot up these ratings.

When he was an assistant with the Rams from 1993-2001, the program was 75-33.  This included a 12-1 season in 1997, in which the Rams finished the season ranked No. 17.

6.  Brady Hoke, San Diego State.  Though he has yet to coach a game for the Aztecs, Hoke turned Ball State into the story of the season for most of 2008.  The Aztec program has been successful at times in the past, but there is a belief that this is potentially one of those “sleeping giants.” 

If Hoke can wake up the program, the MWC might not be the same.  He also made two great hires in Offensive Coordinator Al Borges, and former head Lobo Rocky Long.

7.  Mike Sanford, UNLV.  Sanford, another Meyer disciple, held onto his job last season following a 5-7 season, which was marked improvement from four straight two-win years.  Sanford, however, needs to keep winning to demonstrate that progress is being made.

T8.  Dave Christensen, Wyoming.  Christensen has come in with a tough approach, demanding players either “grow or go.”  He will also be installing the Missouri version of the spread offense, and so the team should become exciting to watch on offense.  Sadly, for the Cowboys, there is no Daniels, Maclin, or Coffman on the roster.

T8.  Mike Locksley, New Mexico.  The Locksley era has not gotten off to a smooth start, due to sexual harassment allegations being filed against him.  Despite this, he is known as a relentless recruiter and was a major reason for Arrelious Benn signing with Illinois. 

Mid-American Conference

The MAC has a number of new coaches joining the fray for this season.  There have been changes at Bowling Green, Miami, Toledo, Eastern Michigan and Ball State.  In fact, only J.D. Brookhart of Akron and Doug Martin of Kent have been with their current school for five seasons.

1.  Frank Solich, Ohio.  Part of this rating is due to his success at Nebraska, where he was forced out following a record of 58-19 in six seasons.  At Ohio, Solich led the 2006 Bobcats to their first nine-win season since 1968.  He is 23-26 overall at Ohio, but before him the team posted a .316 winning percentage from 2000-2004.

2.  Turner Gill, Buffalo.  Gill’s rising coaching stardom can be attributed to last season’s 8-6 campaign and Buffalo’s first ever bowl game.  Capping off the season was a stunning victory over previously undefeated Ball State in the MAC title game.

Gill entertained offers from other schools in the offseason, and if he is able to continue winning at Buffalo, he will likely be able to name his position. 

Gill is 15-23 in his three seasons at Buffalo. Though it is a sub-500 record it is considered a drastic improvement considering how dismal the college football program had been before his arrival.

T3.  Bill Cubit, Western Michigan.  Cubit has led Western Michigan to two bowl games in four seasons as head coach.  His first team finished 7-4, doing a 180 from the 1-10 team that Cubit had inherited.  He has yet to win a division title, but his time appears to be coming. 

With QB Tim Hiller returning, 2009 could be a big season for the Broncos. If they are able to edge Central Michigan for the MAC West title, then the third place tie will be broken.

T3.  Butch Jones, Central Michigan.  Jones took over following Brian Kelly’s departure for Cincinnati, and the team has not missed a beat.  The Chippewas won the MAC in his first season and finished second in the West last year.  He is 16-11 in two seasons, and his team will likely be the favorite for the 2009 MAC title.

5.  Al Golden, Temple.  Golden has brought Temple back from the brink.  The program joined the MAC in 2007, and the program has gone .500 in MAC play.  A bowl berth is the next logical step for Golden’s Owls.

In three years, he has won 10 games at Temple.  The Owls were 3-31 in the three years prior to his arrival.

6.  Jerry Kill, Northern Illinois.  2008 was a successful start for Coach Kill with his team finishing 6-7 followed by a loss in the Independence Bowl.  He also has quality experience from his time building the Southern Illinois program at the FCS level.  Kill seems to be the right hire to help the Huskies back to the upper-echelon of the MAC

7.  Doug Martin, Kent.  Martin has been the coach of Kent since 2004, and his tenure has been fairly inconsistent.  In 2005, the Flashes were just 1-10, only to finish at 6-6 the next season, 2007 was a struggle however, and they slipped to 3-9.

Still, the 2006 squad won six games for only the second time since 1987.  As he enters his sixth season, 2009 will be an important season. Kent is no longer a laughingstock, but more wins are needed.

8.  J.D. Brookhart, Akron.  Following his first two seasons, Akron was slightly above .500 (13-12), with a bowl appearance and an 11-5 MAC conference record.  Since that time, however, the program has backslid, finishing 3-5 in the conference in each of the past three years.

Brookhart is entering his sixth season, and given the turnover in the MAC, without posting a winning season, his job might be in jeopardy.

9.  Stan Parrish, Ball State.  He is elevated above the other first years due to one simple reason.  Parrish was a head coach for three seasons prior to this position. 

This is still a puzzling hire, as his previous head coaching stops were Marshall (back when it was I-AA) and Kansas State (just prior to the arrival of Bill Snyder).  The combined record at those two schools:  15-38-1.

Parrish is 62, and most recently served as offensive coordinator for the Cardinals attack.

10.  Dave Clawson, Bowling Green.  Clawson followed a very successful stint as head coach at Richmond, with a disaster of a season as offensive coordinator at Tennessee. 

Clawson steps into a Bowling Green position that might not be as bad as it seems.  Former coach Gregg Brandon developed some good offensive players, and so Clawson’s offense might work well.

T11.  Ron English, Eastern Michigan.  English has long been regarded as a top-flight defensive coordinator (Michigan and Louisville), but he has his work cut out for him here.  Not only did the Eagles have one of the worst defenses in the nation, but they have also historically been a very bad football team. 

English might well make a good head coach, but the Eagles program is more of a graveyard for coaches.  There has not been a winning season in Ypsilanti since 1995. 

T11.  Mike Haywood, Miami, OH.  The former Notre Dame receiver takes over for Shane Montgomery, who was released following a dismal 2-10 record last season.  Still, Montgomery won (or tied for) two divisional championships in four seasons, and so perhaps, the cupboard is not bare.

Haywood was strongly considered for the Houston job in 2007, and so he should be ready to take over this program.

T11.  Tim Beckman, Toledo.  For most of this decade, Toledo was one of the MAC’s preeminent teams, going 55-19 from 2000-2005.  The fans have not forgotten and so Beckman is charged with leading the team back to the top of the standings, while also dealing with the aftermath of the continued problems involving point shaving 

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?