Ranking College Football Playoff Teams by Their Coaching Staffs
Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State could not have won their respective conferences and made the College Football Playoff without great coaching staffs.
But which staff is the best of the group?
To answer that, we've graded all four staffs by unit: head coach, offensive, defensive and special teams. The first three groups were all graded on a scale of 1-10. Special teams was graded out of five.
It's tricky to try and answer this question, too, because at least one fanbase (and probably as many as three) are going to feel insulted. I accept that inevitability and look forward to discussing with all of you. But please trust that I (a) don't hate your team and (b) think all four of these staffs are among the 10 best in the country.
That is why they've made it this far.
Sounds off below and—gulp—let me know what you think.
4. Florida State
1 of 4
Overall Grade: 28/35
Head Coach
- Jimbo Fisher
Jimbo Fisher has earned his reputation as a top-five coach in college football. He studied under Nick Saban, Les Miles and Bobby Bowden before taking over his own program, and there are hints of all three mentors in his coaching style. Florida State has made too many comebacks to count this season, which is a testament to Fisher's in-game proficiency. No coach makes better second-half adjustments.
Grade: 9/10
Offensive Staff
- OC Lawrence Dawsey
- OC Randy Sanders
- QB Randy Sanders
- RB Jay Graham
- WR Lawrence Dawsey
- TE Tim Brewster
- OL Rich Trickett
Randy Sanders is a quarterbacks specialist who developed Tee Martin, Casey Clausen and Erik Ainge at Tennessee and Andre Woodson and Mike Hartline at Kentucky. But his finest work to date has been Jameis Winston, in whose development Sanders has been instrumental.
The rest of the staff has great continuity. Rich Trickett has been around forever and has built some dominant lines. Lawrence Dawsey has coached some fine wide receivers since 2007. Jay Graham is the new kid on the block, having joined the staff in 2013, but he proved his worth in the SEC with South Carolina and Tennessee.
Fisher has a big (arguably dominant) hand in what the Seminoles do on offense, but he couldn't get it done without his assistants.
Grade: 8/10
Defensive Staff
- DC Charles Kelly
- DE Sal Sunseri
- DT Odell Haggins
- LB Bill Miller
- DB Charles Kelly
FSU's defensive staff is in a bit of a transition period.
Jeremy Pruitt left for Georgia after guiding the defense to a national championship in 2013, and the Seminoles have not quite recovered. First-year coordinator Charles Kelly has at times looked in over his head as he balances multiple responsibilities.
Having veterans such as Sal Sunseri around to help has been useful, but it's hard not to notice the drop-off the Seminoles have suffered this season. The athletes are there for this defense to be every bit as good as last year's (if not at least somewhere in the ballpark), but the coaching has not been up to snuff.
It just hasn't.
Grade: 7/10
Special Teams Coordinator
- Jay Graham
Graham has done a capable job with Florida State's special teams—but he definitely hasn't been great. He added the responsibility after Kelly was moved to coordinator, and the Noles have dropped from No. 27 to No. 43 on Football Outsiders' F/+ ratings.
Grade: 4/5
3. Oregon
2 of 4
Overall Grade: 29/35
Head Coach
- Mark Helfrich
Mark Helfrich is a quality head coach who is starting to forge his own identity. He will forever be associated with his mentor, Chip Kelly, whom he succeed as the head coach last season—but that is not the worst person to be associated with. And he definitely earned points by keeping the ship afloat through injuries this season.
Grade: 8/10
Offensive Staff
- OC Scott Frost
- QB Scott Frost
- RB Gary Campbell
- WR Matt Lubick
- OL Steve Greatwood
- TE Tom Osborne
- PGC John Neal
Scott Frost has been a hot name in coaching circles, and it's not hard to see why. He has a master's degree in the Kelly/Helfrich offense and appears to have a great rapport with players. It's hard to analyze him with confidence until he proves he can win without Marcus Mariota, but the smart money says he will do fine.
But the real gem of the staff is offensive line coach Steve Greatwood, a holdover from the Mike Belotti era who has been a stalwart in the rise of Oregon football. The Ducks have turned non-blue-chip recruits into All-Conference linemen at a staggering rate this past decade, and Greatwood's expertise has been a big reason for that.
Grade: 9/10
Defensive Staff
- DC Don Pellum
- DL Ron Aiken
- OLB Erik Chinander
- ILB Don Pellum
- DB John Neal
Don Pellum is a long-time Oregon assistant but a first-year defensive coordinator. He inherited the role when Nick Aliotti retired this offseason, and the reviews have thus far been mixed.
Oregon's defense, for example, played the best game of its season on the big stage against Arizona. But it also struggled to hold leads during the meat of conference play, allowing teams to stay within striking distance by blowing coverages and missing tackles.
This is a solid staff that does a solid job with solid athletes, but it's a cut or two below the other defensive staffs on this list.
Grade: 7/10
Special Teams Coordinator
- Tom Osborne
Oregon ranks No. 12 in special teams on Football Outsiders' F/+ ratings—highest among the four teams in the playoff. It finished No. 26 in 2013, No. 18 in 2012 and hasn't ranked outside the top 40 since 2009. Tom Osborne has been in charge of the unit during this entire successful run. That has not been a coincidence.
Grade: 5/5
2. Alabama
3 of 4
Overall Grade: 31/35
Head Coach
- Nick Saban
Nick Saban is the gold standard. He just is. He's won four national titles including three in the past five seasons. He's won at every college stop of his career. NFL adherents still laugh at Saban for his failings with the Miami Dolphins, but that couldn't matter less within the framework of this article. I almost had to give him 11.
Grade: 10/10
Offensive Staff
- OC Lane Kiffin
- QB Lane Kiffin
- RB Burton Burns
- WR Billy Napier
- TE Bobby Williams
- OL Mario Cristobal
This is a great offensive staff.
It all starts with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee and USC and a Broyles Award finalist in his first year in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin brings a creative vision to a Crimson Tide offense that was sorely lacking before he arrived. He also brings a smooth rapport with the players.
"Lane has done a fantastic job for us across the board," Saban said in late December, per Cliff Kirkpatrick of News-Press.com. "He’s a very good teacher. He has a really good way with the players in terms how they respond to him, in terms of he’s a confront and demand guy. He has a good personality with them."
Offensive line coach Mario Cristobal is one of the best in the business and was the head coach at Florida International from 2007-12. Wide receivers coach Billy Napier is an industry up-and-comer whom Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report floated as a potential replacement for Mike Bobo as the offensive coordinator at Georgia.
Grade: 9/10
Defensive Staff
- DC Kirby Smart
- DL Bo Davis
- LB Kevin Steele
- OLB Lance Thompson
- DB Kirby Smart
Alabama has a solid defensive staff that in truth took a step back from last season—the result of one major shakeup.
Secondary coach Greg Brown stepped down to make room for Kevin Steele in January, forcing defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to coach defensive backs. The move has yielded lukewarm results—Alabama's secondary is the weakness of its defense—while Brown has done inspired work coaching defensive backs at Louisville.
Regardless, this staff has done its job and forged another classic Alabama defense. Smart has had multiple chances to leave and run his own program but has stayed by Saban's side and helped the Crimson Tide build the closest thing we've had to a modern dynasty.
Grade: 9/10
Special Teams Coordinator
- Bobby Williams
Bobby Williams has had mixed results with Alabama's special teams. His failure to develop a kicker cost Alabama a shot at the national title last season and remains a problem entering the playoffs. Coverage has not been an issue, and neither has freshman punter JK Scott, but special teams as a whole are a major weakness. The Tide rank No. 91 in special teams on Football Outsiders' F/+ ratings.
Grade: 3/5
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
1. Ohio State
4 of 4
Overall Grade: 32/35
Head Coach
Urban Meyer came to Ohio State with massive expectations and has somehow found a way to exceed them. He has turned the Buckeyes into a powerhouse on par with what he built at Florida—a claim that sounds bold at the moment but will not once he wins his next national title. He's one of the greatest offensive minds we've ever seen.
Grade: 10/10
Offensive Staff
- OC Tom Herman
- QB Tom Herman
- RB Stan Drayton
- WR Zach Smith
- TE Tim Hinton
- OL Ed Warinner
The stars of this group are offensive coordinator Tom Herman and co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Ed Warinner.
Herman won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach this season and recently accepted the head coaching position at Houston. Warinner might get an FBS head coaching job in short order after coaching one of the best offensive lines in college football last season, then rebuilding the unit from scratch in 2014.
No staff did a better job on the whole this season than Ohio State's offensive coaches, who helped the Buckeyes overcome the loss of Braxton Miller and turned J.T. Barrett into a Heisman contender as a redshirt freshman.
After Barrett went down with an ankle injury against Michigan, they plugged in Cardale Jones and didn't miss a beat en route to scoring 59 points against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Grade: 9/10
Defensive Staff
- DC Chris Ash
- DC Luke Fickell
- DL Larry Johnson
- LB Luke Fickell
- CB Kerry Coombs
- S Chris Ash
Ohio State's defensive staff is very good without being great.
Chris Ash has done fine work with the secondary since coming over from Arkansas, and Larry Johnson has done fine work with the defensive line since coming over from Penn State. The additions of those two coaches have been the biggest reason for OSU's improvement after a disastrous end to the 2013 season.
But the co-coordinator of that 2013 defense, Luke Fickell, is still around and doesn't get a free pass. He isn't as bad as Ohio State fans sometimes make him out to be, and he's proven his worth as a linebackers coach this season, but Fickell doesn't stack up with the best defensive coordinators in the country.
He still has some things left to prove.
Grade: 8/10
Special Teams Coordinator
- Kerry Coombs
Kerry Coombs is a veteran special teams coordinator with a proven record of success. According to theF/+ ratings at Football Outsiders, Ohio State has the No. 20 special teams unit in the country and had the No. 5 special teams unit in 2013. Coombs also coached Cincinnati's special teams to a top-20 finish in 2011.
Grade: 5/5
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
