College Football's Top Head Coaching Rivalries in 2016
Any college football matchup involves dozens and dozens of players and staff members on each side of the field—but the showdown is often boiled down to head coach vs. head coach.
As I wrote earlier this month in the 10 coaching showdowns we can't wait to see in 2016, coaching rivalries are part of the lifeblood of college football. When we see two teams on a schedule, we sometimes see coach vs. coach over mascot vs. mascot or star player vs. star player.
College football has no shortage of great coaching rivalries going on right now, even with the high amount of changes that happen in head jobs each offseason. Some are school rivalry matchups that have become synonymous with the coaches involved. Others are standard games that have been intensified due to bad blood or past incidents.
Here are the top 10 head coaching rivalries in college football heading into the 2016 season. These selections were based on longevity, competitiveness, importance to championship races and any verbal spats that have added more spice to these matchups.
Which coaching rivalry do you think is the best in college football right now? Have any more suggestions? Sound off in the comments below.
Bret Bielema (Arkansas) vs. Gus Malzahn (Auburn)
1 of 10
Most recent meeting: Arkansas 54, Auburn 46 (2015)
Next meeting: October 22
This SEC West rivalry didn't feature the same war of words in 2015 as it did in 2014, but Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema made sure people knew how he felt about Gus Malzahn's Auburn team a few months before their meeting in Fayetteville.
"Probably doesn't need to be said in here how much I hate Auburn," Bielema said, per Eric Bolin of Gatehouse Media.
In 2014, Malzahn and Bielema went back and forth publicly over the pace-of-play debate that engulfed college football. Then there was also Swinging Gategate in 2013, when Bielema accused Auburn of leaving off an extra point in its game film. Later that season, Bielema used a similar play to convert on fourth down against Auburn.
Malzahn, a native of Arkansas and former offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, made his second homecoming as Auburn head coach last season. But Bielema picked up his first win over Malzahn as his newly explosive offense took home a four-overtime thriller.
This year's rematch will be a crucial time for both programs, as hot seat-bound Malzahn will host Bielema at Jordan-Hare Stadium before the final stretch of the regular season. Between now and then, there's a chance for another notable off-the-field moment in this heated rivalry.
Art Briles (Baylor) vs. Gary Patterson (TCU)
2 of 10
Most recent meeting: TCU 28, Baylor 21 (2015)
Next meeting: November 5
The Revivalry between Baylor and TCU is one of the most heated in college football these days, and head coaches Art Briles and Gary Patterson are at the center of the all-Texas feud.
In their 2013 meeting, which Baylor won by three points, Baylor safety Ahmad Dixon was ejected for targeting. Dixon didn't immediately leave the sideline, which fired up Patterson in a midfield argument and a postgame press conference that featured the line "Gary Patterson lives in Fort Worth. If he’s got a problem with me, here’s where I live."
According to Travis L. Brown of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Patterson said a Baylor player "threatened" him after next year's meeting—a 61-58 win for the Bears. The two programs would later be embroiled in a debate over a College Football Playoff spot and the Big 12's "One True Champion" motto.
Last year, Patterson came to the defense of a TCU player who had been arrested for robbery and said the situation was "not even close to what happened south of here," referring to Baylor's Sam Ukwuachu, who was convicted of sexual assault in August 2015.
On the field, the 2015 matchup between the offensive guru Briles and the defensive-minded Patterson ended with a 28-21 TCU overtime victory in a driving rainstorm that ended Baylor's playoff hopes. All eyes will definitely be on the rematch this year.
Mark Dantonio (MSU) vs. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) vs. Urban Meyer (OSU)
3 of 10
Most recent meetings: MSU 27, Michigan 23; MSU 17, OSU 14; OSU 42, Michigan 13 (2015)
Next meetings: October 29 (Michigan vs. MSU); November 19 (OSU vs. MSU); November 26 (Michigan vs. OSU)
With the arrival of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh into the Big Ten East, a star-studded three-way coaching rivalry has opened up in one of college football's best divisions. The 2016 season will be Round 2.
Harbaugh's arrival reignited the in-state rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State, and the off-field recruiting battles between the two coaching staffs already prompted some subtweeting from Mark Dantonio and company. If that wasn't enough, their first rivalry meeting also included one of the wildest finishes in football history.
Dantonio and Meyer already had one of the best growing coaching rivalries before 2015, which featured a last-second field goal that helped send Michigan State to the Big Ten title. The only two losses Meyer has had against a Big Ten opponent at Ohio State were both courtesy of Dantonio and Michigan State.
And then there's Harbaugh vs. Meyer, a rivalry that many fans hope will reach the status of "The Ten-Year War" Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes had at Michigan and Ohio State. Meyer's Ohio State team took the first battle in the war by a commanding margin, which will put even more fuel to Harbaugh and the Wolverines' fire this year.
The three coaches are on track to compete against each other for Big Ten titles and, by extension, College Football Playoff berths for seasons to come.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Dave Doeren (NC State) vs. Larry Fedora (North Carolina)
4 of 10
Most recent meeting: North Carolina 45, NC State 34 (2015)
Next meeting: November 25
Don't sleep on the in-state rivalry brewing between NC State's Dave Doeren and North Carolina's Larry Fedora. While they've only met three times, this matchup is picking up some serious steam.
In their first meeting, Fedora and UNC snapped a five-game series losing streak with an eight-point win over NC State and Doeren. The next year's game was marked by pregame trash talk toward North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams, which the Wolfpack backed up with a 35-7 victory.
"This is a blue-collar school," Doeren said after the win, which some took as a shot at UNC's toughness. "This is a work ethic, hands-in-the-dirt school. It’s an agricultural school. It’s a textile school. It’s an engineering school. It’s founded by tough people, and that’s what this football team will be."
According to Todd Gibson of WNCN, a straight-faced Fedora didn't bite when asked about Doeren's comments before the 2015 matchup. North Carolina would go on to win, 45-34, keeping the Tar Heels' surprise playoff hopes alive and sending them to the ACC Championship Game.
It's easy to see how much getting the victory over the other coach and the other school has meant to both Doeren and Fedora in their first few meetings. This is an under-the-radar coaching rivalry with a lot of passion.
Jimbo Fisher (FSU) vs. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
5 of 10
Most recent meeting: Clemson 23, Florida State 13 (2015)
Next meeting: October 29
Clemson and Florida State is becoming one of the best rivalries in college football year in and year out because of the impact it has on the ACC title and the national championship race.
The architects of these two resurgent powerhouses, Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney, are building a friendly, but fierce, rivalry of their own. On and off the field, these coaches are keeping things close, with five of their last six matchups decided by 10 or fewer points.
"Clemson's ascendance has helped change the old ACC dynamic of Florida State and a collection of chasers," Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports wrote last year. "They've also butted heads plenty on the recruiting trail, and that will continue for the foreseeable future."
Fisher has a 4-2 lead on Swinney in the recent series, but Swinney's Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak and picked up the rivalry victory that has now decided the last seven ACC Atlantic division champions. After Clemson's 23-13 win, Fisher told Swinney to "win the whole thing"—and the Tigers came close.
Under Fisher and Swinney, Florida State vs. Clemson is now one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football calendar. This coaching rivalry doesn't have the off-field sniping of others on this list, but it has a huge amount of star power and importance.
Todd Graham (Arizona State) vs. Rich Rodriguez (Arizona)
6 of 10
Most recent meeting: Arizona State 52, Arizona 37 (2015)
Next meeting: November 25
If you want history and familiarity, look no further than the coaching rivalry between Arizona State's Todd Graham and Arizona's Rich Rodriguez. Their respective schools go way back in the fierce Territorial Cup series, and they have a shared history against each other.
As Michael Weinreb wrote in a 2015 piece for Grantland, Graham and Rodriguez first crossed paths at the NAIA level, when Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator at Glenville State and Graham was the defensive coordinator trying to stop his groundbreaking attack at East Central.
Graham would later become a position coach on Rodriguez's West Virginia staff, and they would square off as head coaches when they both arrived in the Arizona desert ahead of the 2012 season.
"Each has already elevated his football program to new levels of success," Weinreb wrote. "They’re both innovative, and aggressive, and fiercely ambitious, and pathologically competitive, which is one reason the joint appearance was inherently uncomfortable."
These are two coaches who are constantly comparing themselves to each other because of their history and their positions in the Pac-12 South. Graham took a 3-1 Territorial Cup lead on Rodriguez last season, but both will be hoping a rivalry win this fall would put an exclamation point on a bounce-back campaign.
Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) vs. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma)
7 of 10
Most recent meeting: Oklahoma 58, Oklahoma State 23 (2015)
Next meeting: December 3
With coaching carousels spinning faster than ever these days, rivalries between head men don't last as quite as long as they once did.
But in one of college football's craziest rivalry series—the aptly named Bedlam—the same two head coaches have been going at it since the 2005 season. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops has had the upper hand over Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, but the Cowboys have been known to keep things close against the Sooners in recent years.
"Stoops is always quick to point out coaching matchups aren’t a big deal and it’s what’s on the field that matters most," Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoma Daily wrote in 2014. "It’s hard to argue against him, but it’s also hard not to point out the significance of this coaching rivalry."
Both coaches also went on similar paths last season, bouncing back from underwhelming 2014 campaigns to race toward the Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma picked up a blowout win, but the course of the seasons for both Stoops and Gundy should mean more fireworks in the future for this long coaching rivalry.
While the record isn't tight, Gundy-Stoops is still one of the best in college football thanks to the level of familiarity between the two sides. Add that to the common zaniness of Bedlam, and you have a recipe for a must-see coaching matchup.
Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) vs. the SEC
8 of 10
Most recent meeting: Michigan 41, Florida 7 (2015) and recruiting debates
Next meeting: TBD
This rivalry is rather unique on the list because it won't necessarily play out on the football field each year. However, one can't ignore the intensifying rivalry between second-year Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and the SEC.
The root of this rivalry is in recruiting, where Harbaugh first made waves by hosting a number of satellite camps in SEC country last summer—something the conference had previously banned for its own member schools.
But the controversy escalated in the last few months when Michigan announced plans to hold the spring break portion of its spring practice at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. IMG produces more blue-chip recruits each year than any other program, and it's a key target for many SEC programs right in their own backyard.
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the SEC has asked the NCAA to prevent any program from holding its spring practice during spring break. That prompted some not-so-subtle tweets from Harbaugh about whining and Bulldog puns.
Harbaugh ended his first season at Michigan with a massive victory over SEC East champion Florida in the Citrus Bowl. Fingers crossed that he'll get to cross paths with another SEC program after this offseason of off-field noise.
Urban Meyer (OSU) vs. Nick Saban (Alabama)
9 of 10
Most recent meeting: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (2015)
Next meeting: TBD
Alabama's Nick Saban vs. Ohio State's Meyer isn't a coaching rivalry that meets every year—the Sugar Bowl semifinal in 2014 was the first meeting since 2010—but it's by far the biggest one in college football.
Any debate over who the best coach in college football is focuses on these two outstanding coaches. After all, the majority of the national championships in the last decade have either gone to either Saban or Meyer:
"If Alabama wins tonight, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer will have combined to have won seven of the last 10 national titles. That’s absurd.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) January 11, 2016"
"Despite the overwhelming numbers that tilt toward Tuscaloosa, it’s not a one-man game in college football," Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer wrote last month. "This past season’s championship run allowed Saban to wrestle back the title of 'best active college football coach' away from the man who beat him a year ago in Urban Meyer."
These two squared off several times when Meyer was at Florida, and now they're at the peaks of their career at arguably the two best powerhouses in the entire country. They're constantly compared to each other, even when they're not facing each other in a high-profile matchup.
Les Miles (LSU) vs. Nick Saban (Alabama)
10 of 10
Most recent meeting: Alabama 30, LSU 16 (2015)
Next meeting: November 5
This coaching rivalry might not have as much heat as it used to because of Alabama's five straight victories in the series—started by a shutout in a national title and capped last year by a 30-16 victory in Tuscaloosa—but Les Miles vs. Saban is still a high-profile showdown each year.
Miles, who replaced Saban at LSU in 2005, won a national championship in 2007—the first season Saban coached Alabama. The two have squared off in several nationally televised matchups that have gone on to play huge roles in the national title races, including 2011's Game of the Century.
That edition of the rivalry was the last one Miles and LSU won, and the Crimson Tide have won a pair of national championships since then. But the 2012 and 2014 meetings in Baton Rouge were both single-possession victories for Alabama, and the rivalry will return to Death Valley this fall.
"The narrative of Saban's return to play LSU has long subsided," Jon Solomon of CBS Sports wrote. "It got replaced by a fierce series filled with dominating defenses, NFL talent and such old-school physicality that there's grudging mutual respect between both teams. It's this generation's Woody Hayes vs. Bo Schembechler."
An LSU team loaded with returning starters will be looking to get back into the national title picture this season. But in order for Miles to get back to the top, he'll have to take down the man currently occupying the throne in the SEC and college football as a whole.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
