Coach of the Decade Criteria: Nick Saban, Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer

As we now get ready to embark on a new decade of exciting college football action, let's take a second to look back and appreciate some of the great coaching that took place during the previous 10 years.

Coaches like Jim Tressel, Bob Stoops, and Mack Brown all guided their programs to great success during the decade. However, three names stood out above the rest.

Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban.

Carroll spent the decade reestablishing the USC program as a dominant force on the college football landscape, while Saban and Meyer each achieved great success at two different programs, Meyer at Utah and Florida, and Saban at LSU and Alabama.

They all ended the decade in a different fashion. Carroll headed off for the NFL under scrutiny of running a dirty program, Meyer declared he was done as Florida's head coach due to illness only to return months later, and Saban took the Gatorade bath as the coach of the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

All three have a legitimate claim as the "coach of the decade" and opinions will vary on just who was the best.

In my view, to be a truly great college head coach, you must do five things.

1. Win championships
2. Dominate the regular season
3. Bring in top talent
4. Turn your players into pro prospects
   
5. Run a clean program
   

Here's a look by the numbers at how each of these three tremendous coaches stack up in those categories.

You be the judge as to who is the best.

Championships

Pete Carroll
Conference Championships: 7 (2002-2008)
National Championships: 2 (2003*, 2004)

Urban Meyer
Conference Championships: 4 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008)
National Championships: 2 (2006, 2008)

Nick Saban
Conference Championships: 3 (2001, 2003, 2009)
National Championships: 2 (2003, 2009)

Summary: These three are the only coaches to win multiple National Championships during the decade. Each coach had one undefeated championship year. Carroll’s 2004 championship has come under fire recently and could be stripped because of ineligibility concerns.

When looking at the conference championships, one must take into account the lack of a championship game in the Pac-10.

There were a few years when USC tied for a Pac-10 Championship but ultimately won the opportunity to represent the conference in the BCS because of tie breaker rules.

Wins

Pete Carroll (9 Years)
Average Wins Per Year: 10.7
Bowl Record: 7-2

Urban Meyer (9 Years)
Average Wins Per Year: 10.6
Bowl Record: 6-1

Nick Saban (8 Years)
Average Wins Per Year: 10.1
Bowl Record: 5-3

Summary: Pete Carroll dominated the Pac-10 almost right from the get go at USC. From 2002 on, the conference was considered USC and everyone else. Yes, the conference didn’t have the competition of the SEC but there’s no denying Coach Carroll’s dominance.

The only thing you could say is that Pete’s Trojan teams always somehow found a way to lose that “one game” every season.

Recruiting
*Based off Scout.com Rankings

Pete Carroll
Top 10 Classes: 7
2003 - Ranked #1 (Five Star Recruits: 5)
2004 - Ranked #1 (Five Star Recruits: 7)
2005 - Ranked #6 (Five Star Recruits: 6)
2006 - Ranked #1 (Five Star Recruits: 8)
2007 - Ranked #2 (Five Star Recruits: 10)
2008 - Ranked #9 (Five Star Recruits: 4)
2009 - Ranked #9 (Five Star Recruits: 4)

Urban Meyer
Top 10 Classes: 2
2006 - Ranked #2 (Five Star Recruits: 6)
2007 - Ranked #1 (Five Star Recruits: 10)

Nick Saban
Top 10 Classes: 4
2003 - Ranked #2 (Five Star Recruits: 2)
2004 - Ranked #2 (Five Star Recruits: 4)
2008 - Ranked #1 (Five Star Recruits: 3)
2009 - Ranked #2 (Five Star Recruits: 3)

Summary: All three of these coaches are some of the best salesmen to grace the game in recent times. They may have all had the benefit of coaching at prestigious programs, but that doesn’t mean any of them slacked off when it came to their recruiting efforts. They all were able to land top talent on a consistent basis.

Producing Pros

Pete Carroll
Total Draft Picks: 61
First Rounders: 14
2010 - 7
2009 - 11 (3 First Rounders)
2008 - 10 (4 First Rounders)
2007 - 5
2006 - 11 (2 First Rounders)
2005 - 6 (2 First Rounders)
2004 - 4 (1 First Rounder)
2003 - 5 (2 First Rounders)
2002 - 2

Urban Meyer
Total Draft Picks: 31
First Rounders: 8
2010 - 9 (3 First Rounders)
2009 - 3 (1 First Rounder)
2008 - 2 (1 First Rounder)
2007 - 9 (2 First Rounders)
2006 - 3
2005 - 5 (1 First Rounder)

Nick Saban
Total Draft Picks: 33
First Rounders: 5
2010 - 7 (2 First Rounders)
2009 - 4 (1 First Rounder)
2005 - 3 (1 First Rounder)
2004 - 7 (1 First Rounder)
2003 - 4
2002 - 5
2001 - 3

Summary: In the first half of the decade, it was the University of Miami that was known as the Pro Football Factory of college football, churning out multiple elite prospects every year. Pete Carroll quickly stole that title though.

Carroll turned USC into a JV NFL program. No other college pro day in history could quite compare to the extravaganza that took place in LA in 2006 with celebrityesque prospects like Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush showing their stuff for scouts.

Running a Clean Program

Summary: We’ve finally found Pete Carroll’s Achilles’ heel. With everything that’s come to light recently about the shenanigans that occurred at USC during Carroll’s tenure, we’re going to put him in a distant third for this category.

Saban should get the edge over Meyer because Florida has had it’s fair share of arrests in recent years. Plus, there was the Brandon Spikes eye gouging incident that put a damper on the team’s image.