The Man Behind the Team: 5 Candidates for College Coach of the Year

The players have the Heisman Trophy, but the coaches have the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, signifying the best coach in college football.

How do we define the best? The coach of the team with the most dominant season?

Chris Petersen is the prime example of what a Coach of the Year winner should be. If you take a team like Boise State, who even a decade ago were unknown outside of Idaho, which is usually only appreciated countrywide for producing the potatoes to make the famous Five Guys' fries, and turn it into a powerhouse, you deserve to be considered one of, if not the greatest coach in football.

Go ahead, make the argument that Boise State plays in a garbage conference against weak competition. Say that they're a bad or middle of the pack bowl contender team.

Then remember that they beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on New Years' Day 2007 and then won again in 2010 against unbeaten TCU. Both seasons Petersen won the award. Rightfully so.

Mark Mangino of Kansas and Kyle Wittingham of Utah are the other two coaches to win the award in the last four years.

Why? Because they took their teams, teams that very few expected anything of, and proved to the nation that the age of dominance of a small handful of teams was over.

Smaller football schools are ready to rise up. These coaches have proven that a coach can take a group of players, not necessarily the caliber of Florida, USC, or Oklahoma's players, and turn them into a competitive team, with BCS hopes.

These five coaches, be they from national powerhouses or otherwise, are five coaches who define what it is to be a coach.

Never telling their team that something is impossible, creating a competitive team no matter the talent level, and performing on the field in the big situations.

Urban Meyer- Florida

The Gators no longer have Tim Tebow.

Despite this, Florida have the advantage of having one of the greatest coaches in the modern age of college football on the sidelines in Urban Meyer.

They almost lost him too, however. The day after Christmas 2009, Meyer announced he would resign following the Sugar Bowl.

In March, he was back on the field.

The man has won it all with Florida, more than once, since 2005, building one of the most dominant programs in college football. There is no denying that the guy knows how to get the best out of his team.

It seems like 15 years ago Chris Leak was the No. 1 in the Swamp, that's because Tebow's time there felt like a lifetime.

Now begins the two-year reign of John Brantley. Filling the shoes of arguably the greatest college quarterback in history will be a challenge.

Now Jeff Demps must also step to the plate and replace 910 rushing yards that Tebow provided (nearly 3,000 for his career).

With a coach like Meyer, expect the Gators to be just fine without Tebow.

Chris Petersen- Boise State

You can't talk about Coach of the Year and not have the 2006 and 2009 winner on the list.

Petersen absolutely deserved both awards, winning both times the same year Boise State won its two Fiesta Bowls.

However, Petersen will have higher aspirations than the Fiesta Bowl in 2010.

Entering the season ranked fifth in the country behind defending champions Alabama along with Ohio State, Florida, and Texas, the Broncos are in position to do something never before done in the history of the Bowl Championship Series, make the BCS title game as a team from a non-BCS conference, though it will not be easy, not only because of the teams in front of them.

This has never happened before. Non-BCS teams, like Boise State, Hawaii, Utah, and TCU are usually invited only if no at-large schools from BCS conferences are ranked higher.

Why invite them in the first place with their undefeated records?

Three of the Broncos' last five seasons have ended with a zero in the loss column.

Sure, the Broncos have a couple sure thing wins in their schedule, but what big team doesn't? Theirs are in conference, so they added in games with Virginia Tech and Oregon State.

They also face stiff competition in the WAC from Fresno State and Nevada, and even Hawaii could be a good game.

When all is said and done, if the Broncos can run the table again, the possibility is very high that they could be playing for the national title.

Otherwise, they will surely face one of the teams that misses out in a big BCS game, with a chance to pull yet another "upset."

This could be the year. Its time for America's team to claim what could have been theirs each of the past few years were it not for the BCS, but that's another topic.

Petersen has turned the Broncos into an elite team. He has pulled off one of the greatest rises to power in college football history. He is truly among the coaching elite.

A spot in the title game automatically earns him this award, no doubt. Even a BCS win in any of the games could earn him a repeat.

Frank Beamer- Virginia Tech

He's been on the sidelines for 22 years for the Hokies, establishing himself as one of the best coaches in the country.

Beamer has a good-looking football club heading into 2010, following a season which saw them narrowly miss out on the ACC Championship Game, but saw them win the Chick-fil-A Bowl over Tennessee.

Entering the season ranked No. 6, the Hokies will be looking for better than a bowl game named after Hickland's favorite fast-food establishment.

They'll have their eyes on a BCS game.

No doubt, Virginia Tech has what it takes to win the ACC this season, and surely enter as favorites over fellow ranked ACC teams Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech.

The Hokies will truly be tested on Sept. 6 and Nov. 20. Those are the two games that will define the Hokies' season.

The opening game of the season will be a nationally viewed game against Petersen and the Boise State Broncos. A win in that game could set the Hokies up to run the table.

They will next face their most trying test on Nov. 20, a week before their final game in the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup, when they take on Miami.

The winner of that game will more than likely secure their place in the ACC Championship, as winners of the Coastal Division. From there, look for the winner to win the conference title and advance to the BCS.

Should the Hokies overcome these two major roadblocks and the smaller challenges of the ACC to run the table, Beamer will no doubt be up on the list for Coach of the Year.

Randy Edsall- Connecticut

You can't not be a great coach to do the things Edsall has done at the University of Connecticut.

Knowing that they would be moving into Division I as an Independent in 2000, the school brought in Edsall to coach the team in 1999.

He is already the greatest coach in the history of Huskies' football.

Previously known only for its history of basketball and soccer, Edsall turned the Connecticut football team into the state's crowned jewel.

Upon becoming a full D1 school in 2002, the Huskies began accomplishing remarkable feats.

They defeated Iowa State in 2002, back when Iowa State was good. It was their first victory over a bowl team.

In 2003, they pummeled Wake Forest 51-17, earning their first win over an ACC team and becoming the third non-ACC team ever to drop 50 on an ACC team.

Despite an incredible 2003 (in terms of being a still new D1 team), the Huskies did not make a bowl game, primarily due to not having a conference.

With these early accomplishments, Edsall proved he was to be something great.

In 2004, UConn shocked the world of college football.

Entering its first season in the Big East (a year earlier then planned thanks to Miami and Virginia Tech), people expected UConn to get leveled, but people outside the Constitution State had never heard of Randy Edsall or senior star quarterback Dan Orlovsky.

Led by Edsall and the current Texans back up, the Huskies finished 7-4, far better than anyone expected, and after only its third season of outright D1 football, the Huskies were a bowl champion, winning the Motor City Bowl over Toledo.

Further success came in 2007, when UConn shared the Big East championship with West Virginia. This was a historic season for UConn, despite losing to Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

In 2008, UConn under Edsall continued its rise to national attention by winning the International Bowl over Buffalo.

2009 is exactly why Randy Edsall is one of the greatest coaches in the college game.

UConn was coming in on a high. They were 2-1 overall in bowl games since their first in 2004. Donald Brown had just become the first-ever UConn player to be a first round draft pick in the NFL, and the Huskies had their best team ever.

Until Homecoming.

After a victory over Louisville, the Huskies were struck by the loss of cornerback Jasper Howard, who was stabbed outside the Student Union that same night.

My friend, a freshman at UConn last year, who I will not name, described the horror to me in several text messages the next day.

"It's weird," he said in his first message, "I was sitting not even 50 feet away from where he made a huge play to save the game."

The next one later on summed up the emotions of all of Connecticut.

"You can hear a pin drop. It's the worst feeling I've ever felt."

How can you expect a team to recover quickly from something like that?

At that point, the Huskies were in good position with a 4-2 record. They lost the two games by five points total.

They suffered two straight 28-24 heartbreakers to West Virginia and Rutgers after the tragic loss.

However, something changed late in the third game after Howard's death. Somehow, some way, the Huskies came back from a 20+ point deficit to come up just short against Cincinnati, then ranked fourth in the nation, by a score of 47-45.

They came back from three scores down to almost beat a Top 5 team, were we watching UConn?

May I present the new UConn Football.

Some call it Jazzy watching over the Rent, some say its a talented team, some say its great coaching.

I say it's all three, with emphasis on the third.

Edsall found a way to rally his troops and they followed the Cincy comeback with four straight wins.

The streak began with an overtime win. The greatest win of UConn's football history.

This game took place in South Bend, Ind., and Andre Dixon ran in the game-winning touchdown, as UConn won the game 33-30 over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The world knew then that the Huskies were not a team to be messed with. This was a team with a winning attitude, a "never give up" drive.

And a team that went on to dominate their last three games in wins over South Florida, Syracuse, and Steve Spurrier's South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

I feel the need to tell you all of this because it is a tale of how much difference Randy Edsall has made to the University of Connecticut and to the entire state of Connecticut.

A Saturday afternoon in Connecticut during football season is now a statewide event. Ten years ago, not even the students on campus gave their team the time of day.

Now, they're the hottest ticket in town and on the national spotlight.

Edsall will be very angry at this point; his team, despite all they've accomplished, are ranked fourth in the Big East preseason rankings, and did not even crack the Top 25 of college football.

However, a coach like Edsall is not going to let that bother his team. They have a golden opportunity here.

The three teams ahead of them: Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all travel to East Hartford this season.

The Dog Pound is a nasty place to play for the away team. Don't go into the Cabela's store across the street, you'll think there's an earthquake.

With the home field on their side, UConn have a chance to leapfrog all these teams and win the Big East. The rise to prominence will be complete, as this will mean a spot in the BCS.

If UConn does that, Edsall should be a lock for the Bear Bryant Award.

Jim Tressel- Ohio State

Its been a while for the Buckeyes since their last national title.

Back in 2002, Maurice Clarett ran the Ohio State University to its first title in over twenty years.

Seems like a long time ago now.

The Buckeyes have been busy though, winning the last five Big Ten titles. In that time, they have been to two national championships, losing both, the Fiesta Bowl twice, winning one, and the Rose Bowl this past season, when they defeated Oregon.

However, only two bowl wins in the past five seasons is not what Buckeye fans like to see. My English teacher last year, an alum of Ohio State, used to remind me how the team should not have lost three bowls in five years.

All is well now it seems in Columbus though, as Terrelle Pryor seems to have come into his own. Now a Rose Bowl winner and a 2010 Heisman Trophy candidate, Pryor is a star quarterback.

You got to give Tressel credit. Despite the early mistakes we saw of Pryor, he trusted in the young QB enough to let him keep his job.

Brilliant coaching boss.

The Buckeyes are now back to #2 in the country, only so because last year's champions, Alabama, are deservedly in the top spot.

This could be another title year for the Buckeyes. The team is equipped to become a fearsome opponent for all over the next several seasons thanks to Tressel.

Should they return to the BCS title game, look for Tressel's name to be at or near the top of the list for Coach of the Year.

Conclusion

These are not the only five people I think have a shot of winning the award, but I feel these five are five of the best candidates and are truly among the elite of coaching. I know that everyone will have their own names to throw out there. These aren't the only five great coaches in football. Nick Saban, Bob Stoops, Mack Brown, Kevin Sumlin, Randy Shannon, and Gary Patterson are among those who also have a chance, and deservedly so, of winning the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award.

I know everyone will have their own top five. Feel free to list it in a comment below.