College Football Predictions: The 10 Most Overhyped CFB Coaches in 2011
Yes, Coach Fisher—the expectations are awfully high for the 2011 season.
With a top-notch recruiting class, a solid group of returning starters and a less than stellar conference, a lot of people believe the Seminoles are back in power.
Jimbo Fisher and Florida State are not the only pairing with hype, though, and there are a lot of new coaching hires and recruiting classes that have caused a stir in the national football machine.
We do know one thing for the 2011 college football season: As of now, it is the only football we are guaranteed to see that isn't played on Friday nights with no guaranteed television coverage.
As college football approaches, we take a look at the 10 most overhyped coaches in college football for the 2011 season.
10. Mack Brown, Texas
1 of 10
I am not knocking Mack Brown too hard here—he's a tremendous coach—but landing a top-five recruiting class on the heels of a 5-7 season usually leads to a potential turnaround.
It is hard to believe Texas can be much worse than they were last season, and Brown should find a way to make Garrett Gilbert at least a little bit more effective than he was in 2010.
Their new prized running back, Malcolm Brown, may find the field quickly and the assistant coaching shake-ups (three assistants let go) put more expectations on already hopeful season.
It's not a knock on Mack Brown, but both his reputation and the new pieces give Texas some added hype they may not deserve right now.
9. Randy Edsall, Maryland
2 of 10
The new coach of the Maryland Terrapins has a lot on his hands.
Edsall was a great coach for the UConn Huskies and ended up tying for the Big East championship twice.
He was 74-70 overall, but only 22-26 in a bad Big East conference.
I know UConn was fresh out of the gate into a new world when he started, but the ACC is not the Big East—even in a down year—and recruiting talent and translating it onto the field against typical ACC contenders like Miami, Virginia Tech and Florida State is not the same as dealing with a streaky Louisville, West Virginia, Cincinnati or even Rutgers.
8. Will Muschamp, Florida
3 of 10
It is the SEC, Will Muschamp is a new coach and has Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator; the expectations are really high for former "coach-in-waiting" Muschamp.
He ran the defense at Texas and now is ready to run the show in Gainesville.
Florida has a lot to figure out—including how to effectively use four quarterbacks (maybe just pick one?)—and they are still not even the SEC East favorite in my eyes.
Muschamp has a lot to prove as a head coach; we will see if he lives up to the hype.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Lane Kiffin, USC
4 of 10
There is just something about Lane Kiffin that nobody seems to like.
Maybe it is that he turned his back on a school ready to embrace him for a chance at more money, or that insane debacle in Oakland or simply the way he carries himself; whatever it is, he is a highly disliked man.
The Trojans have one more season without postseason play, so the hype cannot be too high, but Matt Barkley is on the doorstep of a Mark Sanchez-esque rise in my mind.
They have another top-five recruiting class and play in a conference that they always have a shot to win.
Lane will always have his hands full at Southern California.
6. Gary Patterson, TCU
5 of 10
This is tough—unfortunate, even—but has to be brought up.
Gary Patterson put together a fantastic team over the past few years but he has lost a TON of talent.
The time is now to see whether he was only good enough to create a team, or if he started the true work of a good program.
TCU and Boise State will battle for one year in conference play and then TCU is heading to the Big East; Patterson has a lot to prove here still.
5. Brady Hoke, Michigan
6 of 10
The Wolverines got their "Michigan Man" and now he's got a long road ahead of him.
Hoke organized a great turnaround at San Diego State and coached the Aztecs to a 9-4 season with a bowl win in his second season after coaching Ball State to a 12-1 record in 2008.
He's 47-50 in his career as a head coach and takes over a program that just wants to get back to winning.
We are not sure what Hoke's system will look like with the players on the current roster, and it will likely take a few years for him to back up any hype in the new Big Ten.
4. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
7 of 10
The Gamecock coach landed South Carolina's Mr. Football for the third year in a row and they return a bunch of talent on both sides of the ball.
In a down season in the SEC East, Spurrier led the Gamecocks against the eventual champion Auburn Tigers twice and lost both times.
They have a bit of a quarterback controversy on their hands (welcomed by Spurrier himself) and we are not sure who will be under center when things get going between Connor Shaw and Stephen Garcia.
With so much talent, a top-15 recruiting class and the pressure of repeating as the SEC East champs, Spurrier has a lot going on for 2011 and his team may not be able to handle it.
3. Al Golden, Miami
8 of 10
He took the Temple program and turned it around in five seasons. They had back-to-back winning seasons after not having a single winning season since 1990.
However, as good as he was, Golden never won the conference outright, and coaching Miami in the ACC is not the same as coaching Temple in the MAC.
It is going to be really interesting to see how Golden handles the pressures of this new job, and there is a chance the hype could get to him early in South Beach.
2. Gene Chizik, Auburn
9 of 10
Well—quite simply—what is Chizik going to do without Cam Newton?
Do not get me wrong; he is a very good coach. But the hype surrounding the defending national championship coach bringing in a top-three recruiting class is a heavy load.
The Tigers will be extremely hard-pressed to deliver anything close to their 2010 run in 2011.
Chizik is good, but we're going to find out how good pretty quickly in a conference ready to eat his team alive.
1. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
10 of 10
Fisher closed the season on a high note in 2010, has a returning talent at quarterback that could turn into one of the game's next big stars, and landed arguably the best recruiting class in the country.
The Seminoles have been waiting for an opportunity to get back on top of the ACC and this seems like the year for them to do it.
Miami has a new head coach; Virginia Tech just graduated a four-year starter at quarterback and lost two very good running backs; North Carolina lost a ton of talent on a team that never got a chance play in 2010; and N.C. State is the only other team with a true shot of actually playing with them.
The hype is there—and some if it is earned—but we'll find out what Jimbo has with a clear shot at the ACC title in 2011.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
