12 College Coaches Who Would Make Great NFL Coaches

For a college coach, the move to the NFL can often be a difficult one. For example, just look at guys like Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino and what happened to them when they moved from college to the NFL.

However, even with a tough transition, there are a handful of college coaches that would make great NFL coaches.

Here are 12 of those coaches.

Gary Patterson, TCU

It is hard to find a better-run program in the country than TCU.

Gary Patterson has done a fantastic job at getting the absolute most out of his players to turn his school into a perennial powerhouse.

The way that Patterson can make seemingly unknown players (Andy Dalton) into quality NFL starters is exactly why he would thrive as an NFL coach.

While he probably hasn't had to deal with very many big-headed players, I think he would be capable of handling prima donnas.

His team is most explosive offensively, but you can guarantee that they would be extremely well-coached and wouldn't lose any games because of mental mistakes.

Les Miles, LSU

It's actually pretty surprising that Les Miles hasn't been lured away from the college game to the NFL.

As a coach that has had as much success as he has at LSU, you would think that there would be more professional teams going after him.

In the NFL, Miles would be a defensive mastermind. He would be a toned-down version of Rex Ryan.

Within a few years, whatever team he was coaching would be guaranteed to have one of the better defenses in the league.

It might not do much offensively, but I wouldn't be surprised if his team averaged two defensive touchdowns a game.

Will Muschamp, Florida

Even though Will Muschamp is only in his first year as a head coach, he has quite the résumé behind him.

He's been the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, Auburn Tigers and Texas Longhorns.

Muschamp is having a difficult season with the Florida Gators, but a good portion of those struggles is due to an injury to his starting quarterback.

Before John Brantley went down with an injury, Muschamp had the Gators off to a 4-1 record.

He is another defensive-minded coach, but more and more of these guys are getting promoted to head coaches in the league. Just look at Rex Ryan and Ron Rivera.

Al Golden, University of Miami

There are two big things that would make Al Golden a quality head coach in the NFL.

First, he knows how to build a program.

If you look at what he did with the Temple Owls during his four years as head coach, you will see that Golden just needs time to build a legitimate team.

Second, Golden knows how to overcome adversity.

After all the scandal that came out of the University of Miami in the offseason, did anyone really think that this team would have a winning record?

These two qualities are what would make Golden a very successful NFL coach.

Art Briles, Baylor

There is no position in football more important than quarterback.

All you need to do is look at who the starting quarterback is for the 10-0 Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers) and who the starting quarterback is for the 0-10 Indianapolis Colts (Curtis Painter) to see what I mean.

Few college coaches have been able to build a quarterback like Art Briles has during his head coaching career.

Look at how far Briles has taken Robert Griffin III in the three years he has had him on the team.

Briles has not only made Griffin a household name, but he's also made him a top NFL quarterback prospect.

That type of coaching ability would go a long way in the quarterback-driven NFL.

Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

Not many coaches are able to be as successful as Mark Dantonio with the lack of big-name talent that he brings to the Michigan State Spartans.

Seriously, when was the last time you heard about MSU having one of the top recruiting classes in the nation?

However, year after year, the Spartans are extremely competitive and one of the tougher teams in the Big Ten.

Much of that credit is due to the exceptional coaching of Dantonio.

Plus, how could you not love a guy who loves the game so much that he wants to coach so soon after a heart attack?

Mario Cristobal, Florida International University

Even though Mario Cristobal doesn't coach at a big-name school, he is still one of the top coaches in college football.

He is an offensive guru who has done a fantastic job at turning around the team at Florida International University.

After starting his career at FIU with a 1-11 season, Cristobal had his team atop the Sun Belt Conference only three years later.

It has been an impressive turnaround for Cristobal, and his continued success at the school should make him a hot name for bigger and better jobs.

Steve Sarkisian, University of Washington

Throughout his entire coaching career, Steve Sarkisian has worked with quarterbacks.

From USC to the Oakland Raiders and now with the Washington Huskies, Sarkisian has done a fantastic job at grooming NFL-ready quarterbacks.

He already runs a pro-style offense at Washington, so the transition wouldn't be too different to the NFL.

In fact, Sarkisian is one of the more clever college coaches offensively, which can come in handy at the professional level.

Sarkisian is passionate and has a great personality, but more importantly, he absolutely loves teaching the game of football.

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Before becoming the head coach at the University of Iowa, Kirk Ferentz was an offensive line coach in the NFL for six years.

What Ferentz has been able to do at Iowa over the course of his coaching career is rather remarkable.

He basically took an awful team and has since made it a constant threat in the Big Ten.

The big thing is that he's been able to do so because of outstanding coaching, not due to a huge amount of talent.

His teams are balanced, efficient and smart, which are all great qualities to have in the NFL.

Ferentz has been talked about quite a bit as a possible NFL coach but has declared he has no interest.

Still, there is no doubt that he would make a great NFL coach.

Kyle Whittingham, Utah

Kyle Whittingham has been some type of coach for the University of Utah since 1994.

That is dedication to a program.

Following Urban Meyer's decision to leave for the University of Florida, Whittingham took over the head coaching responsibilities and hasn't missed a beat.

Utah continues to be one of the better "small" schools in college football.

In fact, since taking over in 2004, Whittingham hasn't had a losing season and has finished with double-digit victories three times. Simply put, Whittingham is a proven winner.

Chris Petersen, Boise State

Chris Petersen has been coaching at the college level since 1987.

Until he became head coach at Boise State, he always worked on the offensive side of the ball.

He worked with wide receivers, quarterbacks and as an offensive coordinator before finally getting his shot to lead a team in 2006.

Since taking over at Boise State, he has lost six games in six years. Yeah, you read that right—six games in six years.

He isn't doing this at LSU or Alabama, where talented players fall off trees, either. Just imagine what he would be capable of doing with better talent.

If Petersen keeps winning at such an impressive rate, I can't see how an NFL team won't be offering him a job in the near future.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

I'm not sure if there is a coach on this list that is talked about more as a possible NFL coach than Bob Stoops.

His track record at the University of Oklahoma is extremely impressive.

Nine double-digit winning seasons, seven Big 12 conference titles and one national championship have all happened under Stoops' watch at Oklahoma.

This guy is a coaching genius, and even though people want to talk about him choking in big games, he has won plenty of big games as well.

Stoops may never leave Oklahoma, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't make a great NFL coach.

He absolutely would, and there is no doubt about it.