The Big Ten is home to "The Vest" and "The Moustache".
JoePa and RichRod call the Big Ten home, as well.
Will 2009 be better for RichRod and the Wolverines?
Then there is "The Zooker", Fitz, and Brew.
But, what to call Michigan State's Mark Dantonio or Wisconsin's Bret Bielema? My vote is for "The Stare" and "The Windbreaker".
The
Big Ten has experienced a "youth movement" in the coaching department
over the last few seasons. The retirements of Joe Tiller, Lloyd Carr,
and Barry Alvarez gave way to Danny Hope, Rich Rodriguez, and Bret
Bielema and the untimely deaths of former Big Ten favorites Randy
Walker and Terry Hoeppner gave way to Pat Fitzgerald and Bill Lynch.
All
in all, seven of the conference's coaches have been on the job have
been on the job for three years or less. But, don't fret Big Ten fans,
in most cases these young coaches are doing wonders for their
respective universities.
And the others... well they won't be around much longer anyway. Now if I could only figure out what to call Kirk Ferentz.
"The Gum Chewer"? Nah...
My ranking of the Big Ten coaches takes into account only the time each coach has spent at their respective schools.
For Penn State and JoePa that means only since 1993 when the Lions
joined the Big Ten Conference and don't tell me how good RichRod was at
West Virginia, the only thing that matters is his time at Michigan.
Ranking the Big Ten coaches:
1.
Jim Tressel, Ohio State -- Ninth Season at OSU (83-19, 82%)
"The Vest" has led the Buckeyes to at least a share of the last four Big Ten titles.
Since
becoming the Buckeye's head man in 2001, Tressel has led Ohio State to
a National Title, five Big Ten Titles, and has had the
Buckeyes ranked in both the AP and Coaches polls since the start of the
2002 season.
Oh, and he's 7-1 against archrival Michigan, the
first Ohio State coach to win five straight games against the
Wolverines, and has a winning record against every team in the
conference except Wisconsin (3-3).
Tressel's program, whether
you like it or not, is the face of the Big Ten and when it comes to Big
Ten coaches it is impossible to deny that his teams have been the most
successful in the conference over the past several seasons.
2.
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State -- Third Season at MSU (16-10, 62%)
After
going 7-6 in his first season, Dantonio led the Spartans to a 9-4
record last year and was within one game of winning a share of the Big
Ten Championship. The talent is starting to flow into East Lansing and
now, Dantonio and the Spartans are eying the top prize.
Dantonio's
secret to success is simple: smart, tough, disciplined football built
around defense. And unlike the teams Spartan fans grew accustomed to
under John L. Smith, Dantonio's teams always seem to play to the best
of their abilities.
As long as he's in East Lansing, Michigan State will be an
upper-division Big Ten contender and a conference title drought that
stretches to 1990 figures to end soon.
3.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa -- 11th season at UI (70-53, 57%)
Iowa
could be the toughest place in the Big Ten to recruit top talent. It's
wide open, small community, and well... boring. Iowa's recruiting
classes are never filled with blue-chippers, making what Ferentz has
been able to accomplish in the conference all the more impressive.
Under
Ferentz, the Hawkeyes are known for being tough and physical and his
teams have always shown the ability to respond to adversity. His first
two seasons of mediocrity were followed by three years of success in
which the Hawkeyes won two Big Ten Championships.
Last season,
the Hawkeyes started the season with inconsistent play and ended the
season as arguably the Big Ten's best team and its only bowl winner.
4.
Joe Paterno, Penn State -- 44th season at PSU (136-86*, 61%)
The legendary JoePa will once again troll the sidelines in Happy Valley.
There
is no arguing the overall significance of Joe Paterno to the college
football landscape. His all-time win total is sitting at 383 (the most
for any FBS coach ever) and the legendary coach will certainly add to
that total over the next few seasons.
Since joining the Big Ten
in 1993, Paterno has led the Nittany Lions to three Big Ten
Championships and many believe his undefeated 1994 team should have won
the National Championship.
There are some who question how
much JoePa actually still does. Those people are crazy.
Paterno is
still the mastermind behind Penn State football and after receiving a
new hip this offseason, JoePa seems more energized than ever.
*Record since joining the Big Ten in 1993
5.
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan -- Second season at UM (3-9, 25%)
You
have heard it a million times by now, but the "round peg, square hole"
theory really is the best way to describe Rodriguez's dreadful debut in
Ann Arbor. We all know he is a better coach than the 3-9 record would
indicate.
The truth is Rodriguez is an innovative offensive mind
and a very good recruiter. Entering his second season and after two
very good recruiting classes, RichRod is already setting the scene for
a dramatic turnaround.
Once the personnel is in place to run
his offense effectively, Rodriguez and Michigan will be back to
competing for the Big Ten and national titles every season.
6.
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern -- Fourth season at NW (19-18, 51%)
In
just three season, Pat Fitzgerald has taken his alma mater from
laughing stock to contender and at only 34 years of age, Fitz's best
days are certainly in front of him.
Fitz coaches like he
played. Hard, with huge effort and undying enthusiasm. His passion for
the Wildcats is unwavering and his team is filled with players who
share that passion. And his players do it the right way, both on the
field and off.
Northwestern is lucky to have the young
Fitzgerald and though it may be hard to imagine Fitz would ever leave
his alma mater, if he keeps winning the offers will come.
7.
Ron Zook, Illinois -- Fifth season at UI (18-30, 38%)
"The Zooker" is intense and full of energy and passion. He could be the Big Ten's best recruiter as well.
No
one will ever doubt Ron Zook's energy. The coach has motor that runs
full speed 24/7 and that hustle has paid off for the Illini on the
recruiting trail.
The Zooker has done tremendous things in Champaign,
despite having a losing record, including spearheading a renaissance in
facilities and attitude.
Is Zook the best gameday coach in the
league? Not by a mile, but he isn't a farce either. His 2007 Illinois
team overacheived and beat No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus en route to a
Rose Bowl appearance.
8.
Brett Bielema, Wisconsin -- Fourth season at UW (28-11, 72%)
The
honeymoon is over in Madison. After going 12-1 his first season, the
recruiting and on-field performance has been consistently dropping in
each season since.
The ever intense Bielema recognizes the
problem and has altered his offseason approach to better connect with
his players and enhance their development. But, his recruiting efforts
are nowhere near those of former Badger coach Barry Alvarez and until
he can get the talent flow back into Madison his on-field success won't
match what Alvarez accomplished either.
9.
Tim Brewster, Minnesota -- Third season at UM (8-17, 32%)
After a 1-11 campaign in his first year, Brewster's squad improved to
7-6 in year two due in large part to his fierce recrruiting. Brewster
has abandoned the wide open approach he came to Minneapolis in favor of
the power run game that was successful under former coach Glenn Mason.
But will success follow? Last season, the Gophers looked like a team on
a mission starting the season 7-1, with their only loss coming to Ohio
State. But injuries and inconsistent play quickly turned into a five
game losing streak.
10.
Danny Hope, Purdue Boilermakers -- First season at PU
Replacing
a legend is never easy, but Danny Hope just might be the man to do it.
Like Zook and Fitzgerald, Hope is filled with enery and no one will
outhustle him for recruits.
The upbeat and positive coach is
in for a rough first season, but there is reason for "Hope" (excuse the
horrific pun) in West Layfayette. With one solid recruiting class--and
the transfer of a former blue chip quarterback--Hope is well on his way
to getting the Boilers back up to the upper half of the conference.
11.
Bill Lynch, Indiana -- Third season at IU (10-15, 40%)
After
taking over the head job in Bloomington, after the death of former
coach Terry Hoeppner, Lynch led the Hoosiers to their first bowl
appearance in eons and finished the season with a 7-6 record.
Unfortunately, that 7-6 season is the highlight of Lynch's college
football coaching career.
Indiana is and will always be a
basketball first school, but there have been coaches who have had
moderate success there. For Lynch, 2009 may be his last opportunity and
this fall will be key to his future in Bloomington.
4 Comments
Kelm48103 said:
Dantonio at number 2??? Way to lose all creditability right off the bat. I have no idea why people are so impressed with Dantonio. Sure the 9-4 record is a huge improvement, but their biggest win last year was against Northwestern. Let me repeat that, their biggest win was against NORTHWESTERN. Their record is just an illusion. They didn't beat anyone of substance, and they got absolutely destroyed by any decent team. Wasn't even close. Also, I've been highly unimpressed with Dantonio's coaching. In the first season, I felt he didn't even try against Ohio State. It seemed to me like they had a chance to win it, but just stopped playing for the win for some mysterious reason.
Beyond that, you have Rich Rod at 5. C'mon now, do you have any idea what this man has done for college football? The Godfather of the spread has given tutorials to the likes of Urban Meyer and Appalachian State’s Jerry Moore in the past few years. If you look at any national writers (ESPN for instance) rankings, they have the pioneer of the spread ranked way higher than the rest of these coaches. At very least, he should be in the top 3 behind Tressel and Ferentz. Despite what you say I dont think JoePa really is the mastermind of the offense. If you look at whats happened in the last couple years, PSU has gotten significantly better since JoePa has relinquished more control. To me, this takes him out of the top 3 easy. I'm willing to bet you that when Joepa eventually does retire, PSU will suffer no ill effects.
Kristofer Green said:
I couldn't disagree with you more about Dantonio. He has completely changed the culture in East Lansing. Michigan State has always had the talent to be a upper half Big Ten team. But until Dantonio's arrival they rarely did.
The first step in changing the culture was getting to a bowl game which they did in season 1. The next step was beating all the teams they should beat which they did in season 2. Now they have to beat some teams they shouldn't. I think they will. Dantonio will have the Spartans in contention for the Big Ten title again this season.
RichRod at 5 is a gift considering the criteria for the ranking. Did you happen to read that part? I laid it out very plainly... "My ranking of the Big Ten coaches takes into account only the time each coach has spent at their respective schools."
When you take that into account, the argument could be made that he is ranked too high. He's at 5 because of two great recruiting classes as well as the progress I have seen in the Wolverines from the end of last season, through the spring and into fall camp.
I never said JoePa was still as hands on as he once was, but if you think for a moment anything relating to PSU football happens without JoePa's influence then you are sorely mistaken.
You have to give credit to JoePa for assembling a staff and keeping them in place for so long. That is the main reason he can run things in Happy Valley with a more hands off approach.
Kelm48103 said:
Dantonio just lost to central michigan. Any chance in coming over to my side of the argument? Cuz really i dont think they'd have lost this one if they had ringer.
Kelm48103 said:
Yea, I did skip down to the rankings. So, if that's the criteria you're going to use (which I think is a bit silly considering all of the new coaches), then yes 5 is a gift.
With Dantonio, my thing is this, the record in my mind was due to a weaker schedule. Michigan usually clobbers state, but the very down year prevented them from being called the same old spartans and added a win to their total. Also, you have to determine whether the improvement was due to Dantonio or Javon Ringer. I'm definitely leaning toward it being from Javon Ringer. C'mon now they ran him like every play. Michigan fans thought we ran Hart hard, but it was nothing compared to how much they used and relied on Ringer. So, if state goes 9-4 again this year, then yea, i'll give credit to dantonio. More likely than not, though, i expect the same old spartans.
As a Michigan fan, this Dantonio lovefest from the media is really irksome. First off, i dont think he's earned it (whereas, as much as I hate to admit it, someone like definitely tressel has), but more importantly it has the effect (negative from my vantage point) of improving the program. It might sound silly, but equate it to propoganda. The media crown Dantonio as being a great coach and now more recruits are gonna want to play there. Also, they make fairly uneducated claims like he's dominating in-state recruiting when Michigan is still getting the top-tier athletes from the state that fit into their system and are going to places like Florida, Texas, and Ohio for the rest. In-state recruiting really doesn't matter. Sadly, Michigan just isnt a great state for High School talent. Yes, there are some good players, but not as many as there should be. So, my point is, Dantonio hasn't changed the culture, but rather the media has.
I'm really not sure how much credit can be given to JoePa. I respect the man and I respect the coach. He was a fantastic coach, but I think he is outdated now. Yes, he has established a great program and helps the program to run smoothly, but I really don't think PSU would be lost without him. In fact, I think they would make the smoothest transition of any team in the Big 10 making a coaching switch.
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