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Coaches Rank Their Most Overrated/Underrated Colleagues

SO much LOL about Taggart being peer-rated as the most overrated coach. It's so true. I can't wait for FSU fans to see it in full effect.
We know he's overrated as Miami fans, but it's so great to see people that know wtf they're talking about (COACHES) calling him out. Can't wait to ***** slap FSU at home this year...shove all of his "lethal simplicity" down his salesman throat.

And yeah, David Shaw is absolutely the most underrated coach in college football. As many have said, with Stanford's strict academic requirements, he's done one **** of a job there. Coaches at schools like that have to navigate a lot more red tape. I'd love to see a guy like that at a program with lesser restrictions...he'd do some serious damage.
 
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DMoney said:
Franklin is a great coach. Penn State was a struggling program before getting exposed as a child rape factory.

It’s amazing how quickly he has turned them into a power. He was good as a Vanderbilt, too.
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He was the weak link on Key and Peele tho...
 
Liberty City El said:
Most overrated coaches imo are Brian Kelly, Kirk Ferentz & Jim Harbaugh.

Most underrated coaches: Gary Patterson, David Shaw & Paul Chryst.

Gary Patteson is one of the top 3-5 coaches in college football imo.

People may not like him but James Franklin is a pretty **** good coach. He actually won 9 games back to back at Vanderbilt, you know how hard that is to do at Vandy? He even beat Richt in 2013, he deserves respect for what he's done thus far.

Also, people sleep on David Shaw because they say Harbaugh created the foundation, but Harbaugh hasn't been at Stanford since 2011 & he was only 29-21 there, so it's not like Shaw is winning with a bunch of Harbaugh recruits. Shaw is 73-22 since becoming HC & has won 3 Pac-12 titles while putting multiple great players in the NFL despite handing out the least amount of offers of any D1 program.

Maybe people forgot, but Stanford wasn't built by Harbaugh, they were a viable program during the Bill Walsh era & came back on the scene during the Tyrone Willingham era, Harbaugh does deserve credit for his 3 years there no doubt, but he gets a little too much credit.
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Add to your underrated list: Pat Fitzgerald and Bronco Mendenhall

Do you know how hard it is to win 8 games a year at Northwestern?

Did you know it’s even harder to consistently win 9 games a year at BYU?
 
Idk about Franklin. He found very creative ways to get the ball to saquon last year. I think hes a guy that really rides out his go-to players but it works so whatever. Plus, Vanderbilt isn't an easy place to have any kind of success. It the one academic school in a confernece where everyone else cheats.

Peterson (Washington) seems to get the most out of the talent he recruits every year. Even at boise, the guy coached his *** off. Dont know why bigger schools havent come calling for him cause he seems to do well wherever he goes.

David shaw is a coach too. They seem like a perfect fit. He runs a smart system for overachieving players.

I wish ppl would leave taggart alone and let FSU die a slow and long death!!! Hes everything they deserve. I pray for him to get an extension.
 
hughhoney said:
I don't know about top 5. Bielema was doing the same business at Wisky. Wouldn't put him ahead of Saban, Meyer, Swinney, Petersen, Patterson, Gundy, Richt, Shaw, Dantonio, or Chip Kelly. Maybe somewhere after that in the 11-15 range.
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Chryst was Fatty Bielemas OC when he really got it rolling ahead of the Arkansas disaster. Some of his success went south when Chryst went to the NFL (Cowboys I think) for a couple years. He is a great coach.
 
jpositive said:
Chryst was Fatty Bielemas OC when he really got it rolling ahead of the Arkansas disaster. Some of his success went south when Chryst went to the NFL (Cowboys I think) for a couple years. He is a great coach.
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Chryst went to Pitt, where he lost his first game to an FCS opponent, and never finished better than .500 in conference play. Even the guy after Bielema averaged 10 wins a season. I think he's a pretty good coach, but wouldn't put him ahead of the guys I mentioned.
 
DMoney said:
Franklin is a great coach. Penn State was a struggling program before getting exposed as a child rape factory.

It’s amazing how quickly he has turned them into a power. He was good as a Vanderbilt, too.
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I think Franklin is schit. I think he rides big programs coat-tails. PSU was gonna be good no matter what after the NCAA let them off the hook.

I've been wrong before though.
 
I think Franklin’s success can be attributed to him finding outstanding coordinators both offensively and defensively. He really knows the FCS coaching trees well enough to pluck the next up and coming assistant. As to other coaches, I think what Shaw has done at Stanford given their heavy academic requirements is nothing short of miraculous. I too find Petersen to be an excellent coach for Washington - but can he win the big trophy? Chryst is exceptional at Wisky, particularly given what talent there is locally (or overall lack thereof), and believe Patterson is a great facilitator for TCU. Overrated wise, you have to put Taggert on the list along with Ferentz and Harbaugh. ‘Ol Willie is going to be feeling the love come the end of this year’s 8-4 season, Harbaugh can’t beat tOSU (maybe more of a Liar thing than anything else), and Ferentz should be posting 9-10 win seasons consistently especially given what he’s being paid annually.
 
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hughhoney said:
I don't know about top 5. Bielema was doing the same business at Wisky. Wouldn't put him ahead of Saban, Meyer, Swinney, Petersen, Patterson, Gundy, Richt, Shaw, Dantonio, or Chip Kelly. Maybe somewhere after that in the 11-15 range.
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It’s a good debate. Tons of subjectivity and no right or wrong answers. I’m not sure a guy like Swinney takes Wisconsin talent and wins 13 games. I don’t see Gundy up there either.

I see your point on Bielema and thought about it, but he had a few clunker seasons at Wisconsin. Until Chryst does that I’m thinking he’s a clear upgrade. Was Bielema’s best season when he had the transcendent Russell Wilson at QB? Give Chryst a QB like that, and he’ll probably win a NC.
 
The Franchise said:
It’s a good debate. Tons of subjectivity and no right or wrong answers. I’m not sure a guy like Swinney takes Wisconsin talent and wins 13 games. I don’t see Gundy up there either.

I see your point on Bielema and thought about it, but he had a few clunker seasons at Wisconsin. Until Chryst does that I’m thinking he’s a clear upgrade. Was Bielema’s best season when he had the transcendent Russell Wilson at QB? Give Chryst a QB like that, and he’ll probably win a NC.
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Swinney is a top 3 coach though. He turned an average Clemson program into a perennial national powerhouse, and they're only getting better.

Gundy is a different story. I think Ok St is a slightly tougher job than Wisconsin considering their schedule and who they compete with for recruits, and he's done a very respectable job keeping them in national picture. Pitt is probably an easier job and we saw how Chryst did there.

Chryst's sample size is too small to put him above those guys. He's been consistent at Wisconsin and has had some good wins, but he also blew it 2 years ago against PSU in the Big 10 Championship. With higher expectations and a tougher crossover schedule this year we'll see, but he hasn't earned enough of the "wow factor" yet IMO. If he runs the table again this year with that schedule I'd move him ahead of some of those other guys.
 
Shaw and Patterson are severely underrated. Those guys are probably in my top 6 or 7 CFB head coaches.

Jim Harbaugh has to belong on the "most overrated" list. His record without Andrew Luck at Stanford was terrible. He's been at Michigan for three years and has yet to form any semblance of an offense. And he's an "offensive" coach.

I also think Lane Kiffen is a pretty good coach. He's had success as a head coach and an OC but I think he's constantly moving from job to job because he's a prick and not a company man.
 
TemplarCane said:
I’d give Franklin a little credit. He’s not elite, but he’s beaten Meyer, Harbaugh, D’Antionio, and Petersen. Golden would have never come close.

Agree with Shaw. I don’t know if he can win NC at Stanford but he is an excellent coach. Harbaugh did set him up and we’ll need to see if Shaw can keep Stanford an annual PAC12 contender. I suspect he will.
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Since Harbaugh's now been gone from Stanford for 8 years, I'd say Shaw's proven he can keep Stanford as an annual Pac-12 contender.
 
Funny how the collective view of shaw has changed around here. A lot of people thought he was trash when golden was here and other points in time. Franklin is a good coach. Harbaugh's had some issues at Michigan but I still think he's a good coach. I'd take him. Taggert hasn't done chit. Dantonio's a good coach. He could do some serious damage at a place like Miami. Same with Paul Christ who outrcoached Shannon badly in that one bowl game. That isn't saying much but anyways......

People can get mad at Sabin for getting the best players but that's' what good coaches do. Good/great coaches bring in good/great players. You need both. He Prolly cheats to get them but that's another story.
 
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DTP said:
Shaw and Patterson are severely underrated. Those guys are probably in my top 6 or 7 CFB head coaches.

Jim Harbaugh has to belong on the "most overrated" list. His record without Andrew Luck at Stanford was terrible. He's been at Michigan for three years and has yet to form any semblance of an offense. And he's an "offensive" coach.

I also think Lane Kiffen is a pretty good coach. He's had success as a head coach and an OC but I think he's constantly moving from job to job because he's a prick and not a company man.
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Why does Harbaugh’s record at Stanford before recruiting Andrew Luck make Harbaugh overrated? Stanford was 1-11 the year prior to Harbuagh’s arrival, and the program was dismal for a number of prior seasons. Harbaugh’s job was to recruit players like Luck and win. His last and fourth season’s record was 11-1 and ranked in the Top 5, with a quarterback he recruited selected #1 overall in the draft. He went 3-1 against USC and Pete Carroll, including a win as a 41-point road underdog.

His failing at Michigan is to recruit the same level of QB, win the Big 10, and beat Ohio State. Urban Meyer has outclassed or out-coached him three out of three times. He admittedly needs a rebound season from last year. I also think his antics are wearing a bit thin.

Lane Kiffin is the overrated one. 7–6 his one season at Tennessee, and disappointment at USC. Yes, there were NCAA sanctions but he was making a number of bad coaching decisions. Too big a job too early. Dropping down to OC for Saban for three seasons and taking a G5 job like FAU were good ideas. Kiffin was suffering from the same narcissism as Harbaugh, but without the success. He should build a foundation at FAU before trying to jump back up to a P5 program. And no, not the Maryland job. The program is in chaos. Coaching in the same division as Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State is a no-win situation. He’d be better off waiting for FSU or UF to open back up, or a Big 12 school, where he can run his offense.
 
TemplarCane said:
Standford has some past success prior to Harbaugh’s arrival, true, it were awful under Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris. Harris was 1-11 his last season. Tyrone Willingham made them competitive. He was 44-36, 1-3 in bowls, and his best year was 1999 when we won an outright PAC-10 title, the program’s first since 1970 (the Jim Plunkett era).

Harbaugh beat #1 USC on the road as a 41-point underdog. Went 3-1 vs USC and Pete Carroll. He inherited a 1-11 team left four years later as a 11-1 and Top 5 ranked program.

I think Shaw is an elite coach and he’s excelled after Harbaugh left. I’ll correct my earlier statement that it remains to be seen if Shaw can keep Stanford an annual PAC12 contender. He has won three conference championships. Fortunately for Stanford he seems like a lifer.

NOTE: I’d love to see Miami schedule a home-and-home with Stanford.
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Shaw did spend nearly a decade in the NFL so I wouldn't necessarily completely rule out a return at some point. I'd certainly roll the dice on a guy like that before giving your Mike Mularkey types their 27th job opportunity.

While I'd love to watch a Stanford-Canes matchup (and make the trip out there), I think the risk-reward probably wouldn't be worth it. I don't think you gain any recruiting notoriety in California by playing them whereas they might down here. I'd probably prefer a home-and-home with USC or a single neutral site game with them in Texas or something.
 
Tad Footeball said:
I'd certainly roll the dice on a guy like that before giving your Mike Mularkey types their 27th job opportunity.
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Right??? I live in Nashville, Titans fan, etc. Had to suffer through that clown for the last few years here. Hiring Mularkey felt like the Titans saying, "Yeah, sure. Whatever." Wouldn't call Vrabel a slam-dunk hire either, but we'll see.
 
Tad Footeball said:
Shaw did spend nearly a decade in the NFL so I wouldn't necessarily completely rule out a return at some point. I'd certainly roll the dice on a guy like that before giving your Mike Mularkey types their 27th job opportunity.

While I'd love to watch a Stanford-Canes matchup (and make the trip out there), I think the risk-reward probably wouldn't be worth it. I don't think you gain any recruiting notoriety in California by playing them whereas they might down here. I'd probably prefer a home-and-home with USC or a single neutral site game with them in Texas or something.
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Shaw could jump to the NFL for the right situation, you’re right. I’d wonder if Shaw wants the NFL headaches and built-in short-term job expectancy. He could stay on The Farm for another 15 years. If I were an NFL owner he would be on my short list.

I live in SoCal, so a home-and-home with USC would be great IMO. I mentioned Stanford because we’ve never played them and they’ve been very good the last decade. A long weekend in the Bay Area wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

Playing either USC or Stanford would benefit California recruiting. I agree with your statement if we were discussing a home-and-home with Oregon or even Washington (been there, done that).
 
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