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What current head coaches do you consider elite in College Football?

Definitely wouldn't call them elite, but Mike Gundy has won a ton of games coaching on the outskirts of an Osage reservation in Oklahoma, and James Franklin deserves credit for winning at freaking Vanderbilt and then continuing to build at Penn State.

Also, any coach with less than 5 years of FBS HC experience is not up for consideration. Kirby Smart may be Saban Lite, or he may be Coker Lite. Too early to tell. So much of being HC is keeping the organization running smoothly, which is relatively easy during an upswing but incredibly hard when facing adversity.
 
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Dy-lan said:
Always impressed by Gary Patterson’s work with TCU. Not sure I’d call him elite though.
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I thought about putting him tier 2 on my list BUT I don’t think he could have as much success outside of Texas.
 
Elite means best of the best.championships are the barometer is it not.that doesn't mean that other coaches at smaller venues aren't good .there's a bunch of good coaches who deserve respect.Patterson,Bill Snyder etc but you can't call them elite.you could give a coach like golden a $100 million venue he wouldn't win one championship.
 
canadianhurricane said:
Who do you guys think is on the verge of becoming elite????

I'd say:

Herman - if he can recreate what he did at UH at UT (which should be easier for him), he could be a problem

Peterson - had success everywhere

Frost - the turnaround at UCF was impressive. See herman

Cant think of anyone else
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I like your list.

James Franklin has a chance to move up the ranks.

Fitzgerald at northwestern could do a lot of damage at a bigger program.
 
zanecane said:
I like your list.

James Franklin has a chance to move up the ranks.

Fitzgerald at northwestern could do a lot of damage at a bigger program.
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The problem I have with a lot of coaches like Pat Fitzgerald, Gary Patterson, and Bronco Mendenhall is I question how successful could they be out of a certain area. Bronco is a great coach but I always thought he would move to a job like us or USC and have a lot of success but UVA? I don’t know about that...
 
Zbrod95 said:
The problem I have with a lot of coaches like Pat Fitzgerald, Gary Patterson, and Bronco Mendenhall is I question how successful could they be out of a certain area. Bronco is a great coach but I always thought he would move to a job like us or USC and have a lot of success but UVA? I don’t know about that...
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Yeah becoming a top tier coach usually involves building up a smaller program and then jumping at a chance at a top institution. Steadying that ship and building it up.

It's at that point guys who can't both coach and recruit get exposed. Similar to Charlie Strong, just being able to recruit was good enough at Louisville, not at Texas.

Bronco had a lot of success and instead of waiting for a top job, settled for a mid level school not known for its football program. He'll also never beat Miami so terrible decision all around.
 
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RepTheGables said:
Saban and Meyer are in a tier by themselves.

Dabo has certainly rocketed up the rankings recently, but you'd have to be nuts to put him in Tier 1. I'm fairly certain that Petersen and Patterson are better than he is, but without the obvious institutional advantages afforded by a school like Clemson.

I'd say that Richt is top 10 in the game right now, which is more than enough to win big at Miami. People crowning Kirby are doing it waaaay too early. The guy could be a redneck Brady Hoke for all we know. Let's see how he does with his own players and not 30+ of Richt's seniors.
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canadianhurricane said:
Who do you guys think is on the verge of becoming elite????

I'd say:

Herman - if he can recreate what he did at UH at UT (which should be easier for him), he could be a problem

Peterson - had success everywhere

Frost - the turnaround at UCF was impressive. See herman

Cant think of anyone else
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Lincoln Riley
 
Elite is a word that’s often used and often misappropriated as well.

Elite does not mean very good, it means best of the best.

Imo, there’s only 3 elite coaches, right now, in the game: That’s Saban, Meyers, and Swinney. These are the guys who are year in and out battling and considered for National Championships.

However, we have a slew of really good coaches who may be considered elite in few coming years:

Patterson, Peterson, Richt, Riley, Frost, Smart, Fisher, Herman, and Harbaugh fits into this category.

Richt can’t be considered elite right now until he at least plays for a National Championship and keep Miami in the hunt for it consistently. I think w the type of inventory he’ll have at his disposal now, he’ll be considered elite. Right now, I have him in the very good category.

Even though Fisher won a title, not sure if that’s him or the crab stealing, pssy grabbing Winston. He gets A&M vying for a national championship, then I’ll consider him elite.

All the other aforementioned coaches, I wouldn’t mind seeing them coach our program; they r all really good coaches, but imo, there’s only 3 truly elite coaches in the game, RIGHT NOW.
 
1. Saban............................................................................................................................................................. 2.Urb 3.Dabo............................ 4.Jimbo are top tier guys with Kirby flirting to be mentioned in this group (depends on this season which I assume will be a good one) then every one else whos been mentioned in above posts as 2nd tier guys. To me I base this off recruiting 1 and then on field performance with said recruits
 
Saban, Meyer and Dabo.

Only ones who have built and sustained greatness almost every season and have shown zero signs of slipping. If anything, from a recuriting standpoint they are widening the gap between them and just about everyone else.

In this fresh situation I think CMR can take the step forward into that group. He has complete control, without outside forces meddling in his program.

But he's not there yet imo.
 
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LOL at Kurby even being mentioned as anywhere close to elite.

He’s been a coach 2 fūcking years. His first year he had a mediocre record with a ton of talent.

For those of you that understand statistics, his second season can only be considered an outlier at this time. He needs a few more years under his belt of serious successs before he can even be mentioned in the same breath as elite.

But that’s what makes some of you guys look like groupie teenage frontrunners. Guy’s coached 2 years, has one good year, and you’re ready to almost crown him elite.
 
There are only two elite coaches and you know who they are. The rest are really good.
 
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