By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- What do Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden have in common?
That's right; neither made the OGS Top 10 Coaches List that I tallied up Wednesday night.
Last week, I sent the survey to several dozen Sports Information Directors, football writers and savvy fans, and the votes are in. It's really no surprise who took the No. 1 spot: Florida's Urban Meyer.
YOUR THOUGHTS: How Do You Rank The Top Coaches?
I asked folks to vote as objectively as possible for who they thought were the top coaches in the game right now, which to me means more of a recent record than the overall body of work. Here was my ballot:
- Urban Meyer, Florida
- Pete Carroll, USC
- Nick Saban, Alabama
- Mack Brown, Texas
- Brian Kelly, Cincinnati
- Les Miles, LSU
- Jim Tressel, Ohio State
- Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
- Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
- Chip Kelly, Oregon
Yes, I know it's courageous to put Brian Kelly ahead of the two guys directly beneath him, as Miles and Tressel have combined for three national championships this decade. But if there's one guy for whom it's just a matter of time right now, it's Kelly.
And I stayed away from the fashionable picks like Chris Peterson, Kirk Ferentz and Gary Patterson because I'd like to see if Ferentz can sustain the success he's enjoying this year and the other guys coach in weaker leagues. The occasional big win for them is nice and all, but if they had to grind through a power league each year, maybe some of those one-loss seasons would be three-loss seasons at Boise State and TCU.
The one wild-card I wish I had room for was Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson.
Here was the overall ballot from the panel, with some quotes from those who allowed me to use their words:
- Urban Meyer, Florida
"Innovative. Creative. Business-like. Since taking the job at Florida his teams have won ugly, won with style, and pretty much everything in between. But they have won. They have a target on their back every week of every year. Plus, he told Notre Dame to take a flying leap, which gets him bonus points in my book."
- Pat Fagan, head football coach, Milford (Ohio) High School - Pete Carroll, USC
"Who wouldn't love to play for this guy? He's Southern California personified. His practical jokes and wacky contests in practice are well-documented, as are his contributions to the inner-city neighborhoods in Los Angeles. And, oh by the way, two national titles."
- Jeff Wallner, sportswriter - Nick Saban, Alabama
"Alabama has made a deal with the devil. He's the best football dictator in all of football."
- Jeff Gluck, blogger, Almost Interesting - Brian Kelly, Cincinnati
"He's built up the Cincy program pratically overnight. What's the over/under on a big program wooing this guy away from the Bearcats?"
- Kyle Bunch, blogger, Trojan Wire - Mack Brown, Texas
"Steady, steady, steady. He reloads better than anyone."
- Chris Boggs, blogger, Atlanta Journal Constitution's Ramblin' On - Chris Peterson, Boise State
"Took over a program that appeared to be at its performance ceiling and made it even better."
- Andy McNamara, Assistant SID, Oregon - Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
"He no longer flies under the radar like his early days at Navy."
- George Vogel, WLWT-TV Sports Anchor, Cincinnati - Jim Tressel, Ohio State
"Tressel has gotten too used to the bridesmaid role, but he’s made the Buckeyes relevant every year since he took over."
- Randy Rosetta, LSU beat writer, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate - Chip Kelly, Oregon
"Booted a stud from the team for being a doofus, refunded a fan's travel expenses and started winning football games ... in butt-ugly uniforms at that!"
- Scott Springer, blogger, Parting Scott - Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
"They may be running out of lives, but ... he's so focused and doesn't let anything distract him. He's also one of the nicest guys on the planet."
- Eric Thomas, blogger, Blue White Illustrated
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