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Rank the ACC Coaches 2016

Jul 26, 2016, 4:20 PM

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've been near these parts. Football season is around the corner (just over a month away!) and I'm looking forward to it. Now living in the Piedmont Triad area of NC, I should be able to go to not only more Hokie games, but possibly games in other venues (including of course, a visit to Tiger Stadium for a random game... since the Hokies aren't visiting anytime soon). I posted this on TechSideline and perhaps due to my relatively low ranking of Fuente, it isn't going over real well. But I'm sure you guys will like where I have Fuente. My criteria was subjectively based on historical success, how the program is set up for the future, overall leadership, and recruiting. Please feel free to post your own rankings.

I hope all is well for y'all and maybe we'll get to see y'all in Charlotte in a few months.

1. Dabo Swinney - Clemson: One could argue on his the merits of his Xs and Os, but he seems to know his limitations and hires accordingly. He has a nearly 75% winning percentage at Clemson now and took the Tigers the National Title game where they went nearly toe to toe with Alabama.

2. Jimbo Fisher - Florida State: It isn't easy taking over for a legend. Though it is a little easier when the legend had fallen on rough times for the last few years. Fisher took Bowden's program back to where it had been in Bowden's days. The only major difference is that the ACC is a wee bit more difficult now.

3. Mark Richt - Miami: Richt did a good job at Georgia, though the program never quite got over the hump in a difficult league. The ACC Coastal isn't the juggernaut the SEC East is on a year to year basis (though the Coastal was probably as good last year). Miami already has the talent. I think they have a real chance to win the division this year.

4. Bobby Petrino - Louisville: He may be morally bankrupt, but he can coach football. He quickly resurrected Louisville to be nearly back to where they were when a guy named. Bobby Petrino was the coach there.

5. David Cutcliffe - Duke: To do what Cutcliffe has done at Duke takes some real coaching chops. Duke consistently has the worst talent in the Coastal division yet they are consistently in the top half of the standings.

6. Larry Fedora - North Carolina: UNC spent approximately two decades trying to get back to the Mack Brown days. While they aren't there yet, Fedora has the Heels possibly well on their way.

7. Justin Fuente: Virginia Tech: I didn't think I'd have Fuente this low until I broke it down. Given time, I think he will rise in the rankings. He took a bare cupboard at Memphis in the CUSA and then turned into a power. in the superior AAC. I think he fits like a glove here in Blacksburg though.

8. Bronco Mendenhall - Virginia: One can't ignore the 11 years he spent at BYU. He's an excellent coach who I think will improve the Hoos sooner rather than later*. The only reason he's here and not a bit higher is that he's an odd fit at UVA.
* Due to the odd fit, one has to wonder if he'll be bolting back west first chance he gets (perhaps to Utah or UCLA?)

9. Pat Narduzzi - Pitt: He broke the mold at Pitt for 6-7 win teams, getting an 8th win and they do seem to be recruiting pretty well. We'll see what the future holds for this program.

10. Paul Johnson - Georgia Tech: He did a good job pushing his system in a weak league. Now that the league is getting stronger, I wonder if he can adapt. The 2014 ACC Coastal Championship was a fluke. My guess is that GT is a year or two away from being on the market and the personnel at GT is going to make the job a tough sell.

11. Dave Clawson - Wake Forest: The real architect behind the winner in Richmond and the guy who revived Bowling Green from the Gregg Brandon era. He even had some success at Fordham.

12. Dino Babers - Syracuse: Did well at Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois. But the ACC is a far tougher conference than the MAC or Ohio Valley Conference. We'll see if Babers can translate his previous success into a winner in New York. At Bowling Green though, Babers simply inherited an already pretty good program from the guy above him. Many thought this was a good hire. I'm not so sure.

13. Dave Doeren - NC State: Jerry Kill built the Northern Illinois program. Doeren kept it going for two more years before moving on. This was a lackluster hire at the time and a 6-18 ACC record through three years continues to demonstrate that he's a lackluster coach. My guess is that NC State will be coaching shopping after this season.

14. Steve Addazio - Boston College: It's one thing to have an 0-8 conference record in your first season (see Doeren). It's quite another to have one in your third. Addazio wasn't at Temple long enough to demonstrate what kind of coach he really is (keeping the space warm after Golden left). BC should do a bit better this year and IMO it will be enough to keep the folks in Chestnut Hill from making a move. But my guess is that BC is coach shopping after the 2017 season.

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#1 - (a) Dabo (b) Jimbo - There's a gap before the next group and it's not particularly close. Saying one is better than the other is probably just not accurate. I would bet that these two go back and forth at the top for no less than the next 5 years.

B-Group - Good/Not elite coaches

#3 - Bobby Petrino - No bigger slime ball in the league, but you cannot deny his coaching ability.

#4 - David Cutcliffe - No one does more with less that Cutcliffe. He may not be able to do it on a huge stage, but he gets as much out of his players as anybody.

#5 - Mark Richt - This may go back up now that he's supposedly calling plays again. When he was the primary play caller UGA was a much better team, but in the last 10 years he hasn't had any teams reach their full potential.

C-Group - OK to Good.

#6 - Larry Fedora - #### this guy for losing to Scar last year. What kind of idiot doesn't give the ball to one of the best RB's in the league on the goal line. #### you you Pete Carrol wanna be loser.

#7 - Bronco Mendenhall - Had a really good run at BYU, got a lot out of those guys. Be interesting to see how he does in a completely different situation. Also, consider that at BYU his OL almost always had a few guys in their mid-twenties. There's a difference in the physical maturity of those guys vs. younger college kids. Just a thought.

#8 - Pat Narduzzi - Seems to be moving Pitt in the right direction. I can't imagine that's the easiest school to recruit to, so he gets a fairly high grade from me.

#9 - Paul Johnson - This #### head can rot in hell. I hate him and everything he stands for. #### Paul Johnson. The end.

D-Group - Jury's Still Out

#10 - Justin Fuente - Fuente is an unknown at the highest level of college football. Everyone above him has had some success at a much higher level than this guy. If I had to predict, I think he will be good, but to rank him higher than anyone else on this list at this point requires plenty of conjecture at this time.

Final Group -

#'s 11-14 - Who gives a ####. These guys ceiling are all 6/7 wins. Getting lucky on a few under recruited player who blossoms into stars is the best they can hope for.

Finally - #### Paul Johnson.

Rank the ACC Coaches 2016

Good question, my order would be...

I'm going to go with...

Not bashing, but what has you putting Fuente last?

Because he took over that women's program at VPI

Maybe Fuente's wife was banging the Memphis,...

Could be, I just figured he lost a bet or something***

Could be or possibly witness protection...

FWIW, I like the Fuente hire***

Re: Not bashing, but what has you putting Fuente last?

I question any Head Coach that took the VPI&SU job.

I also put Fuente at 14 but that's only because

If I've never said this before, I like the way you think.

Of all the times I've sat in DV, I have never seen a

I sat near a group of them at the ACC Championship game in

Re: Rank the ACC Coaches 2016

But you're indifferent right?***

Because he got outcoached in the Natty? We certainly

You are dead on. Who stood in the backfield

Jimbo probably has it a little easier at FSU but he's got

The historical advantages at FSU are why I put Dabo ahead

Re: The historical advantages at FSU are why I put Dabo ahead

Re: The historical advantages at FSU are why I put Dabo ahead

Why all the hostility?

Hostile? GWP is being forthright and far from hostile.

I love it when "fans" question D Swinney's "X's and O's"...

For what it's worth, Xs and Os aren't that important

Re: Rank the ACC Coaches 2016

Re: Rank the ACC Coaches 2016

I ranked Dabo #1 in the league. How is that an insult?

Enjoy the corndogs in Baton Rouge. Geeezzzzzz .....***

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