Richt, Johnson score high on rankings, not Chizik, Muschamp
Sporting News has Mark Richt (14) just ahead of Paul Johnson (19) among 124 FBS coaches.
The problem with most “rankings” in sports is that there’s a large degree of knee jerk thinking in the thought process. Somebody wins, they deserve a stature. Somebody loses, they’re road kill. A coach wins a BCS title, he’s a sudden visionary.
But The Sporting News just ranked 124 FBS (Division I) coaches in college football and in my view the publication pretty much nailed it. Not so much because Nick Saban of Alabama is No. 1 or Charley Molnar of Massachusetts is No. 124 (UMass has a football team?) but because of the placement of so many others. A few examples:
– Boise State’s Chris Peterson (No. 2) and Texas Christian’s Gary Patterson (No. 7) both received lofty rankings for their success in actual games, not on national signing day. Winning games really is what coaching is all about, is it not?
– Auburn’s Gene Chizik was ranked only 36th nationally and seventh among 14 SEC coaches, despite winning a national championship two years ago. The reason: He has yet to prove he can accomplish something without Cam Newton.
– High rankings were given to often overlooked coaches in the SEC and ACC, specifically Vanderbilt’s James Franklin (fifth in the SEC, 25th overall) and Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe (fourth in the ACC, 31st overall).
As for Georgia’s Mark Richt and Tech’s Paul Johnson, both fared well. Richt ranked fourth among SEC coaches — behind only Saban, Les Miles and Steve Spurrier, all of whom have won BCS titles — and 14th in the nation.
Here’s The Sporting News on Richt:
A crossroads season at Georgia resulted in 10 wins—but nothing the ‘Dawgs weren’t supposed to do. In fact, all four losses were against the four best teams on the schedule, and left everyone wanting more despite another double-digit win season (his seventh in 11 years). Richt signed a contract extension after last season through 2016—hard to argue 4-0 vs. your rivals (Florida, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Auburn)—so UGA is committed to his process.
Johnson ranked second in the SEC behind only Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer and 19th overall.
Here’s The Sporting News on Johnson:
The best way to describe Johnson’s triple-option offense in the ACC: It works. The Yellow Jackets have led the conference—and ranked in the top four nationally—in rushing in all four of Johnson’s seasons in Atlanta, and in each of the past two years have topped 300 yards per game on the ground. The 2009 league title still looks good, as does Johnson’s 6-0 record vs. Army when he was at Navy.
Among those getting pounded: Florida’s Will Muschamp was ranked only 59th nationally (10th among SEC coaches) and Tennessee’s Derek Dooley finished 99th overall (worst in the SEC, even behind No. 90 Joker Phillips of Kentucky).
Also noteworthy: Among former Falcons head coaches June Jones, now of SMU, ranked 22nd overall and far ahead of Jim Mora, now of UCLA, at 68th.
TSN on Mora:
Mora, who led the Atlanta Falcons to 11 wins and a berth in the NFC championship game, is back at the college level for the first time since 1984, when he was a graduate assistant at Washington. He’s off to a pretty good start at UCLA, having signed a well-regarded initial recruiting class. But we don’t have the sense that he’s suddenly on the road to glory. He could struggle with the adjustment from the pro game.
One flaw in the article: The Sporting News states that Big 12 coaches have the best average ranking (27.2), far ahead of No. 2 SEC (43.3). The problem with that statistic, which TSN admits, is the Big 12 goes only 10 teams deep and the SEC now goes 14 deep.
Here’s a link to the entire list (in four parts).
But here’s a breakdown of SEC and ACC coaches and the overall top 10:
•
Top 10 1. Nick Saban (Alabama) 2. Chris Peterson (Boise State) 3. Urban Meyer (Ohio State) 4. Les Miles (LSU) 5. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) 6. Chip Kelly (Oregon) 7. Gary Patterson (TCU) 8. Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) 9. Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) 10. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) •SEC coaches 1. Nick Saban (Alabama) 4. Les Miles (LSU) 8. Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) 14. Mark Richt (Georgia) 25. James Franklin (Vanderbilt) 26. Gary Pinkel (Missouri) 36. Gene Chizik (Auburn) 46. Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) 47. Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) 59. Will Muschamp (Florida) 74. John L. Smith (Arkansas) 77. Hugh Freeze (Mississippi) 90. Joker Phillips (Kentucky) 99. Derek Dooley (Tennessee) •
ACC coaches 9. Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) 19. Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech) 27. Dabo Swinney (Clemson) 31. Jim Grobe (Wake Forest) 34. Al Golden (Miami) 38. Jimbo Fisher (FSU) 45. Mike London (Virginia) 49. Tom O’Brien (North Carolina State) 53. Larry Fedora (North Carolina) 65. Randy Edsall (Maryland) 67. David Cutcliffe (Duke) 110. Frank Spaziani (Boston College)
•
So what are your thoughts on the list?
By Jeff Schultz
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
238 comments Add your comment
Hey, UOAD...
May 10th, 2012
1:01 pm
“At UGa the Criminals are the Students, but at Tech, Ga State, Emory, Morris Brown and Clark Atlanta the Students are the victims.”
Wasn’t Reuben Houston a “student” at Tech, or was he just a “playa”…
DC
May 10th, 2012
1:02 pm
I agree with Tiger…Nobody was saying AU would have a 9-3 record..everyone was saying they would only have max 6 wins..and many were saying 5 wins..Mark may bashed them all year…like the poster said..Jeff bashed AU and Mark bashed them even more…
I commend the AU staff and what they did with the YOUNG men they had starting that season…just a bunch of freshmen and sopho folks!
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:06 pm
Reuben wasn’t dealing on campus to students like the UGa students. He was Transporting for somebody else. He broke the law and has to pay for it. He wasn’t not committing crimes against OTHER tech students or the school. Can you say that about UGa players and students?
Steve
May 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
I think 5150 UOAD needs a hug. And a clue. Plenty of places in Midtown for you little man.
DC
May 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
Also..if i was a UGA fan..I would not be claiming “columbus dawg” as one of “our” own…that guy has a screw loose…surprised he didn’t write a 10 page paper on this article how AU has weapons of mass destruction..
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
STEVE turn on the GT softball game and tell me again that Tech doesn’t have some very pretty girls. You havn’t been on campus in a long time if you think there are no pretty girls. I guess the only thing you think is pretty is a Fake Blonde Drunk White girl.
trooper
May 10th, 2012
1:17 pm
why Wake is ranked 4th in the ACC is beyond me too funny. But I liked it that Schultz said Johnson and GT were in the SEC, great projection…
1eyedJack
May 10th, 2012
1:19 pm
Get a couple of hundred girls on campus and you’re bound to have 3 or 4 pretty ones. You might have more than that if you could actually see their faces.
Buzz2011
May 10th, 2012
1:20 pm
Go Jackets… Good for CPJ…
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:22 pm
What do you mean if you could see their faces?
There are plenty but not as many as UGa because of the enrollment numbers.
GTBob
May 10th, 2012
1:23 pm
Im not really sure how to interpret this list. If it is all about wins and losses then I guess it makes sense. Nobody really knows how Chris Peterson would do at a major program, or how Mark Richt or Les Miles would do without incredible talent at every position. Les Miles was 28-21 at Ok St. He goes to LSU and they hardly ever lose. Does that mean he is a great coach or does it mean that Saban built a great program for him?
Say What?
May 10th, 2012
1:24 pm
Somebody wins, they deserve a stature. Statue?
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:24 pm
1eyedJack…I don’t know who many UGa girls faces you can see. They are many times Pillow biting or face down puking in a toilet.
Buckeye
May 10th, 2012
1:25 pm
Urban sends his regards!
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:28 pm
The List can’t be just about wins. Some coaches are better than their won loss record. Some coaches are not as good as their won loss record.
Hamilton Did What?
May 10th, 2012
1:36 pm
Not trying to pile on Coach Dooley but how in the heck does a HC with a losing record at Louisiana Tech, coming off of a losing season get the HC job at Tennessee? That has to be the worst hire ever.
TechBaby
May 10th, 2012
1:37 pm
Actually Steve, Tech’s campus is pretty cool. #1 Engineering school in the nation. (UGA has an engineering school lol what a joke!)
Yea they got crime but what school doesn’t deal with that?
The Stadium? What about it. The oldest in all of College Football and looks great under the lights with the city in the background.
The fans are great. We are passionate just like any team’s fan base, just not as obnoxious.
The women aren’t too shabby. I know
Why kill yourself? Enjoy the life God gave you
Go Jackets!
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:38 pm
Another GT Home Run 3-0 over UVa Go Lady Jackets
Bobby Dodd Son
May 10th, 2012
1:40 pm
@ Hey, UOAD… Do you seriously want to compare the Thugs at UGA that have gotten in trouble over the years with a handful of Tech athletes that have missed up? C’MON MAN, apples and oranges.
Bobby Dodd Son
May 10th, 2012
1:41 pm
Messed up. Typo :/
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:48 pm
Lady Jackets 5 UVa 0 in the 6th inning.
AU in Vestavia
May 10th, 2012
1:54 pm
Chizik wins 30 games in the 3 years and a NC…I am glad my school has him as our coach..Richt has a state of 10 million people, UGA is basically the only state school and in 10 years has not sniffed a BSC title..James Franklin? WTH?
No. 1 Braves Fan
May 10th, 2012
1:57 pm
1eyedJack: Paul Johnson and the GT team DID win an ACC Championship. It happens that it was unjustly taken away from they. No one can deny they won it on the field.
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
1:59 pm
Lady Jackets with the 3rd Homerun and leads 6-0 in the bottom of the 6th.
Technically Speaking
May 10th, 2012
2:00 pm
CPJ should be top 5, no worse than 3rd IMHO. Here’s why:
A. Under CPJ, Tech challenges for the Coastal Div crown
2. Under CPJ, Tech owns its in-state rival (from the supposedly superior SEC)
d. He coaches at the most rigorous educational institute in the world. Our guys spend M-F taking advanced math, etc. while thUGA is doing chair stacking
Stinger2
May 10th, 2012
2:01 pm
1eyedJack:
You are wrong. CPJ and the GT Team did win an ACC Championship on the playing field. It was unjustly taken away rom them by the NCAA.
Stinger2
May 10th, 2012
2:02 pm
Enter your comments here
Who Cares?
May 10th, 2012
2:02 pm
5150 UOAD, I’d rather hear updates on the Pro Bowler’s Tour, give us a break.
godawg
May 10th, 2012
2:09 pm
Smith and Freeze ranked ahead of Joker and SOD when they haven’t coached their first game yet….interesting….
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:11 pm
Who Cares?……….Softball is HUGE in this state. It is better than women’s basketball IMO.
UVa with a Home Run to get on the board GT 6- UVa 1
I know you don’t care UGa type fans think the ONLY sport is Football.
I there and was astonished at the number of G fans who left early. When I say early I mean like the fifth inning. The ones who did stay to the end just shrugged off all the Tech celebration by pointing to football. Every one of them was yelling stuff like “at least we own yall at football!” That’s the most insecure thing you could do in defeat. If you pay the money and make the drive to our stadium to watch the series clincher in baseball you’re publicly saying it means something to you. Next time just say “man, we need to get better at baseball, because I hate losing to Tech.”
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:12 pm
GT lady Jackets 3 out away and just gave up another Home Run. UVa 2 – GT 6 needing 3 outs to Advance.
what of it?
May 10th, 2012
2:13 pm
As a dogs fan it kills me to say this, but what are you talking about with Chizik:
first of all he won a national championship one year ago, not two.
second he lost his offensive and defensive coordinators as well as a lot of seniors without any rebuilding year and still finished 8-5. Richt has had 12 years and hasn’t even competed in a NC game. In fact, when has Richt ever won a game in which he was not favored?
godawg
May 10th, 2012
2:17 pm
As a Georgian and UGA grad, I’m proud to have such a fine engineering school in our Great State. That said, face it guys, your football program is a steaming turd. Now that Georgia State has a program in the Atlanta area, stop embarrassing yourselves and just give up the sport altogether…..put another Varsity at the Joke and make the real estate productive…that way you can concentrate on inventing cool new gizmos for us to break…and you’ll all have jobs fixing them. Thank you!
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:18 pm
godawg……..Smith was a coach and he is getting credit for his other Head Coaching job + Arkansas Talent I guess.
Head coaching record
Idaho: 53–20
Utah State: 16–18
Louisville: 41–21
Michigan State: 22–26
Total: 132–86
Pandering to the Leg Humpers and Buzzers
May 10th, 2012
2:22 pm
Would be a credible article until they ranked Turkey Neck #19 in the country.
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:24 pm
godawg wouldn’t that be nice. no GT to compete with (abet it a little) would make the redneck mutts think they are gods.
Pandering to the Leg Humpers and Buzzers
May 10th, 2012
2:24 pm
If Richt had Vandy’s talent and Franklin had Richts; score Franklin 45 Richt 17.
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:25 pm
UVa 4 GT 6
1 out and runners on 2nd & 3rd
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:29 pm
Lady Jacket 6 UVa 4 to advance.
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
2:37 pm
HURRY Bradley has another PRO-UGA blog. Well except for Murray’s ranking.
DC
May 10th, 2012
2:39 pm
Thank you “what of it” glad to have an objective UGA fan/grad chime in on AU.
Trojan
May 10th, 2012
2:47 pm
I love CMR. He is a Dawg. He has character.
Weird...
May 10th, 2012
3:06 pm
Weird, Urban Meyer doesn’t coach at UF anymore and isn’t on UGA’s schedule to kick their tails in every year so the SAME foolish UGA posters who went on rant after rant trying to claim Richt > Meyer a few years ago are conspiculously mute about Meyer being ranked far ahead of Richt. It’s fairly obvious their bias was only due to who the team was the guy coached and not the quality of the coaching being done.
Steve
May 10th, 2012
3:07 pm
5150, wow what a loser. Giving us Tech Softball score updates.
Dumb Dawgs
May 10th, 2012
3:09 pm
SPORTING NEWS!!! HAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!
Ritch scores high? LOLOL
Dumb Dawgs
May 10th, 2012
3:16 pm
“Auburn’s Gene Chizik was ranked only 36th nationally and seventh among 14 SEC coaches, despite winning a national championship two years ago. The reason: He has yet to prove he can accomplish something without Cam Newton.”
He accomplished more in one year than UGA has in 32.
Dumb Dawgs
May 10th, 2012
3:18 pm
” Richt ranked fourth among SEC coaches — behind only Saban, Les Miles and Steve Spurrier, all of whom have won BCS titles — and 14th in the nation.”
Someone needs a proofreader ASAP. Richt has never won a title. Ever. Spurrier last won one when? When Clinton was getting his knob slobbed in the White House.
5150 UOAD
May 10th, 2012
3:18 pm
Steve you would care if it was GYM DWAGS or Softball if UGa was playing and beating TECH. Well, you wouldn’t CARE but you would run your mouth about UGa winning.
Johnny DangerDawg
May 10th, 2012
3:19 pm
The Sporting News published the infamous article about how Urban Meyer’s actions left Gator Football in ruins. And now they name him the 3rd best coach in the country. What???
Dumb Dawgs
May 10th, 2012
3:19 pm
“These Auburn idiots kill me. Richt has owned Auburn no matter who the coach in the barn is .”
And yet, Richt has nothing to show for it.