College football is a players' sport. Recruiting matters, especially when it comes to competing for a playoff run.
But that doesn't mean coaching isn't important.
Coaches can turn entire programs around (hello, Bill Snyder) and bring home rare national titles (hello, Dabo Swinney). It's the coaches who bring the Jimmy's and Joe's to campus and develop them. On the flip side, a bad coaching hire -- or, heaven forbid, two bad coaching hires -- can set a program back for years.
It's with these things in mind that we present our 2017 college football coaching tiers, from the future Hall of Famers to ones fighting for their jobs. The guideline for inclusion was at least three full seasons unless the coach was a more established name at a new school. In that vein, career totality -- not just last season's results -- was factored in. Link
IMO Stoops is overrated here as is Harbaugh simply for being mentioned as "close" to the 2nd tier despite winning nothing in college.
But that doesn't mean coaching isn't important.
Coaches can turn entire programs around (hello, Bill Snyder) and bring home rare national titles (hello, Dabo Swinney). It's the coaches who bring the Jimmy's and Joe's to campus and develop them. On the flip side, a bad coaching hire -- or, heaven forbid, two bad coaching hires -- can set a program back for years.
It's with these things in mind that we present our 2017 college football coaching tiers, from the future Hall of Famers to ones fighting for their jobs. The guideline for inclusion was at least three full seasons unless the coach was a more established name at a new school. In that vein, career totality -- not just last season's results -- was factored in. Link
IMO Stoops is overrated here as is Harbaugh simply for being mentioned as "close" to the 2nd tier despite winning nothing in college.