Top 10 college coaches under age 45

[Redwood Forrest]

Hey butch is one of the good guys now. He showered Alabama and Nick saban with praise in his press introduction press conference at arky state. He is ok in my book.

I like Butch. The players really liked him. Maybe he learned a lot under Saban.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Barfield was a very unpopular hire and had two strikes against him from the get go. Add sanctions to that and it has to fail.

Dye was a hardnose and convinced Auburn they were the toughest kids on the block. After Florida destroyed them (literally pushed them all over the field) Dye was in denial. He would get mad and tell reporters " NO ONE PUSHES AUBURN AROUND." They were never the same after that. Dye lost the intimidation factor apparently.

yeah, that was his Waterloo.

And to be fair to him, he was diagnosed shortly after that with hemachromatosis, so his irritability may well have been his health manifesting itself in that behavior, too.

 

[buckeyeFB_]

I'm not totally convinced on Riley. We'll have to see how this upcoming season goes because everything seems to be lined up right for Oklahoma to make the playoff. If they don't I think his stock goes way down. I'd give the #1 spot to Day right now.

I wouldn't even have a problem with Campbell at #1 and Day at #2, but I'd put both of them above Riley. Day has done great in his 2 seasons as head coach, and he even has Ohio State trending upwards from where we were in Meyer's last 4 seasons (2015-2018), but I'd still understand somebody saying that 2 seasons just isn't quite enough to get the #1 spot.

Campbell has done well as a head coach at two different programs now. In the 6 seasons prior to Campbell arriving at Iowa State, Iowa State's record was as follows:

2010: 5-7
2011: 6-7
2012: 6-7
2013: 3-9
2014: 2-10
2015: 3-9

Campbell didn't inherit a program that was even remotely good, yet he just lead Iowa State to a 9-3 season (that likely would've been a double-digit win season if not for playing less games due to COVID) and a NY6 Bowl win.

Lincoln Riley also only has a 3-2 record against Campbell, despite having much more talent. Also, the only reason Riley got that 3rd win is because the Big 12 is set up so if you lose a game during the regular season, you can make up for it in a rematch in the Big 12 Title Game.

No matter how you look at it, having Riley at #1 on this list seems like a lazy, ridiculous choice.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Barfield was a very unpopular hire and had two strikes against him from the get go. Add sanctions to that and it has to fail.

Dye was a hardnose and convinced Auburn they were the toughest kids on the block. After Florida destroyed them (literally pushed them all over the field) Dye was in denial. He would get mad and tell reporters " NO ONE PUSHES AUBURN AROUND." They were never the same after that. Dye lost the intimidation factor apparently.

Barfield had to replace about as much a legend as Auburn has ever had sans John Heisman and at the wrong time. Throw in sanctions, and even an accomplished coach was going to have issues.

But as an Auburn grad friend of mine has said - the most unfair criticism ever leveled against Doug Barfield is that he couldn't recruit. It was Barfield's seniors that won the SEC in 1983 (along with sophomore Bo Jackson).

 

[DogPatch]

I like Butch. The players really liked him. Maybe he learned a lot under Saban.

I have nothing against Butch. My point is that they could have saved a lot of money by keeping him.

 

[STONECOLDSABAN]

Barfield was a very unpopular hire and had two strikes against him from the get go. Add sanctions to that and it has to fail.

Dye was a hardnose and convinced Auburn they were the toughest kids on the block. After Florida destroyed them (literally pushed them all over the field) Dye was in denial. He would get mad and tell reporters " NO ONE PUSHES AUBURN AROUND." They were never the same after that. Dye lost the intimidation factor apparently.

What year was that Florida auburn game?? 1990? I have always wondered what led to dye going off of a cliff so incredibly fast . I know the Ramsey thing was 1991 and that was a big part of it. But after 89 they just imploded really fast.
1988: 10-2
1989-10-2
1990: 8-3-1
1991: 5-6
1992: 5-5-1.
I know stallings brought a physical and mental toughness that the tide had been missing under curry and Perkins. But bama wasn’t exactly a recruiting juggernaut in the early 90’s either.

 

[GrayTide]

If I had to pick 2 it would be Campbell and Napier.

 

[deliveryman35]

I always look at the blue bloods first. If they can resist the lure of the NFL and stay put at their respective jobs, I think Day and Riley both have the potential to dominate and win multiple NC's in the years to come.