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Ranking The Top Ten Offensive Coaches in College Football

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Jan 1, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn talks with the offense in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn talks with the offense in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer gestures in the fourth quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer gestures in the fourth quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

Really, they should be 1 and 1A, but while Gus Malzahn has the edge in terms of innovation and impact on X’s and O’s, Urban Meyer is the top offensive coach in college football because he’s led three teams and two programs to a National Championship.

Like Malzahn, Meyer also developed his own new and innovative offense by taking decades-old concepts (often utilizing Tim Tebow more like a single wing fullback than a modern day quarterback), applying them to today’s athletes and tweaking along the way with input from other great thinkers to allow it to evolve.

Meyer and right-hand man Dan Mullen invented their version of the spread (as much as anyone can invent anything in football these days) as assistants at Notre Dame and implemented it for the first time when Meyer was hired at the head coach at Bowling Green in 2001.

"“It was incredible,” Meyer said. “The months of February and March, every morning we’d come in for 10 hours, from the huddle to the snap count, because there was no other model.”"

They polished the system over the course of two seasons at Utah, including a perfect 12-0 season in 2004, and perfected it with the Florida Gators during the 2006 national title season and turned the trick again two years later.

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One of the reasons Meyer is so successful is that he makes the best use of his playmakers, like the aforementioned Tebow. Meyer and Mullen also utilized Percy Harvin in a variety of spots to get him the football on screens, sweeps and more.

And while most offensive genius-type coaches have a system and are unwilling to bend, Meyer isn’t afraid to adjust. Last season at Ohio State – despite the spectacular play of the Buckeyes’ talented quarterbacks – the offense relied much more on his running backs to grind out the yards. Part of the evolution for Meyer came when he hired Tom Herman (now head coach at Houston) as offensive coordinator, and it’s continued as Meyer and his coaching staff explored other outlets, including a visit with Chip Kelly.

The result is an offense that has proven nearly unstoppable.

In last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal in the Sugar Bowl, Meyer’s squad put up 537 yards and scored 42 points against Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and a boatload of NFL talent in a 42-35 upset victory over Alabama that set the stage for the national title game win over Oregon – and did so with his third-sting quarterback.

He’s now 38-3 at Ohio State, an unbelievable 141-26 as a college head coach with three national titles, five conference championships, a perfect season in which the team he inherited wasn’t eligible for the postseason, and a trophy case full of Coach of the Year trophies.

Oh, and the top spot on our list of the top ten offensive coaches in college football.

Next: Predicting College Football's QB Competitions

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