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Top 20 college football head coaches heading into 2017

By Nicholas Ian Allen

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, or Jim Harbaugh? As we prepare for kickoff, we rank the top 20 college football head coaches heading into the 2017 season.

What is the best way to evaluate a head coach? Wins and losses are certainly at the top of the list. Championships are a major factor as well. But we would be remiss if we simply tallied up the 20 coaches with the best winning percentage and the most conference and national titles and called them the best in college football heading into the 2017 season.

Many factors are at play. Some coaches win fewer games but pull more upsets, lifting their teams with shrewd game planning. Others post 10-win seasons, but can’t to win the big one, blowing opportunities in big games.

Some haven’t come close to sniffing a championship, but have had a huge impact on the X’s and O’s or motivational methods used across the game. For others, everything might have fallen into place for one championship season – but does one title earn a college football the overall stamp of approval?

With those thoughts in mind, and in anticipation of the 2017 season, we’ve ranked the Top 20 head coaches in college football.

Among the near misses, Paul Chryst has won 21 games in two seasons at Wisconsin, and the Badgers finished last season No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Pat Fitzgerald has done a solid job at Northwestern, often surpassing expectations.

It’s still early in his tenure, but Clay Helton led USC to a dramatic 52-49 victory in the Rose Bowl. Also, Rich Rodriguez, though coming off an ugly 3-9 season, has a strong career record and helped revolutionize the college game by introducing and popularizing the zone read option.

New Baylor head coach Matt Rhule led Temple to the AAC Championship and a 10-4 record. Rhule’s squad was also 12-2 against the Las Vegas point spread last season, which was the best mark in the nation by two wins, showing his coaching chops by consistently elevating the play of his team on a consistent basis. It’s also worth pointing out Scott Satterfield has been one of the most consistent Group of Five conference coaches since Appalachian State moved up to the FBS level.

So, who made the cut? We’re sure everyone will agree with our assessment of the Top 20 head coaches in college football heading into the 2017 season.

20. Gus Malzahn, Auburn Tigers

  • Career Record: 44-21 (.677), five seasons
  • Record at Auburn: 35-18 (.717), four seasons
  • Championships and Awards: 2013 SEC Championship, 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championship; 2013 SEC Coach of the Year; 2013 National Coach of the Year

He may be on the hot seat as we prepare for the kickoff of the 2017 season, but Gus Malzahn’s body of work suggests he is certainly one of the Top 20 coaches in college football.

Known for his innovative offensive system, and the Hurry-Up, No-Huddle specifically, Malzahn first made a name for himself as a high school coach before catching the eye (along with some of his most talented players) of former Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt, who hired Malzahn as an assistant in 2006. The marriage didn’t last long, but Malzahn’s stock as a play-caller shot through the roof when he led a record-setting offense at Tulsa, and then helped Cam Newton win the Heisman Trophy and Auburn win the national championship in 2010.

Malzahn took his first college head coaching gig at Arkansas State in 2012 and promptly led the Red Wolves to the Sun Belt title. He returned to Auburn to replace his former boss, Gene Chizik, and took what had been a 3-9 Tigers squad the previous season to 12-2, winning the SEC Championship and nearly capturing the BCS national title.

Inconsistency on offense, and at quarterback in particular, has plagued Malzahn and the Tigers over the last three seasons, but Auburn led the SEC and ranked No. 6 nationally with 271.3 rushing yards per game last season against one of the most difficult schedules in the nation.

It’s a make-or-break campaign for Malzahn in 2017, and the level of difficulty is always high in the SEC West. But because of his great recruiting efforts on the Plains, as well as the offensive weapons available to him (including transfer QB Jarrett Stidham), Malzahn and Auburn are capable of big things this year.