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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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TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 26: Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 26: Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

16. Jim McElwain, Florida Gators

  • Career Record: 41-24 (.631), five seasons
  • Record at Florida: 19-8 (.704), two seasons
  • Championships and Awards: 2014 Mountain West Coach of the Year, 2015 SEC Coach of the Year

It’s quite possible that Jim McElwain is underrated, and he might be deserving of a spot closer to Top 10 on our list given the overachievement the Florida Gators have had under his direction in each of his first two seasons in Gainesville.

McElwain became a head coaching candidate after four successful seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2008-11, which included to national championship seasons.

A Montana native, an opportunity to become the head coach at Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference proved to be a good fit for McElwain, who spent the majority of his assistant coaching career west of the Mississippi River. The Rams were just 4-8 in McElwain’s first season at the helm in 2012, but he helped the quad improve to 8-6 in 2013 and 10-2 in 2014 before jumping back into the SEC.

Florida was just 7-5 the year before McElwain arrived, and were just two years removed from a disastrous 4-8 campaign under Will Muschamp. Yet despite low expectations and largely mediocre quarterback play (particularly in the second half of the season after starter Will Grier was suspended), the Gators won 10 games and captured the SEC East Division title.

Not favored to win the division the following season, McElwain nevertheless led the Gators to a second SEC Championship Game in two seasons after posting a 6-2 record in conference play. Though he has yet to solve the problems presented by Alabama in Atlanta or rival Florida State, McElwain’s track record on the field, and his success on the recruiting trail with the Gators, suggests another strong showing in 2017.