College football's 20 best coaches not named Nick Saban

College football’s 20 best coaches not named Nick Saban

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney talks into his AT&T headset during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers on January 1, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 21: UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly during the UCLA white vs blue Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Chip Kelly hasn’t coached college football since 2012 and has been out of work since 2016, but that doesn’t stop him from approaching the top 10 on this list.

As the head coach of Oregon, Kelly pieced together a 46-7 overall record with four straight BCS bowls, including a national title appearance in 2010. Moreover, he compiled a 33-3 record in the Pac-12 in those four seasons, which is almost unheard of.

Kelly was one of the hottest commodities on the market back in 2012 when the NFL came calling. He answered and took over the Eagles, leading them to a 10-6 record and playoff appearance in year one. He followed that up with another 10-6 season, without playoffs, before a 6-9 campaign which culminated with his firing.

The San Francisco 49ers hired him and he coached just one season, leading them to a 2-14 record before getting let go again.

Two years later, he’s back in the college ranks, ready to prove he’s one of the best coaches around. If he can lead UCLA back to relevancy within the first couple of years, he will be a top-10 coach, which Nick Saban and Urban Meyer included on the list.