Here is my list of the top 5 coaches in College Football and the next 5.
1. Nick Saban, Alabama
The 64 year old Fairmont, West Virginia native has a 190-60-1 overall record in 20 years as a head coach, 76%.
He is 99-18 in nine years at Alabama, 85%.
Four National championships: 2003 at LSU; 2009, 2011 and 2012 at Alabama. Going for his fourth in seven years at Bama next Monday, Jan. 11th, @ 7:30 PM CT/8:30 PM ET on ESPN.
6 SEC titles. 2001, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015.
Can't argue with any of these results. Saban is the most powerful man in sports in my opinion. There have been overtures by the media that S will go to the NFL if he wins his fourth national championship at Alabama next Monday, but I'm not buying it. He has more money than he'll ever need as he makes $6.9 million a year and is signed for another six more years, to 2021. Endorsements, a Mercedes dealership. Finances are not an issue. He's had it going at Alabama for the last eight years and he's got it going for the future. Wins the national championship in recruiting every year. He's fourth this year so far, but he always closes with the best class, and that will be the case again this year with another national title. He has a granddaughter now in Birmingham by his son, Nick, and he and his wife Terry are dedicated to her. Terry travels five days a week to Birmingham to see her granddaughter. He's the most powerful man in the state. He has winning championships seemingly on autopilot, though of course it takes a massive amount of work to make that happen, and is absolutely never a given. It takes a massive amount of drive and intelligence to win like Saban has. He's got more energy than a lot of 20 year olds. He lost Kirby Smart to Georgia as Kirby was named head coach of the Bulldogs, but he replaced Kirby with Jeremy Pruitt, who coached for him for three years in Tuscaloosa before taking the Georgia defensive coordinator job this season. Now Pruitt is back and the program doesn't lose a step. Kirby is the best defensive coordinator in the country, but Pruitt is 1A. He's also a phenomenal recruiter. S should have Lane Kiffin back as offensive coordinator and a loaded roster again next year. Kiff and S will have to develop a quarterback but Kiff is a genius at doing that. 2015 five star Blake Barnett could be the guy or Cooper Bateman, or David Cornwell. People were worried about Jacob Coker this season like they were Blake Sims last season and Coker's been spectacular ever since the Georgia game. Sims was pretty darn good in 2014. Saban is the best coach and has the best program in the country. I don't know why he would want to leave it. Would he really want to go to an NFL team where he'd have to deal with the highly paid, massive egos of those guys? I've been reading the Saban book by Monte Burke, The Making of a Coach, and S got in all kinds of altercations with the NFL players he coached, some of which got physical. At 64, does he really want to go through that again? He's got an amazing situation at the University with people who consider him like deity. Why leave that? I say S is in it for the long haul in Tuscaloosa and will go down by the time he's done as the greatest coach in college football history. And he's got the energy to go seven or eight more years, maybe 10.
2. Urban Meyer, The Ohio State
Three national championships, 2006 and 2008 at Florida, and 2014 at Ohio State for the 51 year old Toledo, Ohio native. He's 154-27, 85%, in his 14 years as a head coach. He's 50-4 at Ohio State, 93%. Meyer has two SEC titles and one Big Ten title on his resume and that will keep building. He's got it going and it will continue, though he has really good competition coming up on Ann Arbor and East Lansing. Has the second best recruiting class in the country by 247 sports and No.4 by Rivals and could win the recruiting national championship this season. Meyer recruits through the roof well. He may go down as one of the best ever in college football as well.
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
His resume isn't as long as S's or Urb's, but the 46 year old native of Birmingham, Al. has become one of the premier coaches in game. He's 75-26 in eight years at Clemson, 74%. He's won two ACC titles, two Orange Bowls and has his team playing for the national championship against Alabama next Monday. Dabo has cemented his place as one of the top three coaches in the country.
4. Gary Patterson, TCU
In 16 years as head coach of the Horned Frogs, the 55 year old native of Rozel, Kansas is 143-47, 75%, and since 2005, he's gone 11-1 ('05), 11-2 ('06), 8-5 ('07), 11-2 ('08), 12-1 ('09), 13-0 ('10), 11-2 ('11), 7-6 ('12), 4-8 ('13), 12-1 ('14), and 11-2 ('15). I thought he had a top four team in the country at the end of last season (2014), but his team lost to Baylor at Baylor in the regular season after holding a 42-21 lead in the fourth quarter, and couldn't make the playoff as Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State were just too hard to argue with. But his team crushed Ole Miss, 31-3, in the Sugar Bowl, and had major aspirations to win it all this season. I had them in my preseason Final Four with Bama, Ohio State and Oregon. Bama is in, Ohio State had the talent, just had a few malfunctions on the team this season, Oregon got it going late, but TCU dealt with massive injuries throughout the season. This may have been Patterson's best coaching job at TCU. He was missing seven starters on defense entering the season and struggled in the first six games on defense due to injuries. He lost stud wide receiver Josh Doctson to injury later in the season and his quarterback, Trevone Boykin, was hurt some this year and was suspended for the Alamo Bowl. He still won 11 games, beat Baylor at home, took Oklahoma to the wire at OU almost winning if they had converted a two point conversion at the end of the game, and came back Saturday night from a 31-0 deficit to Oregon in the Alamo Bowl with their backup quarterback, Brian Kuhlhausen, a fifth year senior, playing lights out as he completed 28-of-45 passes for 351 yards, two sevens, and ran for 45 yards and two more TDs including the game winner in a 47-41 triple overtime victory over Oregon. It was truly amazing. Patterson has it going in Fort Worth and his recruiting is getting better and better as high school seniors are wanting to go to a proven winner. He's 9-5 in bowl games and won the Rose Bowl in 2010 when his team completed a perfect 13-0 season with Andy Dalton as quarterback, the year Auburn won the national championship with Cam. Patterson is the real deal.
5. Art Briles, Baylor
Eight years as head man at Baylor (2008-present) for the 60 year old Rule, Texas native. He was at Houston five years prior to that (2003-2007). He's 99-65, 60%, but since 2011, he's gone 10-3, 8-5, 11-2, 11-2 and 10-3. Another amazing bowl game against North Carolina in this year's Russell Athletic Bowl. UNC was favored by 3 1/2, after Baylor had started as a 7 point favorite, because the Bears were without their starting quarterback, Seth Russell, who injured his neck pretty severely in November and he was out, and backup Jarrett Stidham, who showed a lot of promise as a freshman, but was hurt as well for the bowl game. Briles put in Chris Johnson, his third string quarterback. His top running back, Shock Linwood, who rushed for 1,329 yards and 10 TDs, was out with an injury, and his top receiver, Corey Coleman, who caught 74 passes for 1,363 yards and 20 TDs, was also out with an injury. But Briles and his staff figured out a way to come out with a 49-38 over the Tar Heels. Running back Johnny Jefferson rushed for 299 yards and three, 7's, and running back Devin Chafin ran for 156 yards and a seven. Briles has the 11th best recruiting class in the country this year. He's got it rolling in Waco. The future is bright at Baylor under Briles. It's already been terrific, and keeps getting better.
Next five
6. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
The 52 year old Toledo, Ohio native took over the Michigan program this season after four mostly highly successful seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and an outstanding four years at Stanford where he led the Cardinal to an Orange Bowl victory in 2010 and set the standard for excellence at Palo Alton that David Shaw has continued. Harbaugh was 10-3 in his first year in Ann Arbor in what was considered to be a rebuilding year. Michigan is No.5 in the recruiting rankings by 247 sports. and No.3 by Rivals. Jim will get Michigan back to elite status and playing for a national championship in the next three years.
7. Tom Herman, Houston
One of the brightest young coaches in college football. The 40-year old Cincinnati, Ohio native just led the Houston Cougars to a 13-1 season in his first season at the helm and a New Year's Six 38-24 blasting of Florida State in the Peach Bowl. He was Ohio State's offensive coordinator in 2014 and helped lead them to a national title in which he took his third string quarterback, Cardale Jones, and made him elite against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal playoff game. Houston inked him to a five year deal worth $3 million a year, but Herman will be the hottest commodity in college football if he duplicates this stuff. He has the 25th best class in the country including five star defensive tackle Ed Oliver. The competition for players in Texas is fierce with TCU, Baylor, Texas and now Houston competing for the top players. There is also Texas and SMU. Herman is an absolute stud coach.
8. Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
The 46 year old Freeze, who was born in Oxford, MS., just finished a 10-3 season, capped off by 48-20 demolition of Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl. Freeze went 10-2 at Arkansas State in 2011, and left to go to Ole Miss before his team played in the GoDaddy Bowl. He went 7-6 his first year in Oxford in 2012 with a victory in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham; he was 8-5 in 2013 with a Music City Bowl victory; he was 9-4 in 2014 but lost in the Peach Bowl to TCU, before going 10-3 this season with the Sugar Bowl victory. His recruiting classes have all been in the top 10 since he's been at Ole Miss, and this 2016 class is ranked 6th in the country, and he has two of the top five players in the country committed; five-star offensive tackle Gregory Little, the No.2 ranked player in the country by 247 sports, and five-star quarterback Shea Patterson, the No.5 ranked player in the country by 247. Freeze has Ole Miss set up to be an elite program both in the SEC and nationally. They already are.
9. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Still one of the top guys. He won the national championship in 2013, made the playoff in 2014, and took his team to the Sugar Bowl this year, though his team got embarrassed by Houston. The 50-year old native of Clarksburg, West Virginia is 68-14 at FSU, 83%, in six seasons in Tallahassee and should have an outstanding team next year with a lot of players coming back including superstar running back Dalvin Cook. He's had discipline issues, but he keeps producing excellent seasons. His team finished 10-3 this season and that is a down year at Florida State under Fisher. His recruiting class is ranked No.3 in the country by 247 sports rankings.
10. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
The 59 year old El Paso, Texas native has taken the Spartans to an elite level nationally. They're not on Alabama's or Clemson's levels right now, or even some of the other IBM's of college football, but he did beat Michigan at the Big House and Ohio State at the Horseshoe in Columbus this season, on his way to a 12-2 2015 campaign. He is 87-33 in nine years in East Lansing, 73%, and he defeated Stanford in the Rose Bowl in 2013. In 2013, Dantonio was 13-1; in 2014 he was 11-2 with a New Year's Six Cotton Bowl victory over Baylor as his team came back from a 21 point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Spartans won the Big Ten title this season. Michigan State is 16th in the country in the recruiting rankings. The program is thriving under Dantonio and may reach the ultra elite level in college football in the next two or three years.