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KingKoolKat75
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1.Nick Saban (1): Well, duh. Who else was going to be here? We're talking about a coach that has annihilated the conference most consider to be the best in the country for years now. Five national titles, a sixth title game appearance, eight SEC titles. He's the best coach in the country, and even with all that Meyer has accomplished, it's still not all that close. He's not just the best coach in college right now, but he might be the greatest of all time.
2.Urban Meyer (2): The fact Meyer has won three national titles between Florida and Ohio State is more than enough to get him to No. 2 on this list. Still, I think the craziest thing about Meyer is that during his coaching career he has a record of 99-20 in conference play. That's including his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. Hell, at Ohio State he's gone 39-2 against Big Ten opponents during the regular season. Not only has he dominated the Big Ten, but his presence has helped pull the entire conference out of a rut as other schools followed Ohio State's lead.
3.Dabo Swinney (8): When we were putting our rankings together, we all knew who the top two would be. The question was who would claim No. 3, and nobody is surprised to see Dabo climb up and take this spot. He's fresh off his first national title, and he's now won at least 10 games in each of the last six seasons. Clemson is a powerhouse thanks to Swinney, and he absolutely deserves this spot.
Jimbo Fisher (6): Jimbo has been at Florida State for seven seasons now, and so far his worst season was when he went 9-4 in 2011. Since that season, the Noles have gone 59-9 with a national title and three ACC titles. He's lost key players and just kept on keeping on, and once again Florida State will enter the season as a CFP contender. Fisher has restored Florida State as an elite program, and it's because he's an elite coach.
5.Jim Harbaugh (10): I'm just going to be honest here. I think Harbaugh is a great coach. I would be thrilled if Harbaugh was coaching my favorite team. I still think he's ranked too high. While I feel like it's only a matter of time until it happens, he's yet to win a conference title on the FBS level. In fact, he hasn't even won a division title yet. He may end up being a top five coach sooner rather than later, but I just don't think he has the overall resume to be considered one now. My fellow voters disagree, obviously.
6.Bob Stoops (4): Bob Stoops won his 10th Big 12 title last season and had his 14th 10-win season in 18 years at Oklahoma. And he falls two spots in the rankings. It's basically a microcosm of how Stoops is viewed now. He's had so much success that unless he wins the national title we feel like he's done something wrong. Meanwhile, we ignore the fact that he's had an absolutely amazing run at Oklahoma.
7.Chris Petersen (14): When Petersen left Boise State for Washington, I figured it would only be a matter of time before Washington had success. What I didn't figure was that Washington would be winning the Pac-12 and playing in the College Football Playoff by his third year. That says more about me than it does Petersen, though, because his history suggests we should have seen it coming.
8.David Shaw (9): I don't think Shaw gets enough credit for what he's done at Stanford. Jim Harbaugh laid the foundation for success in Palo Alto, but Shaw's built one hell of a house on top of it. He's won three Pac-12 titles and at least 10 games five times in his six seasons at Stanford. He's been so good that when his team goes 6-3 in Pac-12 play last season you start thinking there's something wrong.
9.Bill Snyder (17): I don't think I'm saying something crazy that we aren't going to see many more coaches like Snyder in the future of college football. There aren't many coaches who would build something out of nothing and not leave for greener pastures when the offer comes along. Snyder not only built the Kansas State program, he is the Kansas State program.
10.Gary Patterson (3): Patterson is in a similar situation as Dantonio. We all believe he's a great coach, but he's coming off a sub-par season. That recency bias has an effect on where he stands in these rankings, but his history suggests that he's capable of another huge season with the Horned Frogs.
Ranking the top 25 Power Five college football coaches entering the 2017 season
2.Urban Meyer (2): The fact Meyer has won three national titles between Florida and Ohio State is more than enough to get him to No. 2 on this list. Still, I think the craziest thing about Meyer is that during his coaching career he has a record of 99-20 in conference play. That's including his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. Hell, at Ohio State he's gone 39-2 against Big Ten opponents during the regular season. Not only has he dominated the Big Ten, but his presence has helped pull the entire conference out of a rut as other schools followed Ohio State's lead.
3.Dabo Swinney (8): When we were putting our rankings together, we all knew who the top two would be. The question was who would claim No. 3, and nobody is surprised to see Dabo climb up and take this spot. He's fresh off his first national title, and he's now won at least 10 games in each of the last six seasons. Clemson is a powerhouse thanks to Swinney, and he absolutely deserves this spot.
Jimbo Fisher (6): Jimbo has been at Florida State for seven seasons now, and so far his worst season was when he went 9-4 in 2011. Since that season, the Noles have gone 59-9 with a national title and three ACC titles. He's lost key players and just kept on keeping on, and once again Florida State will enter the season as a CFP contender. Fisher has restored Florida State as an elite program, and it's because he's an elite coach.
5.Jim Harbaugh (10): I'm just going to be honest here. I think Harbaugh is a great coach. I would be thrilled if Harbaugh was coaching my favorite team. I still think he's ranked too high. While I feel like it's only a matter of time until it happens, he's yet to win a conference title on the FBS level. In fact, he hasn't even won a division title yet. He may end up being a top five coach sooner rather than later, but I just don't think he has the overall resume to be considered one now. My fellow voters disagree, obviously.
6.Bob Stoops (4): Bob Stoops won his 10th Big 12 title last season and had his 14th 10-win season in 18 years at Oklahoma. And he falls two spots in the rankings. It's basically a microcosm of how Stoops is viewed now. He's had so much success that unless he wins the national title we feel like he's done something wrong. Meanwhile, we ignore the fact that he's had an absolutely amazing run at Oklahoma.
7.Chris Petersen (14): When Petersen left Boise State for Washington, I figured it would only be a matter of time before Washington had success. What I didn't figure was that Washington would be winning the Pac-12 and playing in the College Football Playoff by his third year. That says more about me than it does Petersen, though, because his history suggests we should have seen it coming.
8.David Shaw (9): I don't think Shaw gets enough credit for what he's done at Stanford. Jim Harbaugh laid the foundation for success in Palo Alto, but Shaw's built one hell of a house on top of it. He's won three Pac-12 titles and at least 10 games five times in his six seasons at Stanford. He's been so good that when his team goes 6-3 in Pac-12 play last season you start thinking there's something wrong.
9.Bill Snyder (17): I don't think I'm saying something crazy that we aren't going to see many more coaches like Snyder in the future of college football. There aren't many coaches who would build something out of nothing and not leave for greener pastures when the offer comes along. Snyder not only built the Kansas State program, he is the Kansas State program.
10.Gary Patterson (3): Patterson is in a similar situation as Dantonio. We all believe he's a great coach, but he's coming off a sub-par season. That recency bias has an effect on where he stands in these rankings, but his history suggests that he's capable of another huge season with the Horned Frogs.
Ranking the top 25 Power Five college football coaches entering the 2017 season
