Coaching "Greats"

Just doing a little research out of boredom, and I decided to come up with a list of modern era coaching greats. My list is only made up of coaches that consistently had 9, 10, and 11 win seasons and started winning almost immediately after their arrival...

Steve Spurrier (first year at Florida 1990)
(1990) 9-2
(1991) 10-2 SEC champs
(1992) 9-4
(1993) 11-2 SEC champs
(1994) 10-2 SEC champs
(1995) 12-1 SEC champs
(1996) 12-1 SEC champs/ NC
(1997) 10-2
(1998) 10-2
(1999) 9-4
(2000) 10-3 SEC champs
(2001) 10-2

Bob Stoops (first year at OU 1999)
(1999) 7-5
(2000) 13-0 Big 12 champs/ NC
(2001) 11-2
(2002) 12-2 Big 12 champs
(2003) 12-2
(2004) 12-1 Bib 12 champs
(2005) 8-4

Pete Carroll (first year at USC 2001)
(2001) 6-6
(2002) 11-2 Pac 10 co-champs
(2003) 12-1 Pac 10 champs/ AP champs
(2004) 13-1 Pac 10 champs/NC
(2005) 12-1 Pac 10 champs

Nick Saban (first year at LSU 2000)
(2000) 8-4
(2001) 10-3 SEC champs
(2002) 8-5
(2003) 13-1 SEC champs/ NC
(2004) 9-3

Dan Hawkins (first year at Boise St. 2001)
(2001) 8-4
(2002) 12-1 WAC champs
(2003) 13-1 WAC champs
(2004) 11-1 WAC champs
(2005) 9-4 WAC co-champs

Mark Richt (first year at Georgia 2001)
(2001) 8-4
(2002) 13-1 SEC champs
(2003) 11-3
(2004) 10-2
(2005) 10-3 SEC champs

Larry Coker (first year at Miami 2001)
(2001) 12-0 Big East champs/ NC
(2002) 12-1 Big East champs
(2003) 11-2 Big East co-champs
(2004) 9-3
(2005) 9-3

Jim Tressel (first year at Ohio St. 2001)
(2001) 7-5
(2002) 14-0 Big 10 co-champs/ NC
(2003) 11-2
(2004) 8-4
(2005) 10-2

Urban Meyer (first year at Utah 2003)
(2003) 10-2 Mtn. West champs
(2004) 12-0 Mtn. West champs

Honorable mentions:
Rich Rodriguez
Lloyd Carr
Mack Brown
Phil Phulmer

Would be up there, but got off to slow starts:
Frank Beamer
Kirk Ferentz
Bill Snyder

Legends:
Bobby Bowden
Joe Paterno

 

I don't believe Hawkins can be put on any list yet, he needs to win in a BCS conference.

 

Being that he coached at a non-BCS school for those years, that would have been impossilbe. But you can't deny how he dominated the WAC and started winning immediately, consistently, and by large margins. Even if it is just the WAC, he get's my vote for what he accomplished there.

 

I wouldn't put the Urban Myth on that list. Larry Coker can be argued doesn't belong either.

 

If Hawkins can show in his first year at Boulder that he has the Buff program back on track he'll have made a believer out of me. Emeril couldn't make chicken salad out of the mess Hawkins inherited.

 

Agree with you on the Urban Myth list, but Coker has the MNC so I would say he is there based on his winning % at a BCS especially with the MNC.

 

That Miami team had 16 first round NFL draft picks on the team. Coach "O" could have lead that team to a MNC. Coker is a solid coach but he doesn't belong in the same class as Saban, Stoops, Spurrier or Carroll.

 

Didnt Coker have the best start by any college coach ever? (First two seasons.)

And FWIW, Im pretty sure he was part of the staff that went out and got that talent that was on his team. He also helped coach them before, too.

 

I tend to agree with you about Meyer, but I thought it was quite impressive how he took over a bad Utah program and went 10-2 his very first season followed by an undefeated season. You're right though, he probably doesn't belong just yet.

 

That's fine, he can be on your list, he just can't be on mine yet. The list is long of coaches who have dominated at the lower levels in the NCAA but couldn't follow that up with great success at big programs. If he gets Colorado up to the level of the teams of the other coaches then I'll be sold.