How do you rank the head coaches on FSU's schedule for 2024?
1) Dabo Swinney-Clemson: The Osceola's always talks about football being a merit-based profession, hard to argue with Dabo's results.
2) Bill O' Brien-Boston College: His time as a college head coach is limited but he did a great job in a short-time at Penn State and has success as an assistant at the college level at GT. Very good play-caller. 15-9 with the Nittany Lions under some severe sanctions by the NCAA. Was 52-48 as a head coach in the NFL.
3) Mack Brown-UNC: Wins everywhere he goes but father time is catching up with him. 282-149-1 as a college coach. One national title. I think his best days are behind or I would have him at number two and I think he more of figurehead at this point in his career so probably should go more towards the middle of the pack but out of respect, he is at three. And the fact that he just can't seem to beat FSU should knock him down the list.
4) Billy Napier-Florida: The deck is stacked against him in 2024, if he is as good as I think he is, he will be back in 2025. He is 11-14 at Florida but 51-26 overall as a head coach.
5) Marcus Freeman-Notre Dame: He is entering his third season at ND. Has won 70-percent of his games in two seasons.
6) Brent Key-Georgia Tech: He is 11-10 in two seasons at GT and got the Jackets to a bowl game last season. GT is noticeably tougher under Key than they were under Geoff Collins, and you would expect that out of someone who played and coached for George O'Leary as well as coached for Nick Saban. I almost put him in front of Freeman since he took over a more difficult program.
7) Rhett Lashlee-SMU: went 7-6 in his first year at SMU followed by an 11-3 season in 2024. He is a Hugh Freeze disciple and a very good play caller. Brings the Mustangs into the ACC with some momentum.
8) Ryan Satterfield-Memphis-He took over for Mike Norvell at Memphis and has not had a losing season. Came into last year under some pressure after going a combined 13-12 in 2021 and 2022. The Tigers went 10-3 last year which probably saved his job. He is 31-19 in four plus seasons.
9) Mario Cristobal-Miami: He should be ranked higher based off his record as a HC, but I still can't unsee what I saw at the end of the Georgia Tech game last season when all he had to do was take a knee to win. He doesn't, and you know the rest of the story. Also, he lost a game at Oregon in similar fashion. He is 12-13 at Miami and 74-73.
10) Manny Diaz-Duke: He went 21-15 at Miami after taking over for Mark Richt. Just never seemed like a good fit. He never had a losing record in ACC play, though.
11) Justin Wilcox-California: Wilcox hasn't had a winning season since 2019 and only two at Cal since he took over in 2017. He is 36-43 overall with the Bears.
1) Dabo Swinney-Clemson: The Osceola's always talks about football being a merit-based profession, hard to argue with Dabo's results.
2) Bill O' Brien-Boston College: His time as a college head coach is limited but he did a great job in a short-time at Penn State and has success as an assistant at the college level at GT. Very good play-caller. 15-9 with the Nittany Lions under some severe sanctions by the NCAA. Was 52-48 as a head coach in the NFL.
3) Mack Brown-UNC: Wins everywhere he goes but father time is catching up with him. 282-149-1 as a college coach. One national title. I think his best days are behind or I would have him at number two and I think he more of figurehead at this point in his career so probably should go more towards the middle of the pack but out of respect, he is at three. And the fact that he just can't seem to beat FSU should knock him down the list.
4) Billy Napier-Florida: The deck is stacked against him in 2024, if he is as good as I think he is, he will be back in 2025. He is 11-14 at Florida but 51-26 overall as a head coach.
5) Marcus Freeman-Notre Dame: He is entering his third season at ND. Has won 70-percent of his games in two seasons.
6) Brent Key-Georgia Tech: He is 11-10 in two seasons at GT and got the Jackets to a bowl game last season. GT is noticeably tougher under Key than they were under Geoff Collins, and you would expect that out of someone who played and coached for George O'Leary as well as coached for Nick Saban. I almost put him in front of Freeman since he took over a more difficult program.
7) Rhett Lashlee-SMU: went 7-6 in his first year at SMU followed by an 11-3 season in 2024. He is a Hugh Freeze disciple and a very good play caller. Brings the Mustangs into the ACC with some momentum.
8) Ryan Satterfield-Memphis-He took over for Mike Norvell at Memphis and has not had a losing season. Came into last year under some pressure after going a combined 13-12 in 2021 and 2022. The Tigers went 10-3 last year which probably saved his job. He is 31-19 in four plus seasons.
9) Mario Cristobal-Miami: He should be ranked higher based off his record as a HC, but I still can't unsee what I saw at the end of the Georgia Tech game last season when all he had to do was take a knee to win. He doesn't, and you know the rest of the story. Also, he lost a game at Oregon in similar fashion. He is 12-13 at Miami and 74-73.
10) Manny Diaz-Duke: He went 21-15 at Miami after taking over for Mark Richt. Just never seemed like a good fit. He never had a losing record in ACC play, though.
11) Justin Wilcox-California: Wilcox hasn't had a winning season since 2019 and only two at Cal since he took over in 2017. He is 36-43 overall with the Bears.
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