College football fans can’t seem to get enough when it comes to rankings whether it is grading top prospects, recruiting classes or actual teams. With the season right around the corner we decided to continue the countdown with another set of rankings as we grade the top coaches in the nation. Here is a look at the top five coaches in college football right now.
Nick Saban, Alabama
Saban’s resume is impressive enough to consider him among the best coaches in the history of college football. Since taking over at Alabama in 2007, Saban has led the Crimson Tide to four national championship wins while compiling a 119-19 record. Alabama has six SEC West titles and has lost only five conference games over the last six seasons combined. After falling one win short of another national title last season, Saban will be motivated to lead his Crimson Tide back to the top of the college football mountain in 2017.
Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Meyer added to his impressive resume by leading Ohio State to an 11-2 record and a College Football Playoff berth last season. The Buckeyes are 61-6 under Meyer and have won at least 11 games every season under him. While Ohio State has just one national championship under Meyer in 2014, they have been perennial contenders and Meyer did win a pair of national titles with Florida in his previous coaching stop. Saban is undoubtedly deserving of No. 1 on this list. Meyer is a close No. 2.
Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Fisher gets the slight nod over his competition for the No. 3 spot based on the larger sample size of the work that he has done at Florida State in comparison to Dabo Swinney at Clemson and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Fisher has led the Seminoles to a 78-17 record while winning at least 10 games in six of his seven years leading the program. Florida State won a national championship in 2013 and made a playoff appearance in 2014 as well. After back-to-back New Year’s Six bowl trips, Fisher should have the Seminoles on track to challenge for a national championship out of the loaded ACC once again this season.
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
While some won’t consider him this high on the list of the top head coaches in college football, it’s hard to argue against what he has done over the past couple of seasons. Swinney has transformed the Clemson football program in to a perennial top-10 team over the last five years and he is coming off a national title game win over Saban and Alabama. After leading the Tigers to a national championship and a 28-2 record over the last two years, it will be interesting to see if Swinney can continue his ascent up the college coaching ranks this season.
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Harbaugh gets a ton of credit or the work that he has done at Michigan. The Wolverines are 20-6 overall and 13-4 in Big Ten play since Harbaugh took over as head coach. However, Michigan still hasn’t reached a College Football Playoff or won a Big Ten championship and until they do it’s impossible to put Harbaugh any higher on this list. It should help that Harbaugh has signed back-to-back top-five recruiting classes. There is no doubt he is on the right track and has all of the tools to succeed at Michigan. However, it will take winning championship trophies before Harbaugh can climb any higher on this list of the best coaches in college football.
Chris Peterson, Washington
Peterson still flies under the radar a little bit when it comes to mentioning the biggest names in college football but he’s up there. The challenge is that he doesn’t have nearly as much hardware as guys like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. However, Peterson has had less to work with. He started off at Boise State and made them a relevant players on an annual basis – even though they’re not in a power conference. Since moving over to Washington, he’s turned the program around quickly, making them into a national power. They had a College Football Playoff berth last year and now look like a team that’s in position to compete for many years to come.
Click here to bet on the college football futures for the 2017 college football season right now. DSI will have all of the latest lines, spreads and props for this year’s action!
