By Mike Huesmann
I sought out this list concept to unearth coaches we might not identify as good based on records or lower-profile jobs. What it turned into was realizing the elite coaches took down-on-their-luck, losing programs who’d lost their way and revitalized them in fantastic ways. I was probably naive, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that the best coaches didn’t start at the top – they worked to get there by winning at lesser programs. Here are the five most impressive coaches at turning around programs since 2000.
Note: To meet these criteria a coach had to turn around a minimum of two schools. This disqualifies, for example, Pete Carroll, who only did it at USC.
Urban Meyer
Bowling Green, Utah, Florida
Love him or loathe him, there is no denying he is an elite coach who has supreme confidence in himself and his mission. Urban took over at Bowling Green in 2001 and went 8-3 then 9-3. The Falcons hadn’t had a winning season in the previous seven tries and in the previous five seasons had the same win total he reached in two. The current Utah Utes that we know as a consistent Top 15 team originated with Meyer. His predecessor Ron McBride was decent, not spectacular, and that was in the now defunct WAC for most of his tenure. Urban took them to new heights, going 10-2 and 12-0 in his two seasons in Salt Lake City. He then left for Florida after the Ron Zook mediocrity was over and would go 65-15 over six seasons and win two national championships.
Willie Fritz
Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern, Tulane
Will we add Houston to this list in a few years? Based on Fritz’s success, I’ll almost guarantee we see improvement. Fritz had a long tenure at D2 Central Missouri before jumping to then-FCS Sam Houston State. The Bearkats had been struggling and in years two and three he took them to the national title game where they fell to the North Dakota State juggernaut. Fritz then moved to Georgia Southern and helped them transition to the FBS, though this wasn’t necessarily a rebuild. Fritz took over for current Army head coach Jeff Monken. His two years were brilliant and the Eagles went to a bowl game in year two of FBS play. Tulane was the next stop and after building, growth, and some average records, the Wave exploded for 12- and 11-win seasons before the Houston Cougars came calling.
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Jim Harbaugh
Stanford and Michigan
Another coach who needs no introduction, but maybe the state of the programs before his arrival, does. Stanford won just a single game the year before Harbaugh arrived in 2007. They had not had a winning season in the previous six. By his third season they won eight games and in the fourth they won 12 and the Orange Bowl. The 49ers were his next stop and a Super Bowl appearance. In 2015 his alma mater, Michigan, offered and he accepted. The Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez years had not been kind to the Wolverines. Hoke had a losing record the year before Harbaugh took over and was barely over .500 the two previous. Rich Rod is a heck of a coach, who I’ve praised multiple times, he just was a bad fit. In his Michigan tenure Harbaugh reached new heights, including the most recent national title. He finished with a record of 86-25 and three Big Ten titles before leaving for the Chargers. I hope we see him back in the college game one day.
Matt Rhule
Temple and Baylor
Rhule doesn’t have the eye-popping record the rest of this list does. He’s 52-50 overall, but there are two reasons for that. The jobs he took over were in way worse shape and he treats his first year like a “year zero,” where it’s all about getting guys in the system. Temple has, with all due respect, been awful for as long as any of us can remember. Baylor was in the aftermath of a terrible scandal that their administration totally bungled. Nebraska wouldn’t have chosen Rhule if they didn’t see his skill. Temple was 4-7 the year before his arrival. They struggled for two seasons and in years three and four they won 10 games. This led him to Baylor and a monumentally bad situation where the roster was gutted and he couldn’t replace it, as it was the pre-portal era. By year three they won 11 games and he was off to the NFL.
Nick Saban
LSU and Alabama
Try as I might to freshen up and diversify these lists, it’s tough to leave the greatest ever off. Michigan State doesn’t meet the timeline criteria here, but LSU and Alabama were storied programs that were both struggling mightily before Saban took over. At LSU Gerry DiNardo went 6-15 over his final two seasons. At Alabama they were struggling with one former Bear Bryant player after another. Mike Shula had one winning season in four. Before him, Dennis Franchione was good and then left to take the job at Texas A&M – that was the state of Tide football before Saban. Over a combined 22 seasons at LSU and Alabama, Saban won seven national championships, 11 SEC titles, and 15 SEC West titles. In that process he, almost universally, ended the GOAT debate.
