My man Kyle Golik wrote a great article about which current big-name coaches won’t win a national title.
Most notably, he had Jim Harbaugh and Deion Sanders on his list. I don’t have those guys on my list as I think Harbaugh will break through and Deion is 0-0 as an FBS coach and shouldn’t be considered big-time. Here are my five guys who will never win a national title.
1. James Franklin
— I replace Harbaugh with Franklin mainly because Michigan has a loaded roster this season, has made the playoff two years in a row, and has learned how to beat Ohio State. Franklin’s record against top 10 teams at Penn State is 2-15, and he hasn’t shown he can overcome the things Harbaugh has. At least not yet.
2. Josh Heupel
— Heupel is off to a great start at Tennessee, but the SEC is getting tougher, and with Georgia and Alabama hard to beat, the question is — can he even win an SEC title, much less a natty.
3. Kyle Whittingham
— Utah has become a consistent power in the PAC 12, and with an expanded playoff, they will get more opportunities despite the national bias against a soon-to-be depleted PAC 12. But Utah just doesn’t have the recruiting base or roster talent consistently to break through.
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4. Chip Kelly
— I agree with Golik about Kelly as he had his chance at Oregon, and UCLA could struggle in the Big Ten for many reasons. He’s never been an elite recruiter and wins more with scheme, but unless he develops another QB like he did with Marcus Mariota it will be tough to get back to the title game.
5. Marcus Freeman
— He’s a good, young coach and an excellent recruiter but Notre Dame isn’t joining a conference anytime soon, they have a consistently tough schedule, and they never seem to have the roster speed to get it down when they get close. I don’t think he can change all of that with the academic restrictions he deals with that hinder recruiting and the portal.
