Top Five Coaches Who Will Never Win a National Championship

This article dives into my picks for the five coaches who will never win a national title at their current schools. 

#5 Deion Sanders

Either Deion Sanders is a mad genius or a madman in his approach to rebuilding the Colorado program. There is no middle ground in his approach.

As of this writing, 51 players have transferred out of the program, some are praising this aggressive approach and some are questioning it.

I honestly felt the show he put on after his arrival in Colorado and streamed on social media telling current Colorado players to hit the portal because he got his own luggage coming was salacious.

Sanders should have had the situational awareness that Colorado, like most other schools when a new coach arrives, would stream and promote the first meeting between the team and the new coach.

His words there were best kept behind closed doors and not to be fuel for a viral social media event.

We can never question Sanders' integrity in what he says because he legitimately follows through.

Bringing it back to the field, when he was at Jackson State, Sanders enjoyed a major individual talent advantage of having a former five-star athlete in Travis Hunter and his son Shaddeur Sanders, a former four-star quarterback that was the difference maker in SWAC contests where Jackson State went undefeated the previous two seasons.

When the individual talent advantage couldn’t aid Sanders, he got exposed. In the two Celebration Bowls Sanders led Jackson State, he lost them both.

Now Sanders has a Power Five job and is in a conference this year with Southern Cal and UCLA, and then add in programs with Utah, Washington, Oregon, and Oregon State that have bonafide marquee coaches that are either program builders or can recruit and develop talent.

The other aspect is how well will Sanders recruit an elite quarterback that isn’t his son, and develop one as well.

I don’t feel we will glean much from Colorado this year, but we haven’t seen Sanders have to compete with programs that have as much if not more resources than he does, and our small sample size when he did, he failed. 

#4 Chip Kelly

Sometimes in life, the opportunity for an individual to achieve or do something is a small window and it passes them by.

I feel that is why Chip Kelly will never win a national championship.

Kelly was at one time the pre-eminent offensive mastermind in the sport at Oregon. The offensive innovation Kelly implemented was a high-paced no-huddle offense that pressured defenses in two facets, it first spread you out, and then its high tempo left defenses gassed.

During Kelly’s four seasons at Oregon, his offenses finished in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense averaging 44.8 points per game, 500 total yards of offense per game, and nearly seven yards per play.

The zenith of Kelly’s time came during the 2010 season when Oregon was led by sensational tailback LaMichael James who had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns. Offensively the Ducks averaged 530.7 yards per game of total offense, 47 points per game, and went undefeated earning a berth in the BCS National Championship game against Auburn.

Most felt the contest for the national championship between Auburn and Oregon would be an explosive one where Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton for Auburn and James for Oregon would be in the spotlight.

Instead, the contest was a more defensive struggle, as two teams who averaged over 40 points per game and 500 yards of total offense were able to move the ball with ease as both teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, and 51 first downs, it was the defenses that clamped up in the red zone that was the story, along with four total turnovers by both side that included a safety by Auburn that limited the scoring.

Kelly watched as a Wes Byrum 19-yard chip shot field goal as time expired gave Auburn the national championship and this was the closest Kelly got at Oregon.

After the NCAA came down on Oregon and Kelly for recruiting violations, Kelly bolted to the NFL and left new head coach Mark Helfrich a foundation that would allow the Ducks to make the first College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Kelly was never a great fit in the NFL and after two failed stints in the league with Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, Kelly returned to college football to revive an UCLA program that needed a complete rebuild.

While Kelly came in with true fanfare and high expectations, most overlooked how poor the foundation was and the relationships that needed to be rebuilt for the UCLA program. On the field, the restoration hopes looked dismal as the Bruins lost 12 of their first 15 games under Kelly and it looked like in Game 16 against Washington State it would be another loss but the Cougars erased a 32-point deficit to beat the No. 19 ranked Washington State Cougars 67-63.

While the COVID-19 pandemic season did no favors for Kelly, UCLA rebounded to eight wins in 2021, and then last season, UCLA started undefeated 6-0 for the first time in over a decade that included wins against eventual Pac-12 Champion Utah and against Washington both at home at the Rose Bowl.

Kelly and UCLA with expectations lost three of their next five that included two Top 10 matchups against Oregon at Autzen, against inner city rival Southern California for the Victory Bell, and a head-scratcher at home against Arizona.

While Kelly is leveraging the transfer portal to fill gaps and had a major recruiting win landing five-star quarterback Dante Moore this past recruiting cycle, the question is whether UCLA is built and ready for Big Ten play in 2024. UCLA now has to contend with current perennial Big Ten powers in Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State but the conference has seen Nebraska and Wisconsin land elite coaches in Matt Rhule and Luke Fickell who have established resumes and Southern California will also be in the mix as well.

Kelly’s name will always have college football fans intrigued and he will keep UCLA relevant, I feel Kelly’s window to win a national championship closed a decade ago and it isn’t opening anytime soon. 

#3 Lane Kiffin

If any worthwhile SEC job opens, it seems every member of the media likes to make Lane Kiffin a trendy pick for the position.

Hopefully, with Ole Miss securing Kiffin with a raise in base salary every year through 2025 beginning with a base salary of $8.75 million in 2023, $8.85 million in ’24, then $9 million in ’25 and ’26 it should keep suitors at bay.

For a coach whose resume at age 47 looks like a Hall of Fame one consisting of head coach gigs with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, and in college being a head coach at Tennessee, Southern California, Florida Atlantic, and now Ole Miss, as well as being an offensive coordinator at Southern California and Alabama, has any coach failed forward or had the number of redemptions like Kiffin?

While Kiffin has demonstrated at times he can flirt with championship aspirations in low-pressure situations as a head coach whether it was in 2011 for Southern California in the midst of sanctions finishing No. 6 in the country that eliminated Oregon’s national championship aspirations, Kiffin wasn’t able to realize expectations at Southern California and was infamously terminated at Los Angeles International Airport and wasn’t allowed to ride back on the bus with the team.

When Kiffin successfully rehabilitated at Alabama being mentored in the process by Nick Saban, he was able to find success at Florida Atlantic where he guided the Owls to two 10-win seasons.

Ole Miss came calling and Kiffin accepted his third Power 5 head coaching gig in his career.

While Kiffin has made Ole Miss relevant again, a few flat occurrences by his Ole Miss team have left a lot to be desired.

In 2021, Ole Miss was ranked No. 10 in the nation when they visited Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium and the lack of execution near the red zone for Ole Miss, coupled with the inability to contain Auburn quarterback Bo Nix and running back Tank Bigsby allowed Auburn to win 31-20 and an Auburn team that would not win another game that season.

Last season, Ole Miss began the season 8-1 and was ranked near the Top 10 as Alabama visited Ole Miss. In a game against the Crimson Tide, Ole Miss was in a position to win this game, except Ole Miss let it slip away due to the lack of offensive execution and lost 30-24.

As the Auburn job became open, it became a distraction for Kiffin not only as he was preparing for games, but he was also trolling the media and getting into wars on social media of his whereabouts and ambitions with Ole Miss.

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While Kiffin and his representation were angling for more resources and financial security for Kiffin at Ole Miss, the distraction cost Kiffin games against Arkansas and in the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State. Ole Miss would finish the season 8-5.

Kiffin will always be able to generate heat and leverage social media and media outlets how he wants. Through all the opportunities Kiffin has had, he has never delivered when he was the one in charge.

The SEC is also in flux, sometime in the next few years, Nick Saban will look to retire from college football, and Kiffin's angle to land the job at Alabama is anyone’s guess. But until Saban retires, Alabama will be a constant threat. Georgia is on the verge of a modern dynasty with Kirby Smart. Brian Kelly looks to complete a hall-of-fame resume with LSU and win his first national championship. Josh Heupel had Tennessee last season ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, who knows how far Tennessee can go? I wouldn’t overlook programs like Florida, South Carolina, or the much-maligned Texas A&M with Jimbo Fisher who can shake things up and get back.

Texas and Oklahoma are joining the SEC as well, and it seems both programs are recruiting at a high level recently FOX College Football analyst Urban Meyer said Texas has the most talented roster in the nation.

The question now is how Ole Miss fans feel paying a coach $9 million a year to go 8-4 annually and does Kiffin have the ability to rise above this stiff competition because history suggests he doesn’t?

#2 Marcus Freeman

Brian Kelly will always be a polarizing figure in the Notre Dame community.

During Kelly’s time in South Bend, he (unofficially - due to vacation of 21 wins for the 2012 and 2013 seasons) won the most games than any other Notre Dame coach in history with 113.

He coached Notre Dame to five New Year’s Six bowl berths that include the 2012 BCS National Championship Game and two berths into the College Football Playoffs.

The issue in the Kelly era was he never won the biggest of games and Notre Dame either fell excruciatingly short or simply wasn’t competitive.

As the dynamics of college football began to change significantly off the field, Kelly began to wonder if Notre Dame was the place to be to achieve his top goal of winning a national championship after the 2021 regular season prior to the Fiesta Bowl, the sixth time Kelly led the Irish to the New year’s Six levels, Kelly opted to leave Notre Dame for LSU and interim coach became new head coach Marcus Freeman stepped in.

The reputation and prestige preceding the head coaching position of Notre Dame, and for a first-time head coach that many felt within the Notre Dame administration, Freeman was destined to become one, potentially a great one, and they decided to give Freeman the opportunity.

It is hard to deliver a verdict on a head coach that has only held the position for just over a season, but the Notre Dame one has obstacles that make it challenging.

The academic standards are well known to even be considered but the changing landscape of media rights deals and NIL might be an obstacle for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s NIL collective FUND is at the core trying to maintain the purity of collegiate athletes by not allowing interactions with agents but allowing “friends” of Notre Dame athletics to donate to FUND directly and the collective distributes to the athletes.

The question of the effectiveness of this strategy can be debated. Notre Dame started scorching hot in recruiting in Freeman’s first recruiting cycle landing commitments from five-star recruits in Keon Keeley and Peyton Bowen.

Neither ended up at Notre Dame, the factors why they weren’t aren’t single in nature but having to assume a confluence of academic standards, NIL, facilities, and football culture had a play in it.

Freeman has started hot again this year in recruiting with a trio of prospects in five-star wide receiver Cam Williams, four-star quarterback C.J. Carr, and four-star running back Aneyas Williams, the question will be can Freeman close Letter of Intents on the trio?

The other external aspect is the media rights deal Notre Dame is looking to receive.

Currently, Notre Dame is seeking $75 million per season from NBC to continue airing Notre Dame football. The Irish feel twofold that their brand is worth that and it is a figure that allows Notre Dame to remain competitive with extremely lucrative media rights deals of Big Ten and SEC schools.

The Big Ten media deal that the conference signed last year is expected to pay each school $100 million per season. This already puts Notre Dame $25 million behind and when you compound year-over-year the difference, it becomes tougher for Notre Dame to keep up against Big Ten and SEC schools without aggressive alumni donations.

With Freeman being such a green head coach and still learning the ropes and accruing experience, it's hard to gauge what he may be able to do. It’s hard to ding or fault him for the poor efforts in the collapse in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State, the offensive outage against Ohio State, or losing to Marshall, with experience maybe those games and results are different.

What benefits him is the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams, if the Irish are 10-2 they are more than likely making the College Football Playoff, the question becomes more is the ceiling for Freeman, like Kelly, as a College Football Playoff quarter or semi-finalist versus being a champion? 

#1 Jim Harbaugh

Earlier in the article, I mentioned Chip Kelly’s championship window being closed from his Oregon days, Jim Harabugh’s window seems to be open but the question is this where Michigan has peaked and summited the highest he can take the Wolverines?

Harbaugh has rebuilt the foundation of the Michigan program and that success is predicated by elite play in the trenches, especially on the offensive side of the ball where their offensive line units are the reigning two-time Joe Moore Award winners as top offensive line unit in the country.

With this resurgence, Michigan has closed the gap on rival Ohio State and has won back-to-back against the Buckeyes as well as winning consecutive Big Ten Conference championships.

Where Michigan has fallen short has been high profile out of conference games or bowl games against teams that finish with nine or more wins, where the Wolverine have posted a “Bo Schembechler-esque” record of 3-8 in such contests, which includes a six-game postseason bowl losing streak with four of those games in New Year’s Six or College Football Playoff Semifinal games.

Harbaugh was having the finest season of his Michigan tenure last season when he succumbed to “Marty Schottenheimer luck” (if it wasn’t for bad I would have no luck at all - something Schottenheimer would say reflecting on his hall of fame NFL coaching career) when Heisman finalist running back Blake Corum fell to a knee injury in a gritty 19-17 win over Illinois. Corum attempted to play against rival Ohio State the following week but was pulled almost immediately and did not play in the Big Ten Championship Game or the College Football Semifinal against TCU.

Harbaugh’s “Schottenheimer luck” continued against TCU in the College Football Semifinal, the Wolverines entered the contest as -7.5 point favorites (Caesar’s Sportsbook) and the matchup seemed favorable for the Wolverines and potentially setting up a titanic clash in the national championship either against Ohio State or Georgia.

The Wolverines missed Corum as the Horned Frogs' defense pretty much held in check the Wolverines' ground game - taking away running back Donovan Edwards 54 yard run and quarterback JJ McCarthy’s 39-yard run, the Wolverines averaged 2.4 rushing yards per attempt.

The bright side was McCarthy seemed to take the next step as a quarterback with nearly 400 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns, but it was another hard-luck loss for Harbaugh and Michigan in a 51-45 classic.

Harbaugh has seemingly broken through in the quarterback recruiting department landing 247 Composite five-star Jadyn Davis from Charlotte, North Carolina, who is the highest-rated quarterback recruit to commit to Michigan in the Harbaugh era.

People like to poke Harbaugh with his NFL flirtations over the past two seasons, I look at them more as an effort to obtain more resources from Michigan for his football program. 

If Harbaugh says for example, he is going to interview and explore the Auburn job, Michigan’s administration doesn’t care because they either won’t bite or simply look down at what they feel is a backward opportunity.

Because Harbaugh has had success in the NFL and there is a prestige level being an NFL head coach, this is why you saw Michigan president Santa Ono release public statements in January of his desire to retain Harbaugh after he had conversations with the Denver Broncos.

It’s all a negotiation tactic from Harbaugh.

To me, as Harbaugh turns 60 this year, the question will now become how much longer he wants to continue being the Michigan head coach. Deep down, I think he always will want to be the Michigan coach, but how much of the grind will he want to put himself through?

Ohio State is adjusting to what Michigan has, the Big Ten is getting exponentially tougher with Luke Fickell (Wisconsin) and Matt Rhule (Nebraska) taking over their teams as well as Southern California and UCLA’s entrance next year. Penn State seems to have serious momentum and the program recently announced a $700 million initiative for Beaver Stadium and football facilities.

Harbaugh fixed a broken Michigan program, it took him longer than expected but he did get Michigan over the Ohio State hump and won the Big Ten Championship, maybe just external forces and bad luck may accompany Harbaugh and it’s simply not in the cards, to win a national championship no matter how much talent Michigan accrues.