No.5: James Franklin, Penn State
True to my word of picking coaches based on who I would hire with an opening, Franklin is No. 5 on the list. A decent game day coach but recently has been slipping a bit in recruiting. Franklin is 60-28 record as the Nittany Lions coach but that also includes a record of 38-23 in conference games. That’s not good enough for a team wanting to be a perennial top-10 program.
No. 4: Tom Allen, Indiana
Indiana stumbled their way into a great head coach back in 2016 after it parted ways with Kevin Wilson. Allen is a culture changer who gets his teams to over-achieve. And now that recruiting is starting to catch up a bit, Allen has Indiana on the rise.
No. 3: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
For all of Jim Harbaugh’s faults and weirdness, he is still a very good college football coach. Harbaugh is above average at everything he does as a recruiter, talent developer, and game-planner. He just is not above average at beating Ohio State.
No. 2: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Fitzgerald could have left Northwestern many years ago for a high profile job in college football or even in the NFL. He chose to remain loyal to his alma mater and for that, I respect the heck out of him. Fitzgerald is a great coach who gets his teams full of two and three-star athletes and gets them to play at a four-star level.
No. 1: Ryan Day, Ohio State
This one is pretty obvious even though he’s only had that gig for two seasons. Two trips to the College Football Playoffs and two top-five recruiting classes, Day is proving to be elite on all fronts. He is also an excellent game day coach who knows how to exploit mismatches.