The 6 Most Talented Coaches In College Football

By Camden Joiner on September 12, 2014

The leader of every football team is the head coach. The coach is essential not only on the field play but also through many other aspects as well.

A head coach is the point man on recruiting kids to his school. Specifically in college, these coaches teach their players valuable lessons as well as encouraging their players in their educational studies. Your team’s head coach will never play a down, but without a leader at head coach your favorite team will surely never win a title.

This is a list of the six best head coaches in college football today.

Image via wholehogsports.com

Nick Saban, Alabama

The first and foremost coach in college ball today has to be Nick Saban. Of the last five national championships, Nick Saban has won three of them.

Since taking over the head coaching position of Alabama in 2007, Saban has made the Crimson Tide the premiere football team in the NCAA. But Saban’s success can’t only be contributed to Alabama. He also won a national title with the LSU Tigers in 2003.

Nick Saban had a brief and unsuccessful coaching stint in the NFL after leaving the Tigers. As head coach of Miami, the Dolphins went 15-17 in two years under Saban. This led to Saban returning to the NCAA and accepting the head coaching job for the Crimson Tide. This turned out to be for the best as Saban’s most prolific skill is probably his recruiting.

Alabama already has three titles under their belt with Saban and it wouldn’t be surprising if they added a few more before he leaves.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

Bob Stoops has been the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners since the 20th century, accepting the head coaching position in 1999.

A year later in 2000 he won the National Championship. Since then, Stoops and the Sooners have remained a top tier team in the NCAA football ranks.

He’s won eight Big 12 titles and has never missed out on a bowl game since accepting the position. Most of those bowl games were in fact BCS games as a result of winning their conference so many times.

Stoops defeated Saban’s Alabama team in last year’s Sugar Bowl and is one of the favorites to win it all this season.

Image via espn.go.com

Les Miles, LSU

Les Miles, aptly nicknamed “The Mad Hatter,” is one of the boldest coaches in college football today. Famous for his trick plays and intrepid risks, Miles put LSU back on the map after the devastating loss of coach Nick Saban.

Sometimes, Miles’ bold maneuvers will fail considerably; however, more often than not his daring play calling leads his team to victory. Under Miles, the LSU Tigers won the National Championship in 2007 and returned to the big stage against Alabama in 2011. The result was unsuccessful for the Tigers, but Miles’ fearless play calling and crafty recruiting has kept LSU a force in college football throughout the 21st century.

Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Meyer rose to prominence when his Utah Utes, led by Alex Smith, went undefeated and capped off the season defeating Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl.

In the wake of his success, Meyer accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida. Meyer established NCAA football dominance when his Florida Gators won two decisive National Championships in 2006 and 2008.

After leaving Florida in 2010 he returned to football when he was hired as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes went undefeated in Meyer’s first season and lost a razor thin battle with Michigan State in last year’s Big 10 Championship.

Image via athlonsports.com

Chris Petersen, Washington

Petersen turned a virtually unknown Boise State football program from the WAC into a major player in the BCS. He went 92-13 as head coach of Boise State, five of those losses coming in his final season.

Petersen’s Broncos went undefeated twice and also had three one-loss seasons. Petersen won two Fiesta Bowls in that period over Oklahoma and TCU respectively. However, his sights have now turned to greener pastures as he accepted the head coaching position at Washington for this season. The Huskies have a talented coach and should be a major factor in the PAC-12 in the years to come.

Jimbo Fisher, Florida State

Jimbo Fisher has only been a head coach for four seasons now, but he has already tasted success. Fisher led last year’s Florida State Seminoles to a National Championship victory over Auburn, the first non-SEC school to win since 2004.

Fisher had huge shoes to fill when he took the job from FSU legend Bobby Bowden, but the Seminoles seem to be in good hands. Jimbo’s Noles are currently ranked No. 1 and have another genuine chance of returning to the Championship game.

Honorable Mentions: Art Briles, Gus Malzahn, Steve Spurrier, David Shaw, Charlie Strong and Kevin Sumlin

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