The highest 25 FBS head coaches for the 2022 season

Northwestern has gone 3-9 in two of its final three seasons, however in 2020, it gained the Huge Ten West Division for the primary time. It may be argued that no one will get extra out of his gamers than Fitzgerald, who’s 109-90 in 16 seasons teaching at his alma mater. His Wildcats have additionally gained 4 straight bowl video games, beating the likes of Auburn, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and Utah within the course of. The Wildcats aren’t anticipated to be significantly better than final season, however we would not be shocked in the event that they shocked the school soccer world once more.

Brown, turning 71 in August, ranks second all-time amongst energetic FBS coaches with 265 victories. North Carolina isn’t anticipated to contend for an ACC title in 2022, however Brown must be on this record as a result of the Tar Heels have reached a bowl in every of the final three seasons since he returned to Chapel Hill. Ought to Carolina handle 10 wins in 2022, Brown can have recorded 100 in 14 seasons throughout his two stints guiding this system.

After going 69-6 and profitable 4 FCS nationwide championships with powerhouse North Dakota State, Klieman is 20-16 in his first three seasons at Kansas State. Whereas none of these Wildcats groups completed higher than a tie for third within the Huge 12, Klieman has proven he could make the transition to the premier stage of faculty soccer. Kansas State has a superb factor going with Klieman, who is probably going destined for a extra high-profile gig on the FBS stage.

Maybe the knock on Kiffin is that he cannot keep in a single place for too lengthy. And we’re not even speaking about his 20-game NFL stint with the Oakland Raiders in 2007-08. Within the school sport, he is at his fourth college, nevertheless it appears issues are totally different at Ole Miss. He is coming off a 10-3 season and a second-place end within the mighty SEC West in simply his second marketing campaign with this system.

Kentucky is a basketball college, however Stoops has elevated the soccer program since getting the primary job in 2013. The Wildcats have posted profitable data in 5 of the final six seasons and posted 10-win seasons (2018, ’21) twice throughout that stretch. Final season, they completed second behind Georgia within the SEC East. Kentucky can be driving a four-game bowl profitable streak underneath Stoops.

It appeared inevitable that, sooner or later, Cristobal was going to educate the Hurricanes. Whether or not going from Oregon to Miami is a step down can and needs to be questioned. However the probability to show Miami right into a constant nationwide energy as soon as once more is just too tempting to cross up, particularly for a former participant and assistant coach. Cristobal went 62-60 as a head coach at FIU and Oregon, however he gained not less than 9 video games with the Geese in every of the final three seasons. We’ll see if he made the suitable transfer. 

Discuss a man who has put in his time. Clawson’s school head-coaching profession started on the Division I-AA stage (now often called the FCS) at Fordham and Richmond. Then, he went 29-20 whereas guiding Bowling Inexperienced to a few bowl video games in 5 seasons. And since 2014, Clawson has turned Wake Forest from an ACC afterthought to a attainable perennial league contender whereas going 51-48. The Demon Deacons will look to construct on a stellar 11-3 document, Atlantic Division title, and Gator Bowl victory over Rutgers.

In relation to up-and-coming coaches starring within the Group of 5, Chadwell may be on the prime of the record. After going 35-14 in constructing the Charleston Southern program whereas on the FCS stage, Chadwell may be turning Coastal Carolina right into a constant winner. Within the final two seasons, the Chanticleers are 22-3 and gained a Solar Belt division title and a bowl sport. If this retains up, Chadwell may get his shot with an influence convention program.

Whereas the school soccer powers nonetheless take into account Franklin an choice at any time when a big-time teaching job opens, many well-educated followers of the sport imagine he may be overrated. Franklin has solely missed a bowl sport as soon as since taking on the Nittany Lions in 2014, and he at all times made a bowl at Vanderbilt (2011-13). For all of the hype and reward thrown in his route, Franklin’s Penn State groups have only one Huge Ten title in eight seasons however have completed second twice. The Nittany Lions are 11-11 over the previous two years.

Narduzzi is a breath of recent air concerning school soccer’s teaching characters. He loves his gamers, will get animated on the sidelines at instances, and has no drawback voicing his opinions on varied matters throughout the realm of faculty soccer. Oh yeah, the man is 53-37 in seven seasons as Pitt’s head coach and is coming off his second ACC Coastal Division title. His Panthers are additionally the reigning total league champs, so Narduzzi and Co. have loads on the road in 2022.

Aranda waited some time for what he felt was the suitable time to maneuver into the school head-coaching ranks. A celebrated defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and LSU, Aranda took the Baylor head-coaching gig and has the Bears once more believing they are a constant Huge 12 contender — even when the league’s future is dire. Aranda went from 2-7 to 12-2 and was a convention champion in his two seasons at Baylor. The Bears are anticipated to be within the combine for a repeat in 2022. 

Notre Dame’s choice to remain in-house for its subsequent head-coaching rent confirmed its religion in former defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. The truth is, the spine of any potential success the Irish obtain in 2022 may very well be a protection that returns star linebacker JD Bertrand (101 tackles) and defensive finish Isaiah Foskey (11 sacks). Positive, Freeman has a frightening activity to keep up the present elite stage of success Notre Dame has achieved lately, however there may be loads of pleasure to maneuver ahead.

With 275 teaching victories, Kelly is among the many winningest energetic coaches in all of faculty soccer. Nevertheless, his choice to go away for LSU after formally going 104-40 and placing Notre Dame able to win a nationwide championship thrice in 12 seasons had loads of of us scratching their heads. Getting $95 million over 10 years is one motive to bolt, however Kelly apparently desires to show that he is adequate to win all of it by the trials of the SEC. If he can pull it off, the naysayers will run and conceal. In any other case, Kelly is setting himself up for potential catastrophe.

We touched on Pitt’s present coach, however one among its former bosses may be severely underrated among the many FBS head-coaching ranks in the mean time. Chryst posted a .500 document in three seasons at Pitt (2012-14) however is a stellar 65-23 over seven years at Wisconsin. Throughout his time in Madison, Chryst’s Badgers have recorded 4 seasons of not less than 10 wins, gone to a bowl yearly, and gained the Huge Ten West Division thrice (2016, ’17, ’19). 

There are roughly 110 million explanation why USC higher be among the many greatest groups within the nation this season. All these {dollars} will land in Riley’s pocket sooner or later, which does not sit nicely with some school soccer purists or those that imagine the Trojans, greater than ever earlier than, are working their program like an expert sports activities group. So, Riley and his new workforce can have loads of eyes mounted on Southern California, and lots of can be desperate to see the previous Oklahoma boss fail.

As soon as we get previous the mullet (that is gone for now) and his questionable selection of T-shirts, Gundy is among the many most constant winners at the moment teaching school soccer. Forward of the 2022 season, he’s one victory shy of 150 profession wins. After his first Cowboys squad went 4-7 in 2005, Gundy’s Oklahoma State groups have posted 16 consecutive profitable seasons. He is additionally 11-5 in bowl video games, however essentially the most obvious unfavorable on his resume is that Oklahoma has only one Huge 12 championship. 

If we depend his time at Division I-AA Maine, Ferentz is 10 wins away from 200 forward of the 2022 season. Longevity places Ferentz on this place, and Iowa has remained a constant winner since he took over this system in 1999. He is gained simply two Huge Ten titles (the latest coming in 2004), which could be a testy matter to those that assume it may be time for this system to maneuver on and discover somebody able to guiding the Hawkeyes to the promised land. Nevertheless, familiarity will be robust to interrupt from, which appears to be the case with Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.

After profitable a nationwide title at Florida State in the course of the 2013 season, Fisher was dropped at Texas A&M to do the identical. In fact, once you’re in the identical division as Alabama and presumed rival coach Nick Saban, that is simpler stated than performed. Fisher is 34-14 in his 4 seasons with the Aggies, with two second-place finishes. The reality is, most FBS packages would welcome Fisher as a coach, however breaking by within the SEC remains to be a critical activity.

Whittingham is up there on the subject of being underappreciated throughout the grand scheme of the general school soccer expertise. In 17 seasons as Utah’s head coach, Whittingham is 144-70, suffered simply two shedding campaigns, and is 11-4 in bowl video games. Coming off their first Pac-12 title and first-ever Rose Bowl look, the Utes are favored to repeat that feat and additional solidify Whittingham’s stellar legacy.

The quite enigmatic Harbaugh lastly proved he can win a Huge Ten title. Now, he has to show he can do it once more. This seemingly means having to beat Ohio State at Columbus this season, which a Michigan workforce has not performed since 2000. Nonetheless, it actually appears that Harbaugh stays the suitable man to information his alma mater to potential greatness at this level. In fact, the Wolverines would additionally prefer to win a bowl for the primary time since 2015.

Throughout Fickell’s first season as Cincinnati head coach in 2017, the Bearcats went 4-8. Since then, they’re 44-7. Cincinnati has additionally gained two consecutive American Athletic Convention championships and crashed the School Soccer Playoff social gathering in 2021. Fickell’s presence this excessive on our record is clearly for what he is performed but in addition due to the place he is more likely to go. He is destined for larger and higher issues on the subject of his subsequent teaching gig. And, it would come sooner quite than later.

It took six seasons, however Good lastly gained Georgia one other nationwide championship. Final 12 months’s triumph — made higher as a result of the title-game win came to visit rival Alabama — earned Good a candy 10-year contract extension price $112.5 million. Which means the Bulldogs neighborhood is anticipating extra of the identical extra ceaselessly. Is Good, 66-15 at Georgia, actually adequate to win a number of nationwide championships for this system? It might be straightforward to say sure, however we’ll wait to see if the SEC and nationwide title torches have actually modified arms.

The query for Day has now change into if he is able to profitable a nationwide championship at Ohio State. His Buckeyes have already performed for a nationwide title (to conclude the 2020 season), they usually seem in fine condition for one more shot this season. Despite the fact that Day is 34-3 with the Buckeyes and has suffered only one Huge Ten defeat, it is all about that nationwide title. It appears Day can deal with that stress. One would assume it is solely a matter of time earlier than he conquers that activity.

In 14 seasons as Clemson head coach, Swinney has gained 150 video games (11 consecutive years with not less than 10 victories), seven ACC titles, and two nationwide championships (2016, ’18). That is fairly particular, but the margin of error on the subject of nationwide notion appears fairly slim at Clemson. The Tigers’ three losses from 2021 have been essentially the most since 2014, and Swinney generally discovered himself on the defensive. It is attainable that Clemson has change into this system everybody likes to hate. But, Swinney retains popping out swinging and assured with what he is doing.

Saban’s spot atop our record is a no brainer, proper? No school soccer coach on the FBS stage has gained extra nationwide championships than Saban’s seven (2003, ’09, ’11, ’12, ’15, ’17, ’20). Six of these titles got here with Alabama, the place his Crimson Tide will open the 2022 season favored so as to add to his complete. He additionally joins Bear Bryant as the one coaches to win SEC titles at two totally different faculties, whereas his 269 teaching victories are essentially the most of any energetic FBS coach. Love him or hate him for being good at his job, Saban’s profession is exceptional throughout the annals of all sports activities.