Ranking ACC and SEC football coaches from No. 1 Dabo Swinney to No. 28 Willie Taggart

[BeecherVol]

No it isn't. Their success in recruiting is unparalled. No one else has even come close. Even in his heyday at USC, with rappers on the sidelines and the southern Cal vibe going for him, Pete Carroll didn't match Saban's success, and oh yeah, he had a run just as good as Saban though not as long. Because HE got caught. And like I said, maybe one day the cheaters down in Tuscaloosa will get caught also, but I'm not holding my breath.

Im not arguing he cant recruit. If he couldnt coach nor develop he would not win nor longer continue to recruit at the level he is. He did the same at LSU and would have had similar results had he stayed there as well.

As stated above, if he was just a recruiter he would be similar to the last guy we fired. He blew up for the reasons Saban is continuing to get players. It's pretty simple.

 

[BeecherVol]

Dabo has figured out how to manage a program. He has very good assistants that he allows to do their thing.

That's his strength moreso than Xs and Os.

 

[KBVol]

What did he accomplish at MSU?
Sherrill actually won the division.
Did Mullen?

You’re kidding right? Come on man, Mullen achieved far more at MSU than Sherrill, especially given the competition he had to deal with.

But while we’re doing this, I’ll jump in. Mullen actually had his team at #1 in the polls at one point....did Sherrill?

Btw, I just looked it up. Sherrill was 74-76-2 at Miss St. Dang, come king.

 

[KBVol]

No it isn't. Their success in recruiting is unparalled. No one else has even come close. Even in his heyday at USC, with rappers on the sidelines and the southern Cal vibe going for him, Pete Carroll didn't match Saban's success, and oh yeah, he had a run just as good as Saban though not as long. Because HE got caught. And like I said, maybe one day the cheaters down in Tuscaloosa will get caught also, but I'm not holding my breath.

Not to be knit picky and what not. But by definition, if his “run” wasn’t as long as Saban’s, then he didn’t have as good a run.

 

[bamawriter]

Yes. Think about it some more, it will make sense. I know you bammers need some extra time, but given where you went to school that's understandable.

All of my education was done in the State of Tennessee. So, you way well be right.

 

[hUTch2002]

Mullen, Smart, Gus, Stoops, Muschamp are rated way too high. Half of the ACC coaches, namely the no names we’ve never heard of from lesser programs are way too high. Probably only 3-4 top coaches in ACC. Sorry. This article is just wrong. Not so much for Pruitts rating (should be maybe 5 slots higher) but rather seeing all those clowns in top 15).

Who do you put in their place though? There are very few proven winners in college football.

 

[The Original Fade]

In fairness, Sherrill won the division in one of the worst years, if not the absolute worst year, in the West's history. No team won 10 games, and only one (Arkansas) finished ranked. Mullen's entire tenure came when the West was the best division in all of college football.

Exactly, but this concept seems lost on him

 

[felloffthetrain]

If Pruitt had the player talent to match his knowledge of the game , UT would be about the 4th or 5th best team in the country.

 

[PhoenixAZVol]

Given he is winning at Clemson, not Bama, and is now 2-2 vs Saban and his string of #1 recruiting classes, I would actually say Dabo is better. Saban is the better recruiter. But we are ranking coaching, not recruiting, right?

How could Saban be out recruiting Dabo? Dabo is a much more likeable and charismatic guy. I think the Clemson campus and surrounding area is nicer too. Clemson is winning just as much as bama if not more. Is there just more talent near bama? Otherwise I can’t understand a kid wanting to play for Saban more than Dabo.

 

[secking]

You’re kidding right? Come on man, Mullen achieved far more at MSU than Sherrill, especially given the competition he had to deal with.

But while we’re doing this, I’ll jump in. Mullen actually had his team at #1 in the polls at one point....did Sherrill?

Btw, I just looked it up. Sherrill was 74-76-2 at Miss St. Dang, come king.

It was said MSU was horrible yet if you look at the first 10 (before MSU had ish hit the fan), almost identical.

Coach A 67-48 Top 3 in division 6x SECCG (WON the West)
Coach B 69-44 Top 3 in division 1x (with added cupcake in schedule)

Which one would you take?

 

[bamawriter]

How could Saban be out recruiting Dabo? Dabo is a much more likeable and charismatic guy. I think the Clemson campus and surrounding area is nicer too. Clemson is winning just as much as bama if not more. Is there just more talent near bama? Otherwise I can’t understand a kid wanting to play for Saban more than Dabo.

Saban averages 3 first round draft picks per year.

 

[bamawriter]

It was said MSU was horrible yet if you look at the first 10 (before MSU had ish hit the fan), almost identical.

Coach A 67-48 Top 3 in division 6x SECCG (WON the West)
Coach B 69-44 Top 3 in division 1x (with added cupcake in schedule)

Which one would you take?

All things being equal, I'd take A. But I know that all things are far from equal, and can acknowledge that Mullen was in a far tougher division than Sherrill ever had to deal with. Heck, Sherrill's SEC West champs didn't even finish ranked.

 

[secking]

In fairness, Sherrill won the division in one of the worst years, if not the absolute worst year, in the West's history. No team won 10 games, and only one (Arkansas) finished ranked. Mullen's entire tenure came when the West was the best division in all of college football.

6-2 is still 6-2 in the league, heck, LSU won the NC going 6-2 in the SECW.

As for Saban, there’s not a debate, yet. He’s not the best coach, he’s the best CEO. Amazing the turnover that Saban has endured and the same product remains the same. Sabans model has been to outwork everyone and outrecruit everyone else. Clemson has had stability with their staff, a little turnover at OC but Venables will be there as long as they let him. Scary thought tho if Clemson starts recruiting at Bamas level.

 

[secking]

All things being equal, I'd take A. But I know that all things are far from equal, and can acknowledge that Mullen was in a far tougher division than Sherrill ever had to deal with. Heck, Sherrill's SEC West champs didn't even finish ranked.

To be fair, they lost to the #1 team in 1998 UT then lost to UT in the Cotton Bowl, they were ranked going into the SECCG.

 

[bamawriter]

6-2 is still 6-2 in the league, heck, LSU won the NC going 6-2 in the SECW.

Of the 54 teams that have played in the SECCG, only 14 were 6-2 or worse. That 2007 LSU team was the last West champ to lose more than one conference game.

 

[PhoenixAZVol]

Saban averages 3 first round draft picks per year.

Yes. I know he continues to recruit well. My question is “why do kids want to play for him so much”. I understand wanting to play for a winner but from a personality standpoint or living in Tuscaloosa, I don’t see the appeal especially when compared to Clemson. I’m not a Clemson fan but someone said Saban recruits better than Dabo and I’m trying to understand. Does Saban just work harder at it than Dabo? Dabo has just as good a program and is a lot more likable. Plus I think the Clemson / Greenville area is nicer.

 

[bamawriter]

To be fair, they lost to the #1 team in 1998 UT then lost to UT in the Cotton Bowl, they were ranked going into the SECCG.

They were ranked 23rd. Without looking it up, I'm guessing that's the lowest a division champ has been ranked going into the SECCG.

 

[bamawriter]

Yes. I know he continues to recruit well. My question is “why do kids want to play for him so much”. I understand wanting to play for a winner but from a personality standpoint or living in Tuscaloosa, I don’t see the appeal especially when compared to Clemson. I’m not a Clemson fan but someone said Saban recruits better than Dabo and I’m trying to understand. Does Saban just work harder at it than Dabo? Dabo has just as good a program and is a lot more likable. Plus I think the Clemson / Greenville area is nicer.

Dabo recruits extremely well. You can point to rankings, but there isn't a massive gap.

The point is, Saban gets guys ready for the NFL. Saban's player development is on par with his recruiting.

 

[volgrad500]

Yes. I know he continues to recruit well. My question is “why do kids want to play for him so much”. I understand wanting to play for a winner but from a personality standpoint or living in Tuscaloosa, I don’t see the appeal especially when compared to Clemson. I’m not a Clemson fan but someone said Saban recruits better than Dabo and I’m trying to understand. Does Saban just work harder at it than Dabo? Dabo has just as good a program and is a lot more likable. Plus I think the Clemson / Greenville area is nicer.

Because if you are a baseball player, you want to put on the pinstripes and play for the Yankees. Unfortunately, at least for now, Alabama is the Yankees of college football.

 

[PhoenixAZVol]

Because if you are a baseball player, you want to put on the pinstripes and play for the Yankees. Unfortunately, at least for now, Alabama is the Yankees of college football.

So it’s a “branding/ image” sort of thing.

 

[felloffthetrain]

So it’s a “branding/ image” sort of thing.

Winning teams recruit themselves. It's an automatic selling point to any kid with aspirations to play in the NFL. Historically, Tennessee has had to do more with less talent-wise because it's not as geographically appealing as Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Even when UT was on top, they weren't getting the highest quality players at the same level as those aforementioned schools, we just had better coached players at the time.

 

[Devo182]

How could Saban be out recruiting Dabo? Dabo is a much more likeable and charismatic guy. I think the Clemson campus and surrounding area is nicer too. Clemson is winning just as much as bama if not more. Is there just more talent near bama? Otherwise I can’t understand a kid wanting to play for Saban more than Dabo.

How? They get kids into the NFL and he's been winning natties for over a decade. Clemson is new to this success and not a blueblood. Bama is in an actual city. Clemson is in absolute BFE. Just passed it last weekend. It is NOWHERE. Not easy to tell a bunch of urban kids to go play in BFE.

Clearly hes outrecruited everyone for over a decade. He's a good salesman and Bama has more name recognition than anyone in college football.

 

[Devo182]

Dabo recruits extremely well. You can point to rankings, but there isn't a massive gap.

The point is, Saban gets guys ready for the NFL. Saban's player development is on par with his recruiting.

Sorry but Dabo has averaged the #15 recruiting class during his tenure. I'd say that's recruiting well, but basically just the same as UT. Far, far from Alabama.

The guy just boatraced Alabama with a fraction of the paper talent. He is going to absolutely embarrass Saban if he starts recruiting top 5 classes. It is going to get ugly.

 

[bamawriter]

Sorry but Dabo has averaged the #15 recruiting class during his tenure. I'd say that's recruiting well, but basically just the same as UT. Far, far from Alabama.

The guy just boatraced Alabama with a fraction of the paper talent. He is going to absolutely embarrass Saban if he starts recruiting top 5 classes. It is going to get ugly.

He's averaged a top 10 class over the past four years, which is more relevant to the discussion. Plus, he tries not to oversign, so his score will suffer because of it, which may mean that he will rarely signed a top ranked class. For example, in 2017 he only signed 14 guys, and wound up with the #16 class. But his average player rating was top 5. He only signed 17 last year and ranked #7, but the average rating was 4th.

 

[Devo182]

He's averaged a top 10 class over the past four years, which is more relevant to the discussion. Plus, he tries not to oversign, so his score will suffer because of it, which may mean that he will rarely signed a top ranked class. For example, in 2017 he only signed 14 guys, and wound up with the #16 class. But his average player rating was top 5. He only signed 17 last year and ranked #7, but the average rating was 4th.

10.75 average class the last 4 classes to play for him (2015-2018) by the 247 composite. Again, hardly any different than UT. Miles from Alabama.

He is just on a different level when it comes to development and Xs and Os, as much as I hate to say it.