Ron Utah

April 9th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^

Clearly the guy that wrote the article doesn't understand what it means to be a Michigan Man...Hoke is the very definition of a Michigan Man.

That aside though, I can't argue with those rankings too much.  Hoke will be higher soon, but he's got to perform consistently before you can call him a top ten coach.

I predict Hoke rising, Meyer falling in the near future.  And Petrino falling...fast.

mejunglechop

April 9th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^

Miles is ranked the #6 coach in the SEC because LSU unraveled during the NCG. Seriously that's the reason given.

born1ntheArbor

April 9th, 2012 at 12:27 PM ^

Yeah, and having him ranked 21st overall behind people like Mike Leach, Lane Kiffen and probably around 15 other people was just bizarre.  Didn't he win the SEC title? His team may have fallen apart in the NCG, but they made it there.  The entire last part saying "why he sucks" spent the entire time comparing him to Saban, who they ranked #1. No silly article, tell me why he sucks compared to some of these other SEC coaches who have done less during their tenures. The NCG may have been embarrassing, but to take away all his other acheivements is just silly. If you're ranking people like Mike Leach and Urban Meyer based solely on previous acheivements then to take that away from "The Hat" is terrible and oddly biased writing.

Also, this for Hoke "Considering he was born in Ohio, Hoke isn’t necessarily a “Michigan Man.” However, he is a great fit for the Wolverines," is brain numbing. If you're going to mention the phrase "Michigan Man" in your article, do some research.

WolvinLA2

April 9th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

Seriously.  They say LSU has "built-in advantages" and also that Miles blew it in the BCS national championship.  So why is he ahead of Mack Brown?  Mack Brown has more built-in advantages, and usually blows it before the BCS title game (unless he has VY) and doesn't have to play in the SEC.  I'm not saying Les Miles needs to be top-5, but compared to other schools with very similar built-in advantages (UGA, UF, Texas, USC, Alabama, OSU) he's done as much as anyone on that list, save Saban and Urban. 

The fact that he's behind Dan Mullen and Bobby Petrino is garbage.

jmblue

April 9th, 2012 at 3:55 PM ^

And the fact that LSU basically did nothing for 30 years, under multiple coaches, before Saban got there in 2000 would seem to argue against the "built-in advantages" argument.  That Miles has maintained the program on the level Saban brought it to is nothing to sneeze at.

Ron Utah

April 9th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

The Miles ranking is the most puzzling on the list.  It makes no sense.  His built-in advantages are no better than Saban's.  Miles has a NC ring and won the SEC last year...how quickly people forget that he beat Saban, and if OSU (the real one) hadn't choked against Iowa State, Saban would have been watching the NC game instead of coaching in it.

mejunglechop

April 9th, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^

Kelly achieved a lot more than Hoke before they landed their primo jobs. Depending on how much weight you give to that and to the fact that Notre Dame has been a coaching graveyard I think it's defensible.

M-Wolverine

April 9th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

Depending on how much weight you want to put on coaching Grand Valley State forever, in a much weaker division. It was a good job there, but how does that even translate?  What he did at Central really wasn't any more accomplished than what Hoke did at Ball State. And while going to a BCS bowl at Cinncy is certainly more (over a longer time) than what Hoke did at SDS, if you combine that with what they've already accomplished at their current jobs, that balances out a lot; because Kelly has done nothing at ND, and Hoke is a BCS champ.

It certainly could be argued that they've accomplished as much...even that Kelly has done more. But I don't think it's a lot by any stretch.

mgowill

April 9th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^

Brian Kelly #10 - this will be even funnier when he gets fired after this year!

He gets Oklahoma, USC, and Sparty on the road and Stanford and Michigan at home?  After they drop a cupcake game or two like they always do, they will have 5 losses easy.  Domers will find a tree and hang him.

pdgoblue25

April 9th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^

So far he's 0-2 against us with teams that in my opinion were superior talent wise.  He hasn't been a huge threat recruiting against us.  So he's an asshole, he won't be the first, or the last.

Aside from getting some nice athletes to come to South Bend, he's done nothing so far that shows he's going to set college football on fire, or be a threat to Michigan. 

I find him so easy to ignore, that I don't get it.

mgowill

April 9th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^

I think that he is hated more in South Bend than in Ann Arbor.  I also think he is about to go down in flames.  Does this mean Notre Dame will bring in a better coach?  Their history says no.  They will pick another coach to try and succeed and he will fail, no matter who it is.  Notre Dame is a toilet right now and the people there are restless.

I don't hate the guy, I find him mildly entertaining.

lunchboxthegoat

April 9th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^

I can't even handle this list, either. Their B1G one was beyond idiotic and this one is just as bad. Les Miles ranked criminally low, Kiffykins criminally high...I'm no Texas fan...but prior to 2010 the last Mack Brown coached team to not be ranked in the top 24 was 1995 North Carolina. 14 of 16 the last 16 years (again prior '10) he posted 10 wins... GTFO Athlon. 

profitgoblue

April 9th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

I understand that he was a great coach at Florida.  No doubt about it.  But how can he be ranked at #2 when he hasn't coached a down in over a year?  Does his past automatically translate to success in Columbus?  Moreso than Miles' continued success?  Big question marks.

 

WolvinLA2

April 9th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^

I don't totally disagree, but like his post said, he has the most impressive resume of anyone on the list outside of Saban.  If Nick Saban left Alabama, took a year off, then showed up at Texas, wouldn't you still put him at the top?

Looking at the list - who do you put ahead of Meyer?  Maybe one or two guys, but maybe not.  And if you say someone should be ranked ahead of Urban, do you have a reason for it other than he's at a new school?  Unless the ranking is "top coaches at their current school," I think he needs to be #2. 

WolvinLA2

April 9th, 2012 at 4:07 PM ^

His second to last season he won a national title, right? His last season was a step back, but that happens a lot when teams win a title and lose a lot of players to the draft, including their Heisman trophy winning QB.

EDIT: my mistake, he won the national title his third to last year, but his second to last year he went 13-1 with a BCS bowl win. Either way, going 21-6 in his last two years including two bowl wins is not exactly a horrible finish, especially after winning two national titles in three years before that.

Hagen

April 9th, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^

Hoke was an easy choice to become the Wolverines’ next coach, especially considering he coached in Ann Arbor from 1995-2002. Considering he was born in Ohio, Hoke isn’t necessarily a “Michigan Man.”

 

Unfortunately, the author likes to throw out the 'Michigan Man' phrase without knowing what ti means.  I think we all can agree that being born in the state of Michigan does not make you a Michigan Man.  It is how you carry yourself, treat others, and represent the University that makes you a Michigan Man.

justingoblue

April 9th, 2012 at 7:10 PM ^

and that's it. At Michigan, we have Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Yost Ice Arena, The Crisler Center, and Schembechler Hall named after former coaches (and players, in Oosterbaan's case). Somebody needs to tell Yost, Crisler and Schembechler that they aren't Michigan Men. I'm assuming it's news to them, as it's news to everyone here, excepting the obviously ignorant writing staff at Athlon.

bacon1431

April 9th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^

Did they pull names out of a hate for this list? My God, it's awful. Kiffin anywhere near the top 20 is a travesty. The guy has done nothing in his HC career other than be a douchebag. I think Dantonio should be ahead of Hoke because Dantonio has a B1G title (albeit shared and w/o playing OSU). But in the long run I think Hoke will prove better than him. But Dantonio has proven himself to be no slouch.

M-Wolverine

April 9th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^

I wonder if Spurrier would still be top ten before last season.

Kelly- see above.

Kiffin is the real joke. He's had no success anywhere he's been. He seems to be up there simply because he coaches USC. And was this a best job or best coach list?

Mack Brown has a couple of down years and he drops this far?

Les Miles has a down game and he drops THIS far?

Is it really best of the rest when you actually number them?

 

I'd have more respect for the article if they didn't just cut and paste the profiles right from their conference rankings.

born1ntheArbor

April 10th, 2012 at 12:49 AM ^

I'm not entirely sure, but did you think the entire poll was messed up?  Anyways, it was less a poll and more some random person picking names out of a hat and then thinking of reasons to rank people based on the order their name was picked.  Or it was someone that just felt like getting fanbases and rivalries worked up.