Octavian
3/22/2006, 12:13 PM
http://collegefootballnews.com/2006/Columnists/RC/RankingCoaches_Big12.htm
Best Coach – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma and Mack Brown, Texas – If you plotted the careers of Stoops and Brown on graph paper, they’d be intersecting right about…now. Stoops has been on a tapered decline since winning the BCS Championship in 2000. Bedlam upsets in 2001 and 2002, title game losses in 2003 and 2004 and last year’s brush with mediocrity were all signs he’s not quite ready to be beatified. Stoops has, however, won 68 games and three Big 12 titles in six years, so it’s way premature to jump off his bandwagon. Brown, on the other hand, could not be any hotter than he is today. It took a couple of Rose Bowl wins and a national championship of his own, but he’s finally getting the recognition and props he deserves. With a gun to your head and one game to play, Stoops is still the choice…provided VY isn’t within 10 miles of the stadium. Don’t be shocked if new Colorado coach Dan Hawkins joins the debate in a couple of years.
Most Underrated – Dan McCarney, Iowa State – Kirk Ferentz’s ascent into the college coaching Pantheon seems to have silenced McCarney’s achievements over in Ames. Too bad because he’s doing a bang-up job with a program that had rigor mortis when he inherited it in the mid-1990’s. McCarney almost didn’t make it out of the decade, but the administration stuck with him, and he’s paid them back with interest, winning at least seven games and earning a bowl invitation in five of the last six seasons.
Most Overrated – Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M – Franchione’s return to the state of Texas was supposed to narrow the gap between A&M and Texas and Oklahoma, but after three seasons, the opposite has happened. The coach is 0-6 versus the ‘Horns and Sooners, and has drifted way behind Texas Tech on the Big 12 South totem pole. The play of the once-proud Aggie D has been the main culprit in the program’s malaise, forcing Franchione to turn to Gary Darnell, a former Longhorn assistant, who had limited success in Austin. Season-ending wins over Colorado and Michigan earned Bill Callahan some breathing room, but he still has plenty to prove at Nebraska.
Coach on the Hot Seat – Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M – One more season like last year’s 5-6 debacle, and you can see the headlines now: Fran Canned or Fran Told to Scram. Franchione took his most talented A&M team, and promptly guided it off a cliff over the season’s final month. He’s now an unacceptable 16-19 in College Station and has had as many sub-.500 seasons in three years as the program had in the three decades before he arrived. And he had Reggie McNeal, maybe the best quarterback to ever play for the Aggies. And don’t think back-to-back Rose Bowl wins mean Mack Brown is out of the woods. Just kidding, ‘Horn fans.
Bucking for a Promotion – Mark Mangino, Kansas – It’s taken a while to get the engine started, and the transformation has not been overnight, but Mangino is gradually building a solid foundation in Lawrence. He’s begun to author some firsts that have made the Jayhawks a topic of discussion for reasons other than basketball. Last year’s winning season and Houston Bowl victory were the first time the program accomplished either in a decade. And the shocking 40-15 blowout of Nebraska last November was the first time that’d happened in 37 years. People—read: recruits—are taking notice, which will help the resurrection provided Kansas can keep others schools from luring away its coach.
Best Offensive Coordinator – Mike Leach, Texas Tech – In a league short on great offensive minds, Leach prevails in a landslide. He coordinates his own offense, which is clearly working when you consider the Red Raiders have now scored more than 400 points and ranked among the nation’s leaders in passing five years running. So fine-tuned is Leach’s system that he’s been able to plug in an average, first-year starter at quarterback for three straight years, yet still churn out points as if he’s calling plays with a joystick.
Best Defensive Coordinator – Gene Chizik, Texas – Chizik’s days as a coordinator are dwindling. The red-hot assistant riding a personal 28-game winning streak won the Broyles Award in 2004 as a member of unbeaten Auburn and helped guide Texas to a perfect season and a national championship in his first season in Austin. Chizik is an aggressive, high-energy type, whose personality has been adopted by all of the units he’s coached. Very quietly, Bill Young is doing good things with the Kansas defense.
Best Coach – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma and Mack Brown, Texas – If you plotted the careers of Stoops and Brown on graph paper, they’d be intersecting right about…now. Stoops has been on a tapered decline since winning the BCS Championship in 2000. Bedlam upsets in 2001 and 2002, title game losses in 2003 and 2004 and last year’s brush with mediocrity were all signs he’s not quite ready to be beatified. Stoops has, however, won 68 games and three Big 12 titles in six years, so it’s way premature to jump off his bandwagon. Brown, on the other hand, could not be any hotter than he is today. It took a couple of Rose Bowl wins and a national championship of his own, but he’s finally getting the recognition and props he deserves. With a gun to your head and one game to play, Stoops is still the choice…provided VY isn’t within 10 miles of the stadium. Don’t be shocked if new Colorado coach Dan Hawkins joins the debate in a couple of years.
Most Underrated – Dan McCarney, Iowa State – Kirk Ferentz’s ascent into the college coaching Pantheon seems to have silenced McCarney’s achievements over in Ames. Too bad because he’s doing a bang-up job with a program that had rigor mortis when he inherited it in the mid-1990’s. McCarney almost didn’t make it out of the decade, but the administration stuck with him, and he’s paid them back with interest, winning at least seven games and earning a bowl invitation in five of the last six seasons.
Most Overrated – Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M – Franchione’s return to the state of Texas was supposed to narrow the gap between A&M and Texas and Oklahoma, but after three seasons, the opposite has happened. The coach is 0-6 versus the ‘Horns and Sooners, and has drifted way behind Texas Tech on the Big 12 South totem pole. The play of the once-proud Aggie D has been the main culprit in the program’s malaise, forcing Franchione to turn to Gary Darnell, a former Longhorn assistant, who had limited success in Austin. Season-ending wins over Colorado and Michigan earned Bill Callahan some breathing room, but he still has plenty to prove at Nebraska.
Coach on the Hot Seat – Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M – One more season like last year’s 5-6 debacle, and you can see the headlines now: Fran Canned or Fran Told to Scram. Franchione took his most talented A&M team, and promptly guided it off a cliff over the season’s final month. He’s now an unacceptable 16-19 in College Station and has had as many sub-.500 seasons in three years as the program had in the three decades before he arrived. And he had Reggie McNeal, maybe the best quarterback to ever play for the Aggies. And don’t think back-to-back Rose Bowl wins mean Mack Brown is out of the woods. Just kidding, ‘Horn fans.
Bucking for a Promotion – Mark Mangino, Kansas – It’s taken a while to get the engine started, and the transformation has not been overnight, but Mangino is gradually building a solid foundation in Lawrence. He’s begun to author some firsts that have made the Jayhawks a topic of discussion for reasons other than basketball. Last year’s winning season and Houston Bowl victory were the first time the program accomplished either in a decade. And the shocking 40-15 blowout of Nebraska last November was the first time that’d happened in 37 years. People—read: recruits—are taking notice, which will help the resurrection provided Kansas can keep others schools from luring away its coach.
Best Offensive Coordinator – Mike Leach, Texas Tech – In a league short on great offensive minds, Leach prevails in a landslide. He coordinates his own offense, which is clearly working when you consider the Red Raiders have now scored more than 400 points and ranked among the nation’s leaders in passing five years running. So fine-tuned is Leach’s system that he’s been able to plug in an average, first-year starter at quarterback for three straight years, yet still churn out points as if he’s calling plays with a joystick.
Best Defensive Coordinator – Gene Chizik, Texas – Chizik’s days as a coordinator are dwindling. The red-hot assistant riding a personal 28-game winning streak won the Broyles Award in 2004 as a member of unbeaten Auburn and helped guide Texas to a perfect season and a national championship in his first season in Austin. Chizik is an aggressive, high-energy type, whose personality has been adopted by all of the units he’s coached. Very quietly, Bill Young is doing good things with the Kansas defense.