Urban Meyer

Snyder is amazing, but also a case of coach and school being a perfect fit for each other. He likely couldn't have done all he did many other places and there might not be anyone else who could have turned K-State around the way he did.

 

Have we really gotten this far and nobody mentioned the Ol' Ball Coach?

And we talk about all these "reviving dead program" guys, how about David Cutcliffe???

If I had to pick a top five:

1. Meyer
2. Saban
3. Dantonio
4. Spurrier
5. Patterson

Close but just behind are Harbaugh, Cutcliffe, Snyder, Briles and Fisher

 

I'm not sure 2014 Steve Spurrier belongs in that conversation. He's good, and done a good job at South Carolina, but he's not at the same level of 1994 Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier did inspire a great quote from Tommy Bowden, though. When I was in college, No. 1 Florida was coming to town and I did a story on what made them so good. Got on a conference call and asked a bunch of SEC coaches at the time what they thought, and Bowden gave Spurrier and his staff — and Florida's resources — the credit by saying, "A great coach at Duke wins nine games a year. A great coach at Florida wins them all."
That could also apply to Meyer and his various stops.

 

What was Tommy Bowden doing on an SEC coaches teleconference?

 

I agree about 2014 Spurrier not being a top 5 coach the way 1990s Spurrier was. Still great, and winning at South Carolina is tougher than winning at Florida, but he has seven seasons with five or six losses at South Carolina.

 

I'm guessing he meant Terry.

 

Where would John Gagliardi be ranked if he were still coaching?

 

Wait, what? Harbaugh wasn't even the first to go a third straight conference championship last year. Belichick's Patriots gained entry to their third straight AFC Championship on a Saturday last year, while the Niners played on Sunday.

 

Sorry. First to do it in his first three years.

 

Ah, that makes sense. Harbaugh's a damn good coach. Michigan vs. OSU is going to fun to watch for the next decade if they both stay.

 

I was going to say, um, "Marv Levy would like to have a word" in response to the "first coach to take his team to three championship games in a row" but your clarification has taken care of that.....

And you may be right, Spurrier may have lost his elite status and if you take him out maybe you do put a guy like Bill Snyder or Chris Petersen or Bob Stoops in

 

Spurrier is still a damn good coach.

He is only one year removed from three straight 11-2 seasons.