No. 6 Ryan Day
Day has been impressive in two-plus Ohio State seasons. New head coaches do not begin their careers by going 23-2, as Day has done. Still, he has only coached 25 games. Maybe he will be 69-6 after 75 games, but like Lincoln Riley, Day’s head coaching career needs more challenge to be accurately measured. Not to mention, the Buckeyes were not much more capable of competing with the Crimson Tide last season than were the Fighting Irish.
No. 7 Mack Brown
One of Mack’s Texas teams won a National Championship. He has turned North Carolina around quickly. Maybe it was too long ago to matter, but Mack also lost badly to an Alabama Football National Championship team.
No. 8 Dan Mullen
Yes, Dan Mullen did a tremendous job at Mississippi State. His 2020 Florida Gators’ offense gave the Crimson Tide fits in last season’s SEC Championship game. Those are two notable achievements. Balance them against the fact Mullen is zero-for-10 in head coaching matchups against Nick Saban.
No. 9 Ed Orgeron
Coach O is a National Championship head coach. He also has a career, head coaching record of 61-41. He caught lightning in a bottle in 2019 in Baton Rouge. A significant portion of that accomplishment belongs to Joe Brady’s offensive scheme. Hiring the right assistants is an important component of being a top head coach. Credit Coach O for hiring Brady. Another top, former LSU assistant, Dave Aranda worked for Orgeron but was not hired by him. Other Orgeron hires, like Steve Ensminger and Bo Pelini were failures.
No. 10 Mario Cristobal
Mario did a good job at Florida International and has done a very good job at Oregon. In between, he learned from Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. The future looks bright for Cristobal, but he has much to accomplish.