Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.
It’s not all about the players, as much as the coaches and the talking haircuts tell you otherwise. There’s a reason Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer are pulling down $4 million a year and Tyrone Willingham sits unemployed in the Bay Area. Coaches make a difference. In the Pac-10, there are new coaches and old ones, big winners and some looking for their first win. Who’s the best and who has work to do? Here’s our top 10.
On to the list:
1. Pete Carroll, USC: He’s the Pac-10’s best coach of the past 50 years, so Carroll has got to be No. 1 this year, right? Yes, and it’s not close. Carroll signs the best players, fosters an environment of fun and competitiveness, wins with class, is almost always in the hunt for a national title and dominates Pac-10 opponents. Assistant coaches and coordinators often leave under Carroll’s watch for better positions, and yet, he seems to find coaches equal or better. If there’s a coach who is a better fit for the college game, we haven’t seen him.
2. Mike Riley, Oregon State: A year ago, this would have been the other Mike. But that Mike is now trying to balance the budget at Oregon, while this Mike just continues a head-turning roll at Oregon State. What was once the country’s worst program that played in a high school-like stadium is now routinely in the Top 25, wins all of its bowl games and turns players most Pac-10 programs don’t recruit into stars. The Beavers lost eight starters off last year’s defense, and yet, it would be no surprise if OSU were among the Pac-10’s top five in defense in 2009. Riley and the coaches he hires are that good.
3. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State: Erickson’s one-back spread offense and belief that speed is better than size has worked well during his six college coaching stops. Did Erickson get lucky a time or two during his career? Sure. He walked into good situations at Miami and Oregon State. But win at six different schools? The man knows what he’s doing. Erickson will get it done again at Arizona State, if not in 2009, surely by 2010.
4. Jeff Tedford, California: All Tedford has done during his head coaching career is win. No coach in the Pac-10 can say that, not even Carroll. In fact, Tedford wins so consistently, Bear fans are starting to get bored with the success. They’d like to see Tedford take it to another level – i.e. Rose Bowl, BCS bowl games – and in another era, it would have happened more than once during his seven-year tenure in Berkeley. Tedford just happens to be coaching during a time when USC is as good as it’s ever been. That shouldn’t detract from Tedford’s ability to develop offensive skill players and hire the right coaches to consistently put a good defense on the field.
5. Mike Stoops, Arizona: The gap is wide from the top four and the rest. Stoops lands at No. 5 because he appears the closest to making a breakthrough with his program. The key will be whether Arizona can continue to be successful with a new face at quarterback. If so, then Stoops has built a program. If not, then he just got lucky with Willie Tuitama.
6. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford: Does Harbaugh belong on the short list of up-and-coming coaches who are ready to take over a big-time program? We’ll see this season, because frankly, it’s time for Stanford to start winning. While there are some handicaps – the cost of living is outrageous for assistant coaches – the school’s academic reputation cuts both ways with athletes. It might not open the doors to all, but there are plenty of big-time athletes who would love to get a degree from Stanford. Harbaugh has made some strides at Stanford in two years, but the third year will be telling.
7. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA: The unfounded criticism of Erickson that he walks into good situations is entirely valid with Neuheisel. He took over programs under ideal circumstances at Washington and Colorado. Problem was, he couldn’t keep them going. That isn’t the case at UCLA. The Bruins were bad when Neuheisel was hired in 2007. Very soon, either it will be proven that Neuheisel can coach, develop players and win games, or he’ll get exposed for being a phony.
8. Chip Kelly, Oregon: Sorry, even if Kelly appears to be the second coming of Carroll, he has to prove he’s good with a resume of Saturdays. As first-time coaches go, Kelly gets the nod over Sarkisian because he’s been at Oregon for two years and some of the program’s recent success is his doing. It looks like Kelly, with his swagger and innovative thinking, could be a top 3 coach someday. But we’d like to see some scoreboard, first.
9. Paul Wulff, Washington State: Just because Wulff is No. 9 doesn’t mean he’s a bad coach. He’s in a bad situation that will take a lot of work just to make average. We think Wulff is on the right track, but until the Cougars show they’re competitive again, it’s hard to say Wulff is comparable to Riley, Erickson or even Stoops.
10. Steve Sarkisian, Washington: My Husky friends will think I’m just piling on here, but honestly, where would you the Pac-10’s youngest coach who has never run a program in his life? Like Kelly, there are signs that Sark could be a good one. He has immediately injected energy into the program, though after Tyrone Willingham, Mr. Magoo would look like an upgrade. Washington should be a top 5 club in the Pac-10, and until Sarkisian gets the Huskies there, he stays here.
Nick Daschel covers the Pacific-10 Conference for Buster Sports, and can be reached at ndaschel@bustersports.com
Daschel...Your insane!!!! Sark at 10 and Paul Wulff and Chip Kelley ahead of him..the OC/QB coach of Two National Championhsips and multiple NFL QB's, WR, and RB's...What has Kelley done?
First I admit my bias, but even suggesting bellotti was a better coach than Riley is quite a stretch. Don't rely on me, ask the pac10 coaches who they voited coach of the year in 08.
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