An article published late Thursday by The Big Lead claims the Big Ten has the most impressive coaches in college football, and it’s without a doubt correct.
Author and FS1 pundit Jason McIntyre penned the piece for The Big Lead, which is owned by USA Today, titled, “Big Ten Has the Best Coaches. Pac-12 Has the Best QBs. ACC Has the Best Teams. What’s Wrong with the SEC?”
He wrote in part:
Best coaches? Big Ten. That’s easy. Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh are at the top, with James Franklin (Penn State) and Mark Dantonio (Michigan State) not far behind. Yes, the Spartans went from the playoff in 2015 to 3-9 in 2016, but it’s his first losing record since 2009. Toss in Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) and the conference is loaded. Plus they added PJ Fleck (Minnesota).
It might the unpopular opinion, but McIntyre is correct. In fact, the Big Ten was the best overall conference in college football last season from top-to-bottom, and it wasn’t even close. The top of the Big Ten is loaded.
Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin are all capable of beating anybody on any given day. When Wisconsin is the fourth best team in the conference, you’re doing things the right way.
As for the coaches, his argument hits the nail on the head. Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh are two of the greatest coaches on the planet, and Franklin, Dantonio, Fitzgerald and Chryst are all in the next category of great coaches that aren’t elite yet.
The good news for Big Ten fans everywhere isn’t just that they have the best coaches, but the conference is overflowing with cash and it’s still stacked with elite teams. It looks like we’re all in for another season of the boys from the Midwest dominating America.