By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports activities
The Large Ten boasts a wealth of gifted head coaches.
Amongst them are the nation’s longest energetic tenured head coach (Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz), and two of the youngest head coaches (Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Michigan’s Sherrone Moore).
Regardless of how gifted, nonetheless, some coaches on this record are feeling the warmth within the seats they sit in, and if the outcomes don’t are available by 2025, issues will get even hotter.
Final 12 months, the Large Ten noticed 4 males taking on new applications; this 12 months options just one new head coach, with Barry Odom taking on Purdue.
So, getting into the 2025 season, how do the pinnacle coaches stack up?
At the moment, we rank all 18 coaches within the league, and we’re certain to fire up some debate alongside the best way.
[Your Next Read: Ranking the Big 12 Football Head Coaches for 2025]
1. Ryan Day, Ohio State
How does a head coach at Ohio State lose 4 straight to Michigan (the longest such streak for the Buckeyes because the Nineteen Twenties) and stay removed from the recent seat?
Carry house the nationwide title—and that’s simply what Day and OSU did.
A stellar recruiting observe file and a 70-10 file earns Day the highest amongst Large Ten coaches.
However he most likely can’t afford a fifth straight loss to the Wolverines.
2. Dan Lanning, Oregon
Dan Lanning has executed nothing however win video games. With a 35-6 mark, he’s proper on tempo to match Ryan Day’s file in a couple of years.
The younger Oregon coach is proving to be an elite recruiter, and this season figures to indicate simply how good the Geese have been on that entrance with a slew of stars to interchange.
Lanning by no means shies away from rolling the cube with the sport on the road and you must assume his gamers love him for that, whether or not it all the time pays off or not.
The Geese took house the regular-season convention crown in Yr One within the Large Ten. We are going to see what the encore seems to be like and the way shiny the brand new stars can shine.
3. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Iowa is all the time powerful to beat, and the rationale for that’s the longest tenured energetic head coach within the nation.
Kirk Ferentz has been doing it in Iowa Metropolis since 1999.
He has gained at the very least 10 video games eight occasions in his profession with the Hawkeyes, and he has executed so with some actually unhealthy offenses.
It could be exhausting to argue that any coach within the nation will get extra out of the extent of their gamers than Ferentz does with Iowa.
4. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
Year One of many Curt Cignetti period in Indiana ended with a visit to CFP.
Sure, you learn that proper, Indiana was within the playoffs with their solely two losses of the season to groups that performed for the nationwide championship.
That could be a fairly profitable debut at a spot that isn’t accustomed to profitable on the gridiron.
However this isn’t a flash within the pan. Cignetti has gained at each cease alongside his head teaching journey, and has but to have a dropping season in 14 years as a head coach.
5. Bret Bielema, Illinois
Bret Bielema sustained the profitable success that Barry Alvarez created at Wisconsin.
Now, in his second stint within the Large Ten, he’s constructing Illinois right into a powerhouse.
The Illini had a breakout season final fall.
This 12 months, they need to be proper in the course of the Faculty Soccer Playoff push.
6. James Franklin, Penn State
James Franklin acquired the Nittany Lions into the playoffs final season, even when they nonetheless had their struggles in opposition to High 10 opponents.
Franklin persistently has Penn State within the fold on the finish of the season and likewise persistently loses to the likes of Ohio State and Michigan annually.
Reaching the inaugural 12-team Playoff was first step to closing the hole between PSU and the true large canine of faculty soccer.
Getting a few of these large time wins would be the subsequent step.
7. Lincoln Riley, USC
Lincoln Riley is a grasp recruiter.
And if you find yourself bringing in elite expertise each season, you may’t afford too many 7-6 seasons, particularly at a spot like USC.
Over the past two seasons, the Trojans are 13-11 general and 9-9 in convention play. These numbers want to enhance.
Nonetheless, it’s exhausting to low cost the physique of labor, going 81-24 in his eight seasons as a head coach at Oklahoma and USC.
8. Sherrone Moore, Michigan
Sherrone Moore was thrown right into a tough state of affairs final season. Coming off a Nationwide Championship, expectations remained excessive in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines misplaced a ton of expertise after the 2023 title, and it was unfair to assume they might replicate that success.
They opened the season 5-5 with three of these losses to High 10 opponents earlier than ending with three straight wins, together with one other victory over Ohio State and a bowl victory over Alabama.
With Moore on the helm, Michigan looks as if the trajectory must be upward as soon as once more.
9. Matt Rhule, Nebraska
Matt Rhule gained at each Temple and Baylor, incomes the job with the Carolina Panthers. After it didn’t work out within the NFL, Rhule ended up Lincoln and the turnaround has not been as fast as deliberate.
Let’s not overlook that Scott Frost was in Lincoln earlier than him, and cleansing up that mess will take a while. I feel Vince Lombardi might have wanted a couple of years to win after Frost.
The Huskers at the very least acquired again to 6-6 and gained a bowl recreation final season.
With Rhule on the helm and Dylan Raiola below heart this 12 months, the Huskers ought to begin to see issues bettering on the sphere.
10. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Greg Schiano is aware of his X’s and O’s and may flat out coach.
He has gotten Rutgers to consecutive 7-win seasons and Piscataway shouldn’t be precisely a straightforward place wherein to win persistently.
Over his two stints spanning 16 seasons with Rutgers, he has gone 94-101.
That features the primary two seasons of his first stint after they went a mixed 3-20 as he was first constructing this system up from nothing.
11. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State
Jonathan Smith labored wonders with Oregon State and utterly turned that program round.
He has the possibility to show issues round in East Lansing as properly, however it could take a while.
The Spartans are a proud and profitable program traditionally, however Mel Tucker didn’t depart it in fine condition when Smith took over.
It won’t come this season, however the Spartans can be again to profitable below Smith.
12. Jedd Fisch, Washington
Jedd Fisch labored wonders turning across the Arizona program, and Brent Brennan is determining how good a job Fisch did.
The Washington staff he took over made the Nationwide Championship recreation the prior 12 months and fell to 6-7 in 12 months one below Fisch.
The Huskies misplaced much more expertise from 2023 to 2024 than Michigan did with Moore taking on. UW had no reply for the run recreation final season and that was a personnel drawback greater than a schematic concern.
Search for Fisch to get Washington profitable once more quickly.
13. PJ Fleck, Minnesota
PJ Fleck has the Golden Gophers at a stage of consistency they haven’t seen in fairly a while.
The high-energy coach has gone 56-39 in his eight seasons within the Twin Cities however solely 33-36 throughout that point in convention video games.
He did lead Minnesota to a share of the West in 2019, posting a 7-2 mark within the Large Ten. That was the one season Gophers completed ranked within the polls.
Whereas he has been below .500 in convention play, he is an ideal 6-0 in bowl video games with Minnesota.
14. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
In his profession, Luke Fickell has posted a 76-38 mark as a head coach, however that features a 57-18 mark with Cincinnati.
Since coming to Madison, the Badgers have gone 13-13, and together with his one-year stint at Ohio State ending with s 6-7 mark, Fickell is sub .500 in three seasons with a Large Ten staff.
Fickell has tried to alter the identification of the Badgers on offense and that has not set properly with among the Wisconsin devoted.
He must keep away from many extra dropping seasons or his tenure in Madison might be brief.
15. Barry Odom, Purdue
Barry Odom’s brief keep in Las Vegas took UNLV to new heights in consecutive seasons.
In his six years as a head coach at Missouri and UNLV, he posted a 44-33 file and has solely skilled one dropping season, in his first 12 months with Mizzou.
He’ll most likely add a second dropping season to the resume after this one.
Turning round Purdue and profitable in in the present day’s Large Ten can be a much more tough job than he had with the Rebels.
16. DeShaun Foster, UCLA
The Bruins completed the season 4-2 down the stretch. Sadly, it was not sufficient to beat a 1-5 open to the season, wherein the only win was a nail-biter in opposition to Hawai’i.
That robust end retains DeShaun Foster out of the underside two of this rating, however the jury remains to be out.
Including Nico Iamaleava at QB ought to assist, and it higher. Yr Two at UCLA might be a crucial one for the primary time head coach.
This one might be a table-setter, for higher or worse.
17. David Braun, Northwestern
David Braun and his Wildcats shocked everybody in 2023 as he stepped right into a tough state of affairs and led the ‘Cats to an 8-5 mark.
Final season was a step again for NU and it appeared like a reasonably important step again at that.
Northwestern shouldn’t be a straightforward place to win.
Staying related in in the present day’s Large Ten will solely get more difficult for Braun and his prices.
18. Mike Locksley, Maryland
Mike Locksley took the Terps to a few straight bowls in 2021-23 after profitable simply 5 video games in his first two season of this stint at Maryland.
It regarded like they might be turning the nook, however a 4-8 mark final season was a serious blow. The Terps solely managed to win one convention recreation, over USC, and regarded out-manned in a lot of the eight losses.
Locksley has recruited properly, however the outcomes haven’t been what they have to be, they’ve gone simply 16-40 in convention video games the final six seasons.
Yr Seven must be one or time is perhaps working out for Locksley.
[Your Next Read: Ranking the Big 12 Football Head Coaches for 2025]
writes about varied matters for SuperWest sports activities, together with stats and data, faculty sports activities, and motorsports. He additionally based and runs the Sports activities and Leisure Analysis Heart (SERC).
