The slate of college football coaches is vast and wide. We have every coaching style possible with combinations of coordinators at their side creating new and exciting systems. However, with all these systems there are sure to be some posers and coaches not living up to what they could be. In spite of that pressing thought, we compiled a short list of the coaches who we think deserve less credit.
Lane Kiffin, FAU
Kiffin started off hot with the Florida Atlantic Owls in 2017, his first year as head coach for FAU. The Owls went (11-3) with a (8-0) conference record and topped it all off with a blowout bowl win over Akron. Many saw this as a small sample of what was to come for FAU under Kiffin. Unfortunately, for FAU fans and Kiffin this was not the case. FAU now stands only (3-4) and (1-2) in conference games this year. This is a big blow to the program just after going (11-3) the previous year. It also gives us an insight of the reality of Lane Kiffin.
Willie Taggart, FSU
After leaving Oregon to take the head coaching job at Florida State, many thought Taggart would have a great impact on the program. Already this looked like a pressure hire, especially with the fact that Taggart went (7-5) and (4-5) in conference with the Ducks. This isn’t bad, but not impressive enough to fill the shoes of Jimbo Fisher. This proved to be true when Florida State jumped to (4-3) and (2-3) in the ACC in 2018. Taggart was a good “culture” hire for Florida State, but probably not the caliber they had hoped for.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
If you would just take a look that Iowa’s record for each year, you might think it is a roller coaster. Ferentz has coached at Iowa ever since the 1999 football season, which is impressive for any coach. However, the story behind the long reign of Iowa’s program isn’t a clean one. The Iowa program is a constant run of inconsistency masked by the few great years that fill in the gaps. Ferentz has had a good number of successful seasons as of recently, but when you play Illinois and Minnesota every year what is expected.
Kyle Whittingham, Utah
The Utes signed Whittingham in 2004, needing a spark in the football program. They got the quick spark with their new head coach, but the spark chooses when it comes in and out. Utah experiences the same roller coaster ride that Iowa is stuck on with Kirk Ferentz. The inconsistency of Utah over their stretch under Whittingham is undeniable. Some years Utah fails to even contend in PAC-12 play with Whittingham at the helm, but who is to blame? You certainly can’t blame BYU for this one.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn
It is already hard enough on Auburn to compete for recruits in the state of Alabama with Nick Saban in the mix, but Malzahn doesn’t help. Malzahn has led the Tigers for 5 years, with this year being his 6th. This has been an interesting slate for Auburn to say the least with the mix of National Championship and NY6 bowls. However, this would be a fast distraction from the known problems among the staff and roster. Also, the years to follow big seasons tend to fail tremendously for Auburn under Malzahn. I guess the only positive is that he’s (2-3) against a persistently great Alabama team.
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