Head Coach Ranking – Syndication Server

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell plummets in CBSSports’ annual college football head coach ranking

Where would you rank Luke Fickell among college football’s best head coaches?

CBSSports released its annual college football head coach ranking this week. The service went through all 68 Power Four coaches throughout the week, finally releasing its top 25 on Wednesday afternoon.

The bottom of the ranking was full of familiar names — mostly unproven former assistants. It includes UCLA HC DeShaun Foster at No. 68, Syracuse HC Fran Brown at No. 67, Mississippi State HC Jeff Lebby at No. 66 and Purdue HC Ryan Walters at No. 65.

Foster, Lebby and Brown were hired this offseason after excelling as the UCLA running backs coach, Oklahoma offensive coordinator and Georgia DBs coach respectively. None of the three have head coaching experience.

The comparison between the bottom tier and the top group is significant. Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day are predictably toward a top group that now is no longer led by college football legend Nick Saban.

Of note, Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell was No. 9 on CBS’ list ahead of the 2023 season. He was two years removed from taking Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff and had just taken over at Wisconsin with sky-high expecations.

The Badgers’ 7-6 2023 season with losses to Indiana and Northwestern predictably cooled the national sentiment on the program and on Fickell.

Now, entering 2024, here is where Fickell ranks among CBSSports’ top 25 coaches in college football:

On3 ranks Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell as one of the best coaches in college football

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell ranked as one of the best coaches in college football:

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell was ranked as one of the best coaches in college football by On3’s Jesse Simonton on Sunday.

Fickell was one of eight Big Ten coaches on the top 25 list, along with Ohio State’s Ryan Day, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Penn State’s James Franklin, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule and Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith.

The Badgers head coach enters 2024 after a disappointing 7-6 2023 season. There were widespread changes on both sides of the football, including the installation of Phil Longo’s air raid offense. But a debut 7-6 season against an easy Big Ten West schedule fell far short of preseason expectations.

Wisconsin fans hope 2024 is the launching pad season for the program as the Big Ten enters its new era.

Before that begins, here is where On3 ranks Fickell among the sport’s best:

Eagles Doug Pederson lands in top-5 of 2020 NFL head coach ranking

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson finishes at number five in a RotoWorld ranking of NFL head coaches

Doug Pederson has taken the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs in three of his first four seasons as a head coach in his respect level is high around the league.

Pederson has consistently been thought of as a top-10 coach and in a recent ranking of all 32 NFL head coaches by RotoWorld, the Eagles head coach landed at No. 5 on the list.

5. Doug Pederson

Career Record: 38-26 (.594)

With The Eagles Since 2016

Last Year’s Ranking: 4

Doug Pederson quickly gained a reputation as the league’s analytics prince, but his recent seasons have been more MacGyver than mathematics. If you need to win a playoff game with your backup quarterback, Pederson is your man. A 4-0 finish to steal the division after starting 5-7? Pederson will get it done. Craving normalcy? Pederson hasn’t really had it since Carson Wentz’s 2017 ACL tear. That’s when things got weird and have stayed so. A huge part of it has been personnel. The Eagles routinely don’t have it in the secondary, while the injuries got so bad on offense last year that “Greg Ward” spent time as the No. 1 receiver. Pederson continues to make lemonade out of lemons, which can obscure his continued devotion to cold, hard logic. Even at 9-7, the Eagles remained one of the league’s most efficient offenses last season, as well as one of the most aggressive on fourth down. Pederson knows what he’s doing, and it will look even better if his team can get just a little bit healthier with a little bit better roster.

Peterson landed behind John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Andy Reid, and the legendary Bill Belichick.

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