ACC Coaching Board

The preseason positioning of the coaches in the ACC. Each week, I'll evaluate their previous game and post an updated poll.

Frank Beamer
Virginia Tech
Beamer slides ahead of Bowden mainly due to Bobby's inability to do anything with Florida State since 2000. Beamer was given tons of leeway when he took over in 1987, and steadily built a foundation of a great program at Va Tech, which culminated in the 1999 National Championship Game appearance. With the growth of the ACC, VaTech jumped up and took both the 2004 and 2007 Conference Titles and the 2005 Coastal championship. The Hokies appear to be the most competitive of the ACC teams, and with a conference on the decline, it seems that Beamer has a tight hold on the rein of the ACC.

Bobby Bowden
Florida State
Bobby is here because of what he did over his long career, but is dropped to number 2 for the horribly uncompetitive teams he's put together for almost a decade. Sure they've won the ACC Championship twice since 2002, but it's not like they're having problems because of the entrance of Miami, B.C. or VaTech. Bowden has moved to a caricture of his former self, which began during his 2000 Sugar Bowl interview during the game. Since Jimbo Fishcer has already been named the coach-in-waiting, the only real question will be if this is his last season or is next? And, of course, how far will he slip this year with his purely average team.

Tom O’Brien
N.Carolina St
Tom O'Brien gets the high ranking on this list mainly due to his time at Boston College, because N.C. State is going to drop him like a stone. There's not much that he can do about the lack of talent this season in Raleigh, but he is going to be penalized for bailing on B.C. when they were becoming relevant. A Tom O'Brien coached 2007 B.C. team might have been able to compete for the national title; instead, he was going 5-7 with the Wolfpack. O'Brien took B.C. to eight straight bowl victories, and is known for his very disciplined teams.

Jim Grobe
Wake Forest
Grobe took Wake to the 2006 ACC Championship. Was it because he was an exceptional coach or because the ACC had become a bargain basement CUSA-style conference. Either way, it was impressive, and Grobe should get some respect. While he won't be able to annually compete for the title, he has put a good team together in Winston-Salem. The Deamon Deacons will stay relevant, and as long as they do, I can't see Grobe falling much on this. If he were to win another title, he would enter the top 2 on this list (possibly number one).

Paul Johnson
Georgia Tech
Paul Johnson made a service academy competitive in the modern era of college football and lead Navy to their first victory over Notre Dame since the Moors kicked the Catholics out of Spain. That's right, a Moors reference. It'll be interesting to see whether he can bring the triple option to the ACC and have his quarterback hit 20-30 times each week by a MLB would will eventually play in the NFL. I see GA Tech being a little more consistent, but still average, and still not capable of beating UGA without the Dawgs providing some help. Fun how even mediocrity gets Johnson in the top half of ACC coaches.

Tommy Bowden
Clemson
Tommy has been notorious for his big-game blunders, and probably should have been ousted from Clemson years ago. While his team has not always had superior talent, there have been countless situations where the Tigers only need to win a game or two to take control of the ACC, and even with a depleted FSU and Miami, Clemson and Bowden fail to take advantage. This isn't just a Michigan State-type mentality for failure; this is Clemson's inability to show up for any big games, and their ability to choke whenever the pressure is on. Eventually this reflects right on the head coach. This must be an ACC Championship season for Bowden, because his team appears to be talented enough, that only he stands in the way. If the Tigers aren't in the chase for the national title (let alone the ACC), then heads need to roll.

Butch Davis
North Carolina
Bucth Davis probably needs to be higher with his success at Miami, and the fact that he can lay claim to the 2001 National Title (and prob should have had an opportunity for the 2000 one as well), but he did go 4-8 in his first season in Chapel Hill, and, while I do believe he'll turn around the Tar Heels, I can't honestly think it's anytime soon. He's brought in some good recruits, but UNC, similar to Virginia, is never that good. Sure every once in a while they'll jump up and have a 10 win season, but that'll be followed up by 6-wins, and a possible bowl game. Similar to Spurrier at S.Carolina, Davis is trying to change a culture of losing, which is much more difficult than X's and O's or getting a 5 star athlete to attend your school.

Jeff Jagodzinski
Boston College
There's not too much to go off of for Jagodzinski. He's never been a head coach prior to the 11-3 2007 season at BC, but he had a very talented team with a NFL-starting QB. Now the question is whether he can win without Matt Ryan. Interesting that after winning in Blacksburg during the regular season, Coach Jag wasn't able to get the victory again to win the ACC Championship. It'll take more time to get a handle on where exactly Jag rates.

Al Groh
Virginia
The former NFL coach has done little to make Virginia competitive annually in the ACC, with his overall record being 55-37. The Cavaliers, for some reason, have never been much of a dominant football power, even within their own conference, and Groh was expected to bring a Pete Carroll swagger to the program. Instead it seems that UVA hired the wrong former-Jets coach. Groh has done little to make UVA relevant, and it's only a matter of time before Virginia looks to upgrade, espeically with competing in the underwhelming ACC.

Ralph Friedgen
Maryland
Friedgen took Maryland to the Orange Bowl and an ACC Championship in 2000, and everything has been downhill since. Other than protecting his underarmour, the Fridge has done little to get Maryland back to the top of the ACC, finishing no closer than 2nd in the division since 2002, along with two bowl invites. The main shocker is how drab the Maryland offense has become after Friedgen was heralded as an innovative offensive mastermind in 2000.

David Cutcliffe
Duke
While Cut receives a lot of credit for the success at UT and a few average years at Ole Miss, his coaching career was made only by having a Manning under center. I don't think he'll be at Duke long enough to have a Peyton or Eli's spawn suit up for the Devils.

Randy Shannon
Miami
Should Shannon be No. 12? No,probably not, but he hasn't done anything especially amazing other than accruing a nice recruiting class in '08. Of course, some of you are asking why he is No. 12 and Saban (who's done only the same thing at Bama) is No. 3, well i think that reason is obvious. Have You Seen Randy Shannon??? Seriously, do I have to say it... Fine I will... He's a first year head coach and his claim is a good D during the Larry Coker era of squandered all Butch Davis' talent. Seriously though, i believe Shannon will shoot up these rankings.