Big East Coaching Board

To begin the season, here is my ranking of the coaches in the Big East. Each week, I'll evaluate their previous game, and adjust the poll accordingly.

Greg Schiano
Rutgers
With the loss of Petrino (No. 10 in the SEC) and RichRod (No. 4 in the Big Ten), Schiano rises to number 1 in the Big East. That's really all I have to say Schiano and the state of Big East coaches.

Jim Leavitt
South Florida
Sure Leavitt is a cheater, but in the Big East, who cares? He takes No. 2 in the Big East because there honestly isn't anyone else.

Brian Kelly
Cincinnati
I know little about Brian Kelly, other that he kept letting Ben Mauk whine to the NCAA about being reinstated. He's had a great run, but I'm not sure whether last year's 10 win season was due to good coaching or good recruiting left behind by MSU coach Mark Dantonio. I've given Brian Kelly the benefit of the doubt, as he at least has done something with talented teams, unlike Wannstedt.

Dave Wannstedt
Pitt
Everyone's jumped on the Panther bandwagon, claiming that Wannstedt is finally coming along with a good team at Pitt. While he has been able to attract quality recruits (which I can't see to be that difficult, since he is in Pennsylvania and should have good relations in the area, since he grew up there), this is still the man who set the Dolphins back ten years, not to mention handing the New Orleans Saints two first round picks for Ricky "Don't Forget to Brink a Towel" Williams. While he appears to be a heavyweight in a depleted big-name conference, The 'Stash has received too much credit for the win over WVU, especially when his DC Paul Rhodes bolted for Auburn.

Bill Stewart
WVU
Talk about your knee-jerk reactions. WVU administrators were so upset at RichRod for dropping them for AnnArbor that they weren't even thinking about the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma. With a sudden dominating victory, WVU hands the reins full-time to the interim Stewart. Honestly, I know very little about him, other than he's old and was given a very talented team in a mediocre conference... so right now, let's call him Larry Coker II. I suspect his team will be in the top 2 in the conference, but unless he leads the Mountaineers to an undefeated season, I don't see him rising to high on this list; not until I can see him without RichRod's players.

Steve Kragthorpe
Louisville
Did Bobby Petrino leave the cupboard bare? Following the 12-1 2006 season, Petrino bolted for the Falcons, but many suspected that the Cardinals would keep turning out good season after season. Instead, the team went 6-6, 3-4 in league play, and missed out on a bowl game for the first time since '97. After many said that he had lost control of the team, Coach Krag almost bolted for the SMU job. He has been a somewhat success as a head coach, winning a CUSA title in 2005.

Randy Edsall
UConn
Randy Edsall is UConn football... Let that one sink in. The former Orangeman (or I guess just its Orange-ian now) led Uconn from I-AA to FBS. He's taken some lumps in getting the Huskies to their first bowl game in their history (a 39-10 victory over Toledo last season), but he is still 50-54. Apparently the biggest news in the offseason was getting a home-and-home series with Notre Dame... with UConn's home games to be played in Mass. or New Jersey.

Greg Robinson
Syracuse
The worst coaching job of all BCS schools has been done by this former Texas coordinator. Absolutely disgusting.