It's a murderer's row of great football coaches across the Sunshine State this year. And in today's Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, we're gonna rank 'em #1-#7. And believe me, with the power players across this great state, this wasn't a very easy task. Though I don't think you can debate my top ranking going to Florida State's Jimbo Fisher.
#1. Jimbo Fisher, FSU: It's amazing to think about the pressure that came along with replacing the legendary, once-thought-irreplaceable Bobby Bowden. But Fisher has done a masterful job. He went 10-4 in his first season in 2010. 9-4 in his second season.Then an exciting 12-2 campaign with a win in the Orange Bowl in 2012. In 2013, his 'Noles went a perfect 14-0 can capture the National Title. He was named the 2013 Coach of the Year by several publications. 2014 was a nearly perfect season if it weren't for a loss in the Rose Bowl. His Seminoles have gone 10-3 in each of the past two seasons. He's compiled an eye-popping 78-17 record so far at FSU. Fisher's Noles enter the season ranked #3 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, behind only Alabama and Ohio State, respectively.
#2. Mark Richt, Miami: This pick is going to piss off Florida fans, but too bad. The Georgia Bulldogs were morons for letting Richt go after he racked up 145 wins (including nine bowl game wins) in 15 seasons.
Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown Ranks Your Favorite Florida Football Coaches
The 2-time SEC Coach of the Year is fresh off his first and only season at Miami, where his Hurricanes went 9-4 -- the program's best record since 2013. The 'Canes also won their first bowl game since, unbelievably, 2006. There's rediscovered excitement surrounding the 'Canes football program. More than 40,000 Miami fans have purchased season tickets, that figure is up more than 10,000 from two seasons ago. Richt's 'Canes are ranked 18th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
#3. Jim McElwain, Florida: McElwain won SEC Coach of the Year in his first year at Florida in 2015. Prior to that, he won Mountain West Coach of the Year in the season before at Colorado State. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama, where he won a couple of BCS National Championships (2010 and 2012).
McElwain's Gators have gone 10-4 and 9-4 in his two seasons at the helm, but he's criticized for leading a boring, predictable offense. The Gators are ranked #16 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
#4. Charlie Strong, USF: Strong is the former Gators defensive coordinator who helped UF win two national titles (2006 and 2008). He is an incredible recruiter as well.
He finally got a head coaching job at Louisville in 2010 and proceed to win two Big East Championships as well as two Big East Coach of the Year accolades. After going 12-1 in 2013, he took the Texas Longhorns job, replacing longtime Texas coach Mack Brown. Strong failed to break the .500 mark in any of his three seasons at Texas. However, there were plenty of road blocks that hindered any progress. Strong returns to the Sunshine State and walks into a terrific situation that Willie Taggart left behind (to take the Oregon Ducks job). The USF Bulls have a loaded roster and are ranked #21 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
#5. Butch Davis, FIU: A very accomplished career, Butch Davis won two Super Bowls as the defensive line coach and defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in the early 90s. He then took the head coaching job at Miami where Davis' 'Canes went 51-20 in six seasons. The Hurricanes won the National Championship the season after he left. Davis then became the head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns in 2001. He posted a 24-35 record in the brief time he was there in Cleveland, which still isn't all that bad, considering it's Cleveland! Davis took the head coaching job at North Carolina in 2007 and his time there was tainted by an academic scandal, which cost him vacated 16 wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Davis now takes over an FIU program after a three-year stint as an analyst with ESPN. FIU has an inexperienced roster, so it could be a slow start for Davis in FIU.
#6: Scott Frost, UCF: He's still largely unproven, but you can just tell that Scott Frost has what it takes to be a successful head coach. He's got a complete feel for the game. You'd expect that from a guy who won a national championship as a quarterback at Nebraska, then got drafted into the NFL and played defense. Frost took over for George O'Leary and led the University of Central Florida Knights to a 6-7 rebound season in his first year. O'Leary's Knights were a winless 0-12 the season before.
We'll see how Frost's UCF program does in his second year, but it really looks like he has a chance to be a star in the coaching profession.
#7 Lane Kiffin, FAU: I've enjoyed ribbing Kiffin over the years for several embarrassing moments with the Oakland Raiders (76-yard field goal attempt), the Tennessee Vols (where he threatened to turn in Urban Meyer to the NCAA for possible recruiting violations), at USC (fired on the tarmac) and even at Alabama (where he was publicly reamed out by Nick Saban on the sidelines). But he keeps failing up!
He is known for being a great recruiter (although he once told Alshon Jeffrey that he'd be "pumping gas for the rest of his life" if he didn't pick Tennessee. Jeffrey chose South Carolina and ended up getting drafted into the NFL.) This could be Kiffin's last chance to prove he has what it takes to be a head coach.
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