NCAA Football

NCAA's Top Coaching Duo: Urban Meyer and Billy Donovan

Posted Dec 17, 2006 3:54PM By Ryan Ferguson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Florida Football, SEC, BCS, Bowl Games, NCAA FB Fans, NCAA FB Gossip, Florida Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Fans, NCAA Basketball Gossip

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Larry Vettel at Gatorcountry.com wrote a nice piece entitled "Florida Duo Is Nation's Best Coaching Tandem." (requires subscription) Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer, not surprisingly, get the nod as the nation's two best coaches in the NCAA's top two sports -- Division I-A football and Division I-A men's basketball. Is Larry biased? Sure he is -- as am I -- but I think even the nastiest, bitterest Gator Hater would have a hard time arguing with championship quality success the Gators have had throughout the year of 2006. After all, not too many schools can say they field teams which can legitimately hunt for national championships in both sports, much less actually play for them... in the same year.

Vettel made a Top 10 of the best coaching duos across the nation. His picks include:

#10: Notre Dame (Charlie Weis, Mike Brey)
#9: Tennessee (Phil Fulmer, Bruce Pearl)
#8: LSU (Les Miles, John Brady)
#7: North Carolina (Butch Davis, Roy Williams)
#6: Southern Cal (Pete Carroll, Tim Floyd)
#5: Oklahoma (Bob Stoops, Jeff Capel)
#4: Texas (Mack Brown, Rick Barnes)
#3: Louisville (Bobby Petrino, Rick Pitino)
#2: Ohio State (Jim Tressel, Thad Matta)
#1: Florida (Urban Meyer, Billy Donovan)

I wouldn't argue #1 or #2. Donovan and Meyer... well, what can you say? They're the best, or, if you want to argue that point, they are without a doubt among the best of the very best. At OSU, Jim Tressel wins... and wins... and wins, while Thad Matta landed the hottest recruiting class of 2006 and Greg Oden looks to be every bit as good as advertised. Those two are also among the very best in their respective sports, and having them together at one school, especially with the tradition of winning at Ohio State, is a huge boon for the Buckeyes.




I might have swapped #3 for #4 if baseball was a consideration. In 2005 Texas won the World Series in college baseball, beating... Florida! ... for all the marbles. But as it stands, you can't argue with the long-term success Rick Pitino has had in his sport, or the inroads Bobby Petrino has made in the last few years. My only concern would be trying to keep two head coaches named "Petrino" and "Pitino" straight in the athletic department's phone banks.

#6 is almost perfect for Southern Cal, who fields Pete Carroll and his obscene win-loss column in football, but so-so Tim Floyd in basketball. Even Vettel says, "Tim Floyd has built two other solid programs and in year two is attracting top talent to play for the Men of Troy. Still, he drags down the combo ranking." It'd be hard to rank Carroll much lower than #3 in the list of active head coaches who enjoy yearly success, and many would rank him #1.

#7 is a highly debatable choice considering Butch Davis has yet to coach a single down of football at UNC. Nonetheless, he has had incredible success at the riches-to-rags Miami Hurricanes, who are "enjoying" a post-season preparing for the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise. My money is on UNC rising to the top of the ACC within 3 seasons. Meanwhile, Roy Williams keeps the Tarheels in perennial contention for a Final Four run.

#8, LSU, is sure to draw some ire from certain LSU fans, who are certain that Les Miles and his gigantic-enormo baseball cap is the wrong guy for the job. Still, in year two of his reign, the Tigers are 10-2, ranked #4 in the country, and have been given the fun and easy job of disemboweling the vastly overrated Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl. BCS, #4, automatic win in the Sugar Bowl... that's not half bad. And I like them at #8 because John Brady, despite his success in bringing LSU to the Final Four last year, went on an immediate "I need a pay raise" whine campaign the moment LSU lost to UCLA. I never liked the way he forced the spotlight on himself rather than his players when they had accomplished so much. So in my view Brady drags this combo down slightly. Otherwise I'd have bumped them up to #7 or #6.

Ah, and at rear admiral we have the country's favorite hamburglar, "Cheeseburger Charlie" (who no doubt rues the day he uttered the word "cheeseburger" in a press conference.) This might have been a bone thrown by Vettel, but I'm not sure I'd include this pair. Weis' success at Notre Dame has been noted in the W-L column, but the fact is that the Irish -- "America's Favorite Team" (which America?) -- shouldn't need great coaching to beat the teams they've beaten in Weis' tenure. Weis has yet to beat a ranked opponent and this January's matchup with LSU will be his second attempt to win a bowl game -- one in which he is hopelessly outclassed, in my opinion. Expect the Irish to lose yet another bowl game. My problem with Weis is that he really hasn't proven anything other than the fact he's a better coach for this group of kids than Ty Willingham. BEAT somebody before opening your yap, Charlie! On the flip side, I thought Mike Brey was a good basketball coach last year despite the Irish's strange penchant for losing in the last few seconds of the game, and the Irish look to be NCAA tournament-bound in '07.

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What makes Florida's dominance in both sports right now so special is the fact that in the modern era, parity is widespread, the "Pay 'em to Play" dynasties of the Bear Bryant variety are long gone, and winning is harder than ever, especially in the SEC, which is absolutely loaded with talent. It is truly great to be a Florida Gator in 2006. We must savor and enjoy these moments because as quickly as they come, they can disappear again... but with Donovan and Meyer at the helm, the likelihood of this happening are greatly diminished. We Gators simply can't ask for better coaches, better support, better facilities, better recruiting bases. Everything has fallen into place, and you know who we have to thank for that?

Jeremy Foley, Florida's Athletic Director, who only 24 months ago at this time had just signed Urban Meyer after Ron Zook's disastrous run at head coach. Foley also took a chance on a young kid named Billy Donovan in 1996, showing that Foley has a unique insight (or incredible luck) into understanding how to find the right head coach for a program... his emergency decision to hire Zook notwithstanding.

Enjoy 2006. 2007 will only get better. Go Gators.

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