There’s some really good head football coaches in the Big Ten. That makes it difficult to ascend up a list, easier to go tumbling down in the rankings and certainly a feat to remain ranked toward the top of the list of college football’s head coaches.
CBS Sports took on the task of ranking each of the Power Five’s head football coaches. Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz checked in as the No. 13 coach nationally in that ranking from CBS.
What about everyone else in the Big Ten? Where do Ohio State‘s Ryan Day and Michigan‘s Jim Harbaugh slot in? How about Michigan State‘s Mel Tucker and Penn State‘s James Franklin?
Both P.J. Fleck at Minnesota and Paul Chryst at Wisconsin have done nice things in their tenures at those two programs. Where are they in the national pecking order? Can anybody make an argument still for Scott Frost at Nebraska?
Before revealing the full rankings below, here’s what CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli had to say about the league’s coaches.
The Big Ten is all about depth. After all, it’s called the Big Ten but currently boasts 14 schools and will soon have 16 (and maybe more!) before you know it. That depth is certainly reflected in how we at CBS Sports ranked its coaches.
In our overall Power Five coach rankings, published earlier this offseason, nobody from the Big Ten cracked the top five spots. However, while the conference lacks a top-five presence, it has five coaches ranked in the top 15, eight in the top 25 and 12 of the top 40. It’s a testament to the conference’s tradition as well as overall spending power. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
While the Big Ten might not have that top-five presence, that could certainly change quickly after the 2022 season and the fact that 12 of the top 40 coaches reside in the league is a testament to the conference’s coaching depth.
Let’s take a look at where every Big Ten coach ranks according to CBS.
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 11
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 53
As if Frost needed anything else to worry about these days, he begins the 2022 season ranked last among Big Ten coaches. His seat is about as hot as hot can get as the Huskers find themselves in desperate need of a successful season. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
This ranking really needs no explanation. Frost’s tenure at Nebraska has been a disaster thus far. If he’s to save his job, it has to happen now in 2022.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 14
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 50
Locksley had his best season at Maryland last year, but with the coaching depth in this conference, it’s hard to climb out of the basement with a 7-6 season. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
It’s tough sledding at a program like Maryland, and I think everybody understands that. Would another 7-6 season be enough to move Locksley up a notch or two in these rankings?
Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 6
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 40
Allen plummets this year after surprising so many in 2020. The Hoosiers were the Cinderella story of the Big Ten’s COVID year, going 6-2 and finishing the season ranked in the top 15. They followed it with a 2-10 record in 2021 and didn’t win a Big Ten game. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
Tom Allen and Indiana were the biggest disappointment in the league last season. It’s no surprise to see him come tumbling down the ranks.
Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 10
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 38
Bielema exceeded expectations in his first season at Illinois, nearly getting the Illini to a bowl game and picking up a couple of tough road wins against Penn State and Minnesota. Also, after starting the year 1-4 with some embarrassing losses, the Illini went 4-3 down the stretch and were in every game save for a 24-0 shellacking by Wisconsin. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
Save for a stint that he’d like to forget at Arkansas, Bret Bielema is proven as one of the better head coaches in the Power Five. He’s got a tough task ahead at Illinois, but year one was promising.
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 9
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 36
Few places have proven to be tougher to win at than Rutgers, and that’s only become more true since the program joined a division with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. Still, while the overall results haven’t come, it’s hard to argue that the Knights haven’t become a better football program since Schiano returned. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
Fornelli is right. Coaching at Rutgers now is harder than ever before when you think about that Big Ten East gauntlet. You’re splitting hairs at this point in the rankings, and I don’t have much problem with Schiano ahead of Bielema.
Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 12
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 30
Brohm led Purdue to its best finish since 2003 as the Boilermakers went 9-4 and capped the year off by beating Tennessee in an all-time thriller of a Music City Bowl. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
This will be the year where folks shape their opinions of Jeff Brohm at Purdue. Recruiting seems to be on an uptick and there’s optimism moving forward. Getting Aidan O’Connell back as one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks means it’s time to be a serious factor in the Big Ten West.
Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 8
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 24
We’ve got a climber on our hands! Tucker’s first season at Michigan State went poorly, but he walked into the program late in the hiring cycle and was immediately greeted by a pandemic. His first “normal” campaign went very well as the Spartans won 11 games, boasted a Heisman candidate on offense and won a Peach Bowl while finishing the season ranked in the top 10. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
CBS is asking the question many are asking: can Michigan State do it again? If the Spartans’ 2022 season resembles 2021 in the East with Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, then Mel Tucker is sure to shoot even higher up these rankings.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 7
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 23
Some were quick to write off the Gophers as a one-hit-wonder when they followed an 11-2 mark in 2019 with a 3-4 record in 2020, but Minnesota came back to go 9-4 last year and 6-3 in conference. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
It’s true of every coach and every team in the rankings, but P.J. Fleck strikes me as a head coach that is entering a very important season at Minnesota. There’s expectations that with Tanner Morgan back at quarterback the Golden Gophers can potentially win the West. If they do, then he’ll climb further up these rankings. If they don’t, he’ll tumble backwards behind a lot of these names simply because of what’s expected for Minnesota.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 2
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 21
Fitzgerald’s ranking is a lot like his Northwestern program. While he’s done far too much in Evanston to suffer significantly in our overall Power Five rankings, he’s gone up and down within the conference. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
It’s tough to knock Pat Fitzgerald too much even after Northwestern’s 3-9 (1-8 Big Ten) finish in 2021. Media and fans have seen the results in the past and have a ton of respect for what Fitzgerald has done with less. Still, he somewhat pays the price for what was a poor 2021 and I’d imagine he’s coming down these rankings again after 2022.
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 3
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 15
He’d long been considered one of the top coaches in the sport, but his rep is suffering a bit after going 11-11 over the last two seasons and only 8-10 in the Big Ten. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
Simply put, this season is gigantic for James Franklin’s reputation. He can’t afford another 7-6 overall record and fourth-place finish in the East and justify being ranked as one of college football’s top 15 coaches.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 5
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 14
I don’t know if Chryst moving up a spot from No. 5 to No. 4 will be enough to get Wisconsin fans to stop yelling at me about him being perennially under-appreciated in our rankings, but it’s a start, right? The irony is that the Badgers failed to win the West for the second consecutive season last year, so you’d think his reputation would suffer. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
If you want to justify this ranking, win the West. That’s the line in the sand for Paul Chryst entering 2022 to stay right here nationally and move up in the Big Ten coach rankings. The good news is he’s got the type of defense and running back in Braelon Allen that just might make that a reality.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Last year’s Big Ten ranking: No. 4
2022 Power Five ranking: No. 13
Consistency is harder and harder to come by in this sport, and Ferentz has delivered it in Iowa City for nearly a quarter of a century. The Hawkeyes are coming off a Big Ten West title and won 10 games last year, giving Ferentz a bit of a boost, though the failures of Penn State and Northwestern last year play a role here as well. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.
If Kirk Ferentz and Iowa win the West again, would that be enough to leapfrog him up to No. 2 in these rankings?
AP P