Miami Hurricanes HC Mark Richt named best coach in ACC Coastal
In rankings produced by the Charleston, SC Post and Courier, Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mark Richt was named the ACC Coastal’ Division’s best coach. He only trailed Clemson’s Dabo Swinney in the ACC’s overall rankings.
In Mark Richt’s two seasons, the Miami Hurricanes have won 19 and lost 7. Richt led UM to their first ACC Coastal Division title last season and subsequent first appearance in the conference championship game.
The overall coaching rankings combined the ACC and SEC. Richt finished fourth there. Nick Saban from Alabama was obviously first. Florida’s Dan Mullen was questionably third ahead of Richt.
Richt enters the 2018 season with a 164-68 overall career record. He was 145-51 in 15 seasons at Georgia before coming to Miami.
In Athens, Richt won two SEC Championships, six SEC Eastern Division titles and made five appearances in the SEC Championship game. His teams have never finished lower than third place in their conference division. Richt has led his teams to five major bowl appearances.
Mullen has a career record of 69-46. During his recently completed nine-year run at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs finished as high as second in the SEC West only once. That was in 2014 when MSU went 10-3 overall. The Bulldogs began that season 9-0.
Mississippi State made its only major bowl appearance under Mullen that season. They were thumped 49-34 in the Orange Bowl by Georgia Tech,
Every other year they finished fourth or fifth. While some might argue the SEC West is the best Division in the country, the production is not as good as what Richt has produced.
Live Feed
Dawn of the Dawg
Because Miami fans are going to want to know, Florida State’s Willie Taggart was ranked 12th overall. That seems generous for a Head Coach that has gone 47-50 in eight years as a Head Coach.
Taggart has only one season better than 8-5. Throw out the 10-2 season Taggart had at South Florida in 2016 and his career record is 37-48.
He has had two seasons with a 2-10 record. Richt’s two worst seasons were a pair of 8-5 records at Georgia.
The most surprising ranking on the list was LSU’s Ed Orgeron. The Post Courier’s Gene Sapakoff ranked the former Mississippi (where he went 3-21 in the SEC) and USC Head Coach 28th and last between the two conferences.
Their reasoning was Orgeron’s refusal to allow the Tigers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada to run his offense last season. Sapakoff also cited that LSU’s 9-4 record in 2017 should have been better. Miami opens the season against LSU on September 2.
Their criteria for the rankings were as follows.
"“Criteria for ranking SEC and ACC coaches? It’s a mix of accomplishment and projection and this question: Which coach do you want right now if you’re a fan of a Hypothetical State U. Fightin’ Catfish program with a job opening?”"
Kirby Smart who replaced Richt at Georgia is fifth. Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher who left Florida State for the Aggies is seventh. Sapakoff likes Miami’s future under Richt’s leadership.
"“Hurricane warning: Miami might take over the ACC Coastal. An ACC Championship Game appearance in Richt’s second season in Coral Gables was just a start.”"
Two other Coastal Division Coaches were ranked in the top ten. Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente who entered the ACC in 2016 with Richt was sixth and Duke’ David Cutcliffe was 10th.
Next: Miami Hurricanes 8th
Fuente has a 45-31 overall record in six years as a Head Coach at Memphis and Virginia Tech. He is a half-game behind Richt at 19-8 in two seasons at Virginia Tech. Cutcliffe has done a sensational job rebuilding Duke into a respectable football program.