2023 Top 10 Group of 5 head coach rankings: Tulane's Willie Fritz headlines the list after a historic turnaround season
It’s that time of the year again. Offseason coaching rankings!
Over the next six weeks, I’ll release rankings for each Power 5 conference and the Top 10 Group of 5 coaches before a final Top 25 coaches in all of football.
I kickstarted the series with the 2023 SEC football head coach rankings. Then we released the 2023 Big Ten head coach rankings, the 2023 Pac-12 head coach rankings and the 2023 ACC head coach rankings. We closed the Power 5 rankings with the 2023 Big 12 head coaches.
Plenty of debates ensued.
Remember, this is a fun exercise and even if your favorite coach is ranked near the bottom of his conference’s list: A) He’s still considered a damn good football coach to have said job and B) That doesn’t mean I hate your team!
With that, this list is totally subjective. It’s my rankings. Some might weigh the overall body of work for a head coach. I take that into account, but college football has become the ultimate what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-business with the carousel constantly spinning.
The job of a head coach has changed in recent years, too. So for my rankings, I take into account recent performance, recruiting chops, hiring quality assistants, sending players to the NFL, working the transfer portal, etc.
Today, I look at the Top 10 2023 Group of Five/non-Notre Dame Independent head coaches. This list would’ve looked much differently just last season, but Luke Fickell, Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn and others are all at Power 5 programs now.
While the top of the rankings aren’t too surprising, the rest of the list is akin to picking your favorite flavor of ice cream.
1. Willie Fritz, Tulane
Willie Fritz engineered the biggest single-season turnaround in FBS history last season, turning a 2-10 Tulane team (with five losses by a touchdown or less) into a 12-2 bunch that won its first conference title in 24 years and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl.
Fritz, 63, has been a head coach since 1993, winning conference championships in junior college (Blinn), Division II (Central Missouri), FCS (Sam Houston State) and FBS (Georgia Southern and Tulane).
2. Jeff Traylor, UTSA
After consecutive Conference USA championships, Jeff Traylor is primed for a future Power 5 head coaching job — perhaps as soon as next season. Traylor is 30-10 at UTSA, winning double-digit games (11, 12) in back-to-back years.
The longtime Texas high school coach would be a perfect fit at many Big 12 jobs.
3. Jamey Chadwell, Liberty
Liberty’s new head coach built Coastal Carolina into a recent Group of 5 power, winning 31 games over the last three seasons with the Chanticleers.
Jamey Chadwell, who runs a modern spread-option offense, has been a head coach at four different schools, winning at least 10 games with three programs. He was in the mix for Georgia Tech’s opening and the move to Liberty looks like his next stepping stone before an eventual P5 job.
4. Jon Sumrall, Troy
Jon Sumrall has just a single season as a head coach, but he debuted in style — losing two of his first three games before leading the Trojans to 11-straight wins including a Sun Belt championship and a victory over UTSA in the bowl game.
The former Kentucky linebacker spearhead a Troy defense that ranked No. 8 nationally in yards per play (4.49) and held opponents under 20 points 10 times.
5. Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Somewhat quietly, Troy Calhoun has established Air Force as the current top football service academy, winning at least 10 games in the program’s last three full seasons.
Calhoun, a former Falcons’ quarterback, is among the longest-tenured coaches in the country. In 16 seasons in Colorado Springs, he has 10 years with at least eight wins and Air Force has won four straight bowl games.
6. Jeff Monken, Army
Jeff Monken is entering his 10th season at Army and is one of the school’s all-time coaches. After a five-year run where Army won at least nine games four times, the Black Knights had a tough 2022 season, going 6-6 — with two victories over FCS schools.
Still, Monken has shown an ability to consistently beat his fellow service academy brethren, winning five of the last seven of Navy and four of six against Air Force. Monken also had a successful tenure at Georgia Southern, winning at least 10 games in three of four seasons with two conference championships.
7. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
After taking two years off, Jeff Tedford came out of brief retirement to return to Fresno State in 2022 and lead the Bulldogs to a 10-4 season and a Mountain West Conference championship.
In four seasons at his alma mater, Tedford has three seasons with at least 10 wins. He also coached at Cal for 11 years, winning the Pac-12 Championship in 2006.
8. Tom Herman, FAU
Tom Herman was the most difficult coach on this list to rank, as the former Texas and Houston head coach has been away from college football for two years but has a resume that’s better than almost any head coach in the Group of 5.
Now at FAU, Herman was 32-18 at Texas, highlighted by a 10-4 season in 2018 with a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. He also went 13-1 with an AAC championship in Year 1 at Houston. In six years as a head coach, he’s never had a losing season and has four Top 25 finishes and a perfect 5-0 record in bowl games.
9. Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky
Tyson Helton has won exactly nine games in three of his four seasons as a head coach at WKU. The Hilltoppers have had one of the better offenses in the country during his tenure, especially finding success via transfer quarterbacks.
Bailey Zappe spent a year in the program in 2021 and set NCAA single-season records for yards and touchdowns. Last season, West Florida transfer quarterback Austin Reed put up ridiculous numbers (4,744 yards and 40 touchdowns) and returns to the team this fall.
10. Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan
Among the most underrated coaches in the country, Chris Creighton took over an EMU program that was considered the worst FBS team in the nation in 2014 — with a combined 20-90 record the previous 10 seasons.
It’s been a slow-burn rebuild with the Eagles, but Creighton, who was a very successful NAIA, D-III and FCS head coach, delivered the program its second-best season in school history — 131 years — with a 9-4 year in 2022.
After a 7-6 season in 2021, Eastern Michigan had back-to-back winning seasons for just the third time in school history (the first coming in 1986-87) since the program joined the MAC in 1976.
Best of the rest: Mike Houston, ECU; Charles Huff, Marshall; Jason Candle, Toledo