By: MArk Bradley (ajc.com) –
This morning’s post regarding Matt Hayes‘ ranking of the top college football coaches in Sporting News set me to thinking. (That’s never a good thing, but sometimes it happens.) “You, M. Bradley,” I said to myself, “need to do a list of your own.” And, possibly for the better but more probably for the worse, I have. Herewith, the inaugural edition of dumb ol’ MB’s Top 10 Coaches:

10. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Used to win all his big games; now loses all his big games. I wonder how he’d do in the SEC East. (Not well, I don’t think.)

9. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech: Does what he does and does it wherever he goes. He and Jim Grobe of Wake Forest are the best pure coaches in the land.

8. Mark Richt, Georgia: I used to think a national championship was inevitable, and maybe it still is. But I can’t say Richt had his finest hour in 2008.

7. Les Miles, LSU: What can I say? The guy has grown on me. And I liked the action he took to fix his defense. (Feel free to make obvious Georgia comparison.)

6. Pete Carroll, Southern Cal: I know, I know. This seems a little low. But he loses way too many games he shouldn’t. He’s the antithesis of Vincent J. Dooley.

5. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: How many games can you win with defense and blocked kicks? At last count, 176. (Plus two ties.)

4. Nick Saban, Alabama: I’m not sure he’s quite as great as his malignant aura would suggest — there’s only one Evil Genius, after all — but he’s really good.

3. Jim Tressel, Ohio State: Yeah, I know Ohio State looked awful against Florida and LSU. But the Buckeyes are about to win another BCS title soon enough.

2. Mack Brown, Texas: He has the rep of being just a recruiter, but does he recruit any better than Carroll? And who won when those two guys’ best teams met?

1. Urban Meyer, Florida: I don’t much care for him, either, but you can’t argue with the results. He has two national titles in less time than it took Steve Spurrier to win one.

Before I leave, let me anticipate a few questions. Who’s No. 11? The aforementioned Jim Grobe. Where’s Spurrier himself? Well, he’s coaching South Carolina, which renders him irrelevant in the grand scheme. And where’s Chris Petersen? Last I checked, he’s in Boise.