Top five worst college football coaches to deal with?

I dealt with Beamer a little bit when he was at Murray State. Seemed like a good guy.

My all-time great: John Merritt at Tennessee State. Every summer I would look forward to calling him to see what was up with his Tigers before the local college team went to Nashville to get their butts kicked by TSU.

 

And what has Groh done to earn our respect, or earn the right to treat people like shit, or to prove he's not an idiot? He backed into the Jets' job when Belichick one-upped Parcells--who quit on the Jets so that Kraft couldn't get Belichick--by quitting as the HC of the NYJ. Then he parlayed one mediocre season and shitty finish, during which the entire locker room hated his guts, into the UVA gig. And what's he done there? Oh boy, five second-tier bowl games.

Without being in the right place at the right time for a franchise in the midst of an ownership change, he'd be running the chains Friday nights at Manhasset HS.

Fuck that guy. Biggest piece of shit I've ever dealt with, in my admittedly meager career.

 

Worst:

1. Saban (Not even close)
2. Dennis Erickson
3. Al Groh
4. Bill Snyder (Yes, he still is)
5. Mike Leach

Best:

1. Bobby Bowden
2. Mack Brown
3. Joe Paterno
4. Jim Tressel
5. Rich Rodriguez (I have no idea what he is like at Michigan)

 

I'm with Ace. This thread has turned out better than expected.

 

Erickson is/was an alcoholic who's been exposed as a fraud at schools and with organizations where the cupboard hasn't been stacked for him upon arrival.

 

Worst

1. Snyder
2. Saban
3. Meyer
4. Weis
5. Paterno

Best

1. Bowden
2. Carroll
3. Tuberville
4. Richt
5. Beamer

Guys who can easily be on both lists...

1. Spurrier
2. Neuheisel
3. Davis
4. Leach
5. Brown

 

have you covered Erickson? It's shocking if you have, because he's always been great to work with.

 

Never had problems with him.

 

Paging Blitz, please come to the (maroon-and-)white courtesy phone ...

 

My central point was that no amount of accomplishment earns anyone the right to treat people like shit.

And I'd agree that if there was some level that earned you that right, Groh's performance as a head coach is nowhere close. But it seems to me ludicrous to suggest he hasn't had a very successful coaching career, by any objective measurement. He's arrogant about the fact that he knows more football than you, which unfortunately is the turf on which you meet him. It's all very Bobby Knight.

Oddly, the best interaction I ever had with him came before I covered him regularly, when we did a quick phone interview about some ex-Cavaliers pursuing NFL careers. I guess he liked me more when I wasn't digging for information about his quarterback's injuries.

EDIT: To reflect the fact that it is in no way odd that he was nice to me when I was writing a fluff feature.

 

Meyer is not the problem, Florida is. He was fine at Utah, but the attitude in Gainesville is paranoia toward the media to the extreme and he's gone with the flow. If Meyer left UF at the end of this season and they hired a guy from your best list today, he'd be on your worst list two years from now.

 

I was under the impression that the head coach in big-time college football set the tone, not the other way around.

Speaking of Groh, is it true that Virginia won't release a list on signing day, and all the hacks have to call every kid remotely interested in Virginia to cull the list together?

PS: Dennis Erickson was hot and cold with writers. I heard a lot of good things from the UM hacks when he was at Miami. Butch Davis would lie his ass off to you, but was still pretty good. I forgot Rich Rod. Should have been a top-five candidate on my list. Good guy, but Lord what a bunch of thugs he's turned out. Pac-Man and Chris Henry, to name two.