Florida College Football Head Coach Rankings

In college football, coaching is proven to be an important part of a program’s success. In past years, teams have competed for conference championships due to recruiting, schemes, and in-game adjustments by the head coach. We evaluate the top head coaches for FBS teams in Florida:

1. Dan Mullen

While many may disagree, Dan Mullen is responsible for the development of several quarterbacks including Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott, and Kyle Trask. He is often undervalued due to the lack of a championship on his resume as a Head Coach. However, we often forget that he was the offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer when the Florida Gators ruled the SEC. As an offensive genius, expect Mullen to continue to compete for SEC Championships for years to come. While we can’t necessarily blame him when Alabama and Georgia are powerhouses, Dan Mullen should be recognized as a top 10 head coach.   

2. Gus Malzahn

In a way, Gus Malzahn followed a similar path as Dan Mullen. Gus was the offensive coordinator under Gene Chizik when Auburn won the National Championship in 2010. To be fair, they did have an athletic freak at QB: Cam Newton. Regardless, Malzahn deserves the No. 2 spot simply because he beat Nick Saban three times. That number itself is astounding. Sure, you can say he won an SEC Championship in 2013 with a National Championship appearance, but that season was a good luck charm, unfortunately. As an experienced head coach in the SEC, it’s impossible to put him lower.

3. Manny Diaz

In 2019, Manny Diaz became Head Coach of the Miami Hurricanes after being a defensive coach from 2016-2018. So far as HC, Diaz has a 14-10 overall record. But what stands out about Diaz as a Head Coach is his defensive intelligence. In 2017, the Miami defense carried the team to the ACC Championship with a regular season record of 10-1. Of course, they did get smoked in the Championship by Clemson, but that season earned him the right to be the Head Coach. This past year, the Hurricanes went 8-3 with blowout losses to Clemson and North Carolina. Miami returns a lot of starters, so they will compete for an ACC Championship and a placement in the New Year’s Six bowl games. This could elevate Manny Diaz’s coaching experience and his ability as a defensive coach.  

But most importantly, Diaz will try to build back a program that has been mediocre for more than 15 years. Miami has never won an ACC Championship, they’ve won the Coastal Division just once, and they have just one 10-win season since 2003. Building Miami back into a team that is contending on a yearly basis is going to take time and will require patience, a virtue which is hard to find among Canes fans. But if anyone can do it, it’s Manny Diaz.

4. Mike Norvell

There is an argument to be made for Mike Norvell to be higher than Diaz, and it’s completely valid. After Norvell finished his term as OC at Arizona State, he led the Memphis Tigers to four straight bowl games during his four years as a Head Coach there. But because of new expectations, Mike Norvell can’t be put ahead of Manny Diaz. Florida State is now a struggling program since the departure of Jimbo Fisher. Some may describe Norvell as an offensive genius, but can he coach and recruit players who are recognized as the top tier coming out of high school? Well, we have to see it to believe it. However, Norvell deserves respect for earning an AAC championship in 2019, but it’s a step up in the ACC.

5. Willie Taggart

Willie Taggart did an impeccable job at South Florida, leading them to a 10-2 record and a trip to the Birmingham Bowl in 2016. He did the best he could at Florida State with an overall 9-12 record. Now, Taggart is a respectable head coach at Florida Atlantic. 

While Florida Atlantic has low expectations, Willie Taggart has high expectations, making tons of moves this offseason. Taggart and the FAU Owls football team added former University of Miami dual-threat quarterback N’Kosi Perry. FAU also added transfer kicker Logan Lupo from Louisville.

But most importantly, Taggart found a way to get a former Super Bowl MVP on FAU’s coaching staff. Yes, former Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward is joining Taggart’s coaching staff. Ward, who was an NFL wide receiver from 1998-2011, will be working with the program in some capacity, most likely with the receivers. In 2020, Owls receivers finished with 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns on 122 receptions as the passing offense was ranked 117th out of 127 FBS programs. 

6. Jeff Scott

Jeff Scott is a two-time National Champion due to his time as a wide receivers coach at Clemson. However, the move to Head Coach at USF has not worked well thus far. While it was only his first year as a College Football Head Coach, Scott and USF finished with a 1-8 record.

But, USF fans may be lucky. Jeff Scott has already made some major changes and has addressed what went wrong last year. Scott realized that he spent too much of last year micromanaging practice and meeting schedules. Now that he knows his support staff better, Scott is handing more of those responsibilities to his director of football operations, Albert Boone.