There are plenty of important people in the college football ecosystem. We picked out who we believe to be the top 20 this coming season. Here is a look at Nos. 11-15 as we count down to No. 1 in our new 20 for 2020 series this week.
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COUNTDOWN: Most important countdown, Nos. 16-20
MORE: Ten teams that needed spring practice the most
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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15. Joe Castiglione - Oklahoma athletic director
Castiglione has earned his bona fides as one of the best athletics directors in the country as he hired Bob Stoops early in his career and that paid off handsomely for the Sooners. His next big project might be his most important: Keeping Lincoln Riley in Norman.
Riley is only 36 years old and he’s already 36-6 as a head coach, 24-3 in the Big 12, and he has Oklahoma involved in the College Football Playoff hunt every season. His offense is nearly unstoppable, he’s managed the quarterback position exquisitely early in his tenure and if the Sooners’ defense can keep improving then a national title could be around the corner.
But the NFL could be intriguing. There were rumors of Riley and the Dallas Cowboys job before Mike McCarthy filled that. NFL coaches constantly are picking Riley’s brain about his offense. Owners want him for the long haul. Can Castiglione find ways to keep Riley at Oklahoma when the big lights and the challenge of winning a Super Bowl are out there?
Farrell’s take: The pressure will continue to mount for Castiglione to keep Riley happy at Oklahoma and hold off the NFL and that’s no easy task with the money that guys like former Big 12 coaches Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Rhule have found in the NFL. He will either keep his talented coach in the fold or make another key hire, but Castiglione has become the most important AD in the conference.
14. Ed Orgeron - LSU coach
Orgeron was a disaster at Ole Miss, going 10-25 and winning only three SEC games in three seasons in Oxford. He wanted the USC job badly but according to reports, the decision-makers there didn’t like what Orgeron “sounded like”, so he got passed up for the job.
Fate took over and Orgeron landed the LSU job to numerous doubters and last season he led the Tigers to an undefeated year and the national championship. Quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman and should be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Many others should be drafted, possibly a record-number for the Tigers.
The trick for Orgeron is to now continue building on that success. It will be a challenge with so many elite players leaving, but LSU is a superpower in the SEC now, recruiting is going really well and Orgeron is right where he wants to be.
Farrell’s take: Orgeron has won a national title as a head coach. Those are words I never thought I’d type. And with that comes some clout. His recruiting has always been impressive but he’s even taken that to the next level as well and LSU is a true threat to Alabama for SEC West dominance.
13. Kirby Smart
If there has been one consistent threat to toppling Alabama as the SEC Goliath, it has been Georgia, although the Bulldogs have not bested the Crimson Tide yet. In the national championship game in 2017, Alabama staged a second-half rally behind Tua Tagovailoa to beat Georgia. In the SEC title game in 2018, the Crimson Tide staged a late second-half rally and then beat Georgia in the last minute.
Smart - and Georgia fans - have high expectations for the future in Athens. The Georgia coach is only 44 years old, he has almost won a national title already and recruiting has been off the charts as the Bulldogs have won the last three team recruiting titles.
With high hopes, though, come demands. SEC East titles no longer seem good enough. National titles are not out of reach and it feels like Georgia and Smart could be the team of the future in college football’s best conference.
Farrell’s take: Smart has quickly changed the recruiting dynamic in the Southeast and has taken the recruiting title away from Nick Saban and Alabama. He’s also come one play from winning a national title and owns the SEC East. He still has to get over the SEC West hump, but the way he’s recruiting that shouldn’t take long.
12. Jim Harbaugh - Michigan coach
A debate could definitely be had that Harbaugh is the most important football person in the Big Ten, but lackluster showings during his tenure in Ann Arbor slid him down behind Day. Michigan has only finished better than third in its own division once in Harbaugh’s five years, but any call that he’s on a hot seat or feeling any pressure seem unimaginable at this point.
Still, Harbaugh has not beaten Ohio State yet - always the measure for coaches in Ann Arbor and Columbus - and that has to be gnawing at Michigan fans. The Wolverines finished with the second-best recruiting class in the Big Ten in 2020, a positive step forward, and they’re recruiting really well so far in 2021. Elite prospects still want to play for Harbaugh and that’s a positive sign.
A challenging schedule awaits. Michigan opens against Washington and then plays Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State all before mid-October. Harbaugh has never turned down a challenge and this will be his next.
Farrell’s take: Harbaugh is always the talk of college football because of his outspoken nature and odd mannerisms. And the pressure he is under at Michigan to finally win his division and beat Ohio State makes for tremendous drama in the Big Ten. Harbaugh is one of the names that keeps college football a constant topic of conversation and he’s also one of the highest paid people in the sport. All of that makes him influential.
11. Ryan Day - Ohio State coach
Taking over for legendary coach Urban Meyer is no easy task but Day did the best job possible in Year 1 with the Buckeyes, leading them to a 13-1 record with their only loss coming in the Fiesta Bowl, a last-minute loss to Clemson. Last season, in Ohio State’s 13 wins, its average margin of victory was 36 points.
Not only has Day proven to be an excellent coach, but the Buckeyes are also recruiting really well as they finished fifth overall in the 2020 team recruiting rankings led by five-star signees Julian Fleming, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Paris Johnson, Jr. Ohio State currently has the top-rated overall class in the 2021 rankings.
And the NFL Draft is coming up with Ohio State star defensive players Chase Young and Jeffrey Okudah possibly as top-five picks. Day has done a masterful job taking over the Buckeyes in recruiting, with in-game coaching and with draft preparation. The Buckeyes are unquestionably the Big Ten’s best team and its best chance to win a national title.
Farrell’s take: Day has quickly become one of the most influential coaches in college football in just one full season at Ohio State. He has already taken his team to the playoff, landed the biggest transfer since the portal became a big deal in Justin Fields and his recruiting is off the charts. Ohio State will win a national title under Day, I have zero doubt.
