It's a year of significant change in our Big Ten coach rankings. That change starts at the top, where Jim Harbaugh rides back-to-back conference titles, College Football Playoff appearances and head-to-head wins over Ohio State to the top spot in the conference.
But that's not all that looks different. In our Power Five coach rankings last season, the Big Ten did not have a top-five coach, and only two were in the top 10, but the conference did well overall. It finished with eight coaches in the top 25 and 12 in the top 40.
This year, not only did Harbaugh crack the top five, but the Big Ten supplied four of the top 10 coaches in our poll. However, according to our panel, a chasm has formed between the top of the league and everybody else. The conference now only has six top-25 coaches and eight in the top 40, and after finishing with an average rank of 26.6 last season, this year's number is 32.1.
While there wasn't just one reason for this, the most significant factor was the plummeting stock of Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. That affected the league's overall standing, but how did it impact their standing within the league? Let's find out.
Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-69
2023 Big Ten Coach Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Jim Harbaugh (4 overall): Harbaugh's ascension to No. 1 doesn't come as much of a surprise given Michigan's consecutive Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances. Harbaugh's revitalized the program, and if you remove the 2020 COVID season (given some of the results we saw around the country, maybe we should), the Wolverines are 44-10 over the last four full seasons. The next step is winning a playoff game. Last year: 2 in Big Ten | |
| 2 |  |
| Ryan Day (8 overall): The best indicator of Ryan Day's success is that the Buckeyes went 11-2 last year, reached the College Football Playoff, and it hurt his standing among our voters. Seriously, the Buckeyes lost to Michigan and Georgia (two playoff teams!), and people are like, "I don't know, I think he's lost his fastball, you guys." Of course, that comes with the territory when you're the Ohio State coach and you've lost two straight to Michigan. Last year: 1 in Big Ten | |
| 3 |  |
| Luke Fickell (9 overall): Seems pretty high for a guy who went 6-6 as head coach at Ohio State, doesn't it? I'm kidding, though I have had some fans question Wisconsin's hire of Fickell for that reason. It's true; Fickell did go 6-6 as an interim at Ohio State. Since then, however, he went 57-18 at Cincinnati and led the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff as the only Group of Five program to accomplish the feat. And if you remove Fickell's first season with the Bearcats, he went 53-10 overall and 33-5 in conference the last five seasons. Last year: N/A | |
| 4 |  |
| James Franklin (10 overall): Franklin's reputation took a bit of a hit following the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but Penn State rebounded last year to go 11-2 and win the Rose Bowl. Its only two losses came to Michigan and Ohio State. Penn State is once again the clear-cut No. 3 team in the league (at least until 2024), but if Franklin is going to climb any higher, he needs to beat Michigan and Ohio State more consistently; he's 4-14 against them since taking the Penn State job. Last year: 5 in Big Ten | |
| 5 |  |
| Bret Bielema (21 overall): Bielema finished last season ranked No. 38 overall and No. 11 in the Big Ten. I don't make a habit of tooting my own horn, but in this story last year I wrote, "while a bowl game in 2022 isn't the expectation outside Champaign, it's not as far out of reach as many realize." Illinois went 8-5, nearly beat Michigan, and Bielema climbed to the league's top half because of it. His six-spot rise is the biggest jump any Big Ten coach made this year. Last year: 11 in Big Ten | |
| 6 |  |
| P.J. Fleck (24 overall): The man keeps rowing the boat. Minnesota has become one of the more underrated programs in the country, and I don't think Fleck gets enough credit for it. The Gophers have not won a division title, but they're 29-10 overall and 18-9 in the Big Ten over the last three full seasons. Last year: 7 in Big Ten | |
| 7 |  |
| Matt Rhule (27 overall): Rhule returns to the college game after an unsuccessful stint with the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Fortunately for Rhule and Nebraska, the list of coaches who have failed in the NFL only to return to college with success is quite long. Of course, the list of coaches who have failed to resurrect Nebraska is growing longer, too. If somebody can finally wake this program up, it's Rhule. He's undergone program rebuilds at Temple and Baylor, so the track record is there. Last year: N/A | |
| 8 |  |
| Kirk Ferentz (30 overall): Nobody falls further in the Big Ten rankings than Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, and as I wrote in our full Power Five rankings, I don't understand why. The Hawkeyes went 8-5 last year with a bad offense and incredible defense, and that's basically what they've been doing for the last quarter century. While we don't know for sure, there are plenty of signs that Iowa is changing its offensive approach for 2023 by actively using the transfer portal to bring in a new QB and pass-catchers. If Iowa "rebounds" in 2023, will our voters do the same? Last year: 3 in Big Ten | |
| 9 |  |
| Pat Fitzgerald (45 overall): While Ferentz fell further within the conference than anybody else, nobody dropped as many spots in the overall rankings as Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. Fitz's tenure with the Wildcats has been remarkable, but there's no denying the last few years have been bad. Yes, the Wildcats won the West during the COVID campaign, but they're only 7-29 in the last three full seasons and 3-24 in the Big Ten. The offense has disappeared, and the defense hasn't been the same since defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz retired. Last year: 6 in Big Ten | |
| 10 |  |
| Mel Tucker (47 overall): Last season Mel Tucker climbed from No. 13 in the B1G to No. 8 after winning 11 games and the Peach Bowl. Tuck falls back down to Earth a bit after a disappointing 5-7 record last season, and the Spartans had a couple of key departures in the transfer portal this offseason. The 2023 season is setting up to be an important one for Tucker and the Spartans, and my gut tells me we'll see things even out. I didn't think Michigan State was as good as its 11-2 record indicated in 2021, nor did I think it was as bad as 5-7 said last year. Last year: 8 in Big Ten | |
| 11 |  |
| Mike Locksley (49 overall): There may not be a coach in the league in a bigger hurry to eliminate divisions than Locksley. Maryland has steadily improved every season under Locksley, but nobody seems to notice because the Terps are buried beneath the East's traditional powers. Hence, while the win total in conference play has improved yearly, the Terps are yet to finish with a winning conference record under Locksley. Last year: 13 in Big Ten | |
| 12 |  |
| Greg Schiano (50 overall): We're going the wrong way in Piscataway. Schiano took over during the COVID season, and the Scarlet Knights went 3-6. While they improved their win total to five in 2021, their Big Ten record fell to 2-7. Last year, they won only four games and their conference record dropped to 1-8. It's no surprise to see Schiano drop a few spots here because of it. Last year: 10 in Big Ten | |
| 13 |  |
| Tom Allen (62 overall): It would be easy to write off Indiana's 2020 campaign as a fluke and the result of the strange COVID season, but to do so ignores that the Hoosiers went 8-5 and 5-4 in the Big Ten the season before. Unfortunately, the they haven't come close since. After going 24-21 in Allen's first four seasons, the Hoosiers are 6-18 the last two years and 2-16 in the Big Ten. Last year: 12 in Big Ten | |
| 14 |  |
| Ryan Walters (64 overall): As a first-time head coach, it comes as no surprise that Ryan Walters begins his tenure at the bottom of the list. He inherits an interesting program, though. Purdue won the Big Ten West last season, and a win against Illinois and Walters' Illini defense played a key role in that happening. Boilermakers fans hope he can bring the same defensive improvement he oversaw in Champaign and pair it with a potent offense. Last year: N/A | |
