[daneblazer]

25. Charlie Strong, Texas: Strong waited a long time to get his first head coaching shot, and once he took over at Louisville, he didn't waste time building the Cardinals into a power. Now he's tasked with doing the same at Texas, and if he succeeds there, he'll climb these rankings even further.
24. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Gundy doesn't get a lot of recognition for what he's accomplished, but the closer you look at the job he's done at Oklahoma State, the more impressed you are. This is a program with five 10-win seasons in its entire history, and Gundy has three of them.
23. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona: Had things gone better at Michigan, Rodriguez would be ranked a lot higher. Still, the job he did at West Virginia and what he's doing right now at Arizona are enough to warrant finishing this high. We can only wonder if he'll try his hand at another "blue blood" should the chance come along.
22. Dabo Swinney, Clemson: It took Dabo four years to get it done but in 2011 he led Clemson to its first ACC title in 20 years. He's also won 42 games the last four years with the Tigers, and if he can get over the Florida State hump, he'll climb even higher.
21. Gary Pinkel, Missouri: This is as much a testament to Pinkel's longevity as it is what he's accomplished. He built Missouri into a legitimate contender in the Big 12, and he then responded to the popular opinion that Missouri would be sacrificed to the SEC gods by winning 23 games the last two years with two SEC East division titles. So, you know, there's a reason he's been around so long.
20. David Shaw, Stanford: Shaw hit the ground running after taking over for Jim Harbaugh, winning 34 games, two Pac-12 titles and a Rose Bowl in his first three seasons with the Cardinal. Things went backward in 2014, though, and how things go from here on out will be Shaw's real legacy with the Cardinal.
19. Bobby Petrino, Louisville: Say what you want about Petrino -- and a lot of people have said a lot of things about him -- you can't deny the fact that, wherever he's been as a college coach, he's won. Whether at Louisville, Arkansas, his one season at Western Kentucky, or now at Louisville again, he has a formula for success that just works.
18. Bret Bielema, Arkansas: His personality may rub some people the wrong way, but you can't deny what Bielema has done as a coach. He won three straight Big Ten titles before leaving for Arkansas, and after a rough start in 2013, the Hogs were a lot better than that 7-6 mark in 2014 might have you believe.
17. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: Beamer hasn't won an ACC title since 2010, nor has he won more than eight games in any of the last three years, but that doesn't erase what was a sparkling record before that. The only reason you know or care about Virginia Tech football is Beamer. His seven conference titles (three Big East, four ACC) and six BCS bowl appearance speak for themselves.
16. Bill Snyder, Kansas State: College football's lovable grandfather, Snyder is also one of the best coaches in the country. He took a Kansas State program that was non-existent to anybody outside the state of Kansas and created a respectable power. He's only won two Big 12 titles, but he's also won at least 10 games in eight of the 16 seasons the Wildcats have been in the Big 12 (he has nine 10-win seasons in 23 years at K-State).
15. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: Dantonio came up under Jim Tressel, and he's just about built Michigan State into one of Tressel's Ohio State teams. It took a while to get Sparty rolling, but Dantonio has won two Big Ten titles, a Rose Bowl and 53 games in the last five seasons. He's also beaten up on Michigan in the process.
14. Mark Helfrich, Oregon: Helfrich has only been at the helm for two years at Oregon, but in that time he's won 24 games and played for a national title. The question going forward will be how his Ducks teams perform without Marcus Mariota, and when they are filled with players he's recruited, not the remains of the Chip Kelly era.
13. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame: If ranking coaches who turn the purplest on the sidelines, Kelly would be a clear winner. As a coach, though, he's still done pretty well for himself. Kelly's Irish team played for a national title in 2012, which still holds weight, but the problem is that his win total has decreased each of the last two seasons.
12. Chris Petersen, Washington: Petersen is no doubt rated this highly thanks to everything he accomplished at Boise State. If we did these rankings two years ago, he'd definitely be in the top 10; however, after a couple of eight-win seasons, his Q rating has taken a bit of a hit.
11. Art Briles, Baylor: Briles loves the state of Texas, and a lot of people in Texas love Briles. And for good reason. He's won 89 games in his 12 seasons at Houston and Baylor, and that includes 40 wins in the last four seasons with Baylor. I mean, the man had Baylor -- Baylor! -- in the College Football Playoff conversation last year. Think about that.
10. Gus Malzahn, Auburn: The 2014 season was the first in Malzahn's career as a head coach that didn't end in a conference title. Even so, he's still a rock star with Auburn fans, and there aren't many college football fans in the country who wouldn't enjoy having Malzahn run their offense. He's both fun and successful so far, and that's a nice combination.
9. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: There are a lot of factors that got Harbaugh this high. There's what he accomplished in the NFL that no doubt plays a role, but mostly what he did at Stanford as well as what Stanford turned into even after he left. Harbaugh was the one that built that foundation, and if he does the same thing at Michigan his name will be mentioned with Bo Schembechler's, and not just because he played quarterback for him.
8. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State: I can already hear Florida State fans complaining about Fisher being this low. And they have a legitimate gripe! Fisher was tasked with rebuilding a Florida State program that had stagnated under Bobby Bowden and within five seasons he's won at least 10 games four times, three ACC titles and a national championship. That's one hell of a start, no?
7. Mark Richt, Georgia: When it comes to Richt, people spend too much time focusing on what he hasn't done rather than what he has accomplished. The man has coached 184 games with the Bulldogs and he's won 136 (74 percent) of them. He's won two SEC titles (the only two Georgia has won in the last 32 years) and six SEC East crowns. The only thing he's been guilty of has been coaching in a conference that's been the home of some of the best coaches and teams in the country the last 20 years.
6. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: The Head Ball Coach has accomplished plenty in his time as a college football coach -- his run at Florida was extremely impressive and included a national title in 1996 -- and he deserves to be ranked in the top 10. I'd be lying to you, though, if I didn't say that his personality definitely bumped him up a few spots. He's just fun.

Gary Patterson has gone 132-45 at TCU. (CBSSports.com)

5. Gary Patterson, TCU: From the Conference USA to the Mountain West and now the Big 12, it doesn't matter where Patterson has been coaching the Horned Frogs, he's made a habit of winning games. He has nine double-digit win seasons in 14 years, and after a minor adjustment period to Big 12 life, the Frogs went 12-1 last year and nearly qualified for the College Football Playoff. There's a reason Patterson is the highest ranked coach on this list without a national title to his name.

Les Miles won a national title at LSU in 2007, and played for another in 2011. (CBSSports.com)

4. Les Miles, LSU: Do I think Miles is a bit overrated here? Yes, yes I do. If he wasn't the cartoon character that is Les Miles, he'd no doubt drop a notch or two, but you know what? He's still been an excellent coach throughout his career. He helped reverse Oklahoma State's fortunes before taking over at LSU, and since going to Baton Rouge, he's won 78 percent of his games. One of those games was a BCS National Championship Game in 2007 (one of the 22 percent he lost was a BCS title game in 2011). The Mad Hatter has been both mad and successful.

Bob Stoops has won eight conference titles in 16 years at Oklahoma. (CBSSports.com)

3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Stoops has been so good at Oklahoma that it feels like he's sometimes a victim of his own success. In 16 seasons with the Sooners, he's only failed to win at least 10 games four times, and Oklahoma fans act like the sky is falling when it happens. But at the end of the day, this is a coach who has won a national title as well as eight Big 12 titles in 16 years. He's 168-44 overall and 104-28 in conference play! What's not to love here?

Only one active coach has more national titles to his name than Urban Meyer. (CBSSports.com)

2. Urban Meyer, Ohio State: Meyer may have only finished in second place in these rankings, but he was incredibly close to taking the top spot. Simply put, there's only one coach you would even consider hiring over Meyer if you had your pick of the litter, and it's not exactly a clear choice. He's 142-26 in his career as a head coach, including includes three national titles at two different schools. And he's only 50 years old. The odds are better that he'll finish with at least four national titles than the odds of him finishing with only three. The only thing that can stop Urban is Urban.

Nick Saban's record at LSU and Alabama speaks for itself, but the four titles help, too. (CBSSports.com)

1. Nick Saban, Alabama: It says a lot about what Saban has done at Alabama that when the Tide go two years without winning a national title you start to wonder if Saban's losing "it." Putting aside the fact that Saban has won four national championships and five SEC titles as a coach, though, there's another fact about Saban that blows my mind. Think about how powerful the SEC has been since the dawn of the BCS era. Now realize that in his 13 seasons as an SEC coach, he's lost only 23 SEC games. That's right, in the toughest division of the toughest conference in the country, Saban has managed to win 77 percent of the time. Hell, at Alabama he's only lost 11 SEC games in eight seasons. Has your head exploded yet?!

[James Marques]

I stopped reading at number 7