Actually 24th out of 128 is ahead of 81% of the field and that's not good enough especially taking into account (as the article points out) that, "LSU has averaged a 6.8 finish nationally in recruiting rankings over the last five years" (top 94%).
Mark Helfrich doesn't get the credit he deserves! last year: Helfrich as a 2nd year head coach who's never been a head coach before, with a 2nd year offensive coordinator calling plays, who's never been a OC before, and a first year defensive coordinator who's never been a DC before. All Helfrich did was post a 12-2 record, ended the defending National Champions winning streak at 29, beating them 59-20, and leading the Ducks into the National Championship Game. In 2 years Helfrich has a record of 24-4, yet is ranked the 34th best coach behind; 33. Gary Andersen, Oregon State,.. who has a career record of 49-38 (7 years) 31. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech,.. 165-74, long time coach, but never has won anything 30. Charlie Strong, Texas,.. went 6-7 last year, 43-23 over 5 years 28. Jerry Kill, Minnesota,.. a 25-26 record over 4 years at Minn. 25. Butch Jones, Tennessee,.. 12-13 record with the Volunteers 22. James Franklin, Penn State,.. 7-6 last year, 31-24 (4 years) 21 David Shaw, Stanford,.. 42-12 (4 years), inherited a great team 18. David Cutcliffe, Duke,.. 40-48 (7 years), what has he ever won? An absolutely terrible list,.. ...all done venting now, thanks for listening Go Ducks
im pretty certain most people outside of the pac12 couldnt tell you who helfrich is. doesnt necessarily diminish his value but hes simply the dude who replaced chip kelly. i forget our coaches name but hes the dude who replaced nick saban.
ok, I get that, but this guy's passing himself off as a national expert, he should be more edgecated than most people. Still, it's better than this recent pac12 list; http://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-pac-12s-college-football-coaches-2015 1. Todd Graham, Arizona State 2. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona 3. David Shaw, Stanford 4. Chris Petersen, Washington 5. Kyle Whittingham, Utah 6. Gary Andersen, Oregon State 7. Mark Helfrich, Oregon 8. Jim Mora, UCLA 9. Steve Sarkisian, USC 10. Mike Leach, Washington State 11. Sonny Dykes, California 12. Mike MacIntyre, Colorado Simply horrible and stupid, don't they check the credentials before hiring these experts?.. small consolation,.. at least Helf beat out, "seven and six Steve" from USC. Ducks are due to get all new uniforms this year!!!
They all have their own criteria and sometimes bias in making these lists. Athlon's list is as farcical as the on in the OP, IMO. I have no problem listing Helfrich in the the top 3, if not 2. Graham at the #1 spot is a joke. Whittingham has traditionally done less with more than almost any other coach I can think of.....but he's a nice guy, lol. Petersen came into Washington with perhaps the highest expectations of any coach and didn't do shit. Sarkisian can recruit and he left behind plenty of talent. In fact, Sark coached 5 1st rounders in this year's draft. Can he coach? I don't know yet but it's stupid to gauge a coach who hasn't had a full roster. Sanctions are over for the most part but he's not played with the same tools as the rest of the conference.
