(ThyBlackMan.com) The college football regular season is at about one-third over as most teams have played at least four games in their season. There are still several teams with hopes of winning conference championships and having the possibly of playing in the College Football Playoff. At the highest level of college football, which is the Football Bowl Subdivision that is also known as the FBS, the consensus top two head coaches are Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. There are also head coaches of FBS programs that are quality head coaches who are black in a sport were a large percentage of players are black. Currently, there are 13 black head coaches out of the 130 NCAA’s FBS college football schools and universities. Here is the ranking of all those coaches from worst to first:
12.
(Tie) Thomas Hammock-Northern Illinois and Mel Tucker-Colorado: This is a default ranking. It is not possible to rank either guy ahead of others on this list because neither has been a college football head coach before this season. Hammock and Tucker were the only two black head coaches hired to FBS programs in 2019 who had zero head coaching experience at the collegiate football level. Hammock was previously the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL and takes over his alma mater while Tucker was most recently the defensive coordinator at Georgia.
11.
Mike Locksley-Maryland: It might seem strange that a guy with a recent offensive resume like Locksley’s would be ranked so low on this list but his first head coaching stint at New Mexico was a disaster as he went 2-26 there. The arrow could be potentially pointing up for a Maryland football program with a cloudy past that welcomes back a guy with local ties like Locksley.
10.
Frank Wilson-UTSA: Football at University of Texas-San Antonio is far from a household name so Wilson had his hands full taking this job prior to the 2016 college football season but he impressively led UTSA to a winning conference record and a bowl game in his first year there. The team has regressed in the couple of years since then so this is an important season for him and the program.
9.
Lovie Smith-Illinois: Lovie Smith’s name is well known to football fans over the past two decades. He has been the most successful head coach for the Chicago Bears since Mike Ditka and one of the branches of the Tony Dungy coaching tree. His foray into college football as the head coach of Illinois has gotten off to a slow start in his first three years as he tries to get Illinois to a bowl game this season.
8.
Herm Edwards-Arizona State: Like Lovie Smith, Herm Edwards is part of Tony Dungy’s coaching tree and has been a NFL head coaching name for the past two decades as he coached the New York Jets and in Kansas City. His gregarious personality as a NFL television analyst also has made him a relevant football personality since he was fired from Kansas City. He had a good college football head coaching debut with Arizona State last season by going 7-6 and could very well improve that record this season.
7.
Derek Mason-Vanderbilt: Mason has not had a winning season in his five years at Vanderbilt so it might seem head-scratching that he ranks in the middle of this list. However, winning consistently at Vanderbilt is extremely challenging thanks to his high academic standards and playing in the SEC. He has led the team to two bowl appearances and is even putting some talent into the NFL.
6.
Willie Taggart-Florida State: It is hard to argue that Florida State had one of the most disappointing seasons among college football teams in 2018. Taggart took over a program that had won at least ten games three out the prior four seasons before his first season with them ended at 5-7. He has had offensive success in his previous head coaching stops but now faces pressure that he has never faced before at a big-time college football program.
5.
Dino Babers-Syracuse: Babers continues the recent trend of black coaches who are known more for offense than defense. He was a big success with Bowling Green prior to joining Syracuse before leading the Orange to their best season since 2001 last year. With Florida State having numerous question marks, it is Babers and Syracuse who could consistently challenge for being the second best team in the ACC Atlantic Division to Clemson.
4.
Charlie Strong-South Florida: Strong’s success with Louisville seems very long ago but do not forget that in 2017 he was 10-2 in his first season with South Florida. The turmoil that Strong faced as the head coach at the University of Texas clouds the fact that he is still 25 games over .500 as a head coach overall. He can recruit and knows the area well from his previous coaching stops and USF fans need to be patient even with the success of rival UCF.
3.
Kevin Sumlin-Arizona: Black coaches don’t get hit with the coaching “genius” label due to racial stereotypes but Sumlin was given that moniker earlier in the decade during his time coaching Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M. His debut season with Arizona ended in a disappointing 5-7 in 2018 but don’t be surprised if he turns Arizona into a consistent nine win team in the near future.
2.
James Franklin-Penn State: There are a lot of resources that come with being the head coach of Penn State including the history and location of high school talent but there is also a lot of pressure. Franklin gets some unusual flack from the outside for some strange losses but he has the program on steady ground since the Jerry Sandusky/Joe Paterno controversy from earlier in the decade. Penn State is back to being a perennial threat in the Big Ten due to Franklin.
1.
David Shaw-Stanford: While Jim Harbaugh gets the credit for getting Stanford back into the national spotlight, David Shaw has sustained and built on his success. He has found a way to recruit at a pretty high level, produce NFL talent, and winning division and conference championships during his tenure there. The winningest coach in Stanford history, David Shaw is respected in virtually all areas as a head coach.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines