2019 Mountain West Football Head Coach Rankings
Who tops the list this year?
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Who are the best and worst coaches?
With spring football in the books and the slow months of summer building up to fall camps and then suddenly the season is just around the corner. So, being in early June now is as good a time as ever to rank the Mountain West coaches.
This year there is just one new head coach in the league with Gary Andersen being back at Utah State, so his ranking is more of a career perspective as he rejoins the Mountain West.
There was no specific criteria sent out to our staff outside of just picking the order of coaches as you see fit. Some took career success, recent struggles, recent success, or program health with the current head coach as options.
12. Brent Brennan, San Jose State
This is one of the toughest jobs not just in the Mountain West but in all of college football. Brennan was a coach at the Spartans years ago as an assistant so he knows the ins and outs of the program.
After just two years he has amassed a record of 3-22. San Jose State has been able to win over the past decade. This is going to be a long rebuild and even with San Jose State likely to get better the wins may not be there this year.
11. Bob davie, New mexico
This is clearly a make or break year for Davie. His off the field issues have been well chronicled and then couple that with a drop off in production since the co-division champs the Lobos earned in 2016 with a 9-4 record and back-to-back bowl games.
Since that year, they have had just six wins and moving away from its run-option attack has not gone well. Also to consider Davie’s staus is that he brought in a new offensive and defensive coordinator, so the onus is on Davie to turn things around.
10. Tony Sanchez, UNLV
This was initiall a surprise when tallying up the votes. While Sanchez has not done amazing things with the Rebels he has shown some potential. However, it does make sense as he joins Brennan as the only two Mountain West coaches to not have qualified for a bowl game.
Entering year five of the Sanchez era has the chance to be his best team and a lot of it relies on the health of quarterback Armani Rogers.
9. Mike Bobo, Colorado State
July 6, known as Mike Bobo Day, can no longer be a thing after this past year of leading the Rams to a 3-9 record to his worst year in Fort Collins. Bobo has had plenty of talent on his team, specifically on offense, but defense and not winning against rivals or bowl games is an issue. Bobo is 2-10 against rivals Colorado, Air Force, and Wyoming; in bowl games he has lost all three of the contests.
8. Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Calhoun is tough to judge becase Air Force has a lot of restrictions which limit the type of athletes that can be on campus. However, even with that Calhoun has had an amazing run as the Falcons head coach with an title game appearance, a pair of 10-win seasons, and nine bowl games in 12 years.
The issue of him being in the bottom half has to do with the back-to-back 5-7 records in Colorado Springs. This ranking may change in 2019 as Calhoun is likely to get his team back to a bowl game.
7. Jay Norvell, Nevada
This one has a lot to do with potential. Norvell has only two years of experience as the Wolf Pack head coach and is building an exciting offense there in Reno. This third year will tell if Norvell should be this high or not as he is breaking in a new quarterback with Ty Gangi now in the CFL, but he does have some help with one of the best running backs in the league in Toa Taua
6. Gary Andersen, Utah State
This one is tough to judge as Andesen is making his return to Utah State, so it is why voters were cautious about where to play the new-ish Aggies head coach. In his first go around in Logan, Andersen had the best run ever for Utah State with a defense that featured multiple NFL stars including Bobby Wagner, and a good offense with QB Chuckie Keaton and a few NFL backs in Robert Turbin, Michael Smith, and Kerwynn Williams.
Andersen has a great quarterbac in Jordan Love and some NFL-ready players on defense with Tipa Galeai and David Woodward at linebackers. So, expecatiosn are high for 2019.
5. Craig Bohl, Wyoming
This will be a huge year for Bohl and his defense. He lost defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton to Kansas State for the same position, so that is one area to watch on that side of the ball.
Bohl’s offense really should be the focal point becase the defense will be fine. Having guys like Brian Hill, Josh Allen, Nico Evans, Jacob Hollister, and Tann Gentry, really helped Bohl early on but since those guy have all moved on the offense has been subpar. This is the year that Bohl needs his offense to at least be in the same neighborhood as the defense.
4. Nick Rolovich, Hawaii
Charisma goes a long was, as does an exciting coaching style that features the run-n-shoot offense. The first half of 2018 had a lot of people really excited about Hawaii football but then they fell apart but still made a bowl game.
Rolovich seems to have Hawaii on the right path with his offense and could be one of the better coaches if he gets his defense to keep pace with his high-profile offense. To crack the top three it will take a lot from his end and that will at least need to include a trip to the Mountain West title game.
3. Rocky Long, San Diego State
Long has done things at San Diego State that have never been done. He has won a pair of confernece titles, a stretch of 10-plus wins for three-straight years, and has built one of the most stable and elite running back groups in the country.
The only thing missing is a New Year’s Six bowl game, if we are being honest. The main reason hes is not at the top is because 2018 did not continue the amazing run he built in Southern California. Oh, and don’t mess with his defense because it is always going to cause teams trouble.
2. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Tedford entering his third year has achieved heights that no new Mountain West coach has. He went to the conference title game in his first two years and won the whole thing last year. The turn around factor of taking over a job to have a plus-nine win margin is one of the great coaching jobs in the country.
To take over the top spot, Tedford will need to make it to a big time New Year’s Day bowl game.
1. Bryan Harsin, Boise State
The voting was very close between Harsin and Tedford for the top spot as they were separated by just one first-place vote that when to Harsin. It is well-deserved to be at the top. He has kep Boise State in the conversation for New Year’s Six games, including winning the Fiesta Bowl in his first year.
He has a 52-15 record at Boise State with five bowl apperances and four years with 10 or more wins.
