From Athlon...
Transition is the biggest storyline in the American Athletic Conference for the '23 season. The league welcomes six new teams with Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston joining the Big 12. But the new faces aren't just limited to programs joining the conference. The AAC has seven new coaches slated to take over in '23, including veterans like Tom Herman (FAU) and Kevin Wilson (Tulsa), along with intriguing newcomers in the form of Trent Dilfer at UAB and Biff Poggi at Charlotte.
Success with any college football team starts with coaching. Even if a program doesn’t have the resources of the nation’s elite jobs, a good coach can elevate a program into national title or conference title contention. However, similar to any position on the field, statistics may not tell the full story when judging a coaching tenure.
How did we compile the rankings for coaches by conference? For starters, it’s an impossible task. However, we tried to weigh every possible factor into this ranking. This is not simply a list of coaches ranked by accomplishment or wins. While those aspects are important, it doesn’t provide a complete picture of how successful coaches are. Also, every program has a different amount of resources available. Hierarchy in college football also plays a vital role in how successful programs are. It's always easier for programs with more built-in advantages to contend for a national title on a more consistent basis.
The above factors, along with career biography/resume, success in developing talent and landing prospects on the recruiting trail factored into the ranking. Additionally, how well programs value staff (is the head coach better as a CEO or hands-on approach) and the facilities or program resources matter into forming an outlook of how coaches have performed at different stops throughout their career.
Again, wins and the career biography to this point are important. But our rankings also take into account a blank slate and subjectivity. If you start a program from scratch, which coach would you hire knowing what they accomplished so far and their career trajectory? Remember, you don't get the assistants - only the head coach. And head-to-head wins do not matter for this ranking. Athlon will rank every coach for all 10 conferences this offseason. Here are the results for the American Athletic Conference:
Ranking the AAC's College Football Coaches for 2023
1. Willie Fritz, Tulane
Tulane was one of college football's biggest surprises from the '22 season. After a 2-10 season the previous year, the Green Wave went 12-2, won the AAC title and finished No. 9 nationally after beating USC in the Cotton Bowl. Fritz has guided the program to four bowl games over the last five seasons - a significant upgrade after Tulane earned just one postseason trek from 2003-17. Whether it's the current stint in New Orleans or previous stops at Central Missouri (97-47 from 1997-09), Sam Houston (40-15 from 2010-13), or Georgia Southern (17-7 from 2014-15), Fritz is simply a winner and has a resume that places him among (if not No. 1) the best Group of 5 coaches in the nation.
2. Jeff Traylor, UTSA
Of the six new programs in the American Athletic Conference for '23, the Roadrunners are easily the team most capable of making an impact right away - potentially for a berth in a New Year's Six bowl. After a successful stint as the head coach at Gilmer High School, Traylor spent time as an assistant at Texas, SMU, and Arkansas before taking over in San Antonio. In three seasons at the helm, the Roadrunners are 30-10 and posted back-to-back Conference USA titles (2021-22).
3. Tom Herman, FAU
Although Herman was dismissed as the head coach at Texas after a four-year stint (2017-20), his overall record in Austin was still a solid 32-18. And before taking over with the Longhorns, Herman went 22-4 as the head coach at Houston (2015-16) and had successful stints as an assistant at Texas State, Rice, Iowa State, and Ohio State. After his tenure ended with the Longhorns, Herman worked for one season with the Bears (2021) and in television at CBS Sports.
4. Mike Houston, East Carolina
East Carolina has made big-time improvement under Houston's watch. After a 7-14 start to his tenure, the Pirates have finished 15-10 over the last two seasons and have played in back-to-back bowl games. Prior to East Carolina, Houston went 37-6 with a FCS National Championship at James Madison and had successful stints at The Citadel (14-11) and Lenoir-Rhyne (29-8).
5. Rhett Lashlee, SMU
Lashlee is a coach on the rise and one of the top offensive minds in the Group of 5 ranks entering the '23 season. The Arkansas native spent time as an offensive coordinator at Samford, Arkansas State, Auburn, UConn, SMU and Miami before landing the top spot at SMU prior to '22. Behind an offense that led the AAC in scoring (37.2 points a game), the Mustangs finished 7-6 last fall. Of the team's six losses, four came by one score. Lashlee's work on the recruiting trail and in the portal suggests it won't be long before SMU win total ticks up in '23 and beyond.
6. Kevin Wilson, Tulsa
Tulsa is a difficult job, but Wilson has experience in this type of setting after a six-year run at Indiana. Although the final record in Bloomington (26-47) wasn't great, Wilson improved the program significantly from a 1-11 debut to back-to-back bowl games (2015-16). Wilson resigned prior to the '16 bowl game amidst investigations into player mistreatment and "philosophical differences" with athletic director Fred Glass. The North Carolina native spent the next years as an assistant at Ohio State (2017-22) and has previous experience in the state of Oklahoma from a stint with the Sooners (2002-10).
tulsa.rivals.com
