The top two names in Conference USA coach rankings, Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell and Jacksonville State’s Rich Rodriguez, are also among the top Group of 5 head coaches for the 2024 college football season. Chadwell’s Flames are primed to compete for a Group of 5 position in the CFB Playoff this fall, while Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to their first bowl victory in an FBS transition year in ’23.
Middle Tennessee’s Derek Mason, Florida International’s Mike MacIntyre, and Sam Houston’s KC Keeler are among the fascinating coaching veterans in Conference USA. Coaches on the rise in ’24 include Tyson Helton of Western Kentucky and Scotty Walden of UTEP.
Coaching is essential to the success of any college football team. Even if a program lacks the resources of the nation’s finest employers, a skilled coach can propel a team to national or conference championship contention. However, as with any position on the field, statistics may not tell the whole story when evaluating a coaching career.
How did we compile the coach rankings by conference? For starters, the mission is impossible. However, we attempted to consider every potential criteria in our ranking. This isn’t just a list of coaches ranked by success or victories. While these factors are significant, they do not provide a whole picture of how effective coaches are. Furthermore, each program has a distinct number of resources available. College football program success is also heavily influenced by hierarchical structures. It is always easier for programs with more inherent advantages to compete for a national championship on a more consistent basis.
