Ranking the ACC's coaches

With spring practice in the books, now we begin the time of year in which nothing happens and sportswriters can cause a stir by throwing out all sorts of rankings.

A few weeks ago Athlon magazine ranked the ACC's coaches and some Clemson fans were taken aback by seeing Dabo Swinney at No. 8.

It does seem kinda low for a coach who, in three full seasons, has won a conference title and a division title. You can understand the frustration of fans who see Paul Johnson labeled as a genius after he won an ACC title his second year, only to see Swinney labeled as mediocre after doing the same thing.

The Sporting News released its own ranking of ACC coaches, and Swinney's stock was considerably higher. He was ranked No. 3 behind Frank Beamer and Johnson, and this is what the magazine had to say:

No one outworks Swinney, a former walk-on at Alabama. He’s an ace recruiter and a new-school player’s coach. His 2011 offense was tops in the ACC in passing, an accomplishment that had Swinney’s paw prints all over it. The 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl? Yeah, embarrassing.

Trending: Up. Seventy points? Call it a valuable lesson in preparation. Swinney is rough around the edges, but he’s game for whatever it takes.

Swinney's chief Atlantic Division rival, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, comes in at sixth according to The Sporting News' ranking (Athlon had him fifth). And I tend to agree with this assessment by TSN:

FSU was a trendy pick to compete for a national title last season, and by and large it failed to meet expectations. Fisher is a talented offensive coach, but the Seminoles’ porous offensive line and invisible running game have to reflect on him. Then again, the Noles are trendy again, aren’t they? Anything less than an Atlantic Division title in 2012 will be an (yet another) absolute failure for the program.

Trending: Down. Year 2 was supposed to be huge in Tallahassee.

A few quick takes on the other coaches ranked by TSN: Al Golden a bit too low at No. 7; Larry Fedora a bit high at No. 9; David Cutcliffe definitely too low at No. 11; and Frank Spaziani just right at No. 12.

LW