FSU football: One website’s ranking of ACC coaches is awful

FSU football head coach Mike Norvell had a tough first season in 2020. The Noles went 3-6, but probably beat Georgia Tech if Jordan Travis was the quarterback.

However, that’s neither here nor there since Travis wasn’t able to practice much in fall camp due to injuries.

Mike Norvell was the only coach in the ACC going into his first year at a new place while dealing with unprecedented times during a pandemic.

Not to mention the situation he inherited with a coach fired during the season the year before.

His track record before that speaks for itself, so I thought it was hilarious when a website ranked him as the 10 best coach in the ACC.

Of course, I have no problem with Dabo at No. 1 and Mack Brown at No. 2. However, the list goes to crap after that for the most part.

How on earth is Bronco Mendenhall No. 3? The guy is below .500 since arriving in Virginia in 2016. Yes, the program has seen some improvement but let’s not act like the Cavaliers are some unstoppable force on the horizon. However, I guess I have to give him credit for his time at BYU.

Dave Clawson is a good coach, and I respect what he’s done at Wake Forest with limited resources. David Cutcliffe at No. 5? Did these guys think it was 2013? Duke only won two games in 2020.

If they are punishing Mike Norvell for the 2020 season, how’s Cutcliffe at No. 5? I don’t have a problem with Pat Narduzzi since Pitt consistently wins 7-8 games every year under his guidance.

Manny Diaz at No. 7? Give me a break. He’s 14-10 as a head coach with five of those wins against three FCS teams and two of the worst FSU teams of all time. Four of those losses are against FIU, Duke, Louisiana Tech, and a Georgia Tech team that won three games that year. He has wins against TWO ranked teams in his career.

If we’re looking at head coaches in totality, there’s no reason for, Cutcliffe, Manny Diaz, or Jeff Hafley to be ranked ahead of Mike Norvell, who’s 41-21 as a head coach.

He has more wins over ranked teams than Diaz and Hafley as well. Here’s a list that makes more sense:

1. Wuhan Dabo
2. Mack Brown
3. Pat Narduzzi
4. Dave Clawson
5. Dave Doeren
6. Bronco Mendenhall
7. Mike Norvell
8. Jeff Hafley
9. Manny Diaz
10. David Cutcliffe
11. Justin Fuente
12. Scott Satterfield
13. Geoff Collins
14. Dino Babers

Some of these lists are getting out of hand. At least provide some context on how you came to that conclusion.