I hate this award. Not based on the merits of a coach's accomplishment, but based on how the winner is decided. Here are the winners since 2000:
2000: Randy Walker, Northwestern
2001: Ron Turner, Illinois
2002: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
2003: John L. Smith, Michigan State
2004: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
2005: Joe Paterno, Penn State
2006: Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
2007: Ron Zook, Illinois
2008: Joe Paterno, Penn State
2009: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
2010: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
2011: Brady Hoke, Michigan
Over this time frame, Jim Tressel won the conference (or a share of it) SIX times. He won the award 0 times. Why? The idea's been thrown around that because of Ohio State's distinct advantage of simply being "Ohio State," our coach is less worthy. What a bunch of shi*. What Jim Tressel did to Miami in 2002 is a bigger accomplishment than any others on this list.
The fire is going to be stoked further if more talks of BOB winning the coty because of all he's guided penn state thru this season. If urban beats penn state and runs the table in the big ten and BOB wins coty, i'm starting a riot. who's in?
Well it is COTY. I think Urban has an advantage over Tressel because last years perfromance shows that this is pretty much Urban righting the ship. The reason that people say Tressel didn't win because of OSU being OSU is completely valid. The reason I put that first sentence there is because while we have had the best team on a given year was he the best coach compared to everyone else who knows. When Ron Zook won it, it was because he took a mediocre team to the Rose Bowl.
The fighting Zookers also beat us that year. I was there, it sucked!
I agree with the OSU being OSU argument, but UFM has done a great job so far.
If you really think about it, this is a "Little Guy That Could" award, not a "Who is the best coach" award.
That explains why brady hoke won it last year.
Obrien will probly win this award as long as they end with a decent winning record. They will look at it as a man who is facing a ton of adversity and still succeeded and held not only a team together but the entire college. I know it sucks but the story line is too good for them not to award it to him.
it should be called the underdog award if that's all that matters. but let's talk about that for a second - ohio state had a losing record last season. had an interim head coach. we are under probation. isn't that enough of an underdog story to convince people that going undefeated or making a strong run in the big ten is good enough?
Urban should win it if he takes a 6-7 team to 11-1 or 12-0. Talking heads said this wasn't a very talented team and would be lucky to finish 9-4.
it is enough, but since these awards seem to be media driven, the PSU story will win, because they (espn) can milk it for at least a week after getting the award.
It seems like with these types of awards they are looking for storylines and not just beating everybody. We are all well-versed with OSU's storyline. Scandal, Tress out, TP gone, players suspended, Fickell promoted, 2011 is less than good, Urban enters, things get better, and etc. I say if we go from 6-7 last year to 12-0 or even 11-1, nobody else in the conference will have had that kind of turnaround. Yeah, sure the Penn State stuff is a nice little story as well, a team that stuck together even with all the adversity they faced through no fault of their own. I can hear someone saying those words should they finish strong. Don't rule out Pat Fitzgerald from Northwestern should they win some more games in the conference.
@dancorona5 - the award is selected by the big ten coaches this year, so i'd hope they aren't part of the media machine. prior to 2011 it was a media selection though, so i see your point otherwise
HCAZUALCC - Based on the love shown by the other Big 10 coaches, I think we can put to rest any thought of UFM winning. I thought it was a press award.
"From 1986 through 2010, this award was dedicated in honor of Dave McClain, who served as the Wisconsin Badgers head coach from 1978 to 1985. Recipients were selected by the media. The coaches selected a separate award from 1982 to 1991. When the coaches resumed selecting a coach of the year in 2011, it was named for the first two recipients of the Big Ten Coach of the year, Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, as the Hayes–Schembechler coach of the year."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ten_Conference_football_individual_honors#Dave_McClain_.2F_Hayes.E2.80.93Schembechler_Coach_of_the_Year
assuming the wikipedia page has credible sources...didn't cite this information at all
You guys have such a good argument on this subject. It is beyond ridiculous; Ron Turner and John L. Smith were Big Ten Coaches of the Year but Jim Tressel wasn't? Just forget the whole thing if those are the standards.
Mark Dantonio won the award, not for one amazing single season (he really hasn't had one), but essentially for having taken a program that was down and building it up to a conference leader. Jim Tressel did that for the better part of a decade.
Tress most definitely should have won it in 02 (national championship against an "unstoppable dynasty" in miami) and 07 when he took a team that lost Troy, Gonzo, Pittman, and Ginn back to the national championship. I mean he probably should have won it 4 or 5 times, but those two really stand out as years he was head and shoulders above as a coach.
@mman - thx for chiming in. brady hoke was certainly deserving of the award last season. there is an argument to be made for dantonio / bielema as well, but that's just the nature of the award. which brings up a good point, i'm not upset jim tressel didn't win it in any one specific season, but over the course of his great tenure at ohio state, not once! i'm looking forward to having the coaches select the winner going forward.
This will go to PSU so they can turn it into a warm and fuzzy feel good story.
Tomorrow
I don't really care anymore about coach of the year. To me, it seems, its the "Congrats in coming second to OSU" award. And I'm fine with that.
I think that UFM probably won't care too much about the award, but, I agree with "4DORR" --- this is what the media loves: a warm, fuzz, feel good story, whether the receipient is deserving or not. The most important thing for the media is that it's a great story for them to push. And while UFM winning it would be a pretty good story, the PSU/BOB story trumps it...especially because PSU put little blue ribbons on their helmets. Yep - I don't know if all of you heard about that, but these little blue ribbons make up for a lot of negligence. We should all feel good about that. It's kind of like the overkill of pink in October with the NFL. I get it - it's a nice idea, but after awhile it defeats the purpose and distracts from the real message/story.
By the way, a lot of the awards today, not just in sports -- are given for a feel good story, whether the person deserves the awards or not. Example: Nobel Peace Prize, that's become a joke. In sports, relative to the readers on this site, we have this B1G Coach of the Year Award - beyond me how Jim Tressel never won, but Kirk Ferentz won multiples. Ferentz is a solid coach, but vastly overrated. Look at the Bednarik Award --- when AJ Hawk lost to Paul Posluszny --- that was a crock. The Bednarik Award seems to always have a PSU player in the final 3 or winning the title, which is fine if it's deserved --- but that's not always been the case.
As for the B1G Coach of the Year Award this year, if UFM goes undefeated or 11-1 ---- how can you not give it to him. Especially if he beats PSU in
JonestownState College. I mean wouldn't beating somebody head-to-head give the nod, if it were between two people? Maybe not -- Ferentz won in some of those years where Tressel beat Ferentz head-to-head. And, PSU's schedule can not match up with OSU's, look who we've beaten so far compared to PSU. It's not a comparison, OSU's schedule has beeen tougher. What BOB has done with PSU has been impressive & exceeded expectations, but I think if he won - it'd be more of a feel good story for the media than anything else.Oh well, this isn't a major award, I'm sure UFM is like the rest of us - and would take a few titles instead of some personal awards. I have a feeling he's gonna add a few more national championship trophies to the WHAC, we'll remember those more.
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
Lets see how the season plays out before we get up in arms about post season awards. I agree it was a complete sham that Tressel never won the award though.
I'd have no problem with Pat Fitz winning it this year. That team plays real hard, and makes bowl games consistently now. He is a winner and his players seem to love him.
If not UFM of course
COTY was awarded before the 2002 season National Championship game - not an excuse for Tressel not winning it but there's no way voters knew.
Bill O'Brien won't win COTY after we put up triple digits on their scoreboard!
CC - If you really think about it, this is a "Little Guy That Could" award, not a "Who is the best coach" award.
That explains why brady hoke won it last year.
There is nothing "little" about Brady Hoke ;)
Bill O'Brien will win this award easily even if PSU folds like a lawn chair and loses every remaining game on their schedule. Not that I agree with it (especially if we do manage to run the table) but just my opinion.
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
Tress should have won easily in 2002, 2006, and 2007. The fact that he won NONE is beyond ridiculous.
the kids are playing their tail off, and the coaches are screwing it up! - JLS
I hate to say it, but PSU's coach deserves this up to this point. They're 4-2 despite all of the kids that left and the turmoil around the program. They're 2nd on my list of B1G teams I hate, but O'Brien is doing a pretty good job despite all of the circumstances. They haven't hit the heart of their B1G schedule yet, but he doing a pretty good job.
With the enemies Meyer is making with the coaching staffs in the B1G, he will never win the award! Oh, on second thought, maybe the coaches will unanimously vote for him in fear of raising his wrath. Can you see the sweat pouring off Bielima's face as he thinks about the up coming game? I can only imagine what he will envision if he even thinks about voting against Meyer for the award.
It is pretty funny to realize the only teams whose coach did not win this award since 2000 are:
Indiana (45-96)
Minnesota (68-80)
Ohio State (120-33)
Not Sure I agree with ever calling Hoke a "Little Guy"
There's an error with your post. It should read that Kirk Ferentz won the COY aword every year since he was named head coach at Iowa and is the favorite to win the COY award this year. He is, in fact, the greatest coach to have ever coached the game ever.
/Duff'd It
You can put me down as a vote for (former Buckeye) Glen Mason, over John L. Smith, for Big Ten Coach of the year.
And yeah, how the award was never given to Jim Tressel defies any attempt at an explanation. I would, however, give an award to anyone who, without Google, can name every head football coach at Indiana going back to the year 2000.
This is ridiculous Tressel didn't win this award once. This year I'd say UFM and O'brian would be my leaders, unless Northwestern wins out from here
wilson, hoeppner, cam cameron .didn't dinardo coach there, too?
If Bill O'Brian wins the COTY award, you won't have to worry about starting a riot. There will probably already be one in progress.
Urban wins it if we go 11-1 or 12-0. If he doesn't, we may never win it!
DEB II
from espn.com q&a with big ten bloggers, apparently an 8 win season for BOB locks him in for COTY, meaning he only has to go 3-4 for the rest of the way with penn state recruits to win COTY...WTF!!
Matt (Clarion (PA): Hey Brian, does a minimum of a 7-5 season clinch "B1G Coach of the Year" for Bill O'Brien? He's got this team rolling despite such a tumultuous off-season.
Brian Bennett: I don't know that 7-5 will get it done, because that would mean a 2-5 finish, and that may leave some bad taste in voters' mouths. Especially if, say, Ohio State goes 11-1 or 12-0 after being 6-7 last year. But O'Brien is the coach of the year at the halfway mark, and if Penn State wins eight, he should be a lock.
Here is the remaining schedule for PSU:
@ Iowa
vs #8 Ohio State
@ Purdue
@ Nebraska
vs Indiana
vs Wisconsin
OSU is the only ranked opponent on their schedule. They manage to avoid MSU and michigan. I figure they'll beat Iowa, but are likely to lose at least two of OSU, Purdue, Nebby, Wiscy. Given that they already have losses to UVA and Ohio, if BOB wins the COTY over Urban (assuming a record of at least 10-2 with a head-to-head win over PSU) the B1G might as well go ahead and rename the award COTY who isn't coach of OSU.
thats fine bcuz we have urban and they dont... i look at it as them hating on osu... and if ppl are hating it means you are doing something right (winning consistantly)
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
Urbz has Braxton Miller. O'Brien has Moxie McGloin. If PSU keeps putting up these offensive numbers and finishes 8-4 or 7-5, then BOB deserves Coach of the Year and I have no problem with that. I mean, for God's sake, look at what he did with McMoxie?
Re: Over this time frame, Jim Tressel won the conference (or a share of it) SIX times.
Yeah, Tressel got the shaft when they selected the "B1G Coach Of The Year" awards; however, football is a "team sport" and "team awards" are what's really important. Tressel did get the last laugh; Ohio State does have a room full of these:
@Humble, Did you see what Fickell and Bollman did with Braxton last year? Personally, I think two games into conference play is way too early to make reasonable conclusions about who should win COTY. However, after the head-to-head between BOB and Urban we should have a better idea of who deserves the title. If OSU wins that game, and finishes with a better record, and the award still goes to BOB then they just need to go ahead and publicly state that OSU is simply expected to be better than the rest of the conference every year.
There are nine different names on that list. Four of them no longer have jobs and Zook is on the hot seat. If Zook goes that means over half of the coaches on that list will have been fired. Sounds more like a bad omen to win that thing to me.
I still get the point on Tress. If Tress can't win it, who can? I mean it's not like he's coaching against a bunch of elite coaches.
Our honor Defend!
@Bucksfan Please keep the political stuff off of this website.
/Duff'd It
Now's a good time to point out that Penn State had more wins last year with Bradley coaching through most of the season. Just let that sink in...
/Duff'd It
Urban took a 6-7 team that couldn't complete a god damned pass and with almost the exact same players turned it into a team that is scoring close to 40 a game. Ohio State's reputation and recruiting were severely damaged when he came in along with the NCAA sanctions, and he has pretty much made all of it vanish in less than a season
The thought that a 7-5 PSU would earn Obrien the COTY makes no sense to me, it just means he coached a crappy team and had a crappy season (against a horrible schedule)
In the end it doesn't matter because Penn State will continue to shrivel for the next 4 years while Ohio State will be winning which is all that matters. For OSU it's only going to get better, for Penn State it's only going to get much much worse, and a COTY won't change that for either team
And Hoke took a 7-6 team that couldn't play defense and led them to an 11-2 record with a BCS bowl game. Who was more deserving last year? I think Tressel never won the award due to the amount of talent he had. As painful as it is for me to say, after his 2nd year, he had hoarded most of the talent and every other team was playing for second. I think the media didn't vote for him because his teams were supposed to be good every year.
With all due respect, CC, Brady Hoke winning Big Ten Coach of the Year last year only confuses me as to why you think this is the "Little Guy That Could" award...
October 20th: National Kenneth Guiton Day
That Penn State is even in this conversation is absolutely mind-boggling...
"The revolution will be televised."
If the idea is that Coach of the Year should go to the biggest "surprise team" and that's why Tressel never won--well, why wouldn't the biggest surprise in the B1G be Ohio State this year? Going from 6-7 to undefeated (not making a prediction, just saying "what if") would qualifiy as a pretty big surprise. I'd bet you could count on one hand the number of times that has happened in a major conference in the BCS era. It would be a much bigger turnaround than the one Michigan made from 2010 to 2011, and Hoke won the honor last season.
If Penn State beats either the Buckeyes or Nebraska on the road, I might be persuaded to change my mind. But the notion of O'Brien as the favorite right now (a view endorsed, irritatingly, by Kirk Herbstreit) is misplaced sentimentality.
The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.
My guess is it is Fitzgerald if NU gets to 10 wins.
Urban is labeled as the 2nd best coach in college football, has two national titles and has coached a Heisman trophy winner. What does a COY award validate in a year where the B1G is atrocious and OSU isn't eligible for a post season? Bill O'Brien deserves it at this point, IMHO. Think about it, after the sanctions came down at PSU, what did most of us predict? A complete falling out. Players transferring, recruits decommitting, and at best a 3-4 win season. To salvage what he has and to rally the group he was left with after two embarrassing losses to start the year, I think that is impressive.
I know that a lot of you will say that Urban was the difference maker, already winning as many games as OSU won all of last year, but I think there are a lot more guys out there that could do what Urban has done, to this point with the players and resources available, than the situation O'Brien came into (before the sanctions, mind you).
If Northwestern wins the Legends division, it would be very hard not to give it to Fitzgerald.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
Hail: you make a great argument for why the Big Ten COY Award should be renamed something like the Underprivileged Coaches Award.
To win the award, it's not enough for a coach to demonstrate greatness. He must have overcome disadvantages and painful obstacles as sad violen music plays in the background.
Never mind that the underprivileged coach is getting paid $millions . . .
i think run fido run hit the nail on the head for my argument, and hail hit the nail on the head for what the status quo is right now.
where i'm coming from, the coach who wins the conference is coty. no ifs, ands, or buts about it. i understand the feel good story once in a while, but BOB has proven very little at this point. he lost to uva and ohio, and the best team he's beaten is northwestern. the hype is obnoxious!
Young man, come home right this instant, go to your room and think about what you just said. Northwestern. Winning the Legends division. After they come into the Big House on November 10.
Now, we might not win the rest of our games. But we are not losing to Northwestern (currently 1-1 in Conference play) in Ann Arbor. And Northwestern is not going 2-0 against Michigan and Michigan State, both road games for the Wildcats, in consecutive weeks.
;-)
M Man, right you are. Northwestern has very little chance in Ann Arbor. I slightly underestimated Michigan this year because of that dirty witch, Greg Mattison.
I still think, though, that the Legends Division will play out like the climatic scene of Enemy of the State when all the bad guys shoot eachother in the kitchen of the mafia restaurant - except that there won't be any Will Smiths walking out unscathed.
Michigan, MSU, and Nebraska are the three best teams, but they play each other and Michigan still plays at Ohio State. And NW and Iowa are probably good for a couple of upsets, but in their home stadiums.
Look, I think Tressel got screwed in 2002. Other than that, I have no problem with the other coaches that won over Tress. Those coaches took teams with low expectations and had exceptional seasons.
I just don't understand the lack of objectivity. I love Ohio State. I love that Urban Meyer is our coach. But Braxton Miller is simply doing what we knew he was capable of. What O'Brien has done so far with McGloin and the Penn State offense is nothing short of a miracle.
Let's look at two stat for two very different QBs through the first six games of their senior year:
QB1: 101/148 (68.2%), 1261 yards, 15 TDs, 2 INTs, 25 rushes and 0 rushing TDs
QB2: 136/221 (61.5%), 1499 yards, 12 TDs, 2 INTs, 30 rushes and 5 rushings TDs
One of those is Troy Smith in 2006, and the other is Matt McGloin.
humblebuckeye, you want objectivity? in those 6 games troy smith played, he BEAT -
#2 TEXAS (24-7), PENN STATE (28-6), #13 IOWA (38-17), CINCINNATI, and n. illinois, bowling green
in the six games mcgloin has played, mcgloin has lost to uva, ohio u., and beat navy, temple, illinois, and northwestern.
let's stay objective..
Guys, Kirk Ferentz is winning the award... I don't see how Bill O'Brien and Pat Fitzgerald even fit into the equation. The award winner was determined the moment Ferentz took the podium on media day.
/Duff'd It
^ totally --- btw, when are they finally going to rename it the Ferentz Award. Come on already, Delaney!
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
sure, but against Penn State, Troy Smith was bad. Iowa ended the season at 6-7 (2-6 in the Big Ten... wins over Illinois and Purdue). Cincinnati was still "meh". Northern Illinois was a MAC team that went 7-6 that year.
Troy Smith also had Ted Ginn, Brian Hartline, Anthony Gonzalez, and Brian Robiskie. He got to hand off to Pittman and Beanie, who kept defenses honest. Who does McGloin have to hand off or throw to?
Look, in no way am I saying these two guys are in the same league. Troy Smith would be a starter in the NFL if not for some horrible luck. But just look at what he's done with McGloin. It's incredible. The dude was a walk-on who couldn't even consitently complete a 10 yard out until this year.
troy smith going 17-26 for 269 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs on the road @ #2 Texas is just in a different ball park than anything mcgloin has done this season. don't care who the receivers are.
in any case, the only stat i need to look at, 4-2 vs. 6-0
I just don't understand the lack of objectivity.
People who don't agree with you aren't necessarily "not objective," but this statement leads me into a related point.
A big problem with Coach of the Year awards is that they are given out for non-objective reasons. After all, if you're trying to gauge how good a job a coach did, the only objective criterion is his team's W-L record. If you give the award to anyone other than the coach of the best team, you're making a subjective judgment on how good a job he did.
Ironically, when MVP Awards are announced, involving players whose performance can much more easily be compared objectively than how well different coaches coached, the opposite reasoning is often used -- you're typically considered "valuable" only if your team won.
The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.
John L Smith...smh
theDuke
@Chuck
Those are fair points. I guess the argument could be made that if a team has the best player, then the success of the team has just as much to do with the player as it does with the coach. For instance, take Braxton Miller away from this team, and I think this is an 8-4 team, even with Urban coaching. Take Urban away and keep Braxton, and this is still probably a 9-3 team depending on who the new coach and offensive coordinator would have been (I mean we did lose 6 games last year by 1 TD or less. Even without Urbz, this could still have been a 9-3 team as long as we still have Braxton). But take away Obrien from Penn State, and I think they're a 1-5 team right now (at best 2-4). Not only that, he's been able to keep commitments thus far from the core players of a pretty solid recruiting class.
@M Man
My deepest apologies. I have no doubts that we win that game, and didn't mean to misconstrue that I feel we might lose. I was trying to say that it would be such a feat for Fitzgerald to win the division, that, if he did, he'd be deserving. I think the legends division will be ours before we head to columbus.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
Also, last time the Browns won 11 games, Kirk Ferentz was the offensive line coach... GREATEST COACH EVER OMIGODOMIGODOMIGOD!!!!!!
/Duff'd It
If Urban does win the award, I would like to see him deposit it in the trash where it belongs. None of the arguments for why Tressel didn't win hold up to any serious scrutiny thus the award is meaningless.
What time is (or was) the riot?
I'm in!
Tress deserved it in at least 2002 and you can argue all you want but Urban took a team that no one TRULY thought would go 12-0 and did it. After the first several weeks few people even thought we were a top ten team yet the coaching staff and kids kept working and improving. THAT is what proves the value of a good coach! Urban deserved it even though O'Brien did a helluva job keeping Penn State together as well, but they didn't go undefeated or win the division and even O'Brien says Urban deserved it. On a national level maybe ND has an argument for their coach, but first year at a new school I think you have to admire what Urban has done.
My biggest problem with this award is it seems to be consistently given, not earned. I realize that anything like this will have its degree of subjectivity, but damn. Then again, given that half the coaches on this list have been fired or are dead (no disrespect intended), it may be better our coaches haven't won it...
"The revolution will be televised."
don't even get me started with this award..the fact that BOB won this despite losing to ohio, uva, and urban meyer in his first year with a team ALSO under probation coming off a losing season with an intermim head coach...kills me a little deep down inside..12-0 though, we can hang our hat on the thing that actually matters