Paul Myerberg

USA TODAY Sports

The national championship has yet to be decided: Clemson will meet Ohio State and Alabama will face Washington for the right to advance to Tampa on Jan. 9.



But it’s coaching-change season across college football, with dozens of head coaches and assistants on the move upon the conclusion of the regular season — with the rest staying put, many with a tidy new contract or extension in hand.

For now, let’s take a look back at the past three months and recognize those coaches who deserve praise for the way they handled the regular season. Here, in alphabetical order, are the 10 best coaching jobs of the 2016 season:

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

With far more substance than flash, Chryst squeezed out a Big Ten Conference West Division crown and a Cotton Bowl berth despite what may have been the nation’s toughest schedule: LSU out of conference in September, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State in conference play.

Bob Davie, New Mexico

New Mexico’s eight-win regular season marked the program’s best finish as part of the Mountain West Conference since joining the league in 1999. It ended with the Lobos tied with Boise State and Wyoming atop the Mountain Division, thanks in large part to an option-based offense that keyed one of the nation’s most devastating running games.

The 8-4 mark heading into the postseason is the culmination of Davie’s rebuilding project, which began to gather steam in 2014 before resulting in back-to-back bowl berths. How bad were things upon his arrival? UNM’s three wins in November match the program’s entire win total during his predecessor’s three-year tenure.

USA TODAY Sports' 2016 All-America college football teams

P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan

Fleck may end up staying at Western Michigan, which is remarkable given the nearly unprecedented nature of the Broncos’ 13-0 regular season. This was very likely the best team in the history of the Mid-American Conference, with an All-America headliner on offense in wide receiver Corey Davis and just enough defense to outlast all comers in a perfect run to the postseason.

It’s equally remarkable to consider the genesis of this year’s breakthrough: WMU went 1-11 in Fleck’s debut in 2011 while accumulating the talent needed to eventually stand atop the Group of Five ranks.

James Franklin, Penn State

Franklin’s most impactful coaching decision of the 2016 season actually came late in 2015, when he hired Joe Moorhead away from Fordham to be the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator. With a rehabbed offense leading the way, Penn State notched an 11-2 finish complete with the program’s first outright Big Ten title since 1994.

The year will end in the Rose Bowl in a matchup against Southern California, with the winner perhaps vaulting into the top five heading into next season. Win or lose in Pasadena, however, the regular season proved that Franklin has PSU poised for national contention.

Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

Colorado’s 11-win regular season has already earned MacIntyre well-earned praise as the Walter Camp Coach of the Year. The numbers say it all: CU won more games during the regular season than in MacIntyre’s first three seasons combined, as many as from the past four seasons combined, and as many as the Buffaloes had posted in any two-year span since 2007-8.

The Buffaloes won more games than the combined total of Mississippi and Mississippi State or Notre Dame and Texas. Won the same number of games as Oregon, UCLA and Michigan State — combined. MacIntyre was given a long leash to bring Colorado back to the forefront of college football and delivered.

Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Ohio State ended the year in unsurprising territory, facing off against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff field. That the Buckeyes returned to the Playoff might make this one of the finest coaching jobs of Meyer’s entire career, perhaps on par with his title-winning team from 2014.

Lest we forget, Ohio State had to replace 16 starters from last year’s team, and typically had anywhere from 15 to 18 true or redshirt freshmen listed on its weekly depth chart. This youth and inexperience led to battles with consistency and production, particularly on offense, even as the Buckeyes raced to an 11-1 regular season. Like another coach on this list — see below — Meyer is too often overlooked when it comes to end-of-year accolades.

Chris Petersen, Washington

It wasn’t supposed to happen so soon. Yet here we are. Just three years into his tenure, Petersen led Washington to 12 wins, the Pac-12 title and a spot against Alabama in the Peach Bowl. This should worry the rest of the conference: UW already stands atop the heap yet will be even stronger in 2017 and beyond.

Don’t be surprised. Washington hired the former Boise State coach for a reason, after all — to lead the Huskies team to conference and national titles. This fall has been a reminder: Petersen is one of the great coaches in college football.

Ken Niumatalolo, Navy

OK, a quick rundown: Navy has lost 10 players to season-ending injury, including its starting quarterback and his eventual replacement, yet still managed to go 9-3 and win the American Athletic Conference West Division. And this isn’t anything new.

Last year, the Midshipmen went 11-2 despite undergoing a preseason staff shake-up at defensive coordinator. In comparison to 2016, that was a breeze. But despite this year’s hurdles, Niumatalolo kept Navy battling for a spot in the Amway Coaches Poll and perhaps within a single win of the Cotton Bowl.

Army-Navy is the can't-miss game that some must miss

Matt Rhule, Temple (now at Baylor)

The Owls’ capped what may be the most successful regular season in program history by defeating Navy to capture the American title. That gives Temple 20 wins in the past two years, which in turn led Baylor to tap Rhule as its permanent successor to Art Briles.

Temple won 10 games while nearly overhauling its entire defense — which remained among the nation’s best in most categories — and sputtering out of the gate with losses to Army and Penn State in September. During his four seasons, Rhule went from 2-10 in 2013 and 6-6 in 2014 to a combined 20-7 during the past two years.

Nick Rolovich, Hawaii

Hawaii’s six victories in Rolovich’s first regular season constitute more than half of Norm Chow’s overall win total during his disappointing four-year run. The Warriors’ quick turnaround was keyed by an offensive resurgence: UH’s 344 points — with a bowl game still to come — are already a program best since 2011.

Next five: Dabo Swinney, Clemson; Clay Helton, Southern California; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Willie Taggart, South Florida (now at Oregon); Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia.

Honorable mention: Neal Brown, Troy; Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; Bob Stoops, Oklahoma.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARDS FOR 2016

Nick Saban, Alabama

The argument in some circles suggesting that Saban is the “lucky” beneficiary of Alabama’s talent level — in other words, that going 13-0 with this roster isn’t a noteworthy feat — is embarrassing in several respects, beginning with this: Didn’t Saban recruit and develop these players?

How quickly we forget. But add the 2016 regular season to Saban’s laundry list of memorable achievements, particularly given the way the Tide have historically distanced themselves from the rest of the field. This may be Saban’s best team, which really says it all.