A recent ranking of the 25 best coaches in the college ranks have left off Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule.
While that in, and of itself isn’t a ridiculous slap in the face, even if it does seem to be an oversight, the people who made the list instead is what takes the omission from a difference of opinion to nonsensical and poorly thought out.
On3’s Ari Wasserman is certainly a master of online engagement and it’s possible that his leaving Matt Rhule off the list and putting the likes of Bill Belichick on it is meant to draw out Nebraska football fans to yell at him. Mission accomplished. Well done Ari. There’s still an argument to be made that someone of Wasserman’s stature should value his reputation more than he apparently does.
NEW: Top 25 College Football Head Coaches via @AriWasserman👀
— On3 (@On3sports) February 4, 2025
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Nebraska football takes a slap to the face in coaching Top 25
Wasserman’s list starts off well enough, Kirby Smart at No. 1, Ryan Day at No. 2, Dan Lanning at No.3, Steve Sarkisian at No. 4 and Marcus Freeman at No. 5 are all something people can stomach. Fans might have an argument for the rankings to get switched up, but they’re not ridiculous.
However, Deion Sanders ranked 7th is when things start to head into ridiculous territory. Even if someone wants to argue that he should be on the list, a Top 10 ranking with a career 13-12 record at Colorado seems like a pretty massive stretch.
The list gets weirder the further down one goes, including Sherrone Moore at No. 19 and Bill Belichick as the 21st best coach in the game today. Moore took a team that won a national title and didn’t make the playoffs. Belichick has never coached a game in the college ranks. There’s been plenty of NFL coaches who showed they can’t make it work on the college level, shouldn’t he have to win at least one game before he’s named among the very best?
Meanwhile, Matt Rhule, who led the Nebraska football team to its first bowl win since 2015, isn’t even 25th on the list. Certainly it feels like he should at least replace the North Carolina coach with an 0-0 record. You can check out the entire list above and then try and figure out what the heck Ari Wasserman was thinking.