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Jim Harbaugh, Pat Fitzgerald headline ESPN’s rankings of CFB coaches as players
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With the offseason winding down and kickoff to the 2021 college football season just around the corner, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg had a fun way to rank all 130 coaches in the sport. He evaluated all of their playing careers.
B1G head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Pat Fitzgerald headlined the rankings.
Harbaugh led the way in Rittenberg’s rankings, as the former Michigan quarterback was a first-round selection after his time in Ann Arbor came to an end. Fitzgerald, who was one of the most intimidating linebackers in college football during his time, ranked No. 2 on the list.
Obviously, both are coaching their alma maters.
Two other current B1G head coaches cracked the Top 10 — Scott Frost and Jeff Brohm. Next on the list was Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, who was a bit further down at No. 27.
Here’s where every B1G head coach fell on the rankings. You can view the complete list from ESPN.com (subscription required):
No. 1: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (Michigan)
No. 2: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (Northwestern)
No. 6: Scott Frost, Nebraska (Nebraska)
No. 7: Jeff Brohm, Purdue (Louisville)
No. 27: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota (Northern Illinois)
No. 41: James Franklin, Penn State (East Stroudsburg)
No. 43: Ryan Day, Ohio State (New Hampshire)
No. 47: Greg Schiano, Rutgers (Bucknell)
No. 61: Mel Tucker, Michigan State (Wisconsin)
No. 68: Bret Bielema, Illinois (Iowa)
No. 70: Mike Locksley, Maryland (Towson)
No. 77: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (Connecticut)
No. 78: Tom Allen, Indiana (Marantha Baptist University)
No. 82: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB