A week from now, the 2021 college football season will be over, and the seemingly endless offseason will be upon us.
Before fully turning our attention toward coaching storylines for the 2022 campaign, it's time to look back at who stood out most in the coaching ranks. After a challenging 2020, the 2021 season brought out the best in many coaches. Four teams that had losing records in 2020 won their conferences this past season, including one that had gone winless (Northern Illinois) and another led by a first-year coach (Utah State's Blake Anderson).
The following list of coaching superlatives will contain some familiar names, but also names that college football fans will want to get familiar with for the future. Some selections were obvious, while others featured plenty of competition.
Here's a look at the coaches who stood out most around college football in 2021.
Best coaching turnaround from 2020
Dave Aranda, Baylor
This proved to be one of the most competitive categories. Northern Illinois' Thomas Hammock took a team that went winless in 2020 to a MAC championship this season. Michigan State's Mel Tucker brilliantly manipulated the transfer portal to boost the Spartans after a 2-5 season to go 11-2 with a Peach Bowl championship and a top-10 finish. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh made key staff changes to a 2-4 team and led the Wolverines to their first win over Ohio State since 2011, their first Big Ten title since 2004 and their first College Football Playoff appearance. Houston's Dana Holgorsen collected 12 victories, a nine-win improvement from 2020.
But Aranda gets the nod after engineering a makeover never to be forgotten by Baylor fans. He went 2-7 in his debut season in 2020, as Baylor battled waves of COVID-19 issues and bad offense to finish ninth in the Big 12. Aranda made a coordinator change, bringing in BYU's Jeff Grimes, who added a physical component to the run game this season. Baylor averaged 219.3 rush yards and 5.9 yards per carry this fall, up from 90.3 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry last season. There were less dramatic upgrades on defense, but Aranda and coordinator Ron Roberts developed an excellent unit led by linebacker Terrel Bernard and safety Jalen Pitre.
Baylor scored signature wins over BYU and Oklahoma, outlasted Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game and won its first Sugar Bowl since 1957 to finish with a team-record 12 victories. Aranda is almost comically stoic during games, but he provided a jolt of enthusiasm for Baylor that could last for several years.
Best first-year coaching performance
Blake Anderson, Utah State
I don't know much about the new Steve Spurrier Award, which honors the top first-year coaches and is named after the Hall of Fame coach from Florida. But how the award overlooked Anderson in its list of finalists is rather stunning. Anderson stepped into a total mess at Utah State, which went 1-5 last season and had all sorts of problems around its program and school. He had no direct connections to the area, and stepped into a Mountain West Conference that would prove to be the best Group of 5 league in 2021.
Anderson brought along quarterback Logan Bonner from Arkansas State, and energized a Utah State offense that averaged 303.4 pass yards and 32.6 points per game. The Aggies weren't dominant at first, winning four early games by four points or fewer but notching quality road wins over Washington State and Air Force. They won six of their final seven games to reach the Mountain West championship, where they crushed No. 19 San Diego State 46-13 to win their first title in the league. Utah State then beat Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, tying a team record with 11 wins and finishing 8-0 away from home for the first time in team history.
South Carolina's Shane Beamer and Tennessee's Josh Heupel also did very good work in their first seasons. Beamer overcame a potentially catastrophic quarterback situation to lead South Carolina to a Duke's Mayo Bowl title (and the accompanying mayo bath), while Heupel sparked Tennessee's offense behind quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Top assistant coach
Jim Knowles, Oklahoma State
I vote for the Broyles Award (top assistant coach) and respect this year's choice in Michigan's Josh Gattis, who oversaw a much-improved unit. But Knowles changed the way a program plays the game. Oklahoma State, for years known as an offense-centric team, has flipped to become defense-driven. Knowles' defense was the reason Oklahoma State reached the Big 12 championship game and nearly made its first CFP appearance. The Cowboys finished the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in sacks, tackles for loss, third-down conversions against, rushing, points allowed and rushing defense. Coach Mike Gundy isn't afraid to make bold coordinator hires who lack direct connections to Oklahoma State. Knowles came from Duke after the 2017 season and gradually transformed the Cowboys into a program fueled by defense. He departs Oklahoma State for Ohio State but leaves an incredible legacy in Stillwater.
Top under-the-radar coaching performance, Power 5
Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Clawson is extremely respected in coaching circles and among many college fans, too. He coaches at the smallest Power 5 school, an academically rigorous one with only two conference championships (2006, 1970) and, before this season, only two years with more than eight victories. Clawson stabilized Wake Forest, reaching five consecutive bowl games before 2021, but he had never won more than eight games nor finished higher than third in the ACC's Atlantic Division. This season, Wake Forest finally broke through, starting 8-0 and entering the AP top 10 for the first time in team history. The Demon Deacons finished with a division title and 11 wins, tying the team record. Clemson's early struggles dominated discussion around the ACC, but Wake Forest's historic season provided a big bright spot for the league.
Kentucky's Mark Stoops, NC State's Dave Doeren and Purdue's Jeff Brohm also did very good work that didn't receive a ton of national attention.
Top under-the-radar coaching performance, Group of 5
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Every year, a team finishes the season with 10 wins and elicits some degree of surprise around the college football landscape. San Diego State has the patent on this, first with Rocky Long and now Brady Hoke, who deserves a mention after quietly guiding the Aztecs to a team-record 12 wins in 2021. But it felt like no one noticed Calhoun and Air Force, which reached 10 victories for the second time in two seasons and for the fourth time since 2014. The Falcons beat Boise State, Nevada and others, and finished with a SERVPRO First Responder Bowl victory over Louisville. Calhoun is now responsible for nearly half of Air Force's nine seasons with 10 or more wins. Calhoun's fellow academy coach, Army's Jeff Monken, also deserves a shoutout here, along with NIU's Hammock, UAB's Bill Clark, Central Michigan's Jim McElwain, Western Kentucky's Tyson Helton and Georgia State's Shawn Elliott.
Best first-year Power 5 coordinator, defense
Mike Macdonald, Michigan
Harbaugh took a chance after the 2020 season, replacing respected defensive coordinator Don Brown with Macdonald, a 33-year-old who had never been a primary playcaller. Macdonald had worked at Georgia in lower roles and quickly rose through the ranks with the Baltimore Ravens under John Harbaugh. His hire dramatically helped Michigan's defense, which reestablished itself as a top-10 unit in points allowed and thrived up front with Heisman Trophy finalist Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo at the end spots (25 sacks and seven forced fumbles combined). Michigan became a more active, playmaking unit and finally limited Ohio State's offense in a dominant breakthrough win. Along with new assistants Steve Clinkscale (defensive backs), George Helow (linebackers) and Ron Bellamy (safeties), and holdover Shaun Nua (defensive line), Macdonald made a memorable impact in his first season.
Other strong first-year DC hires include Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman (promoted to head coach Dec. 3), Illinois' Ryan Walters, Auburn's Derek Mason and Purdue's Brad Lambert.
Best first-year Power 5 coordinator, offense
Jeff Grimes, Baylor
Sometimes, numbers don't tell the full story. Baylor's offense doesn't even rank in the top 50 nationally in yards per game (422.7) and ranks 40th in points per game (31.6), but the improvements Grimes oversaw made a huge impact in the Bears' run to a Big 12 championship. Baylor had tried to achieve offensive balance in 2020 but was unsuccessful, and lacked a physical component that would become the unit's identity under Grimes. The Bears set the tone with 964 rush yards and 11 touchdowns in their first three games and had two running backs -- Abram Smith and Trestan Ebner -- combine for 2,400 rush yards and 14 touchdowns. Grimes produced an offense that could complement the defense, and was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which went to the nation's top assistant.
Tennessee's Alex Golesh and BYU's Aaron Roderick also merit mentions here.
Top Group of 5 coordinator (defense):
Doug Belk, Houston
When Houston opened the season with a 35-20 loss to Texas Tech, few envisioned the Cougars winning 12 games, one shy of the team record. An equally bigger surprise proved to be Houston's defense, which propelled the team to the AAC championship game and a Birmingham Bowl win over Auburn. Belk, in his first year as Houston's primary coordinator, oversaw a unit that led the AAC and tied for 10th nationally in sacks (3.21 per game), while ranking second in the AAC in points allowed (20). The "Third Ward Defense" leads the nation in third-down conversions against (25.7%) and ranks seventh in first downs allowed (210). The Cougars allowed only 13 points in the bowl win over Auburn, their lowest total in a bowl game. Last month, Houston made Belk the highest-paid assistant in team history.
Top Group of 5 coordinator (offense)
Zach Kittley, Western Kentucky
Kittley was one of the more fascinating hires of the past offseason, as Western Kentucky brought both him and quarterback Bailey Zappe in from FCS Houston Baptist. Both backed up the hype, as Western Kentucky finished second nationally in both scoring (44.2 points per game) and total offense (535.3 yards per game), while Zappe set FBS single-season records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62). WKU eclipsed 30 points in every game and averaged 42.9 points in its final 10 games, ending with a 59-38 win over Appalachian State in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. Kittley, who turned 30 in August, attended Texas Tech and came up through the Air Raid system. Could he be the next Lincoln Riley? We could soon find out as new Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire hired Kittley as coordinator last month.