Coaching matters in football more than any other sport. Coaching matters even more in college football as you can out-scheme your opponents on a weekly basis. We rank the top five coaches in college football from week to week in our Coach of the Year Rankings.

#1 Gary Patterson, TCU Horned Frogs

It hasn’t always been pretty for Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs, but very few, if any, would have expected them to be in contention for a playoff spot. Patterson is winning games with less talent than most of his counterparts and has turned a wide receiver into a pretty good college quarterback.

#2 Rich Rodriguez, Arizona Wildcats

Rich Rod’s Wildcats are winning ugly, but they keep winning in the nation’s second-best conference. He has Arizona years ahead of schedule and he’s done it with a bunch of three-star recruits.

#3 Nick Saban, Alabama Crimson Tide

There’s something to be said for being able to recruit the best talent in the nation and Nick Saban has done that. Like Jimbo Fisher, Saban is expected to win every game and he wins most of them. Since Saban has finally figured out how to stop the spread offense, we figure that it’s time that the best coach in the nation gets into the top five for Coach of the Year, especially considering he replaced several early NFL draft picks and his quarterback.

#4 Dan Mullen, Mississippi State Bulldogs

Dan Mullen’s team shot itself in the foot on Saturday against Alabama or he might still be at the top of these rankings and the polls. Mullen has done a fantastic job in Starkville, so good that it might get him a ticket out of Starkville and into a “destination job.”

#5 Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Seminoles

Jimbo Fisher probably shouldn’t drop a spot after winning his 26th consecutive game, but the nation hates the Seminoles and he’s expected to win no matter what; a true victim of his own success. Fisher is a great recruiter and a great coach and if he can get this year’s team to show up in the first half, he’ll have his second national title.

Again, this isn’t a list of the best coaches in the country, it’s a list of which coaches are doing the best job this season.