Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, July 15, 2015
Twitter fan or not, it's hard not to be impressed with Jim Harbaugh's incredible success on the social media platform.
The new Michigan coach, hired on Dec. 30, 2014, recently became the owner of the most followed account among Big Ten football coaches, a title previously held by rival Urban Meyer (283,246).
Think about that for a second: In six-plus months, Harbaugh has garnered 286,512 followers, an average of 1,476 followers per day since his first tweet Jan. 2.
That, in a word, is impressive.
With a new name in the No. 1 spot, I thought it would be fun to take a look at how the Big Ten football coaches' Twitter handles stack up. There are 10 of them, as Kirk Ferentz, Jerry Kill, Darrell Hazell and Paul Chryst are not on Twitter.
Before we get to the list, here are a few fun numbers:
934,137 – Total number of followers for the 10 Big Ten coaches on Twitter.
61% – Percent of followers credited to Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer.
4,727 – The highest number of tweets by a Big Ten coach (Pat Fitzgerald)
Editor's note: Number of all followers and tweets are from 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
See the ranking below:
1. Jim Harbaugh
Handle: @CoachJim4UM
Followers: 286,512
Tweets: 405
Sample tweet:
#TBT Live on @SportsCenter with @miketirico. pic.twitter.com/44XrYqaf0I
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) May 28, 2015
***
2. Urban Meyer
Handle: @OSUCoachMeyer
Followers: 283,246
Tweets: 583
Sample tweet:
Buckeyes and @KingJames support each other. Let's go Cavs! pic.twitter.com/ZhQialZXUZ
— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) May 26, 2015
***
3. James Franklin
Handle: @coachjfranklin
Followers: 109,013
Tweets: 2,604
Sample tweet:
What a crew - the future of #PSU football is bright. Enjoy moving in guys, but be ready to go to work on Monday! pic.twitter.com/5ByC1gLHGG
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) June 27, 2015
***
4. Mike Riley
Handle: @Coach_Riley
Followers: 107,903
Tweets: 2,487
Sample tweet:
#Huskers coaches in 11 states today! NE, IA, MO, KS, OK, CO, IL, SD, CA, LA, OH #GBR ???
— Mike Riley (@Coach_Riley) April 16, 2015
***
5. Mark Dantonio
Handle: @DantonioMark
Followers: 49,466
Tweets: 556
Sample tweet:
FAITH/BELIEF: "One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests." #2015CottonBowl #V4MSU! pic.twitter.com/8yiH1ndPtm
— Mark Dantonio (@DantonioMark) July 9, 2015
***
6. Pat Fitzgerald
Handle: @coachfitz51
Followers: 29,474
Tweets: 4,727
Sample tweet:
Boom @JordanSpieth Clutch! @UnderArmour
— Pat Fitzgerald (@coachfitz51) June 22, 2015
***
7. Kevin Wilson
Handle: @IUCoachWilson
Followers: 22,611
Tweets: 2,710
Sample tweet:
2015 #IUCommencement - Congrats to All Grads & Their Families!! pic.twitter.com/c9FgJOIxSs
— Kevin Wilson (@TulsaCoachKDub) May 9, 2015
***
8. Randy Edsall
Handle: @RandyEdsall
Followers: 17,947
Tweets: 1,942
Sample tweet:
***
9. Tim Beckman
Handle: @coachbeckman
Followers: 15,245
Tweets: 4,426
Sample tweet:
***
10. Kyle Flood
Handle: @KyleFloodRU
Followers: 12,720
Tweets: 1,993
Sample tweet:
All of @RFootball & #CHOPNation are proud of @CarliLloyd!! Good luck @ussoccer_wnt - bring home the cup!!
— Kyle Flood (@KJJFlood) July 2, 2015
#1-0
CHOP! pic.twitter.com/LekV7SuvI5
