Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, August 6, 2015
Wednesday, I took a look at the best hires in the last 40 years at schools in the Big Ten West.
Today, I do the same for the Big Ten East.
INDIANA
Bill Mallory. The farther we get from his tenure, the greater it looks. Mallory had all the flash of a pair of wing tips, a do-the-right-thing throw-back coach who forged the Hoosiers into a strong program built around a physical offense and honest-to-goodness defense. He went 68-77-3 (39-65-1 in the Big Ten) from 1984-1996 with six bowls after arriving from Northern Illinois to replace Sam Wyche-who was in Bloomington for one season. Mallory, who debuted 0-11 in 1984, was at his peak in 1987 and 1988, going 16-7-1 overall and 11-5 in the Big Ten. There even were wins vs. Michigan and Ohio State. Alas, IU fan became ?bored? with Mallory steadily delivering bowls. The brass thought it could do better. Cam Cameron, Gerry DiNardo, Terry Hoepper, Bill Lynch and now Kevin Wilson have tried to replicate what Mallory built-and it hasn?t happened almost 20 years after Mallory was unceremoniously pushed out.
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MARYLAND
Ralph Friedgen. Bobby Ross had a nice run from 1982-86, but Friedgen took things to another level after uninspired stints by Joe Krivak, Mark Duffner and Ron Vanderlinden drove Maryland into irrelevancy. ?The Fridge? left his post as Georgia Tech offensive coordinator under George O?Leary to return to his alma mater in 2001. Friedgen quickly breathed life into the program. He debuted with a bang, going 10-2, 11-3 and 10-3 his first three seasons in College Park. The Fridge took the Terrapins to the Orange Bowl in his maiden season-but he never recaptured the glory of his first three years on campus. Still, he forged a 75-50 mark (43-37 in the ACC) in 10 seasons with seven bowls before a messy divorce after the 2010 season.
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MICHIGAN
Lloyd Carr. Before Jim Harbaugh arrived and made everyone swoon like teenage girls at the mall food court, there was the noble, regal, stately and stoic Carr. He got the gig under dubious circumstances after Gary Moeller was fired after an off-field incident prior to the 1995 season. Even then, Carr was the ?interim? coach, not landing the full-time gig until November of 1995. Smart move by Michigan. Carr went on to finish 122-40 (81-23 in the Big Ten) with five Big Ten titles in 13 seasons. In fact, he?s an answer to a trivia question: Who is the last Wolverine coach to lead the program to a league title? Carr in 2004. Even better, Carr did something the sacrosanct Bo Schembechler never did: Win a national championship, doing so in 1997. Carr stepped down after the 2007 season-giving way to ill-fated Rich Rodriguez (horrible fit) and then Brady Hoke (overmatched). Michigan is still digging fast to recover, which is why Harbaugh is sitting in a corner office on a mountain of money.
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MICHIGAN STATE
Mark Dantonio. Darryl Rogers (1976-79); George Perles (1983-1994) and Nick Saban (1995-99) all did some good things in East Lansing. But Dantonio has this program humming like it was when legendary Duffy Daugherty (1954-1972) was winning national titles. Dantonio arrived from Cincinnati and took over for goofy John L. Smith (Who can forget his epic halftime interview in 2005 at Ohio State?) in 2007, instilling needed discipline and attention to detail along with loads of toughness. Dantonio is 75-31 (45-19 Big Ten), taking the program to a pair of Big Ten titles and eight bowls. And he?s still on a roll with a perpetual chip on his shoulder.
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OHIO STATE
Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes needed a boost in the wake of Jim Tressel?s unceremonious ouster prior to the 2011 season following NCAA violations. Defensive coordinator Luke Fickell was the interim head coach during a dreary 6-7 season in 2011. Meyer was out of coaching that season after a highly successful six-year stint at Florida that included two national titles. Meyer took over from Fickell and debuted with a 12-0 mark, fighting through NCAA probation. He pushed his mark to 24-0 before finally losing. And he took Ohio State to the summit last year in just his third season in Columbus, winning the national title. Meyer is 38-3 overall and 24-0 in the Big Ten. Can this man be stopped? Meyer may be the greatest college coach ? ever.
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PENN STATE
Bill O?Brien. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator stepped into a tornado, wading through the wreckage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal when the program was crippled by NCAA sanctions that cut deep into scholarship numbers and included a bowl ban. This was an unprecedented situation filled with turmoil and uncertainty. The bottom was supposed to fall out of program. But, O?Brien?s bulldog mentality buttressed Penn State to surprising success, as the Nittany Lions went 15-9 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten in his two seasons (2012-13) in State College before taking the Houston Texans job. O?Brien handed off a stabilizing program to perpetually upbeat James Franklin, who arrived from Vanderbilt and is primed to take the program to the next level.
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RUTGERS
Greg Schiano. He did what many people didn?t think was possible-make the Scarlet Knights matter after a forgettable run of Dick Anderson, Doug Graber and Terry Shea. (Yawn, yawn, yawn.) Schiano arrived in Piscataway after serving as defensive coordinator for Miami (Fla.), going 68-67 (28-48 in the Big East) from 2001-11 with six bowls-the school?s first bowls since 1978 when disco was king. The 2006 season was iconic, as Schiano and RU made national headlines by going 11-2. The Scarlet Knights got ranked for the first time since 1976 and reached No. 6 in the BCS poll after opening 9-0. Schiano ultimately left to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but lasted just two seasons. He is out of coaching but predecessor Kyle Flood continues to put his mark on the program. Schiano proved you really can win consistently at Rutgers.
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About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |