Who would you rather hire TODAY? (Ranking the B1G Coaches)

I'm NOT asking who the best coach in the conference is. I'm asking, if every B1G coach was available for hire, who would you go after first? The coaches current age, recruiting/coaching ability, and past accomplishments should all factor in.

Current Coaches (by age):
Bo Ryan-66 (Wisconsin)
John Beilein-60 (Michigan)
Tom Izzo-58 (Michigan State)
Fran McCaffery-54 (Iowa)
Tom Crean-47 (Indiana)
Tim Miles-47 (Nebraska)
Thad Matta-46 (Ohio State)
Pat Chambers-43 (Penn State)
Matt Painter-43 (Purdue)
John Groce-42 (Illinois)
Chris Collins-39 (Northwestern)
Richard Pitino-31 (Minnesota)

My Big Board (aka my humble opinion):
1. Tom Izzo-58 (Michigan State) - Only National Champion
2. Thad Matta-46 (Ohio State) - Been to a title game and still relatively young
3. John Beilein-60 (Michigan) - Been to the title game, recruits well, and seems like a great in-game coach
4. Richard Pitino-31 (Minnesota) - Definitely a homer pick, but I love the potential, bloodlines, mentors ... i'm hook line and sinker with him
5. Tom Crean-47 (Indiana) - Has a final four and seems to recruit well, in game coaching is questionable at times
6. Matt Painter-43 (Purdue) - Has recruited very well, has had some major success and is still young
7. Fran McCaffery-54 (Iowa) - Has done a hell of a job at Iowa, tourney success is a bit of question mark, a little older too
8. Bo Ryan-66 (Wisconsin) - Great coach, no final four, and has limited amount of years until retirement
9. John Groce-42 (Illinois) - Young coach, seems like solid recruiter, lots of potential, hasn't proven much
10. Chris Collins-39 (Northwestern) - Young coach, doing a hell of a job at NW, good bloodlines and mentors
11. Tim Miles-47 (Nebraska) - Seems like a good coach, just hasn't proven a lot yet
12. Pat Chambers-43 (Penn State) - Really don't know much about him


Ok flame away...

Izzo
Crean
Matta
Pitino
Beilein
Ryan
McCaffery
Miles
Painter
Collins
Groce
Chambers

Depends on the circumstances, If I have one year and a roster that can win it all I'd go Izzo, to build a program I'd go Painter, there's alot of good coaches. My rankings are
Izzo
Belien
Matta
Bo
Painter
Crean
Fran
Pitino
Collins
Miles
Grose
Chambers
IMO opinion can't go wrong with the top ten, Chambers has a tough hand and honestly I just don't like Groce, I don't think he'll last long.

Izzo
Belein
Pitino
McCaffery
Collins
Matta
Grinch
Miles
Crean
Painter
Groce
Penn State's coach (can't remember his name)

I know a trick question when I see one. Of course it is....

Richard Pitino
Ben Johnson
Dan McHale
Kimani Young
Josh Adel
Casey Stanley
Walker Price
Caitlin Mahoney
Tom Giesen
Adam Bates
Jasmine Moore
Emily Bevacqua

SKOOKM said:

I know a trick question when I see one. Of course it is....

Richard Pitino
Ben Johnson
Dan McHale
Kimani Young
Josh Adel
Casey Stanley
Walker Price
Caitlin Mahoney
Tom Giesen
Adam Bates
Jasmine Moore
Emily Bevacqua

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You forgot Lindsey

Wow. I remember during the search thinking Miles is a young coach trying to prove he belongs. Interesting to see he is 16 years the senior of Pitino.

I'm most shocked Matta is 4 years younger than me. Jeezus, I thought I was aging poorly!

Izzo
McCaffery
Pitino
Beilien
Matta
Crean
Painter
Miles
Collins
Groce
Chambers
Ryan

I despise Bo Ryan (Wisconsin fans complain about Izzo on the sidelines...Bo is the king of over reaction). The fact that the high octane offense he has this year is a complete failure on the defensive end tells me Bo will be soon going back to averaging 50 pts a game.

StCroix said:

I'm most shocked Matta is 4 years younger than me. Jeezus, I thought I was aging poorly!

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Matta surprised me also. Thought he was around 60.

mnsports1 said:

Wow. I remember during the search thinking Miles is a young coach trying to prove he belongs. Interesting to see he is 16 years the senior of Pitino.

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He's had to work his way up the coaching ladder differently than Pitino: 2 years at Mayville, 4 years at SSU (SMSU), 6 years at NDSU, 5 years at CSU, and now 2 years at Nebraska. It adds up quickly.

1. Izzo
2. Beilein
(These two are head and shoulders above the rest of the league right now, IMO.)


3. Pitino
4. McCaffery
5. Ryan
6. Painter
(You can argue for these in any order, but I wouldn't trade Pitino for any of them at the moment. Bo due to age. McCaffery due to likelyhood to stroke out.)

7. Miles
8. Crean
9. Matta
(I know Crean and Matta should both be higher, but I can't stand either one of them.)

10. Collins
11. Groce
12. Chambers

There are only three about which I am relatively certain:

1. Izzo

11. Crean
12. Bo

station19 said:

Matta surprised me also. Thought he was around 60.

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Ha. His hairline was already receding when he took the job at OSU 10 years ago, and it has continued a steady retreat. And it seems after 2011 the gray started to come in. But I was surprised to see Tim Miles is older than Matta.

fryguy22 said:

There are only three about which I am relatively certain:

1. Izzo

11. Crean
12. Bo

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I would agree that Bo is down the list, perhaps #12. If I cared at all about the future, I wouldn't hire a 66-year old coach who looks like the crypt keeper and tends to coach a style that most top recruits avoid like the plague.

I would not put Crean #11 though. I would not have him below Pat Chambers in any case. Pat Chambers I think is the worst coach in the Big Ten.

OSUfan said:

Ha. His hairline was already receding when he took the job at OSU 10 years ago, and it has continued a steady retreat. And it seems after 2011 the gray started to come in. But I was surprised to see Tim Miles is older than Matta.

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Going to get even grayer if he keeps losing. We have a good view of the enemy and with about 45 seconds left in the OS game he just sagged, and you could see him say either "f**k" or "damn." Very enjoyable. Seems like he has a good rapport with his players though and I imagine he'll get it straightened out.