Athlon Sports ranks all 130 FBS head coaches; Matt Rhule top 50

Last Monday, Steven Lassan of AthlonSports.com ranked the entire group of 130 FBS coaches from 1-130 and gave a significant explanation on each as to why they received their ranking.

Coming off of a 1-11 in his first season with the Bears, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule could have easily landed among the bottom half of the list, but Lassan gave him some credit for his time at Temple and explained his understanding for his first season in Waco. 

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48. Matt Rhule, Baylor

As expected, Rhule's first season at Baylor was clearly a rebuilding year. The Bears finished 1-11 but lost five games by 10 points or less. However, the future outlook in Waco is promising for the New York native. Baylor has added back-to-back top-40 signing classes and a handful of talented young players are back (with added experience) for 2018. Prior to taking over at Baylor, Rhule had a successful 28-23 stint at Temple, which included back-to-back 10-win seasons. He also has stints in his coaching career as an assistant at Temple, Western Carolina, UCLA and in the NFL with the Giants.

Related: Denzel Mims named a top 10 WR nationally | Jalen Hurd one of the best athletes in CFB

The ranking of 48 could be seen as generous, but Rhule ranks ahead of just 25 Power Five coaches and behind 39 of them. In the Big 12, Rhule falls at No. 8 on the list. 

125. David Beaty - Kansas

83. Kliff Kingsbury - Texas Tech

48. Matt Rhule - Baylor

37. Dana Holgerson - West Virgina

32. Matt Campbell - Iowa State

28. Tom Herman - Texas

26. Lincoln Riley - Oklahoma

15. Bill Snyder - Kansas State

14. Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State

5. Gary Patterson - TCU

Other notable head coaches:

6. Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M

25. David Cutcliffe - Duke

33. Jeff Brohm - Purdue

47. PJ Fleck - Minnesota

50. Will Muschamp - South Carolina

51. Larry Fedora - North Carolina

56. Dino Babers - Syracuse

57. Mike MacIntyre - Colorado

71. Chad Morris - Arkansas

76. Philip Montgomery - Tulsa

80. Mario Cristobal - Oregon

81. Ed Orgeron - LSU

90. Barry Odom - Missouri