10- Dan Mullen, Miss State

Prior to him being hired at Mississippi State in 2009, Mullen spent time as the offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators and as the quarterback coach for Utah during the Alex Smith era. Before Mullen came on campus, the Bulldogs had finished their season with a 4-8 record, which did not earn them a bowl game. During his first season, they did not make a bowl game either, but did add one more to the win column. The following three seasons all ended with positive records and bowl games, two of which were won by the Bulldogs.

Also, in the past three seasons, Mullen has recruited two five-star recruits and 10 four-star recruits that will continue to uphold the recent success seen from the Bulldogs. In 2013, Mullen lead his team to a seven game winning streak, only to end the rest of the season 1-5. This may be partly due to incompetence at the quarterback position (Tyler Russell, the current starter, is likely only starting due to seniority). Nevertheless, Mullen has elevated the team since his arrival and has paved the way for a bright future.

9- Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss

While a 7-6 record may not sound too glorious, considering it’s compared to their 2-10 record from the previous season, it was a quite a feat by Hugh Freeze during his first season at the university. Along with the five-win increase, the Rebels came away with a bowl game victory. Most notably, and most recently, Freeze landed No.1 overall high school recruit Robert Nkemdiche at defensive end. Not only is Nkemdiche coming aboard, but four other five-star recruits will be on joining the team as well, including the top offensive tackle. With the athletic Bo Wallace at quarterback and the strong defense, Ole Miss’ future with Freeze appears to be promising, especially if it continues to snag top-shelf prospects.

8- Bret Bielema, Arkansas

From 2006 through most of the 2012 season (left for Arkansas on December 4th), Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin and had an overall record of 68-24, including two bowl game wins and three straight Rose Bowl appearances (all losses). He also produced NFL talents such as JJ Watt, Joe Thomas, and Russell Wilson. In his first recruiting class with Arkansas, Bielema managed to rack up a five-star running back along with six other four star recruits. Unfortunately, likely starting quarterback Brandon Mitchell transferred to NC State this offseason, leaving a challenge for Bielema to overcome in his first year with the school. As he had with Wisconsin, Bielema is equipped with a solid defense, incredibly so at defensive end, and it will be interesting to see if he can run it well in his first season.

7- Kevin Sumlin, TAMU

Sumlin should likely be ranked in the top 5 considering he went 11-2, beat the Crimson Tide, won a bowl game, and had a Heisman winner in his first season, but he drops due to all the Manziel antics and the fact the he almost, in a sense, supports it. Now, while he did get Manziel’s suspension overturned, how do we know if it was just so that he could have him as the starter? Did he really even care about the kid inside Manziel and the fact that he’s not just a quarterback, he’s also a human being? We may never know, but the fact that he’s done little to stop Manziel’s questionable behavior is revealing. Controversial, I know, but just ponder that for a moment.

In terms of recruiting, between the 2012 and 2013 class, Sumlin has managed to land two five-star prospects and 28 four-star players. This is including running back Trey Williams, who may be primed to break out in 2013, and Ricky Seals-Jones, a freshman wide receiver who should see a good amount of targets throughout the season.

6- Mark Stoops, Kentucky

From 2004 to 2012, Stoops was a defensive coordinator with stints at Arizona and most recently, Florida State. During this time, he also doubled as the defensive backs coach for both schools. In November of 2012, he accepted the job to be Kentucky’s future head coach. Since coming on campus, Stoops raked in three four-star recruits for the 2013 class and has already managed to grab four four star recruits for the future 2014 class. In the recruiting classes before Stoops was apart of the staff, Kentucky only recruited two four star prospects. Stoops is clearly paving the way for a brighter future for the Kentucky football program.