With all of the back and forth between Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, it’s clear there is some bad blood between these Big Ten coaches.
But these two are not alone. There are coaches all over the nation who share a little bad blood.
Here are the top 10 going today.
10. Will Muschamp vs. Kevin Sumlin
Before even playing an SEC game, Will Muschamp didn’t have many positive things to say about Texas A&M.
Kevin Sumlin had no choice but to defend his new home.
In the end, Muschamp got the first laugh with a win over the Aggies in Texas A&M’s first conference game.
9. Gene Chizik vs. Nick Saban
It’s possible Nick Saban and Gene Chizik have a mutual respect, but they aren’t allowed to show it.
So to appease the fans of their respective programs they have to act like they are superior to other. Of course, that’s kind of difficult for anyone to do when comparing yourself to Saban.
It would be interesting to hear what these two say about each other on the recruiting trail.
8. Dana Holgorsen vs. Mike Gundy
This is truly a friendly rivalry as Dana Holgorsen was well liked by Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State fans.
With WVU making all kinds of headlines with its offense (and it’s defense for all of the wrong reasons), the pupil is going to be psyched to top his mentor.
Gundy will also love the opportunity to match wits with Holgo.
7. Brian Kelly vs. Brady Hoke
With Notre Dame set to end this rivalry game after the 2014 meeting, you can bet Brady Hoke is going to use that as motivation for his team.
And let’s be real, there are very few coaches who really like Brian Kelly. So it’s easy for Hoke to get fired up over playing Kelly.
These two also get after it on the recruiting trail.
6. Rich Rodriguez vs. Todd Graham
Todd Graham and Rich Rodriguez coached together at West Virginia and have an existing relationship.
They respect each other, but now they have to battle each other for the best players in Arizona and their future at their respective universities will be largely determined by how they do against each other.
If they are both successful this has a chance to a be a long-running rivalry.
5. Lane Kiffin vs. Jim Mora
These two NFL flunk outs have huge egos.
We’ve already seen how intense Jim Mora can be, and there’s no question he wants to put an end to USC dominance of this Pac-12 rivalry.
Then there’s Kiffin. He does a good job of being coy, but there’s no question he and Mora will be great adversaries.
4. Dabo Swinney vs. Steve Spurrier
Dabo Swinney and the Clemson fans would like to think these two are big rivals, but I’m not so sure that Steve Spurrier agrees.
Spurrier simply believes he’s the best coach and he’d never put himself on the same level with Swinney.
Right now, Spurrier dominates Swinney on the recruiting trail … which is obvious by the way South Carolina has been able to get the top recruit in the state each year.
3. Urban Meyer vs. Mark Dantonio
As I stated at the beginning, the recent spat between Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio has completely ramped up the rivalry between these two.
Dantonio appeared to be a sore loser when he complained to the media that Ohio State doctored the video it supplied the Spartans.
Meyer followed up with some video of eye gouging.
I can’t wait to see these two go at again next year.
2. Les Miles vs. Nick Saban
There is definitely a mutual respect between these two.
When Les Miles replaced Nick Saban at LSU there was no reason to despise each other as Saban was headed to the NFL.
When he chose to return to Alabama … well, everyone at LSU was none too happy.
So Miles joined them.
Last year’s loss in the title game really added some depth to this rivalry, especially since Miles’ team downed Alabama in Tuscaloosa during the regular season.
1. Mack Brown vs. Bob Stoops
These are two of the best coaches in the Big 12, and neither of them are very forgiving.
When Mack Brown politicked hard for Texas to play in the Big 12 championship game in 2008, Bob Stoops didn’t have much to say. While Brown had a gripe, Stoops and the Sooner Nation lost a lot of respect for the UT coach.
After so many years of getting after it on and off the field, Brown and Stoops simply tolerate each other.
