Coach of the Year Runners-up

Ask 1,000 coaches to give you the names of their colleagues who did the best jobs in 1998, and it is a sure bet that Tommy Bowden's name would appear on every list. In his two years at Tulane, Bowden was 18-4, at a school not exactly known for its football prowess. To best appreciate the job that he did, it is important to look at the school's pre-Bowden futility. In the 15 years before he took over, Tulane was a woeful 45-123 (.260). In 1997, his first year, the Wave went 7-4, its best record since 1980 (7-5). Everything came together in 1998, as the Wave averaged over 45 points per game, and the Green Wave finished the season as one of only two teams in Division I-A to go undefeated (joining Tennessee). It was one of college football's worst-kept secrets that every big-time program would begin its search for a new coach at the school in the Big Easy. And, come looking they did; as Bowden accepted the job to rebuild Clemson immediately after the regular season was over.

Fisher DeBerry
Air Force
Oahu Bowl Champions
12-1 Season
WAC Coach of the Year

Coming off of 1997's 10-3 campaign, Air Force returned the fewest starters of any team in its division of the WAC. Therefore, it was no surprise many in the media picked the Falcons to finish in the middle of the pack. These experts forgot who was at the controls: Fisher DeBerry. "We're used to that kind of thing," said DeBerry. "Typically, our team is made of juniors and seniors because we don't have a red-shirt program." Turnover and all, the 1998 Falcons flew to a school-record 12 wins, which included a WAC championship (20-13 over BYU) and a 45-25 drubbing of the Washington Huskies in the Oahu Bowl. The team featured a rushing offense that won its 15th WAC statistical title and was lethal in the red zone (converting 43 of 46 chances, with 37 TDs and 6 FGs). Air Force also had a deadly defense that was among the best in the land (number six in scoring defense and 11th overall).

DeBerry's 21 wins over the past two seasons are second to only Tennessee's 23 during that same period.

Phillip Fulmer
Tennessee
National Champions
13-0 Season
SEC Coach of the Year

In his first six years at the helm of the Tennessee Volunteers, Phil Fulmer achieved some mighty impressive credentials. Surely, no one would argue that year-in and year-out, UT has been in the upper echelon of the nation's elite programs.

Each year, the top of the NFL draft is littered with Tennessee players. The recruiting analysts always have the Vols as one of the top 10 classes in the land. And, in 1997, Tennessee won the SEC championship and finished in the top 10 final polls for the third straight year. Fulmer was the winningest active coach at .831 and won 50 games faster than anyone in SEC history. But, for all of his success, Fulmer was plagued by two descriptions. First, he was simply a "good recruiter and pretty good coach." And, far more demeaning, "he can't win the big one."

In 1998, Fulmer ended all speculation; he's one of the great coaches in all of college football. The 13-0 record, SEC and national championship are all the proof required.

Michael Riley
Oregon State
5-6 Regular Season

Five wins is not the stuff of legends. But, five wins at a school that has not had a five-win season in 27 years was enough to get Oregon State's Mike Riley tabbed by Bobby Beathard to be the new coach of the San Diego Chargers.

In 1998, Riley's second season at the controls of one of the losingest programs in the annals of college football, he brought the OSU program up to respectability. The season included three losses by a total of nine points (seven of which came in the 41-34 near upset of then top ranked UCLA 41-34). The campaign's highlight came in the season-ending "civil war" vs. national power and in-state rival University of Oregon. The Beavers of OSU won a double overtime thriller 44-41.

Riley has been a winner at every level. As a high school quarterback, he took his team to a state title. As a defensive back for Bear Bryant at Alabama, he won a national championship. And, as the youngest head coach in the history of the Canadian Football League, he won a Grey Cup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.