The Five Best Coaching Jobs of 2016

Rivals.com's Mike Farrell says Colorado Football Coach Mike MacIntyre has done one of the best Coaching Jobs in 2016. Kyle Henderson of CUSportsNation.com backs that up with 10 very strong reasons why MacIntyre should be named National Coach of the Year.

Recruiting: Colorado lands Class of 2018 Offensive Lineman

Weekly Awards: Sefo Liufau and Nick Fisher earn PAC 12 Weekly Honors

Here are the five head coaches that have done the best job this season:

1.) Colorado's Mike MacIntyre – The Buffs need to extend this man out for a long, long time.

2.) Penn State's James Franklin – From talk of Temple’s Matt Rhule as the Nittany Lions' next coach to playoff contention.

3.) Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck – Row that boat. The MAC may stink but undefeated is undefeated.

4.) Washington's Chris Peterson – Did anyone expect Washington to be a national playoff contender this early?

5.) Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy – Take away the Central Michigan robbery and the Cowboys could be playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff this weekend against Oklahoma.

The Colorado Buffaloes now 9-2 on the season are ranked No. 9 in the Coaches as well as the AP Top 25. It's the first time since 2002 that Colorado Football has been ranked within the Top 10. If Colorado beats Utah this weekend, the Buffs will be playing in the PAC 12 Title Game.

Video: Monday Practice Report

ICMYI: Colorado Football Possible Outcomes, National Championship a possibility

1. Year Over Year Turnaround - The Buffs were 4-9 last season and 1-8 in PAC 12 Play. They ended the 2015 season losing their last 7 out of 8 games. MacIntyre's program is 9-2 this year and still has one regular season games left which is against Utah this Saturday. Last Year's winning pct. for MacIntyre was .308, this year, his winning pct. is an amazing .818.

2. 4 Year Program Growth - Entering the 2016 season, MacIntyre's Buffaloes had an incoming overall record of 10-27 and were 2-25 in PAC 12 conference play. With the Buffs winning 9 games this year, his two-year record as Head Coach at Colorado is 13-11, his combined 2013 and 2014 record was 6-18.

3. The Buffs are in first place in the PAC 12 South - At the beginning of the season, nearly every preseason magazine and media outlet had the Buffs picked to finish dead last in the PAC 12 South. Currently, Colorado is 7-1 in conference play with wins over UCLA, ASU, and Arizona, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State. Heading into their next conference game against Utah, Colorado is in the lead of the PAC 12 South and if they win, they'll be playing in the PAC 12 Title Game. Did anyone predict that?

4. Has Colorado Bowl Eligible for the first time since 2007 - The last time Colorado went to a Bowl Game, Dan Hawkins was at the helm of Colorado leading the Buffs to a 6-7 season and losing to Alabama in the Independence Bowl 30-24.

5. Has Colorado Football ranked for the first time since 2005 - The las time that Colorado was nationally ranked was in 2005 when the Buffs were 22nd in the AP Poll. How long ago? Well, the Buffs were then coached by Gary Barnett and were still in the Big 12 Conference.

6. First time Colorado has won 8 or more games since 2004 - The 2004 Colorado Buffaloes finished the season 8-5 and leading the way for the Buffaloes was now Fox Sports College Football Analyst Joel Klatt who passed for 2,398-yards and 11 touchdowns. That year the Buffs would beat UTEP 33-28 in the Houston Bowl.

7. Nationally Ranked Defense - The Buffs' defense is ranked 14th in the entire nation allowing just 322.4 yards per game. MacIntyre did a great job landing Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt who has the Buffs ranked in several NCAA Defensive Categories.

8. Potential January Bowl Game - Several media outlets publish their weekly Bowl Predictions and nearly all of them as of recent have the Buffs playing in a January Bowl Game. If the Buffs beat Utah and Washington, there is a possibility for the Buffs to be selected to the CFB Playoff.

9. Season Resume - Behind their 9-2 season record, Colorado played the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines very well at home, do not let the 45-28 final score fool you. Their second loss was against USC who is No. 13 in the country. Their most impressive wins come against No. 24 Stanford, UCLA, Oregon, and Arizona State a team the Buffs had never beaten before in school history.

10. Winning with players he brought into the program - MacIntyre took over the program on December 10th, 2012 and his recruiting class from 2013 are mostly the players you see on the field today. Chidobe Awuzie at corner who some predict as an NFL first round draft pick has been at Colorado from the start, same with three-year starting Quarterback Sefo Liufau, or Running Back Phillip Lindsay who is fourth int he PAC 12 in rushing, and same with Jimmie Gilbert who has 10 sacks and leads the Country in forced fumbles with 6. In total, we counted 16 players that see or have seen significant playing time in 2016 that have been at Colorado since 2013.