Who is the ACC Coach of the Year?

I have to admit, I wrote this before Clemson beat down Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game. So, I had to go in and rewrite some of this blog post…….

This question has been bothering me for a few weeks now. I have come up with a list of names that I believe are in that conversation, and I hope to talk through who I think should be named the ACC COY.

The names that I have widdled it down to are the following. Brian Kelly, Manny Diaz, Jeff Hafley, and Dave Doeren. Those are the four that I think are in the running. I have seen national media members throw in Mack Brown and I have no idea how you include him in the conversation. UNC finished exactly where they were chosen, and own 2 very bad losses. One to Florida State and the other to Virginia. Losing to this Florida State team is an automatic disqualification.

Let’s take a look at the coaches and the arguments in favor of each. First Brian Kelly. Notre Dame went through the regular season undefeated. They also snapped Clemson’s 36 ACC game winning streak. They are the first ACC team to beat Clemson since 2017. Next, let’s look at Manny Diaz. Diaz’s team was ranked in the top 10 almost all year. He brought in a new OC and a transfer QB.

Their best defensive player opted out for the season and they still went 8-2. Then there is Jeff Hafley who inherited a Boston College team whose offense was stuck in the 1980s. He had to play 3 out of the 4 best teams in the ACC (Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC). While they did not win any of these games. They were competitive in all of them. That is 3 out of their 5 losses. Finally, let’s take a look at Dave Doeren. Doeren went 4-8 last year and had an offense that was absolutely miserable.

This year they went 8-3 with an offense that had a pulse. Doeren also replaced almost everyone on the entire staff. The new coaches included a new Offensive Coordinator/QB coach, RB coach, Defensive Coordinator, Corner Back coach, and Defensive Line, coach. They also lost their starting quarterback to contact tracing at the beginning of the year and then after 3 games. They won 5 games with backup QB Baily Hockman.

Now, let’s look at the negatives for each of these coaches. Brian Kelly and Notre Dame are mercenaries who are only in the ACC because of a pandemic. Also, the blowout loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game does not help Brian Kelly and it is is going to be used against Kelly. Diaz got rolled by UNC. It wasn’t the fact that Miami lost that game when you give up over 500 yards on the ground and get beat 62-28 on the last week of the regular season? That leads a bad taste in people’s mouths and might cost him votes. Haffley only won 6 games, and not a real signature win. I am not sure if being competitive against Clemson, UNC, and Notre Dame is worthy of being Coach of the Year, but having low expectations and overcoming them is worthy of being in the discussion.

Finally, let’s look at the case against Doeren. The first and last argument against Doeren is the schedule. NC State got the benefit of missing Clemson and Notre Dame. They did play UNC and Miami. UNC beat NC State by 27. NC State also lost to a terrible Virginia Tech team by 21.

Before last night I thought the ACC Coach of the Year SHOULD be Brian Kelly. Notre Dame beat Clemson and has been in the top 5 all year. They absolutely shut down a North Carolina offense that was humming at the time. I still think that Brian Kelly should still be in the mix. However, last night opened the race right up. Taking out Brian Kelly, my vote would probably vote Jeff Hafley first and Dave Doeren second. The job those two coaches have done with their teams is above and beyond what the media thought they would be.

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