| Nominee |
School |
Coach |
| Joel Adams |
University of Colorado |
Dan Hawkins |
| Steve Aponavicius |
Boston College |
Jeff Jagodzinski |
| Rob Bruggeman |
University of Iowa |
Kirk Ferentz |
| Jeff Byers |
University of Southern California |
Pete Carroll |
| Deon Butler |
Penn State University |
Joe Paterno |
| Dan Cafaro |
University of Pittsburgh |
Dave Wannstedt |
| Ian Campbell |
Kansas State University |
Ron Prince |
| Sebastian Clements |
Oklahoma State University |
Mike Gundy |
| Drew Combs |
Texas Christian University |
Gary Patterson |
| Jason Cook |
University of Mississippi |
Houston Nutt |
| Ryan Craig |
Rice University |
David Bailiff |
| Travis Dekker |
United States Air Force Academy |
Troy Calhoun |
| Alex Derenthal |
Temple University |
Al Golden |
| Ryan Donnelly |
Syracuse University |
Greg Robinson |
| Casey Droscha |
Central Michigan University |
Butch Jones |
| Frank Duong |
Purdue University |
Joe Tiller |
| Brian Elledge |
San Jose State University |
Dick Tomey |
| Chris Franklin |
Western Kentucky University |
David Elson |
| Danny Garcia |
University of Texas/El Paso |
Mike Price |
| Troy Garside |
Georgia Tech |
Paul Johnson |
| Louis Givens |
Florida State University |
Bobby Bowden |
| Daniel Graff |
Louisiana State University |
Les Miles |
| William Tyler Grisham |
Clemson University |
Dabo Swinney |
| Michael Hancock |
Florida Atlantic University |
Howard Schnellenberger |
| Nic Harris |
University of Oklahoma |
Bob Stoops |
| Marcus Henderson |
Oregon State University |
Mike Riley |
| Tim Hiller |
Western Michigan University |
Bill Cubit |
| Wilson Holloway |
University of Tulsa |
Todd Graham |
| Tyler Huffman |
Ohio University |
Frank Solich |
| Trevor Jenkins |
Middle Tennessee State University |
Rick Stockstill |
| Jammie Kirlew |
Indiana University |
Bill Lynch |
| Matt Larkin |
University of Oregon |
Mike Bellotti |
| Robbie McAtee |
University of Kentucky |
Rich Brooks |
| Stephen McGee |
Texas A&M University |
Mike Sherman |
| Andy McIntosh |
University of Nevada |
Chris Ault |
| Zach Milligan |
University of Missouri |
Gary Pinkel |
| Johnell Neal |
University of Central Florida |
George O’Leary |
| Chris Ogbonnaya |
University of Texas |
Mack Brown |
| Ryan Perry |
University of Hawaii |
Greg McMackin |
| Todd Peterson |
University of Nebraska |
Bo Pelini |
| Tommy Poynter |
Southern Methodist University |
June Jones |
| Robert Quinn |
University of North Carolina |
Butch Davis |
| Sam Shalala |
Baylor University |
Art Briles |
| George Smith |
Vanderbilt University |
Bobby Johnson |
| James Smith |
University of Florida |
Urban Meyer |
| Chris Stevens |
University of Washington |
Tyrone Willingham |
| Brett Toney |
University of Memphis |
Tommy West |
| Josh Ulibarri |
San Diego State University |
Chuck Long |
| Kurtis von Bargen |
East Carolina University |
Skip Holtz |
| Ty Whittier |
Colorado State University |
Steve Fairchild |
| Nate Wilcox-Fogel |
Stanford University |
Jim Harbaugh |
| Otis Wiley |
Michigan State University |
Mark Dantonio |
| Andrew Williams |
University of Georgia |
Mark Richt |
