ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

	Ken Levine/WireImage
	Bronco Mendenhall and BYU have swept the conference the last two seasons.

I was charged with finding this year's top 10 non-BCS coaches and it was one of the toughest tasks I've faced this season. With 54 schools in the non-BCS and Independents, there were a lot of good candidates from which to choose. There is no doubt I left someone off (I hear you Notre Dame fans), but I think these are the 10 best coaches heading into this season's non-BCS schedule.

1. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU -- Mendenhall doesn't earn this spot because he has the highest-ranked team in the non-BCS, he earns it because his team has won 11 games each of the last two seasons, swept its conference the last two seasons, and starts the season with the nation's longest winning streak (10).

2. Chris Petersen, Boise State -- Peterson led Boise State to a 13-0 season his first year and a 10-win season the following year. It's easy to say that he did it with Dan Hawkins' players, but Petersen was the offensive coordinator for the other years the Broncos won the WAC title.

3. Howard Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic -- Schnellenberger helped bring football to Florida Atlantic and in just a few years he's established it as a non-BCS team to watch. The Owls won the Sun Belt title last year and are favored to win it this year. He's the only coach the team has ever had and the school liked him so much, it extended his contract through 2010.

4. Rocky Long, New Mexico -- New Mexico might not be a great team, but it is by far one of the most-consistent teams in the non-BCS. New Mexico is the only Mountain West team to be bowl-eligible each of the last seven seasons and the only Mountain West team to have six wins seven years in a row. The team won its first bowl game last year since 1961 and is considered a sleeper in the MWC.

5. June Jones, SMU -- Jones was instrumental in the greatest single-season turnaround in NCAA history when he turned an 0-12 Hawaii team in 1998 into a 9-4 team with a win over Oregon State in the Oahu Bowl. There's no telling what Jones could do in a weaker C-USA.

6. Gary Patterson, TCU -- Since taking over TCU in 2001, Patterson has had four seasons with 10 or more wins and two conference championships. Last year's team was plagued by off-field problems and dismissals, but still rallied to finish with eight wins.

7. George O'Leary, Central Florida -- O'Leary was part of the fourth-best turnaround in college football history when he took a winless 2004 Central Florida team and produced an 8-5 record in 2005 that included going 7-1 in league play. UCF won Conference USA last season.

8. Pat Hill, Fresno State -- Hill is both admired and hated for his play anyone, anywhere, anytime approach to scheduling, but it has made Fresno State a household name among the BCS schools. In his 11 seasons, he's only lost more than three conference games once.

9. Kyle Whittingham, Utah -- Whittingham is the only Utah coach to ever make three bowl games in his first three seasons, and the expectations are even higher this season. He held the Utes together after several starters went down with injury last season. They won eight of their last nine to erase a 1-3 start.

10. Butch Jones, Central Michigan -- Jones has only been at CMU a year, but the Chippewas' success has not slipped. He won the MAC title last season and is favored to win it again this year. He helped bring West Virginia's spread offense to Central Michigan and it has been one of the most dominant offenses in the country.