The usual suspects are in the hunt for one of the most prestigious coaching awards in college football.
Wednesday, the Maxwell Football Club announced its 22 semifinalists for the 2019 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. Included in that group of semifinalists are, not surprisingly, the head coaches of the three remaining unbeaten teams at the FBS level -- LSU’s Ed Orgeron, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
Swinney is a former winner of the award, having claimed the honor in 2015. Georgia’s Kirby Smart, the 2017 winner, is another semifinalist as well.
Nine of the 10 FBS conferences are represented -- Conference USA being the lone exception -- led by the four each from the AAC and the Big Ten. The Mountain West and SEC have three apiece, followed by two each from the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12. The MAC and Sun Belt each placed one.
Below are all 22 of this year’s semifinalists for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award:
Tom Allen, Indiana
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Ryan Day, Ohio State
Eli Drinkwitz, Appalachian State
Sonny Dykes, SMU
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
James Franklin, Penn State
Bryan Harsin, Boise State
Rocky Long, San Diego State
Jim McElwain, Central Michigan
Dan Mullen, Florida
Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
Mike Norvell, Memphis
Ed Orgeron, LSU
Matt Rhule, Baylor
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Kirby Smart, Georgia
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Kyle Whittingham, Utah