Ranking Kansas City's Coaches

I'm pretty much done with my semester at Washburn, which means more blogging.

With that in mind, here is my ranking of the eight major coaches in the Kansas City media market.

Note: No high school coaches are ranked, nor is soccer or anything outside of college football and men's college basketball in NCAA Sports. I'm sure there's some outstanding coaches in swimming, lacrosse, and soccer, but I'm saving that for another day...or another lifetime.

1. Bill Self: Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball

There's really no denying this one, right? In five years at the University of Kansas, Bill Self has guided the Jayhawks to 3 Big XII tournament championships, 4 Big XII regular season championships, 3 Elite Eights, 1 Final Four and oh yeah, a national title. Not bad for five years of work. Plus, he's the second or third best recruiter in college basketball and the title will only help things. It pains Tiger fans and Wildcat fans, but it's the truth. Right now, Bill Self is the King of Kansas City (forget about the People's Republic of Lawrence) and I don't see that title removed unless if the next coach on this list wins a national title next season.

2. Gary Pinkel: Missouri Tigers Football

OK, KU fans – this one will probably upset you – since I picked Pinkel over Mangino. Both coaches have done a great job and each led their respective schools to the best season in years. However, Mangino will have to prove that he can win 12 games playing a reasonably good schedule. KU was for real last year – no doubt. They knocked a Virginia Tech team that had eight players selected in the NFL Draft. But until Mangino leads a team 12-1 in a schedule that doesn't include Arkansas State, Toledo, the Kansas School for the Blind, or Liberty University, I have to give the nod to Pinkel. Plus, he doesn't have any NCAA violations and has recruited better players. Plus, he was the winning coach of the Armageddon at Arrowhead Game in 2007. While Jack Harry and other media experts believe Mangino is a far better coach, Pinkel is 3-3 against him, including wins the past two seasons. MU will likely enter next season as a Top 10 preseason team. I see them winning the North again next season.

3. Mark Mangino: Kansas Football

A joke of a program when he began, Mangino has taken KU to three bowl games, including a victory in last year's Orange Bowl. Not bad. He has led in KU taking over the State of Kansas in football from Kansas State, something huge for the program. At a university where football will forever be second fiddle to a very good basketball program, Mangino has made the most of the situation. Can he keep going against a tougher schedule this season?

4. Herm Edwards: Kansas City Chiefs

I don't think Herm is as bad as many Chiefs fans believe. He's really only had two disastrous seasons as a head coach – both resulting in either starting young players or after many injuries occurred. Herm and the Chiefs have drafted reasonably well early on, and it looks like they had an outstanding draft this season. It'll be rough the next few years, but I think Herm Edwards will lead the Chiefs to some victories down the road. I like the addition of Chan Gailey for that the team. It might actually be fun watching this youth movement, and to Herm's credit, it's something he has pushed for. It looks like the Hunts and Carl finally gave in.

5. Frank Martin: Kansas State Basketball

As a first year coach, Martin took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 199-something and won their first tournament game since 1988. Yes, he had some help from this fella name Michael Beasley. But Martin still earned a tournament victory and a third place finish in a decent Big XII conference . Recruiting and building off this success will be huge for the next two years. If Martin can develop his current players and bring in some more talent, things are looking up in Manhattan. I'm not completely sold that it's happens, unfortunately.

6. Mike Anderson: Missouri Men's Basketball

For the record: I'm still on board with Mike Anderson. I feel with his own guys he'll do well and return Mizzou to the NCAA tournament on a regular basis. With Leo Lyons coming back, I believe we could ( and probably should) make the tournament next season. After two years of disappointing finishes in the Big XII tournament and off the court behavior, Anderson has a lot to prove in the next few seasons in order to remain at MU.

7. Trey Hillman: Kansas City Royals Baseball

OK, it's FAR, FAR too early to evaluate him. But I still like him more than Ron Prince, who is at the bottom of my list. Check back at the end of the season for a full evaluation on Hillman. I generally believe he'll do well here and pitching has definitely improved. But the Royals' hitting has been a source of comedy for other fans in baseball. The offense has proven very little other than completely being unclutch at the worst of times. I like what I see so far, though.

8. Ron Prince: Kansas State Football

How he can lead his team to victory of Texas two straight years makes you wonder why more wins have not been earned under Prince. He's 0-2 against Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska – numbers that should concern Wildcat fans. Plus, it's mind-boggling why he has recruited the JUCOs hard. KSU obviously has some history there but they seem to be too desperate recruiting all these players. He is on the hot seat entering this season and probably has to make bowl game to save his season, or at least ride some momentum. The schedule looks brutal. I also believe he lost his team last year and has a lot of work to gain it back entering next season.