Coach of the Year

Division I-AA Coach of the YearMark WhippleMassachusettsThis is the one people will be talking about for a long time, the gophers-to-governors turnaround of the Massachusetts Minutemen under first-year man Mark Whipple. Whipple simply took a 2-9 team from 1997, installed his schemes, recruited a quarterback and some other key components, entered the national playoffs as the No. 11 seed with three losses, and won out&-beating three (McNeese State, No. 6, 21-19; Northwestern State, No. 2, 41-31, and Georgia Southern, No. 1, 55-43) of the top six seeds in the process (UMass beat 13-seed Lehigh 27-21 in the second round). Offense carried the day during the season, but a balance of control and defense provided a winning formula in the playoffs. In the final thriller against Georgia Southern, UMass not only set a record for championship game scoring, but forced the Eagles into six fumbles