Letter From the Publisher

In August over a lunch of bar-b-q ribs, a friend of mine asked me a question that seemed innocuous enough and easy to answer, but upon reflection became the genesis for the theme of this issue of the magazine. My buddy, Ian Wylie, a business executive and astute football aficionado, offhandedly asked, \"Who is the best coach in football?\" Quickly, in my mind, I began to create the list of the usual suspects: Shannahan, Billick, Bowden, Spurrier, Stoops, Carr, Brown, etc.. All of these coaches are big-time winners at the top of all lists of winning percentages. Then just as quickly, and much to my surprise, I composed a list of coaches I feel are the equals of the more famous group I initially considered. Coaches that few people outside the game would know, much less define as some of the best in the business. This list included coaches like Mike Kelly at Dayton, Southern Mississippi\'s