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Bigdleech said 12/29, 11:46 PM
It has got to be Ron Zook. Now let me start by saying that I decided on him before he was name Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.
Now I see three possible choices that could be argued very well, but I will not name the other two as of right now.
He has done an amazing job with this program in such a short amount of time. His team showed some signs of success last year in the game against Ohio State, but they were pretty bad outside of that one game. Their only three losses came to one elite team, one good team, and one team that they should have crushed. But that happened a lot this year, so you can't really fault them for that. There only wins last year came against a Michigan State and Eastern Illinois. They got shut out by Rutgers. They also had losses against Cuse, Indiana, Northwestern, and Ohio, none of which was very good.
Juice Williams came into the season as a decent player, and Zook turned him into a fantastic quarterback. And while Mendenhall was already a good player, Zook made him into one of the nation's elite backs.
He has turned a terrible team into a top fifteen team with a chance to win the Rose Bowl. No team had a better turn around this season in the Big Ten

Bigdleech said 12/31, 11:35 AM
Maybe I went a little far if I called Juice Williams fantastic. I realize that is a mistake.
Now no doubt Dantonio has done a great job this year, but Michigan State was
While Mendenhall and Juice did start to break out last year, they were never really thought that highly of until this season. Zook turned Mendenhall into a Heisman contender, while he finally got Juice some respect. He has done a great job turning Arrelious Benn, a true freshman, into a big time playmaker this season.
Danotonio did a nice job with some new pieces, especially after losing Drew Stanton, who I always thought was underrated, but just about every single part of Illinois is young. Young and inexperienced.
Last year Michigan State managed four wins, making this season only a three game improvement. But this team was extremely close to being bowl eligable. If not for very close losses against Purdue and at Penn State, this team could have gone to a lower tier bowl. Illinois was nowhere near bowl eligable.
Michigan State had one "big" win this season, against a falling apart Penn State team. Zook went from losing to Ohio to beating Ohio State in one year.

Bigdleech said 12/31, 10:19 PM
1. What I meant by that Mendenhall comment is that he will be a Heisman contender next year.
2. Zook brought Benn in and made him an impact player right away. You can't come in and make an impact without good coaching. High school football and college football are very different, and the transition is tough for anyone. Any breakout freshman are good because they are coached well.
3. How well someone is able to bring in recruits over the spring should be considered. It is a part of the season. Dantonio had a few months to recruit. While that may not be much, it is still plenty of time to sway recruits away from other programs. Without a signed letter of intent, it is easy to change your mind as to where you want to go.
4. Penn State won by two touchdowns over Illinois last year, not four points like they did against Michigan State. The Spartans defense was able to mess with Tony Hunt, a very reliable back who didn't make mistakes. While the award is not for most improved team, it helps Zook's case that his team made a much bigger improvement than the Spartans did.
And if Zook felt that the right move on that play was to punt, he would have punted. People change their minds.