College Football: 5 Best New Coaches For 2013 Season

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5. Bobby Petrino, Western Kentucky

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According to several published reports, the hiring of Bobby Petrino at Louisville is said to be "imminent." Despite a checkered past, which included a ride on a motorcycle and subsequent accident with a young beauty, winning is the bottom line and this guy knows how to win. Taking over for Willie Taggart (who went to South Florida), Petrino improved Western Kentucky from 7-5 to 8-4. That's pretty impressive considering none of those players were Petrino's and he installed a new system. Included among those eight wins was a 19-7 triumph over a pretty good Navy team.

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4. Steve Addazio, Boston College

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Any guy who takes a 2-10 team to a 7-5 regular-season mark in 12 months deserves props, and Steve Addazio certainly does. Addazio was named three-time national recruiter of the year while an assistant at Florida and went 13-11 in two years as a head coach at Temple, where his 2012 recruiting class was ranked No. 55 in the country -- the highest the Owls have ever been ranked. Daz's successor at Temple, unproven assistant Matt Rhule, took a 4-7 team and turned it into a 2-10 one despite inheriting a decent group of players.

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3. Gary Andersen, Wisconsin

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When Brett Bielema left Wisconsin for Arkansas, few expected Andersen to come from Utah State and improve the Badgers, but that's exactly what he did. Wisconsin was 8-6 in 2012 and Andersen had the Badgers bowling with a 9-4 record.

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2. Rod Carey, Northern Illinois

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For awhile there, it looked like Carey would have the Huskies unbeaten, but they imploded against Bowling Green in the MAC title game and subsequently lost a bowl game to Utah State. Still, it was an admirable job for an offensive line coach who never held the clipboard in his hand. The Huskies were 12-1 in 2012 and 11-2 this season.

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1. Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

After going 8-4 at Arkansas State, that was all Auburn needed to see to give the reins of its program to Malzahn. That kind of confidence was rewarded with a special season that saw the Tigers fall only 13 seconds short of winning the national championship. Auburn went 3-9 last season and 11-2 this season, unquestionably the best new coaching job of this recently completed season.