He turned the biggest loser in D1 into a winner. Kinda like the frontrunners for the Coach of the year award in the NFL are Mangini and Payton despite them not having the best teams in the NFL. It's about who did the best job, not who had the best team. Hell, Mike Tice could make the playoffs with the Bears' roster and schedule. That wouldn't make him the coach of the year (despite finishing with the best record).