How do you compare one college coach to another? It’s not easy. Is a coach who wins eight games with mediocre talent better than a coach who wins 10 with elite talent?

Continuing with our ranking of the top 15 coaches, the list from No. 10 to No. 6 includes a few of college football’s highest-profile personalities at the nation’s most successful programs and a few coaches who have turned programs with modest histories into top contenders in major conferences.

Here’s our countdown of Nos. 10 through 6:

Previous top 15-11: No. 15 Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss; No. 14 Bob Stoops, Oklahoma; No. 13 Jimbo Fisher, Florida State; No. 12 Dan Mullen, Mississippi State; No. 11 Chris Petersen, Washington.

NO. 10: BRIAN KELLY, NOTRE DAME

Record as a head coach: 226-80-2

Best season: 12-1, Lost to Alabama in 2012 BCS National Championship Game

Notable player: Manti Te’o

The case: It’s not easy to live in a fishbowl. And that’s what Kelly does as the coach of the nation’s most visible team. He’s has to win. And at Notre Dame, his teams get their opponents’ best shot every week. Coaching at Notre Dame doesn’t ensure 10-win seasons. Ask Gerry Faust, Bob Davie or Charlie Weis. Kelly has posted a 55-23 record at Notre Dame in an era when the Irish schedule has included Michigan, Southern Cal, Stanford, Florida State and Clemson. The days of playing three service academies and a few bottom dwellers from the Big Ten is over, though the Irish are playing five ACC opponents per year. Regardless, Kelly has won wherever he’s been, including taking Cincinnati to back-to-back BCS bowls before his arrival at Notre Dame. Kelly was 41-2 in his last three seasons at Grand Valley (Mich.) State, winning two Division II titles and losing once in the title game.

NO. 9: DAVID CUTCLIFFE, DUKE

Record as a head coach: 92-82

Best season: 10-3 at Ole Miss, won SEC West, beat Oklahoma State in Cotton Bowl.

Notable player: Eli Manning

The case: His skill as a quarterback coach attracted Peyton Manning to Tennessee and Eli Manning to Ole Miss. He’s won at Ole Miss — in the days before it was a chic destination for five-star recruits, and Duke, frequently beating more talented teams. So Cutcliffe must be able to coach. The Blue Devils are 33-20 in their last four seasons, going to bowl games each season.  In 2003, he took Ole Miss to its only appearance in the SEC title game. Cutcliffe has a knack for recruiting players with modest physical gifts but good football skills, and turning them into formidable teams. Give him Alabama-type talent and who knows what he could accomplish? He won a national title as offensive coordinator at Tennessee in 1998. When Cutcliffe took the 2012 Duke team to the Belk Bowl, it was the school’s first bowl game since 2004.

NO. 8: DABO SWINNEY, CLEMSON

Record as a head coach: 75-27

Best season: 14-1, won SEC Championship, beat Oklahoma in Orange Bowl, lost to Alabama in National Championship Game.at Ole Miss

Notable player: Deshaun Watson

The case: An amazing recruiter, motivator and ambassador, Swinney is the consummate modern coach, throwing pizza parties for fans, dancing with players, coining catchy slogans and recruiting top players throughout the country. Known for his recruiting prowess as a wide receivers coach — he played a major role in bringing in stars such as Sammy Watkins and C.J. Spiller before filling the Tigers with elite players as head coach — Swinney has proved he can coach, too. The Tigers have won 56 games in the last five years, winning three Orange Bowl games in the process. Given sufficient funds, Swinney has brought in top-level assistants such as current defensive coordinator Brent Venables, but he also had the foresight to move current co-offensive coordinators Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott, former Tiger receivers he coached, up the coaching ladder. Though Clemson has always had elite talent at the skilled positions, Swinney has boosted the depth and given the Tigers the confidence that they can compete with the nation’s elite programs.

NO. 7: JIM HARBAUGH, MICHIGAN

Record as a head coach: 68-30

Best season: 11-2, won Big 12 championship, lost to

Notable player: Andrew Luck

The case: Harbaugh transforms stagnant programs into winners. He did it at Stanford. He did it in the NFL, guiding the San Francisco 49ers to three NFC title games and one Super Bowl appearance in only four seasons. And now he’s doing it at Michigan. A fiery coach  whose passion and competitiveness spreads to his players, Harbaugh is one of college football’s most charismatic personalities. Known for his toughness, the former Michigan quarterback believes in running the football and dominating the line of scrimmage. At Stanford, he took a program known for wide-open passing attacks and turned it into the most physical team in the Pac-12. At Michigan, he’s attacked the recruiting trail on a mission to restore the Wolverines program to the nation’s elite. Inheriting a 5-7 team under Brady Hoke, Harbaugh was a freak, botched punt from knocking off Michigan State and earned a piece of the Big Ten East title in his first season.

NO. 6: ART BRILES, BAYLOR

Record as a head coach: 99-65

Best season: 11-2, tied for Big 12 championship, lost to Michigan State in Cotton Bowl in 2013 season.

Notable player: Robert Griffin III

The case: Briles, a longtime Texas high school coach, has transformed Baylor from the weakest program in the Big 12 to one of the conference’s top programs with a high-octane offense that has succeeded through a succession of quarterbacks beginning with Robert Griffin III. How bad was Baylor before Briles arrived in 2008? The Bears hadn’t finished with a winning record since 1994, when they went to their last bowl game.After breaking the skid in 2010, Briles has guided Baylor to six straight bowl games, including the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl in back-to-back seasons. The Bears won the Big 12 in 2013 and shared the conference title (they beat co-champion Texas Christian) in 2014. Briles’ team showed its mettle in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl, beating ACC Coastal champion North Carolina with its fourth-string quarterback leading the offense. Though Griffin put the Bears on the college football map, Briles has continued to push them up the ranks in the Big 12. Briles is 65-37 at Baylor, the best winning percentage at Baylor since Charles Mosely’s 27-13-2 record from 1915-1919. Briles was the catalyst behind the recent success at Houston, amassing a 34-28 record with the Cougars and taking them to a bowl game in four of his five seasons.