John Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has compiled a list of the best Pac-10 coaches of the past 20 years, and he puts Pete Carroll at the top of his list:

Carroll runs a loose ship that has resulted in NCAA/Pac-10 investigations, arrests, assaults, suspensions, academic woes and dismissals. But how can you not have Carroll at the top of a “Best Coaches” list when he has 59 wins in the last five years? Bottom line: He’s a great college coach, one of the best ever.

SC coach Larry Smith (who went 26-3-2 in Pac-10 play during his first four seasons) made the list at number 10, but Terry Donahue, who didn’t finish strong during his UCLA tenure even with “all those players within two hours of campus,” failed to make Wilner’s list.

Pac-10 football: The best coaches of the past 20 years (San Jose Mercury News)