Programs aren’t built in a year. We shouldn’t rush to judgement. Insert every cliche and caveat you wish. Here are our grades for this season’s first-year coaches.

Michigan: Brady Hoke [A] Michigan’s best-case scenario entering 2011 was not falling off greatly on offense, improving the defense dramatically under Greg Mattison, winning 10 games and finding a way to beat Ohio State. That’s exactly what happened. The Wolverines are back among the living and, possibly, Sugar Bowl-bound. He just won his third conference coach of the year award in four seasons.

Vanderbilt: James Franklin [A] Vanderbilt going bowling is a feat in and of itself. Their two SEC wins were more than the last two years combined. They also had chances to win against Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee. Decent non-conference wins against UConn and Wake Forest. How good will they be when Franklin has a chance to recruit?

Hugh Freeze: Arkansas State [A] Freeze led Arkansas State to a 9-2 season, could move to 10 with a win against Troy. It’s their first winning season since 1995, and only their second since rejoining Division I-A in 1991. Their only losses at Illinois and at Virginia Tech. Thus far, Freeze has cost Arkansas State $22,000 per win compared to the $1.4 million per win Ole Miss paid Houston Nutt. Don’t expect him to stay long.

Louisiana-Lafayette: Mark Hudspeth [A-] The Ragin’ Cajuns finished above .500 for the first time since 1993, winning eight games. Every team they lost to was either good or in a BCS conference. They will have a tough time keeping him.

Temple: Steve Addazio [B+] After a maligned performance as Florida OC, he continued seamlessly where Al Golden left off, with another eight-win season. Huge win over Maryland. Nearly upset Penn State.

Tulsa: Bill Blankenship [B+] Tulsa dropped to eight wins after three 10-win seasons in four years under Todd Graham, but all four losses – OU, OSU, Boise, Houston – were to top ten opponents. Not bad, especially since Blankenship lost his best player before the season.

Northern Illinois: Dan Doeren [B+] The former Wisconsin DC inherited an 11-win team from Jerry Kill, and the Huskies went 9-3, 7-1 in the MAC. They can earn their 10th win with a MAC title game triumph or a bowl victory. Very solid debut.

Miami: Al Golden [B] This wasn’t what Al Golden signed up for, but he did a very solid job holding things together after the Shapiro scandal. The Hurricanes showed fight, beating Ohio State and losing close to Kansas State, VaTech, Virginia and Florida State. They struggled with consistency.

Ball State: Pete Lembo [B] Muncie isn’t an easy place to win. Their six wins were as many as the last two years combined. They played a rough non-conference schedule, but did pick off Indiana in a neutral site game. Not a bad start.

West Virginia: Dana Holgorsen [B] Holgorsen gets extra credit for taking over early for a head coach who tried to sabotage him. That said, he inherited a team with a clear talent advantage in the Big East (especially at the skill positions for his offense) and did not have the team playing like it. The Mountaineers are 9-3 and could reach a BCS bowl if Cincinnati wins, but, they should not be in this position.

Stanford: David Shaw [B] He inherited a great situation and one of the most capable quarterbacks in college football history from Jim Harbaugh and has kept the ball rolling. However, he has had some nervy moments and odd play calls in tough games. Conservative play-calling all year may cost Luck a Heisman. We will see how good he is next year.

Pittsburgh: Todd Graham [B-] Pitt had a rough transition to make, converting from a very pro-style offense to an up-tempo spread. They can still go to a bowl game by beating Syracuse at home. They played Iowa, ND, Cincinnati and WVU close. They also struggled to put away Maine. Not a terrible showing thus far.

North Texas: Dan McCarney [B-] Beating MTSU could get the Mean Green to 5-7. They have not won more than three games since 2004. Six of the seven teams that beat them had eight or more wins. Western Kentucky, 7-5 was the seventh.

San Diego State: Rocky Long [C+] Could still match last season’s 9-4 record under Brady Hoke, but they’ve taken a step backward. Last year, their losses at Missouri, at BYU, at TCU and against Utah were all within five points. This year, good teams have demonstrably outclassed them.

Kent State: Darell Hazell [C] He won four of five to close the season, but at 5-7 overall matched the mediocrity seen under Doug Martin.

Minnesota: Jerry Kill [C] He inherited a mess and has had some health problems. The Golden Gophers did have their moments, playing USC and MSU close away and beating Iowa and Illinois at home. That said, things would look a lot more optimistic if they had beaten New Mexico State and North Dakota State at home to finish 5-7.

Connecticut: Paul Pasqualoni [C-] Johnny McEntee is far better making videos than he is at quarterback. They can still reach a bowl game winning at Cincinnati, but a 4-6 mark against FBS teams hasn’t impressed anyone.

Florida: Will Muschamp [C-] Muschamp’s Gators beat the bad teams, battled the average teams and lost to the good teams. It was a transition year, but the team inherited enough talent to finish better than 6-6. FBS teams held them to 12 points or less in five of their final seven games, questioning how much of a decided schematic advantage Charlie Weis is providing. This wasn’t a damning year, but he showed nothing to suggest he’s the next Spurrier or Meyer.

Colorado: Jon Embree [D] Embree had not even been a coordinator before being hired as the head man at Colorado. He hasn’t been convincing thus far. Colorado struggled with injuries but still lost seven games by 20 or more points and was just 2-4 at home after going 5-2 last year. It’s hard to downgrade from Dan Hawkins, but they did.

Indiana: Kevin Wilson [F] Kevin Wilson came in with much fanfare and needless cursing. He took an average team and ran it into the ground. There’s no sugar-coating 0-11 against FBS teams. He has lost the veteran players and scared away his stud quarterback recruit. This season has just been a disaster.

Maryland: Captain Bligh Randy Edsall [F] Edsall gets an F, but only because there are no lower grades. He failed in every conceivable way. He lost 10 consecutive FBS games after inheriting a nine-win team and a promising quarterback. He has alienated players. He has emptied stadiums. His only saving grace is that Maryland’s athletic department is too broke to fire him. Any option last winter would have been preferable to hiring Randy Edsall. Just awful.

[Photo via Getty]