Top 25 College Football Coaches

College football coaches have to wear many hats. They recruit, coach, mentor and develop. It’s a hard job that deserves recognition when done well. With that, here are the top 25 college football coaches.

Note: First-year FBS coaches will not be included on the list. No matter how promising they look.

Here are last year’s rankings.

25-21

25. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes

Last Year’s Rank: 24

Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach at one university with a 213-128 record over 28 seasons at Iowa. He’s had at least eight wins in every season since 2020, and in every full season since 2014. The Hawkeyes may not have the greatest offense, but the fundamentals and defense show how much Ferentz is still doing for the program. 

24. Bret Bielema, Illinois Fighting Illini

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

Bielema has had a great second stop in the Big Ten. A career record of 134-84 over time with Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois gives him legitimacy, but his time with the Illini has shown his ability to turn things around at a program. The Fighting Illini won five games in his first season and have won 32 games in the four seasons since. 

23. Jeff Brohm, Louisville Cardinals

Last Year’s Rank: 21

Through stops at Western Kentucky, Purdue and Louisville, Brohm has proven to be a good coach. He has a 28-12 record with the Cardinals. He has seasons of 10, nine and nine wins in his first three seasons at his alma mater. Another step in the right direction is possible this season. 

22. Matt Campbell, Penn State Nittany Lions

Last Year’s Rank: 17

Campbell is the most successful head coach in Iowa State history and finally decided to leave the program for a big job after several opportunities. He has a 107-70 career record with a 72-55 mark at Iowa State. He’ll have more resources at Penn State, but also a lot to live up to. 

21. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers

Last Year’s Rank: 16

Drinkwitz won five games in his first season as head coach at Missouri. That was followed by two six win seasons. Since that point, he has taken a step forward with 11 wins, 10 wins and eight wins. While last season was a few less wins, Drinkwitz has been doing a good job and could keep the momentum going. 

20-16

20. James Franklin, Virginia Tech Hokies

Last Year’s Rank: 10

Franklin is a bounce-back candidate in a new situation. Although he was fired by Penn State for a rough start to the 2025 season, he made the CFP semifinals in 2024. He seemingly would win the games he was supposed to win at Penn State and if he can do that at Virginia Tech, he could move up the list quickly. 

19. Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers

Last Year’s Rank: 3

Swinney is coming off a very disappointing seven-win season given the amount of talent on the Clemson Roster. He has two championships under his belt, but has struggled keeping up with the elite teams in the sport for the last three years or so. Clemson has plenty of new players and his unwillingness to dip heavily into the transfer portal could continue hurting his teams. 

18. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt Commodores

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

The first few seasons at Vanderbilt were tough, but the Commodores made a bowl game in 2024 and then rattled off 10 wins in 2025. Lea did a good job turning around a program that has historically had a hard time competing in the SEC. He gets credit for the difficulty of the turnaround, but will have to keep things going well, as he won’t have quarterback Diego Pavia anymore. 

17. Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans

Last Year’s Rank: 19

Riley hasn’t quite lived up to expectations at USC, but he did win nine games last season, the most since his first season with the team. With a 90-28 record as a head coach overall, he has shown to be solid, but will need to get USC to the CFP to get back to where he ranked on this list just a few seasons ago. 

16. Willie Fritz, Houston Cougars

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

Fritz did a great job at Georgia Southern, Tulane and now Houston. He has an 85-65 career record with a 14-11 mark at Houston. After winning four games in his first season with the Cougars, he won 10 last season. Fritz is expected to compete for the Big 12 this season and if he does, he can continue climbing the list. 

15-11

15. Josh Heupel, Tennessee Volunteers

Last Year’s Rank: 11

Heupel handled the Nico Iamaleava situation well and Tennessee won eight games. It was his lowest output since 2021, but it was understandable given the circumstances. Tennessee will be expecting more moving forward, but he has done a good job during his tenure. 

14. Kalani Sitake, BYU Cougars

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

In 11 years at BYU, Sitake is 84-20, which is a great sample size. He has back-to-back double-digit win seasons, with last year’s efforts being with a freshman quarterback. After turning down other jobs this offseason, Sitake is back with a roster that could win the Big 12. 

13. Brent Venables, Oklahoma Sooners

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

Venables has oscillated from 10-win seasons to six-win seasons, but is 32-20 overall at Oklahoma. Last season, he helped his standing by winning 10 games, getting some big wins along the way and making the CFP. Venables has a defense in place and the offense has enough talent to help them get back to the CFP this season. 

12. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last Year’s Rank: N/A

A 35-18 record overall at Texas Tech was bolstered by a 12-win season last year in which the Red Raiders made the CFP. McGuire has a lot of resources to use and has done it well. The Red Raiders have made the CFP and now just need to win a game or two to help McGuire move up. 

11. Mike Elko, Texas A&M Aggies

Last Year’s Rank: 23

Elko took his success at Duke and won eight games in his first season at Texas A&M. That was followed up by an 11-win season and an appearance in the CFP. Several key players are back from that team, giving Elko a chance to go back to the CFP. 

10-6

10. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan Wolverines

Last Year’s Rank: 12

Whittingham was ushered out of Utah surprisingly after he won 10 games for the Utes last season. He had a 177-88 record at the school and now takes over at Michigan, which is a program in need of stability. They have talent and if Whittingham can get more out of the team, he could get more recognition than he received at Utah. 

9. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Crimson Tide

Last Year’s Rank: 7

DeBoer won nine games in his first season at Alabama and built on that by winning 11 games, including one in the CFP. His time at Washington, when he made the National Championship Game, also helps him, but he’ll need to sustain success and go further in the CFP to really make Alabama fans happy. 

8. Lane Kiffin, LSU Tigers

Last Year’s Rank: 8

Kiffin made controversy by leaving Ole Miss for LSU and built the team that made the CFP semifinals. Three straight double-digit win seasons at Ole Miss helped him get this ranking and now he needs to break through at LSU, with more resources, but also more expectations to move up the rankings. 

7. Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes

Last Year’s Rank: 18

Cristobal has had some heartbreaking losses from preventable mistakes, but last season, he did a great job of getting Miami to the National Championship Game. During his tenure at Miami, Cristobal has a 35-19 record. After a 10-win season followed by the 13-win year that was capped off by the CFP run, Cristobal has things rolling at Miami. 

6. Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns

Last Year’s Rank: 4

After making two straight CFP semifinals, Texas missed the CFP last season. Sarkisian has turned the Texas program around, but still needs to get some more postseason success to move up into the elite coaches of the sport. He has a 48-20 record at Texas with a lot of the wins coming in the last few seasons. Sark has a roster that could help him win it all this season if the cards fall right. 

5-1

5. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last Year’s Rank: 6

Freeman made the National Championship Game two years ago, then just missed the CFP last season. He has built Notre Dame up well and has a 43-12 record in his six seasons at the school. The Fighting Irish have recruited well and are one of the favorites to win it all this season, so Freeman could keep climbing this ranking.  

4. Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks

Last Year’s Rank: 5

Lanning still hasn’t won the big one and is getting knocked for it, but only four active coaches have won a championship (Curt Cignetti, Kirby Smart, Ryan Day and Dabo Swinney). He could be the next to break through, as they were ranked No. 1 in the preseason by several people. The Ducks have had losses to the eventual national champions in each of the last two seasons. Lanning has a 48-8 record overall. 

3. Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes

Last Year’s Rank: 2

Day’s championship in 2024 helped give him more legitimacy among the elite coaches in the sport. Although they lost in the CFP last season, the Buckeyes reload and he should be able to make deeper runs. An 82-12 record over nine years as a head coach to go with his championship, makes him one of the best in the sport. 

2. Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs

Last Year’s Rank: 1

The two national championships keep Smart among the sports elite coaches. He keeps on making CFPs and has a 117-21 record over his time at Georgia. Smart has another good roster this season and should be able to be a national competitor again.  

1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers

Last Year’s Rank: 15

Cignetti takes a huge jump in the rankings to the top spot. Winning the championship at a historically bad college football school a year after making the CFP has helped him earn it. He also had success at JMU. While they may not win the championship this season, it looks like Cignetti and Indiana are here to stay at the top level of college football. 

Also in Consideration

Shane Beamer, South Carolina Gamecocks

A 9-4 record was followed by a five-win season for Beamer. He can get on the list with a good season or more consistency. 

Brent Brennan, Arizona Wildcats

After making three bowl games in his last four seasons at San Jose State, Brennan took over Arizona. He had four wins in his first season at Arizona and then won nine last season. 

Bob Chesney, UCLA Bruins

He came up from the lower levels and had immediate success at James Madison. Chesney won nine games in 2024 and then 12 in 2025, which helped him get the UCLA job. 

Spencer Danielson, Boise State Broncos

Danielson made the CFP in 2024, then won nine games in 2025. Another good season could help him crack the top 25. 

Manny Diaz, Duke Blue Devils

Although he didn’t have success at Miami, Diaz has two straight nine-win seasons at Duke, which includes an ACC Championship last season. 

Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State Sun Devils

Dillingham made the CFP in 2024 and had an eight-win season in 2025. The turnaround at Arizona State was impressive, but now he has to sustain it. 

Dave Doeren, NC State Wolfpack

Doeren has been bowl-eligible in each of the last six seasons and has only not hit that mark once in the last 12 seasons. He has had consistency, but not quite the peaks needed to make this list. 

Sonny Dykes, TCU Horned Frogs

Dykes is a few seasons removed from making the National Championship Game, but has two straight nine-win seasons. 

Tony Elliott, Virginia Cavaliers

Elliot didn’t see many results in his first few years at Virginia, but then exploded with 11 wins last season. Another season like that will have him on the list next season. 

Jedd Fisch, Washington Huskies

Fisch notched a 10-win season at Arizona, then brought that success to Washington. With the Huskies, he had six wins, then nine last season as he looks to keep building. 

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota Golden Gophers

Fleck has made five straight bowl games, with the last two seasons having an eight-win output in each. 

Brent Key, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

After a tough first season at Georgia Tech, Key has made three straight bowl games. Last season, he notched nine wins the program continues to grow.  

Rhett Lashlee, SMU Mustangs

Lashlee made the CFP in 2024, but dipped to nine wins last season. Competing in the ACC again could help him get back in the top 25. 

Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks

Leipold had early success at Kansas, which is incredible, but has failed to make a bowl game in the last two seasons. 

Jeff Monken, Army Black Knights

Monken has been bowl-eligible in every season since 2020. His best effort was a 12-win season in 2024, which isn’t easy, especially at a service academy. 

Mike Norvell, Florida State Seminoles

Norvell was high on this list a few years ago after going undefeated in the regular season, but has fallen out of favor after a very bad 2024 and a disappointing 2025. 

Jon Summrall, Florida Gators

With a 43-12 record over four seasons at Troy and Tulane, Summrall has now worked his way up to being the head coach at Florida. 

 

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