The top three in my annual ranking of the best coaches in college football was easy. After that, things got more complicated. How much does recency bias factor in? For me, not as much as it does for Stewart Mandel, whose Top 25 can be found here. I’ve always given coaches more credit for what they did at their previous stops than he does, but I’ve become more of a creature of the moment than I used to be.
One caveat: Even with all of the shake-up in the sport, it’s hard to include coaches who haven’t spent at least three seasons as a head coach (that means no Kenny Dillingham, despite a fantastic second season at Arizona State). It’s just too short a shelf life to compare resumes with other coaches.
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (2024: No. 1)
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State (2024: No. 5)
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (2024: No. 2)
4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (2024: No. 11)
5. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (2024: No. 4)
6. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame (2024: NR)
7. Dan Lanning, Oregon (2024: NR)
8. James Franklin, Penn State (2024: No. 7)
9. Curt Cignetti, Indiana (2024: NR)
10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss (No. 21)
11. Mario Cristobal, Miami (2024: NR)
12. Rhett Lashlee, SMU (2024: NR)
13. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (2024: No. 15)
14. Bret Bielema, Illinois (2024: NR)
15. Jeff Monken, Army (2024: NR)
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