Top 25 college football coach rankings for 2026
Bill Bender (Sporting News) — This is yet another layer of the struggle between the Big Ten and the SEC in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. The Big Ten led all conferences with eight coaches on this list. The SEC was second with seven coaches. The ACC had four coaches, and the Big 12 had three coaches. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman rounds out the top 25.
To determine rankings, SN looks at a coach’s overall record, record at the current school and a three-year record to determine a loose baseline in the subjective process. Career accomplishments, program expectations and the old “this guy or this guy” arguments come into play. It’s not a perfect science, but it’s our science, one we have stuck to since we first did these rankings in 2015.
Here are The Sporting News’ top 25 coach rankings ahead of the 2026 college football season.
1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
Last year: 17; Record: 46-6 (27-2 at Indiana); Lowdown: Look at what Cignetti has accomplished the last three years between James Madison and Indiana. He led the Dukes to a 11-1 season in 2023 – which set the groundwork for last year’s CFP run. He turned Indiana – a perennial Big Ten punchline – into a Big Ten juggernaut that finished 16-0 last season.
2. Kirby Smart, Georgia Last year: 1; Record: 117-21; Lowdown: Smart’s two-year run at the top is over – at least for one year. Is this an over-reaction? Smart still has delivered back-to-back SEC championships for the Bulldogs – and he’s one of just a pair of two-time national championship coaches on this list. He’s also arguably the most-influential voice in the sport.
3. Ryan Day, Ohio State Last year: 2; Record: 82-12; Lowdown: Day has led the Buckeyes to five College Football Playoff appearances in seven years – a run of success that goes under-appreciated given the standards in Columbus. Ohio State broke a four-game losing streak to Michigan in 2025, too. The Buckeyes have the second-best record in the FBS since Day took over in 2019.
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Last year: 4; Record: 43-12; Lowdown: Lanning easily could go here, but Freeman is the “best coach without a national championship” in our rankings. He led the Irish to the CFP championship game in 2024, and Notre Dame was snubbed from the playoff despite 10 wins last season. The Irish are 12-5 against top-25 opponents the last three seasons.
5. Dan Lanning, Oregon
Last year: 7; Record: 48-8; Lowdown: Lanning cracks the top five for the time and continues to rise up our rankings with each season. The Ducks are 26-3 since joining the Big Ten, and Lanning’s hyper-aggressive style continues to be a hit in Eugene.
6. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Last year: 6; Record: 57-17 (20-8 at Alabama); Lowdown: DeBoer – who is in our top 10 for the third straight season – is 34-9 with a CFP championship game appearance between Washington and Alabama the last three years. Alabama is 8-4 against top-25 teams the last two seasons.
7. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Last year: 5; Record: 94-55 (48-20 at Texas); Lowdown: Texas made the adjustment to the SEC under Sarkisian. The Longhorns are 13-3 in regular-season conference play the last two years, and Sarkisian has built a perennial playoff contender with elite recruiting and savvy transfer portal adds. It’s been an impressive three-year run — albeit one with a 2-6 record against top-five teams.
8. Lane Kiffin, LSU
Last year: 10, Record: 116-53 (0-0 at LSU); Lowdown: Kiffin is a constant content-generator off the field with the well-documented in-season move from Ole Miss to LSU. Kiffin had a 55-19 record at Ole Miss and elevated the Rebels into a top-10 program. Now, he takes on the LSU job – where three of the last four coaches won national titles.
9. Mario Cristobal, Miami Last year: 24, Record: 97-79 (35-19); Lowdown: Cristobal led the Hurricanes to a CFP championship game appearance last season. He has built Miami from the inside out with physical offensive and defensive lines – and the transfer quarterback roulette worked with Cam Ward and Carson Beck.
10. Dabo Swinney, Clemson Last year: 3; Record: 187-53; Lowdown: Swinney might be the toughest coach to rank on this list. On one hand, he is one of just two active coaches with multiple national championships and likely will be the next one to reach 200 career victories. On the other, the Tigers are 26-14 the last three seasons after a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025.
11. Mike Elko, Texas A&M Last year: 26; Record: 35-16 (19-7 at Texas A&M); Lowdown: Elko continues to move up each season. He’s won at multiple stops with Duke and Texas A&M – and the Aggies are looking to build off their first CFP appearance in 2025. Elko is 6-4 against top-25 teams – and a 0-2 record against Texas is inviting more scrutiny.
12. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Last year: 13; Record: 177-88 (0-0 at Michigan); Lowdown: Whittingham ranks third among FBS coaches in career victories, and he makes the jump to Michigan after 21 seasons with Utah. Whittingham led Utah to 10 or more wins in four of the last seven seasons but never reached the CFP.
13. Rhett Lashlee, SMU Last year: 23; Record: 38-16; Lowdown: The Mustangs are 31-10 the last three seasons under Lashlee and seamlessly made the transition as a competitor with the move to the ACC. Lashlee has led SMU to four consecutive winning seasons.That’s great news for a program looking for an eighth consecutive winning season.
14. Jeff Brohm, Louisville Last year: 15; Record: 94-56 (28-12 at Louisville); Lowdown: Brohm has won at least eight games each of the last five seasons between Purdue and Louisville. He moved up one spot from last season. Brohm is excellent at QB development, and Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz could have a breakout season as a result.
15. Lincoln Riley, USC
Last year: 12; Record: 90-28 (35-18 at USC); Lowdown: Riley owns the 10th-best career winning percentage among FBS coaches. He should be a top-10 coach – but the Trojans have averaged five losses each of the last three years and are still making the adjustment to the Big Ten. There are flashes of brilliance – but this is a prove-it-or-lose-it year of sorts with the addition of defensive coordinator Gary Patterson.
16. Josh Heupel, Tennessee Last year: 11; Record: 73-28 (45-20 at Tennessee); Lowdown: Heupel led the Vols to a fifth straight winning season one year after the program’s first CFP appearance. Tennessee finished .500 in SEC play in three of those five years, and the Vols will no longer be judged as much on some traditional rivalries. Tennessee does not play Florida or Georgia this season.
17. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Last year: 21; Record: 58-30 (49-29 at Missouri); Lowdown: Is Drinkwitz too high? The Tigers are 29-10 the last three years – albeit coming off an 8-5 season. Missouri also finished 0-5 against ranked opponents last season. That makes it tough to push Drinkwitz up too much more, even if he does an admirable job of keeping the Tigers in the top 25 throughout much of the season.
18. Sonny Dykes, TCU
Last year: 14; Record: 107-80 (36-17 at TCU); Lowdown: Dykes led the Horned Frogs to back-to-back nine-win seasons – and the 2022 run to the CFP championship game still has value. He’s the only active Big 12 coach with a playoff victory. TCU has produced 16 NFL Draft picks the last four years, and Dykes has been able to manage the transfer portal well in Fort Worth.
19. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Last year: 43; Record: 35-18; Lowdown: Remember when McGuire said “Everything runs through Lubbock!” back in 2022? The Big 12 does heading into 2026. The Red Raiders are the defending conference champions, and McGuire has worked with a transfer-heavy with and heavy NIL support. The Red Raiders are 1-4 against top-five teams under McGuire.
20. James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Last year: 8; Record: 128-60 (0-0 at Virginia Tech); Lowdown: Franklin begins a new chapter at Virginia Tech after parting ways at Penn State last season. Franklin has top-notch program building skills, recruits well and enjoyed a consistent track record of success with the Nittany Lions. A 4-21 record against top-10 opponents followed Franklin throughout his tenure at Penn State.
21. Matt Campbell, Penn State Last year: 16; Record: 107-70 (0-0 at Penn State); Lowdown: Campbell finally leveled up to a Big Ten program with the move from Iowa State to Penn State this offseason. Campbell had a 26-13 record with the Cyclones the last three seasons – but it was time to move on from Ames. He’ll also be linked to the next coach on our list.
22. Kalani Sitake, BYU Last year: 31; Record: 84-45; Lowdown: Sitake hovered around our top 25 the last few years – but he continues to increase his stock with the Cougars. BYU has won 10 or more games in four of the last six seasons – and they just missed the CFP the last two years. BYU is 4-3 against ranked opponents the last two seasons. Sitake also turned down the Penn State job last offseason.
23. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Last year: 41; Record: 32-20; Lowdown: Venables was on the hot seat heading into last season, and he responded by leading the Sooners back to the College Football Playoff. Hiring offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was a good move – and the defense ranked seventh in the FBS at 15.5 points per game. Oklahoma was 5-2 against ranked opponents through a brutal schedule in the SEC.
24. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Last year: 19; Record: 209-128; Lowdown: Ferentz, 70, is the second-oldest coach in the FBS behind North Carolina’s Bill Belichick. Ferentz became the Big Ten’s all-time career leader in wins last season. Ferentz has his share of critics – but he continues to produce winning teams heading into his 28th season as head coach at Iowa.
25. Bret Bielema, Illinois Last year: 25; Record: 134-84 (37-26 at Illinois); Lowdown: Bielema edged out Duke’s Manny Diaz and Houston’s Willie Fritz for this spot on the list. Bielema has led Illinois to a two-year program record 19 victories the last two seasons – and it follows a similar pattern to when he coached at Wisconsin from (2006-12). Illinois should be able to continue that success in 2026.
sportingnews.com
___________
TrojanDailyBlog members — We always encourage you to add factual information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDB that don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.
In case you haven’t heard: Four-star Hawaiian OL Isaiah Bertola (6-5, 295, Ewa Beach Campbell) has committed to CAL over USC after visiting the hot-in-pursuit Trojans — and has also shut down his recruiting, cancelling trips to both TEXAS and BYU. “It felt like home for me,” Bertola said. “I’ve been there twice now and both visits were amazing. They were the best visits I took because of the incredible family feel and how strong my comfort level was with the players and coaches. “I have so many great relationships in place at CAL so it was so easy to… Read more »
I think Cal is going to be good next year. I think they play UCLA the first game. UCLA will also be good but I would pick Cal to win that game.
DH/catcher/slugger Augie Lopez enters the transfer portal — big loss
Last year the TP was not kind to USC. We lost a lot, and got in return a little. USC , especially with coach Stank, should be a very desirable place to play college baseball, for several reasons. I just hope we aren’t still short changed on NIL, and lose players for that reason.
I’m willing to give the so-called new and improved Lincoln Riley the benefit of the doubt — for now. It’s quite possible Riley and his new and expensive staff are much better equipped to succeed now after four years of relative failure at USC. Why? Riley actually said this: “I’m a lot better coach than at any point during the years at Oklahoma. I’ve definitely learned and grown a lot, and there’s a lot of things that I’ve learned now that I wish I had known back then.” That’s a welcome dose of possible humility that I haven’t heard previously… Read more »
Would love to have him elaborate on what he has learned.
I’m sure you’re not holding your breath. That will never occur. I’ll take him at his word, however. For LR to not have learned massive more about head coaching since he took over at USC would simply defy belief and stand in the face of everything USC has done to correct LR’s weaknesses. JMHO.
If you don’t mind my asking vT, where do you stand with Riley at this point? Do you have any hope for him based on what’s going on at USC now?
Cautiously optimistic, but needing some doubt and negativity removed by coaching decisions and actions on the field. I haven’t sunk to the level of despair and hopelessness I had reached with the prior coach, but have been trending in that direction. My optimism is based on everything that has happened around LR, not anything that he has personally done. If LR botches this year (and next), it will be one the biggest failures ever given the infrastructure that has been placed around him. So, it’s wait and see for me. I want to see a disciplined, hard-nosed, well coached team… Read more »
Ya, I totally agree about Lincoln Riley’s disturbing tendency to get too cute with his play-calling which sometimes totally backfires like it did last year at Notre Dame which was astutely ready to exploit LR’s weakness and take USC completely out of the game, even though ND wasn’t playing well.
Maybe our new Director of AI can help steer LR away from his own “bone headed situational calls” as you describe.
Maybe AI can see what the “untrained eyes” cannot. 😅
VT, for a person like him who refuses to answer to any critique and ignores any questions about his supposed weaknesses and only does interviews with questions he knows in advance and they better be “nice” questions, you will never get an answer to your type question from him. A man like that never admits his weaknesses shortcomings. Oh and he lives in a cocoon surrounded by yes people.
Hey Jam,
Do you think this 2026 USC team will make the playoffs or not?
What makes me nervous are the away games with Indiana, Penn St. I would like to think this team can play well against Oregon & Ohio St at home. I am suspicious of the coaching staff not get getting the players mentally ready to play away games. Just seems like we start off slow. We just can’t make too many mistakes. Riley needs to stay with the plays that work and not take chances in the 4th quarter. If we can at least beat Oregon & Penn St, I like our chances getting into the playoff. Wish we knew what… Read more »
Lindy’s pre-season mag ranks ORE as the #1 team in the country.
Then comes OHIO ST (3), IU (5), USC (10) and PSU (23).
Athlon ranks OHIO ST #1 in the country, followed by IU (5), ORE (6), USC (14) and PSU (18).
Yep, and to me this comes across as patronizing the audience, He says what he thinks the public wants to hear without going into any detail.
I would say most coaches do this, especially those who can’t afford to go into detail because it would be too embarrassing and incriminating.
I’ve accepted the clear “patronizing” aspects of LR in exchange for his willingness to stop pretending he really knew what he was doing when he came to USC — because he didn’t, and we all know it.
So far, LR’s only real claim to success at USC was watching Caleb Williams perform miraculously while going off script when he was running for his life.
Yeah, it’s too late in a long week on a Friday for me to try to parse out any difference between patronizing and coach speak, if there is any, but you’re right, detail is one thing coaches rarely, if ever, get into.
I’ll give LR one thing, at least he hasn’t fallen into the trap of repeatedly using pet phrases that we all roll our eyes over, like “warriors”, and “have to look at the film”, and “can’t wait to see us in November”, etc. Cuddles was spectacular in that area.
We already saw the film Gentleman Clay, and replayed it several times. Sometimes these coaches crack me up. You’d think they could come up with much better “canned answers.” I guess not.
Carroll’s canned answer was simply “always compete.” That works perfect when you’re winning 85% of your games. McKay was famous for never having a canned answer in his brain. He was always off the cuff, and often deadpan hilarious to boot. Robinson was always very impromptu as well, if my memory serves me correctly. Winning makes everything easier.
Allen your spot on that LR’s admission of experiencing growth is not his norm and frankly a semi breath of fresh air. I’ll admit that vT’s question on what LR’s learned is intriguing but it’s true, LR ain’t gonna come out with it. It’s quite a list he has to choose from. So LR making the CFB playoffs 3 times ( stoops guys) at OU was the top reason Bohn handed LR an Elon Musk sized contract. LR’s teams over the 3 playoff games had an average of 54 points dropped on them. What’s the answer at USC? Bring Grinch… Read more »
Maybe some will relate, but I feel like I’m in a rut. I watch “The Curse of Oak Island. They have spent multiple seasons digging up nails and 17th century mule shoes, have found no buried treasure. I watch Skinwalker Ranch and over the past seasons the leading scientist has launched model rockets at an invisible blob about 300 feet above a small triangle of land and drilled two holes through a mesa believing their is an alien space craft buried below the ground. So far they have less than a pound of “evidence” from their search. These shows drag… Read more »
I recommend you watch ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30: Trojan War. Admittedly, watching Pete Carroll sprint to success so beautifully at USC may not inspire those who are sick and tired of USC’s mediocre football for so many years. But it does give you a shot at being re-fired up about Trojan football again. It worked for me. It’s probably the greatest in-depth show on USC ball ever made. Jen Cohen has gone absolutely all-in on giving Lincoln Riley everything a coach could ever want since USC and LR are basically stuck with each other because of his uber-$$-buy-out at… Read more »
Finding mule shoes on Oak Island. USC coach from Mule Shoe Texas? Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 😂
You mentioned “muleshoes,” RT. Subtle and well played.
Went to that area of the country on a business trip. Lots of cattle and wide open spaces. Not to many hotels in the area to stay at.
USC hiring Director of AI for Lincoln Riley’s football staff per USA Today. Numerous sources are now reporting that USC and Lincoln Riley are creating a new position to fill — Director of AI. USC would be the first college football program to do so and Conor McQuiston is expected to move into the position. Expect many other colleges to follow suit. “USC is promoting Director of Analytics Conor McQuiston to Director of AI,” On3’s Pete Nakos said. “He’ll be in charge of building AI models with their data to try to find advantages in everything from game plans… Read more »
Well there is the final piece around LR. AI will create the game plan, call the plays and decide when to call time outs. Bowden gets the players, T Carroll gets them in condition, the assistant coaches teach them up. What exactly is USC getting for the $12 million for LR?
I believe you have written a piece of truth. We have a walking image that fits the need for head coach.
Mediocrity, GT. 12 million a year gets you a bunch of well paid stinkin linkin’ mediocrity.
People here are being very hard on LR……flashes of brilliance most of us have detected….. flash…..got USC to hand him what amounts to 200 million plus over 10 years for doing almost nothing flash…..got Caleb to come over and waste his talent for a couple years…thank goodness for him the Bears are coaching him and building an OL flash……got USC to focus on anything but him…..facilities, assistant coaches, players, recruiting, portal, conditioning and development,……etc etc flash……convinced most of the USC fan base that 8-4 is a good year and the ND game was not important enough to fight for flash…….sat… Read more »
Nailed it !
Thanks!….but…..honest to god after all these years of watching Clay and Riley screwing things up I wish we were talking about how Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon were shaking in their shoes over having to play us.
Absolutely. It gets old, but as always, we hold on to a shred of hope things will turn around.
That’s pretty acute thinking for someone with only “untrained eyes.” 😂
Now that little two-worder is linked to LR forever. Just plain dumb, Lincoln.
Let’s all hope even LR can’t flub it up so much this year that he misses the playoffs with a team Steele thinks is the 11th best. It is time that at least one of the big three (Oregon, O St and Indiana) end up eating dirt during our game.
Many of these HC rankings are produced to generate banter, in addition to some legitimate points on the HC’s superiority. What is always surprising is the limited amount of evaluation of the strength of schedule these coaches must confront season by season. In addition, what resources ( especially in this NIL age ) these coaches have entering into a program. This is what makes Cignetti so much higher in the HC food chain than #2,#3, #4…..hmm what did he have coming in? The bottom feeder of CFB. This ranking touts Marcus Freeman’s record against top 25 teams, but not mentioning… Read more »
The rankings aside, so many facets to this list. The rankings are based on record, which about all you can use to judge a coach. But so many things go in to a coach’s success. Are they a good fit where they are at? Can they and the school get talent? How well do they get the most out of the talent they have? How do these guys rank in game planning their opponent? How do they rank on game day performance? And who’s a rising star, who’s a falling star, who’s staying at the top for awhile?
Going through the list I would say Bielema and Firentz have done about as much as they can where they are at. Sitaki not wanting the Penn St job may mean he is a good fit where he’s at. Venables may have finally come into his groove at OU. Kiffen, Whittingham and Campbell have been given the keys to the McClaren can they drive it? The top 5 are all solid and not going anywhere soon. Lanning is a throw the dice guy on game day, a bit like PC was at SC. Swinney and Franklin seem like falling stars… Read more »
I wonder. What were Lincoln Riley’s so-called “flashes of brilliance?” I’d like to know. Clearly I’m missing something here, because I, for some reason, haven’t seen them yet.
He brought Caleb Williams to USC. That was LR’s big favor to USC so far and Caleb was fantastic on otherwise average teams. He basically was a one-man team at USC who won a Heisman, then didn’t even get invited to New York the next year because Riley allowed him to play “hero ball” all year to both his own and the team’s detriment.
Allen, you & Golden Trojan said all that was needed in response to this ranking article. Riley was not a good fit and actually the jury is still out on this pairing. And whatever ranking you wish to put Riley in, you wonder where would he be right now if Jen hadn’t surrounded him with all the help & tools he has doing the legwork?
Nobody has officially said it, but it sure seems on our minds….. how this season works out determines Riley’s future here?
I may be crazy but I think Riley still has at least two more seasons at USC for sure.
The Bloom Football Performance Center will be up and running before long and that’s LR’s baby. One could easily argue he should get more than just one year in the football program’s awesome new digs, and I believe it will happen.
The “flashes of brilliance” was Bender’s quote and I’d like to know what they were as well. Can’t name one myself. QB whisperer, a mixed bag, Williams got a Heisman then got worse, couldn’t do much with Moss, Maiava may be a star. Can’t recall a time when he out coached someone in a game.
Thanks for answering. People throw out terms and descriptions sometimes, me as well, that beg the question.
But if any other TDBers can point out these so-called “flashes of brilliance” referred to by Bender, I’d like to know just what they have been.
Personally, Judd Fisch belongs on this list. His overall record is not so great….but…..he has gotten two programs humming. Washington has potential this year.
The fifteenth spot is still a bit high for LR. He hasn’t proven himself to be other than a jumped up OC who doesn’t believe in defense and is incapable of creating a true warrior culture. JMHO.