College football’s active coaching fraternity feaatured a seismic change this week after Nick Saban stepped down at Alabama, reportedly citing his age and health during a closed-door meeting with players. The sport’s all-time leader in national championships (7), first-round NFL Draft selections (44) and top-ranked signing classes, Saban’s departure changes the national landscape considerably and has caused a shakeup within our 25 best coaches ranking ahead of the 2024 season.
Saban was in line to retain the top spot in these rankings after beating Georgia’s Kirby Smart head to head in Atlanta for the SEC Championship before his final campaign ended at the goal line during the College Football Playoff semifinals against eventual national champion Michigan. Not only did Saban enter the 2023 season with two new coordinators, but he helped Alabama win 11 straight games to reach the final four after his team’s backs were against the wall following a Week 2 loss against Texas.
Several subjective factors go into this updated ranking, including which coaches have the most noticeable momentum coming out of the current season, how many hit the home run-hire distinction if — a program like Alabama opened up — and which ones are most-respected on gameday with a proven track record of success. A few coaches who just missed the cut including Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell, Sonny Dykes at TCU, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, Oklahoma’s Brent Venables and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops.
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Here’s our updated ranking of college football’s top 25 coaches after Saban’s retirement:
25. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
Previous ranking: No. 34
Career coaching record: 16-9 (First year at Texas A&M)
24. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Previous ranking: N/A
Career coaching record: 19-8 at Notre Dame
23. Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Previous ranking: N/A
Career coaching record: 76-48 (10-4 at Louisville)
22. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Previous ranking: N/A
Career coaching record: 40-22 (28-21 at Missouri)
21. Dave Doeren, NC State
Previous ranking: No. 33
Career coaching record: 104-62 (81-58 at NC State)
20. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Previous ranking: No. 32
Career coaching record: 208-140 (196-119 at Iowa)
19. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Previous ranking: No. 10
Career coaching record: 55-20 (27-12 at Tennessee)
Josh Heupel finds a spot inside the top 10 after we jumped the shark a bit with his previous ranking following a momentous season at Tennessee. He still won nine games in 2023 despite losing his all-everything quarterback Hendon Hooker. Last season was Heupel’s huge turnaround in Knoxville after the Volunteers debuted at No. 1 in the first playoff rankings in November before losses at Georgia and South Carolina pushed Tennessee out of the final four picture. It was an unforgettable season that included the end of lengthy losing skids to rivals Florida and Alabama.
18. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Previous ranking: No. 19
Career coaching record: 166-79 at Oklahoma State
One of the elder statesmen in the Big 12, Mike Gundy has led the Cowboys since the 2005 season and has won 166 games over that stretch with an impressive winning percentage. The man knows how to score points with the best of them. His program has finished inside the top 10 on 10 different occasions during his career and this season’s team overcame an early loss to South Alabama to reach the Big 12 Championship, one of the best coaching marks of his career despite a roster ravaged by the portal.
17. Willie Fritz, Houston
Previous ranking: No. 16
Career coaching record: 208-116 (First year at Houston; 71-54 in FBS)
How will Willie Fritz fare as a coach in the Big 12? That remains to be seen, but those inside the coaching industry believe Houston landed an excellent fit from an Xs and Os perspective. Fritz has always done more with less, too. His Tulane Green Wave lost to SMU in the AAC Championship Game to end his two-year stint as head coach at 23-4 overall. That includes last season’s win over USC as a heavy underdog in the Cotton Bowl.
16. Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Previous ranking: No. 18
Career coaching record: 111-37 (39-24 at Kansas State; 39-24 in FBS)
Tenacity and grit. That’s exactly what Kansas State showed last season under Chris Klieman, whose Wildcats beat three nationally ranked teams, including previously unbeaten TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game. Three of Klieman’s four losses this fall came to Missouri (who won 11 games), Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma State and conference champion Texas. He knows how to win, beat a nine-win NC State team in Orlando and gobbled up Pop-Tarts in the aftermath.
15. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Previous ranking: No. 9
Career coaching record: 71-31 (8-6 at Wisconsin)
The only coach who has ever led a Group of Five program to the playoff, Luke Fickell’s first season at Wisconsin wasn’t as momentous as he envisioned, but he has a bit of a leash to succeed in Madison. The expansion of the conference doesn’t make his job any easier, nor does the decision by the league office to do away with divisions. The Badgers will be facing murderer’s row soon enough, as will other nationally-ranked programs in the brutal league. Fickell’s reputation as a master talent developer was on full display a couple years ago in the NFL Draft when he had nine selections, including five in the top 100, at Cincinnati. That was historic for the then-Group of Five Bearcats.
14. Lance Leipold, Kansas
Previous ranking: N/A
Career coaching record: 163-60 (17-21 at Kansas; 48-54 in FBS)
The only head coach in this top 25 with a losing record at his current stop, Lance Leipold has essentially turned water to wine with the Jayhawks after consecutive bowl appearances. With a nine-win season in 2023, that was the program’s most successful campaign since going 12-1 under Mark Mangino in 2007. That’s nearly how long it has been since Kansas won a bowl game (2008) prior to beating UNLV, 49-36, last month in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Leipold has been targeted by several bigger jobs in recent years, but is staying put in Lawrence for now.
13. James Franklin Penn State
Previous ranking: No. 11
Career coaching record: 112-54 (88-39 at Penn State)
James Franklin flexed his coaching acumen at Vanderbilt with a pair of nine-win seasons over three years before his current successful tenure in Happy Valley. Franklin just missed out on his fifth 11-win campaign with the Nittany Lions after falling to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. Penn State’s top 15 finish was his fifth such distinction since taking over the Big Ten elite in 2014. Given his annual levels of success, Franklin is one of the coaches who should benefit from the expanded playoff in 2024 and beyond.
12. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Previous ranking: No. 8
Career coaching record: 162-79 at Utah
Kyle Whittingham didn’t forget how to coach this season with the Utes, but his two-time defending champion football team succumbed to a series of injuries in key spots along with the brutal schedule of what became of the Pac-12’s last hurrah. Utah lost three games by 14 or more points for the first time since 2012 as a result. With decorated veteran quarterback Cameron Rising back for the 2024 season, the Utes are one of the early favorites in the expanded Big 12.
11. Lincoln Riley, USC
Previous ranking: No. 7
Career coaching record: 74-18 (19-8 at USC)
Lincoln Riley pushed himself out of the top 10 with this season’s failure to meet expectations at USC, but his reputation as an offensive mastermind hasn’t changed. Case and point was USC’s bowl win over Louisville when he orchestrated an impressive game plan for Caleb Williams’ backup, Miller Moss, and the veteran signal caller proceeded to throw six touchdown passes. That’s a result of the system. If Riley can ever find a defense, he’ll be on the shortlist to become college football’s next first-time national champion in the profession.
10. Dan Lanning, Oregon
Previous ranking: No. 27
Career coaching record: 22-5 at Oregon
No coach is rapidly ascending faster in the field than Dan Lanning, who brings his recruit-first, ask-questions-later mindset to the Big Ten coming off an 11-win season with the Ducks. That’s the primary reason he could be Alabama’s top option to replace Saban. He doesn’t have a conference championship to his credit just yet, but Oregon’s been close. Lanning knows how to navigate transfer portal waters and is building the program much like Kirby Smart did at Georgia — from the line of scrimmage out. An assistant as strong as Will Stein calling plays offensively certainly helps and alleviates some of the pressure off the Oregon defense.
9. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Previous ranking: No. 13
Career coaching record: 95-49 (34-15 at Ole Miss)
An expert offensive mind and riverboat gambler of sorts on fourth down, Lane Kiffin is in the midst of his hottest streak as a head coach. With a 10-win season at Ole Miss in 2021 and 11 wins this season, never has Kiffin been more attractive to a big-time college football vacancy — like Alabama. He just added the top-rated transfer portal class to a roster that’s already one of the best in program history for 2024. Kiffin should make the playoff next season for the first time in his career as a head coach.
8. Mike Norvell, Florida State
Previous ranking: No. 21
Career coaching record: 69-32 (31-17 at Florida State)
Making his debut in the top 10 after a 13-win season with the Seminoles, few coaches have embraced the transfer portal era like Mike Norvell, who has not only developed talent, but has been able to bring various players together he didn’t originally recruit and mesh them into a championship team. After cutting his teeth as a successful head coach at Memphis, Norvell struggled a bit early in Tallahassee before figuring it out and becoming the program to beat this fall in the ACC, a league long dominated previously by Clemson.
7. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Previous ranking: No. 25
Career coaching record: 71-49 (25-14 at Texas)
It all came together for Texas this season under Steve Sarkisian, an expert-level recruiter who’s equally proficient on gamedays as a confident and rhythmic play-caller. Sarkisian’s final year in the Big 12 came up aces, resulting in the program’s first playoff berth. Quinn Ewers ran out of bullets against Washington in the Sugar Bowl, but it was an otherwise terrific season in terms of production at the position and the Longhorns are in great hands behind him with Arch Manning waiting in the wings. Sarkisian credited Saban with giving him another shot as the Crimson Tide’s OC of the 2020 national championship team and he’s making the most of it on the Forty Acres.
6. Ryan Day, Ohio State
Previous ranking: No. 6
Career coaching record: 56-8 at Ohio State
Ryan Day has managed three consecutive 11-2 finishes and Ohio State’s 2024 signing class is ranked No. 3 nationally. The issue here is the program’s last playoff win under his watch came in 2020 and three consecutive losses to Michigan have followed. Essentially, those three results and the squandered lead against Georgia in the final four two years ago in Atlanta have defined his tenure with the Buckeyes. No one’s denying he’s an elite recruiter and offensive mind on gamedays, but the 2024 season is pivotal for Day in Columbus and his long-term tenure.
5. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Previous ranking: No. 4
Career coaching record: 170-43 at Clemson
The only program ranked inside the top 25 in recruiting without a transfer portal commit this cycle, Clemson continues to take the developmental approach when it comes to roster building. It’s not that Dabo Swinney hasn’t tried to land a transfer, but the portal has not been a recruiting priority at a school that just saw its string of double-digit win seasons end at 12 in 2023. The Tigers were 4-4 at one point this season before winning five straight to finish inside the top 25. Still, many have questioned Swinney’s ability to stay within striking range of the College Football Playoff since his last appearance in 2019. Swinney, whose won two national championships at Clemson, is one of only five active coaches with a ring.
4. Kalen DeBoer, Washington
Previous ranking: No. 17
Career coaching record: 104-12 (25-3 at Washington; 37-9 in FBS)
Not to be a prisoner of the moment here, but there’s a reason Kalen DeBoer is already being mentioned in NFL circles as a possible hire this cycle, mere days after finishing 14-1 in his second season at Washington. His offenses are terrific and previous success as a head coach and play-caller at the NAIA level (67-3, three championships) has proven fruitful at a major program. DeBoer’s ability to develop talent and get the most out of his players was evidenced each of the past two seasons as the Huskies put together a 21-game winning streak at one point. There’s plenty of coaches with more wins and a stronger recruiting presence than DeBoer, but when it comes to winning on gameday, there are few more elite heading into 2024.
3. Brian Kelly, LSU
Previous ranking: No. 5
Career coaching record: 283-103-2 (20-7 at LSU; 165-69 in FBS)
Who to place at No. 4 was extremely difficult, but Brian Kelly is on the shortlist of elite coaches in line for their first career national championship very soon in the expanded playoff era. After winning the SEC West during his first season with the Tigers, Kelly fired his defensive staff despite a 10-win season in Year 2 after a disappointing effort on that side of the football. He has since made a couple power moves, taking the top assistants away from Steve Sarkisian and Eli Drinkwitz at Texas and Missouri, respectively. LSU’s faulty play on defense kept the Tigers out of playoff contention while quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman and handled much of the heavy-lifting this fall, but he looks to have fixed that issue moving forward.
2. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Previous ranking: No. 3
Career coaching record: 144-52 (86-25 at Michigan)
With seven NFL coaching vacancies as of Wednesday afternoon, if there was ever a time for Jim Harbaugh to try his hand at the next level for a second time, it would be now. Harbaugh put the finishing touches on one of college football’s best seasons of all-time Monday night in Houston after his Wolverines pulled away from Washington the fourth quarter to capture Michigan’s first national title in 26 years. He accomplished what he set out to do in Ann Arbor and now, those around the program are waiting to see if Harbaugh signs an extension or takes the leap.
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Previous ranking: No. 1
Career coaching record: 94-16 at Georgia
Kirby Smart had relinquished his grip on coaching’s crown seat after falling short of an unprecedented third consecutive national championship between the hedges thanks to a loss to Alabama in December, but not anymore. He’s the top coach in the sport and it’s not particularly close. No coach in the country recruits at a relentless level in landing superb classes like Smart, who has sewn up 247Sports’ No. 1 class for the 2024 cycle. Georgia is going to be a national championship threat for as long as Smart stays put in Athens and is able to keep quality assistants around him. If there’s a guy in the coaching ranks who could ever eclipse Saban’s seven national titles, it’s Smart.
