The Athletic: Top 25 college football coach rankings for 2025

[Blake Munroe]

1. Kirby Smart

2. Ryan Day

3. Dabo Swinney

4. Steve Sarkisian

5. Kalen DeBoer

6. Marcus Freeman

7. Dan Lanning

8. James Franklin

9. Matt Campbell

10. Brian Kelly

11. Chris Klieman

12. Kyle Whittingham

13. Lincoln Riley

14. Lance Liepold

15. Jeff Brohm

16. Josh Heupel

17. Rich Rodriguez

18. Deion Sanders

19. Curt Cignetti

Tied 20. Lane Kiffin

Tied 20. Mario Cristobal

22. Rhett Lashlee

23. Kirk Ferentz

24. Brett Bielema

25. Jeff Monken

Dropped out: Florida State’s Mike Norvell (No. 10), Kentucky’s Mark Stoops (No. 14), Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson (No. 16, retired), Nebraska’s Matt Rhule (No. 18), Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell (No. 19), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (No. 20), Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith (No. 22), Auburn’s Hugh Freeze (No. 23) and Washington’s Jedd Fisch (No. 24)

Just missed: TCU’s Sonny Dykes, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Stoops, Gundy, Norvell, Rhule, Fisch, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Fickell

They did not include coaches with less than 3 years collective experience as a head coach like Dillingham.

The list: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6191343/2025/03/11/college-football-coach-rankings-bruce-feldman-2025/

 

[qaertyisthatdude]

Smart and Day are completely understandable, but I think Dabo's run in the back half of the 2010s is carrying a lot of weight in these rankings.  He did win the ACC and make the CFP so I guess that's enough to rank him above Sark for now.  Freeman just played for a natty but can't win a conference and his seasons leading up this past one were okay at best.  DeBoer would've been above Sark if he didn't go 9-4 with a top 3 most talented roster in CFB.  So 3 or 4 sounds about right for Sark.

Edited 15 hours ago by qaertyisthatdude

[CHorn427]

Deion Sanders at 18 over Cignetti and Lashlee (and pretty much everyone else 19-25) is a joke. 

[NothinButDaHorns34]

I personally don’t see ryan day as a top two coach in college football. Just this time a year ago a lot of ohio state wonder if he could even win a national championship. 

[ArizonaLonghorn]

1 hour ago, Blake Munroe said:

17. Rich Rodriguez

WTF? THAT Rich Rodriguez?  The guy who had a few really good years at West Virginia (32-5 his last three years) almost 20 years ago, then went 15-22 at Michigan before getting fired after the 2010 season?

Turns up next at Arizona (the basketball school in Tucson, not Arizona State here in the Phoenix area), replacing the great Mike Stoops and his 41-50 record.  Did pretty well by Wildcat football standards, going 43-35 in 6 years (24-30 in a weak conference) before being replaced by the great Kevin Sumlin (9-20 at Arizona) as the Aggies hired Jimbo at a bargain rate. 

Last seen coaching Jacksonville State for 3 years (27-10 record) before squaring the circle pentagon and returning to West Virginia.

I ask - how the hell is this guy on any list of Top 25 coaches?

[Wabi Sabi]

I think Lane Kiffin should be in the top 15. Lincoln & Rich Rod should be much lower (not sure rich rod should be in the top 25).

[Bobbers]

I would not trade anybody for Sark not named Kirby Smart, and I am not sure that I would make that trade either.  Sark proved a lot of doubters wrong last year, and the team continues to improve year after year.

 

[qaertyisthatdude]

5 minutes ago, Bobbers said:

I would not trade anybody for Sark not named Kirby Smart, and I am not sure that I would make that trade either.  Sark proved a lot of doubters wrong last year, and the team continues to improve year after year.

 

Love Sark but he needs one of these 🏆

Edited 10 hours ago by qaertyisthatdude

[TTown]

11 hours ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

I personally don’t see ryan day as a top two coach in college football. Just this time a year ago a lot of ohio state wonder if he could even win a national championship. 

C' mon  man. 70-10!  Then 56-8 2019-23, and going against the Michigan cheaters where we may never know how much that affected those years as well.  Harbaugh couldn't touch Day until all of a sudden Espionage Stallions showed up 😂. Could go on and on. Oh btw just won the Natty ! Outcoached us in our game which was really the National Championship game imo both sides of the ball.