The Top 25 coaches, right now

AP Top 25 College Football Podcast

The Top 25 coaches, right now

Who are the best coaches in college football? Stewart Mandel from The Athletic and Bruce Feldman from Fox and The Athletic run through their annual top 25 lists. AP’s Ralph Russo has his, too. Sonny Dykes enters the rankings with a bullet. Jimbo Fisher slides. Plus, Russo makes a case for Dabo Swinney over Kirby Smart at No. 2.

Russo’s Top 25 coaches. No coaches with two or fewer seasons as a head coach are considered.

1 Nick Saban, Alabama

2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson

3 Kirby Smart, Georgia

4 Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

5 Brian Kelly, LSU

6 Lincoln Riley, USC

7 Ryan Day, Ohio State

8 James Franklin, Penn State

9 Kyle Whittingham, Utah

10 Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

11 Sonny Dykes, TCU

12 Chris Klieman, Kansas State

13 Lance Leipold, Kansas

14 Dave Clawson, Wake Forest

15 Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

16 Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

17 Luke Fickell, Wisconsin

18 Chip Kelly, UCLA

19 Mack Brown, North Carolina

20 Matt Rhule, Nebraska

21 Josh Heupel, Tennessee

22 Kalen DeBoer, Washington

23 Matt Campbell, Iowa State

24 Mike Norvell, Florida State

25 Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Considered (in no particular order): Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Lane Kiffin, Mississippi; Dave Doeren, North Carolina State; Mario Cristobal, Miami; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Jeff Monken, Army; Hugh Freeze, Auburn; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; Will Fritz, Tulane; Jonathan Smith, Oregon State.

Mandel’s list: https://theathletic.com/4289512/2023/03/09/college-football-coach-rankings-mandel/

Feldman’s list: https://theathletic.com/4288723/2023/03/09/college-football-coach-rankings-feldman/
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