With so many schools and a pretty impressive level of parity in the college game right now, there are easily a lot of quality head coaches out there. Many of them have not attempted the jump to the NFL level, showcasing that college seems to be where it's at for many of them. The college game only stands to benefit from these and other really good coaches. Who are the best, though?
PFF's top 10 coaches in college revealed
The best coach in college football, according to PFF is Kirby Smart of Georgia. It's hard to argue with this statement. All he's done with the Bulldogs is win. "Georgia’s won two of the last four national championships and has made the College Football Playoff four times under his watch. The Bulldogs have also finished in the AP poll top 10 in each of the last eight seasons, doubling the previous program record of four consecutive years," Max Chadwick said.
Next up? Unsurprisingly, it's Ryan Day. Or perhaps that's surprising, given that Ohio State fans wanted him fired last season before he ultimately led OSU to the title. To get there, Day had to beat a who's who in college: Texas, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. It was impressive stuff, but Day has also won nearly 88% of his games.
After that, it's Dabo Swinney. There was a time early on in the NIL era that the college game seemed to have passed Swinney and Clemson by. That's not the case anymore, as he's adapted well. Overall, despite that lull, Swinney has been wildly successful in his time at Clemson and is easily one of the best coaches in the game.
Dan Lanning, the first non-champion head coach on the list, seems poised to undo that label at any point. He's won over 85% of his career games, helping maintain Oregon's status as a collegiate power. Only Ryan Day has a better win percentage among coaches that PFF listed, which is an impressive fact.
Rounding out the top five is Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. "Freeman has gotten better every year as Notre Dame’s head coach and brought the Fighting Irish all the way to the National Championship Game this past season," Chadwick said. During Notre Dame's run, he beat Curt Cignetti, Kirby Smart, and James Franklin, three of the best coaches in the sport.
The rest of the top 10 are: Steve Sarkisian, Kalen DeBoer, James Franklin, Brian Kelly, and Curt Cignetti. Notable omissions are Bill Belichick (likely because he's totally unproven), Deion Sanders, and Mario Cristobal.