Sporting News Ranks All College Football Coaches For The 2026 Season

Went to the national championship game beating UGA and Penn St along the way. His only 2 losses last year came to two top 10 teams by 4 total points. Has made ND into a recruiting giant, and has built a team that can make a run for the championship again this year. There is literally nobody else that you could put him behind that couldn't be debated. Lanning is basically him, but at Oregon. Deboer has struggled at Bama, but it's not like his record has been bad. Sark has had one good year and didn't make it to the championship game. Lane you really can't put him above until he makes it to the championship, Dabo has fallen off a cliff, and i would actually have Cristobal possibly neck and neck now that he and Miami have found footing.

UGA had a first time starting QB replacing an injured QB. Penn St was a paper lion and a product of their schedule. If we were still in the 4 team playoff era, ND would be just another top 20 team with no playoff appearances. Was it the loss to a 3 win Stanford or the loss to Northern Illinois that put him at #4. BK had a better record at ND his last 4 years than MF had his first 4 years. Only difference is the playoff was expanded to give ND an easier path to get in while MF has been the coach.

I thought the same. Cignetti is definitely a good coach, but let’s see how he looks in the long run. Championship hangover can be intense. Kirby meanwhile has been at the top for ages now and with essentially no drop off

And Deboer I think has actually underperformed with the talent and brand of Bama! Not sure why he’s even top 10

The same could be said about 2 or 3 more on that list. Lanning, DeBoer, Cristobal. Good coaches but what is the criteria for the rating?

I actually like Cristobal to be higher. If you take what he did at Oregon before NIL and now Miami with NIL, it paints a big picture. That season they had last year would have likely been a championship win if they played anybody else but Indiana. Beating TAMU, Ole Miss, and Ohio St like that and losing by 6 points in the NCG was huge. It also showed that they can reproduce the offense they had with Cam Ward. Plus the recruiting for transfers and high school is heating up.