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ESPN: Ranking the 10 best coaches in college football for 2025
Posted on 5/17/25 at 7:51 am
Posted on 5/17/25 at 7:51 am
ESPN
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
6. Dan Lanning, Oregon
7. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
8. James Franklin, Penn State
9. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
10. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Also receiving votes: Brian Kelly, LSU, 13; Bill Belichick, North Carolina, 10; Curt Cignetti, Indiana, 10; Lance Leipold, Kansas,10; Jeff Monken, Army, 8; Jeff Brohm, Louisville, 6; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, 5; Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss, 3; Deion Sanders, Colorado, 3; Josh Heupel, Tennessee, 3; Rhett Lashlee, SMU, 3; Chris Klieman, Kansas State, 1; Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, 1
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
6. Dan Lanning, Oregon
7. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
8. James Franklin, Penn State
9. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
10. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Also receiving votes: Brian Kelly, LSU, 13; Bill Belichick, North Carolina, 10; Curt Cignetti, Indiana, 10; Lance Leipold, Kansas,10; Jeff Monken, Army, 8; Jeff Brohm, Louisville, 6; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, 5; Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss, 3; Deion Sanders, Colorado, 3; Josh Heupel, Tennessee, 3; Rhett Lashlee, SMU, 3; Chris Klieman, Kansas State, 1; Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, 1
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Posted on 5/17/25 at 7:52 am to TideSaint
How do you put Deboer in there after what he did last year?
Posted on 5/17/25 at 7:56 am to hogcard1964
Because it was year one. We'll be much better this year.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 7:58 am to TideSaint
Why is Deion Sanders not #1?
Are they trying to crash their own website?
Pitchforks and torches.
Are they trying to crash their own website?
Pitchforks and torches.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 8:07 am to TideSaint
ESPN cannot not even define what a woman is, you think they can get this right 
Posted on 5/17/25 at 8:24 am to TideSaint
quote:
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
The glazing of this guy is really something to see.
He took over a program that had went 32-5 (.864) over the previous three seasons, and he has went 33-9 (.785) over his first three.
Technically he's 33-10 there but I'm not counting his first bowl loss.
This includes a loss he was directly responsible for (not having 11 men on the field), a loss to a pitiful Stanford team that may as well have been a G5, and two upsets by actual G5 schools.
Imagine the riots if any of our coaches had lost to two G5's in 3 seasons.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:11 am to TideSaint
Kirby Smart has peaked. Move number two to number one.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:20 am to BuckI
quote:
Kirby Smart has peaked. Move number two to number one.
Yeah, let’s put the coach who has lost what, 4 straight games to his arch rival, the last one at home to a team that already had 5 losses, as the #1 coach in the country. Good call…this one is a genius
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:20 am to BuckI
Ryan Day has showed all he needs to win a championship is a to be given a championship level program, a 20 million dollar roster, and 2 free loses.
definitely the best coach
definitely the best coach
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:21 am to hogcard1964
quote:
How do you put Deboer in there after what he did last year?
have to consider the entire body of work. He won a lot at Washington.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:22 am to BuckI
One hit wonder who couldn't even beat shifty michigan
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:23 am to HorninHouston
quote:
have to consider the entire body of work. He won a lot at Washington.
That, and the fact that I’m pretty sure he’s undefeated against everyone above him on the list, including #1.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:27 am to SidewalkTiger
quote:
The glazing of this guy is really something to see. He took over a program that had went 32-5 (.864) over the previous three seasons, and he has went 33-9 (.785) over his first three. Technically he's 33-10 there but I'm not counting his first bowl loss. This includes a loss he was directly responsible for (not having 11 men on the field), a loss to a pitiful Stanford team that may as well have been a G5, and two upsets by actual G5 schools. Imagine the riots if any of our coaches had lost to two G5's in 3 seasons.
Kirby Smart went 8-5 in his first year with a loss to Vanderbilt at home and a 26-24 win over Nicholls State after Mark Richt won 10+ games in 4 out of 5 years. There’s a slight learning curve to being a first-time head coach.
Freeman’s starting QB in 2022 was Tyler Buchner. He went down in game 2. Drew Pyne started the remainder of the year. ND went 9-4. Tyler Buchner was up at halftime over CJ Stroud on the road in Freeman’s first game. That’s nearly miraculous.
Freeman beat three final AP top-10 teams in a month in the playoff run. Kelly only beat three in 12 seasons (Stanford 2012, MSU 2013, Clemson 2020. And Clemson 2020 was in OT at home with Trevor Lawrence and 4 Clemson defensive starters were out with Covid; Clemson won by 24 over ND a month later on a neutral field when they were all healthy).
Kelly couldn’t win more than 10 games with Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. LSU hired a fraud. Cope.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:31 am to BamaBravesPackers
quote:
That, and the fact that I’m pretty sure he’s undefeated against everyone above him on the list, including #1.
Yep, he outcoached Sark the 2 times we played him while at Wash. I'd put him above Sark if I created a ranked list.
This post was edited on 5/17/25 at 9:32 am
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:42 am to Buckeye Fan 19
quote:
Kirby Smart went 8-5 in his first year with a loss to Vanderbilt at home and a 26-24 win over Nicholls State after Mark Richt won 10+ games in 4 out of 5 years. There’s a slight learning curve to being a first-time head coach.
Freeman’s starting QB in 2022 was Tyler Buchner. He went down in game 2. Drew Pyne started the remainder of the year. ND went 9-4. Tyler Buchner was up at halftime over CJ Stroud on the road in Freeman’s first game. That’s nearly miraculous.
Freeman beat three final AP top-10 teams in a month in the playoff run. Kelly only beat three in 12 seasons (Stanford 2012, MSU 2013, Clemson 2020. And Clemson 2020 was in OT at home with Trevor Lawrence and 4 Clemson defensive starters were out with Covid; Clemson won by 24 over ND a month later on a neutral field when they were all healthy).
Kelly couldn’t win more than 10 games with Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. LSU hired a fraud. Cope.
That's a lot of deflection from the point that Freeman is definitely being overrated here, mostly because he's at Notre Dame.
Losing to two G5's in three seasons is objectively awful.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:46 am to SammyTiger
quote:
Ryan Day has showed all he needs to win a championship is a to be given a championship level program, a 20 million dollar roster, and 2 free loses.
quote:
Ryan Day
This post was edited on 5/17/25 at 9:48 am
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:48 am to BamaBravesPackers
quote:
That, and the fact that I’m pretty sure he’s undefeated against everyone above him on the list, including #1
At the D1 level, DeBoer is statistically more likely to beat a top 10 team than he is to beat an unranked team.
It's a crazy statistical anomaly. I agree with you and others though, he's definitely a top 10 coach.
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:50 am to BuckI
quote:
Move number two to number one.
Ryan Day has choked more times than my chicken and finally won last year because Ohio State bought the most expensive team in the nation
Posted on 5/17/25 at 9:54 am to 1801
oh and he just needs to hire a P5 HC as his OC
Posted on 5/17/25 at 10:24 am to TideSaint
quote:
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
Half the OSU fanbase wanted him fired mid season last year...
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