NCAAF · 1 year ago

Ranking the Top 30 College Football Head Coaches for 2024

Sammy Jacobs

Host · Writer

30. Jedd Fisch, Washington
After just three seasons with Arizona, Jedd Fisch is off to coach the national runners-up in Washington. Fisch turned around a dormant Arizona program quickly. He took the Wildcats to a 10-win season with a bowl win over Oklahoma. Can he bring that success to Washington?

Washington 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Kirby Smart is the clear-cut choice for number one on the list. He has turned Georgia into the best program in the country. He has won two national titles and held the No. 1 spot in the country until a loss in the SEC title game last season. Smart is 94-16 and 56-9 in SEC play in his career. He can add a third national title in 2024.

Georgia 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day gets a lot of flack for his recent failures against Michigan, but he wins. He was a missed field goal away from a national title shot in 2022. He is 56-8 and 39-3 in the Big Ten. However, the Buckeye fanbase will have their torches and pitchforks out if he loses to Michigan again.

Ohio State 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Dabo Swinney had taken Clemson to the next level and made it one of the top programs in the country. He won two national titles and took the Tigers to four CFP final games and seven CFP appearances. However, his stock diminished as he refused to bring in players from the Transfer Portal. Still, the Tigers' “down” seasons have been 10-3 and 9-4.

Clemson 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
4. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham just wins football games and makes bowl games while taking his team from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 to the Big XII. He has been the Utes’ head man since 2005 and has just two bowl-less seasons (not counting 2020). He is 162-79 and had Utah playing in the Rose Bowl in back-to-back years. He has won with every move Utah has made and could win the Big XII this season.

Utah 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
5. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
It may be shocking to see Kalen DeBoer’s name so high after a meteoric rise from Indiana OC to Fresno State head coach to Washington and finally as Nick Saban’s successor. It will be hard to be the guy who follows ‘The Guy,’ but DeBoer is a winner. Including his years as head coach at Sioux Falls (NAIA), DeBoer is 104-12 as a head coach. He took Washington to the national title game and won 25 games in two seasons, but Alabama is a different animal.

Alabama 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
6. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Texas is back! No, really. Head coach Steve Sarkisian revitalized his career after it went off the rails at USC and led the Longhorns to a Big XII title and a College Football Playoff berth in 2023. He is 25-14 in his three seasons at Texas and 71-49 total. Sark now leads Texas into the SEC and aims at another CFP berth in 2024.

Texas 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
7. Dan Lanning, Oregon
Dan Lanning and the Ducks aim to make a big splash in the Big Ten. Lanning is 22-5 at Oregon, bringing that Georgia mentality to the Pacific Northwest. Oregon will compete for a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth.

Oregon 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
8. Lance Leipold, Kansas
While Lance Leipold’s record at Kansas is sub-.500, he has turned the program around. He has put the Jayhawks in back-to-back bowl games and sparked new investments in the football program, including a total overhaul of the stadium. He also has Kansas in the mix for a Big XII title in 2024.

Kansas 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
9. Brian Kelly, LSU
Brian Kelly is entering his third year with LSU and has had two ten-win seasons and a Heisman Trophy winner. He is 20-7 with the Tigers and was Notre Dame’s most successful coach this century. Over his 20-year career, Kelly averages 9.3 wins a year.

LSU 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
10. Jeff Brohm, Louisville
All Jeff Brohm does is win. He won at Western Kentucky. He won at Purdue. Now, he is winning at Louisville. Brohm went 10-4 in his first season with the Cardinals and is considered one of the best offensive minds in the game. He is 76-48 in his ten-year career but has proven he can win big at places where it is not easy to win big.

Louisville 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
11. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin is closing in on the top ten and has his 2024 team primed to make a run with the expanded College Football Playoff. Ole Miss is Kiffin’s fourth stop and probably the least controversial. He rehabbed his image and took FAU to a pair of ten-win seasons before returning to the SEC. Kiffin is 34-15 and 20-13 in the SEC with Ole Miss. He has 94 career wins and could soon be moving up the list.

Ole Miss 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
12. Mike Norvell, Florida State
Mike Norvell had Florida State in prime position for a CFP berth, then an injury to Jordan Travis put them on the outside looking in as an undefeated conference champion. Norvell has a career record of 69-32 between FSU and Memphis. He also has two conference championships and led the Tigers to a New Year’s Six Bowl in 2019 before taking the FSU job. He will have a chance to win the ACC and get to the Playoff in 2024.

Florida State 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
13. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy has been at Oklahoma State since 2005 and has been overlooked since he was in the same conference as Texas and Oklahoma. They’re gone, and after winning just one conference title during his time in Stillwater, Gundy can take control of the Big XII. He is 166-79 and has 12 bowl wins.

Oklahoma State 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
14. James Franklin, Penn State
All of the numbers should point to James Franklin being a top ten coach in the sport. He led Vanderbilt to three straight bowl games and two straight nine-win seasons. He also returned Penn State to national relevancy with 88 wins in ten seasons. However, there are warts on his record. Franklin has been unable to break through against Ohio State and Michigan, and his in-game coaching lacks a killer instinct. His career record is 112-54, and the expanded Playoff may be the best thing to happen to Franklin.

Penn State 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
15. Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Chris Klieman won four national titles in five years at North Dakota State, and that’s pretty darn good. He took a chance by moving to the FBS level and taking over Kansas State. With the Wildcats, Klieman has a 39-24 record and a conference title to his name with four bowl-game appearances. His career record is 111-37, and Kansas State has a chance to win another conference title in 2024.

Kansas State 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
16. Lincoln Riley, USC
Had this list been for 2022, Lincoln Riley would be much higher on the list. He may be the top offensive mind in the spot, but his lack of defense holds him back on and off the field. USC has underperformed with him, and moving to the Big Ten will not be easy for the Trojans. He does have a 74-18 record.

USC 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
17. Dave Doeren, NC State
Dave Doeren is doing things that have rarely happened at NC State. The Wolfpack are also looking to make it to their first ACC Championship game. He has two MAC titles from his time at NIU and has taken NC State to nine bowl games. Doeren’s career record is 104-62.

NC State 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
18. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Call Kirk Ferentz the anti-Lincoln Riley. He’s the longest-tenured coach in college football, and his defense may score more points than the offense. Ferentz has won despite the offensive shortcomings. He has 208 career wins (196 at Iowa) and has taken Iowa to 21 bowl games since 1999. He’s good, but moving out of the Big Ten West could be a wake-up call.

Iowa 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
19. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Mark Stoops looked like he would be the next head coach at Texas A&M until it didn’t happen. Stoops has turned Kentucky football into a perennial top-25 program and an outside contender in the SEC East. Stoops is 73-65 at UK with eight bowl games (four wins).

Kentucky 2024 Season Win Total: 6.5
20. Sonny Dykes, TCU
TCU fell far after a surprise run to the 2023 CFP Championship Game, but he is still an excellent coach who has the Horned Frogs back in the hunt for the postseason. Sonny Dykes has a career record of 89-72 with a WAC title at Louisiana Tech.

TCU 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
21. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Eli Drinkwitz is entering his fifth season at Missouri and is finally hitting his stride. He is 40-22 in his career between Appalachian State and Mizzou, and 2023 was the best year of his still young career. He led the Tigers to an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. Missouri is also a dark horse contender in the SEC this year.

Missouri 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
22. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman is heading into his third season as the head coach of the Irish. However, he is still just 38 years old. While he has had some puzzling losses at Notre Dame, Freeman is 19-8 with two bowl wins. He should have Notre Dame in playoff contention in 2024.

Notre Dame 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
23. Gus Malzan, UCF
The former Auburn coach is back for his fourth season with the UCF Knights. He had a 68-35 record at Auburn and led them to the national championship game in 2013 and bowl games every year, but could not get over the hump. At UCF, Gus Malzahn is 24-16 while leading the Knights into the Big XII and is 1-2 in bowl games there. Can he take the next step at UCF in 2024?

UCF 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
24. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Matt Campbell finds himself on many hot boards when bigger jobs open up, yet he remains with Iowa State. He is 53-48 with the Cyclones, which historically is a really tough place to win. He has taken the Cyclones to six bowl games but has struggled to beat in-state rival Iowa and win a Big XII championship. With 88 career wins, though, he is one of the top coaches in the sport.

Iowa State 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
25. Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh
If we made this list after the 2022 season, Pat Narduzzi would be a little higher. He was coming off 20 wins in two seasons and an ACC championship. However, a backslide to 3-9 and reverting to an offensively inept team knocks him down the list. He is 65-50 with two conference title game appearances with the Panthers.

Pittsburgh 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
26. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Brent Venables is entering his third season at Oklahoma after a highly successful stint as a defensive coordinator with Clemson. In his first two seasons with the Sooners, Venables is 16-10. In 2023, he led them to a ten-win season and a win over Texas. The move to the SEC will not be easy, but Venables has OU heading in the right direction.

Oklahoma 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
27. Jamey Chadwell, Liberty
Jamey Chadwell has worked through multiple levels of college football and has succeeded at every stop. He has a 111-58 career record and turned Coastal Carolina into one of the best G5 programs. Now in his second season at Liberty, Chadwell is looking to build on a 13-1 season that saw the Flames head to a New Year’s Six Bowl.

Liberty 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
28. Hugh Freeze, Auburn
Hugh Freeze’s numbers would be better, but many of his wins were vacated due to scandals. He has 80 career wins and has returned to the SEC after four years at Liberty. Freeze went 6-7 in his first season at Auburn and enters his second season with slightly higher expectations. Despite his off-the-field stuff, Freeze still knows the game of football.

Auburn 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
29. Brent Key, Georgia Tech
Entering his second full season with the Yellow Jackets, Brent Key has Georgia Tech back on track. He was brought in as the interim head coach in 2022 and went 4-4. That was good enough for the full-time job. Last season, he went 7-6, including a bowl win. So far in 2024, Georgia Tech is 1-0 with a win over a top-ten conference foe.

Georgia Tech 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
30. Jedd Fisch, Washington
After just three seasons with Arizona, Jedd Fisch is off to coach the national runners-up in Washington. Fisch turned around a dormant Arizona program quickly. He took the Wildcats to a 10-win season with a bowl win over Oklahoma. Can he bring that success to Washington?

Washington 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Kirby Smart is the clear-cut choice for number one on the list. He has turned Georgia into the best program in the country. He has won two national titles and held the No. 1 spot in the country until a loss in the SEC title game last season. Smart is 94-16 and 56-9 in SEC play in his career. He can add a third national title in 2024.

Georgia 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5

Ranking the Top 30 College Football Head Coaches for 2024

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