2024 Top 10 head coach rankings: With no Nick Saban or Jim Harbaugh, it's Kirby Smart and then who?
Headlined by the surprise retirement of Nick Saban, it’s been an offseason chalked with upheaval. I mean who foresaw three of the four teams in the 2023 College Football Playoff featuring new head coaches in 2024?
Jim Harbaugh also bolted for the NFL and Jimbo Fisher was fired, leaving just three active head coaches (Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney and Mack Brown) with national championships to their name.
Last spring, I ranked the head coaches from each Power 5 conference and the Top 10 Group of 5 coaches. I concluded the series with the Top 25 head coaches in the country.
Well, too much has happened in the sport to wait until the spring to release an update.
My No. 2 (Saban) and No. 4 (Harbaugh) coaches are out of the game. My No. 5 head coach (Lincoln Riley) had a complete face-plant 2023 season, and my No. 9 pick (Luke Fickell) didn’t exactly meet Year 1 expectations at a new spot. Meanwhile, Steve Sarkisian and Mike Norvell weren’t even in my Top 25.
Smart was my top-ranked head coach in 2023, and with the GOAT retired, he maintains a stranglehold on the top spot. But who is the second-best coach in the sport now? Which new coaches will crack the Top 10?
In due time, I’ll re-rank the head coaches from each power conference and the Group of 5, but here’s my updated Top 10 coaches nationally — based on resume and upside — heading into the 2024 season.
No. 1 Kirby Smart, Georgia
Smart is the undisputed top-ranked coach in America right now. He’s won at least 11 games in six of the last seven years, has a pair of national titles and just inked the No. 1 recruiting class.
Georgia has sent more talent to the NFL than any program in the country in the last few seasons, and the Bulldogs are the early favorites for the national championship in 2024.
No. 2 Brian Kelly, LSU
Kelly has done everything but win a national championship at the FBS level. He’s won at least 10 games in seven straight seasons, producing a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Jayden Daniels in Year 2 at LSU.
This offseason, he overhauled the Tigers’ defensive coaching staff, poaching Blake Baker and Kevin Peoples from Missouri and Bo Davis from Texas. LSU currently has the No. 1 ranked 2025 recruiting class. With Saban gone, Kelly’s chances of winning a national title in Baton Rouge just went up.
No. 3 Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
While DeBoer’s resume as FBS head coach is fairly light, the man rarely loses — whether it’s at Sioux Falls or Washington (104-12). He won 21 straight games with the Huskies, beat Texas twice and made the national championship in Year 2, which is why he became the coveted target to replace Nick Saban at Alabama.
DeBoer is an elite Xs and Os coach, a great developer of talent and a big-game slayer (12-2 vs. Top 25 teams). He seems undaunted by the pressure of following a legend, and he’s quickly assembled a great staff. The biggest unknown is DeBoer’s ability to consistently recruit Top 3 classes.
No. 4 Ryan Day, Ohio State
Day hasn’t beaten Michigan in three years, but he continues to win most all his other games (56-8 as a head coach) and sign Top 3 recruiting classes. He was a missed field goal away from likely winning a national championship in 2022, and the Buckeyes, who return the bulk of their Top 10 defense and have one of the best 2024 transfer portal hauls, will be top title contenders next season.
Because of the Wolverines’ recent run, Day faces more pressure than any head coach on this list, but he could erase a lot of doubt if he wins big next fall. He’s an excellent recruiter and a savvy offensive mind.
No. 5 Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Sarkisian won 10 games for the first time in his career in 2023, resurrecting the Longhorns’ program back to national prominence by winning the Big 12 and making the CFP. He’s arguably the best play-caller in college football and is certainly one of the top offensive minds.
After failed stints at Washington and USC, Sarkisian is building a monster at Texas. He’s recruiting top classes and is aggressively utilizing the transfer portal. It seems a matter of when, not if, he’ll become a national champion head coach.
No. 6 Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Swinney is a two-time national champion head coach who had 12 straight seasons with double-digit wins.
But Clemson slid to 9-4 in 2023, as the Tigers’ program has been trending in the wrong direction the last few years. They haven’t made the CFP in five years and Swinney’s reluctance to use the transfer portal remains a concerning trend in the modern era of college football.
No. 7 Mike Norvell, Florida State
Norvell skyrocketed into the Top 10 after two straight strong seasons at FSU, including a 13-1 year in 2023 when the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff. Norvell has rebuilt the culture in Tallahassee, and no head coach has been better at perennially mining the transfer portal for talent — and then getting the most out of those players.
Norvell has positioned FSU to potentially leapfrog Clemson as the king of the ACC for the foreseeable future.
No. 8 Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Whittingham remains one of the most consistent and underrated coaches in the country, winning the Pac-12 in consecutive seasons before the Utes were crushed with injuries in 2023. He’s beaten Lincoln Riley three times and has won at least nine games 11 of 19 years.
With the return of quarterback Cam Rising, who missed the entire 2023 season, the Utes could be a preseason Top 10 team next season and one of the favorites to win the new-look Big 12.
No. 9 Lincoln Riley, USC
Last season was a disaster for Riley and the Trojans, as USC stumbled to 8-5 despite bringing back Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. USC’s continued defensive failings finally forced Riley to make some major staff changes this offseason.
Still, 2023 was an overall outlier year in Riley’s head coaching career. He remains an offensive savant and QB whisperer. He’s recorded double-digit win seasons in four of six years as a head coach.
No. 10 Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Kiffin just led the Rebels to their first 11-win season in school history, and like Sarkisian, has overcome a rocky start to his head coaching career (be it the one-and-done season at Tennessee or the stint at USC). Before Kiffin arrived in Oxford, Ole Miss had just three 10-win seasons in 48 years. He could top that in 2024 with the Rebels pushing their chips for a potential SEC title run.
Kiffin has maximized the transfer portal and is an excellent offensive mind. Next up: leading Ole Miss to the playoff and winning more games against Top 25 foes.
Just missed: Dan Lanning, Lance Leipold, Chris Klieman and Josh Heupel.