College Football Rankings: CBS Sports ranks Top 25 Power Four head coaches for 2025 season

It’s May, and with college football in the midst of its summer offseason, it’s officially Ranking Season. CBS Sports did its part Thursday with the unveiling of its annual Power Four head coaches ranking.

CBS Sports polled its college football experts to rank the Top 25 head coaches from the Power Four conferences — ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC — with few surprises in the Top 5. That includes at No. 1 where two-time national championship winner Kirby Smart of Georgia held onto the top spot for a second straight year. CBS Sports actually went as far as to rank all 68 Power Four college football coaches, but this breakdown will focus on the Top 25 names on their list.

Check out CBS Sports full Top 25 Power Four college football coaches below:

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs

There was absolutely no disagreement at No. 1, where Smart was the unanimous selection by every CBS Sports expert polled, holding onto the top spot for the second straight season following the retirement of his mentor, former Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Georgia’s 2024 season might have been viewed as a disappointment by some fans after failing to advance to the CFP national semifinals, but the Bulldogs still managed to win the SEC despite losing starting quarterback Carson Beck at halftime of the SEC Championship game. That effort keeps Smart at No. 1.

2. Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes

To no one’s surprise, college football’s newest national championship-winning head coach lands at No. 2 on the list, the same spot he held after leading the Buckeyes to four straight wins in the 2024 College Football Playoff.

In fact, Day was the consensus No. 2 pick on all but one CBS Sports ballot, and landed at third on that one. Day, who is an astounding 70-10 in six seasons at Ohio State, is now just one of three active CFB coaches with a national title to their credit, and all three land in CBS Sports’ Top 3.

3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers

As mentioned, Swinney is the lone remaining active head coach with a national championship, having led the Tigers to titles in 2016 and 2018, and thus rounds out CBS Sports’ Top 3.

Despite losing at least two games each of the last five years, Swinney won his eighth ACC championship in the last 10 years in 2024, returning to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.

4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns

Sarkisian finally accomplished what his two previous predecessors couldn’t and returned Texas to national prominence as the 2024 SEC runner-ups advanced to the CFP national semifinal for the second-straight year.

By all accounts, CBS Sports’ experts believe Sarkisian is the next most-likely P4 head coach to win a national championship. And with former 2023 No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning as the Longhorns’ new QB1, that might become a reality sooner that later.

5. Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks

CBS Sports rounded out its Top 5 with the only Power Four coach who went undefeated through the entire 2024 regular season: Lanning, who is an astounding 35-6 as a head coach.

In just his third season, the 39-year-old Lanning guided the Ducks to an outright Big Ten championship in his first year apart of the league and made the CFP national quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Ohio State in a regular season rematch.

6. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The 39-year-old Freeman climbed the national ranks in short order, including jumping 18 spots from CBS Sports’ 2024 ranking. This comes after the third-year Fighting Irish coach won 13-straight games in 2024, including three in the CFP, before falling to Ohio State in the national championship game.

It was Notre Dame’s second-consecutive double-digit win season, with Freeman racking up an impressive 33-10 record in his first three seasons as a head coach, as the Irish are once again back in the annual national title conversation.

7. James Franklin, Penn State Nittany Lions

Franklin finally managed to put it all together in Year 11 in Happy Valley, guiding the 2024 Nittany Lions to a Big Ten runner-up finish and the CFP national semifinals before falling to Notre Dame.

Fresh off that finish, Franklin jumped into CBS Sports’ Top 10 after just missing out a year ago and could be primed for another jump if QB Drew Allar can take his game to the next level and help Penn State do the same in 2025.

8. Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers

The fourth-year Tigers coach is our first faller in CBS Sports’ ranking after entering last season at No. 4 on the national list.

Yet, despite a disappointing 2024 in which LSU failed to reach double-digit victories for the first time under his tenure, the 63-year-old Kelly still has the elite talent to have the Tigers back in the CFP national championship race in 2025.

9. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Crimson Tide

Replacing a legend is never particularly easy or simple, and DeBoer learned that the hard way in 2024 after taking over for the retired Nick Saban following two highly-successful seasons at Washington.

Still, despite the disappointing 9-4 first-season, DeBoer still had the Crimson Tide in the thick of the CFP race all season before becoming the first-team out when the final rankings were revealed. All eyes will be on DeBoer to see if he can right the ship in Year 2 in Tuscaloosa.

10. Matt Campbell, Iowa State Cyclones

CBS Sports rounds out its Top 10 list with the second-highest climber from a year ago, with Campbell jumping 15 spots after guidling the Cyclones to a program-best 11-3 mark in 2024.

The 45-year-old Campbell has been a hot name on college football’s annual coaching carousel and could undoubtedly earn himself a nice promotion if he manages to lead Iow State to its second-ever double-digit winning season in 2025.

CBS Sports’ Top 25 Power Four Head Football Coaches in 2025:

11. Kyle Whittingham, Utah Utes
12. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels
13. Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans
14. Chris Klieman, Kansas State Wildcats
15. Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks
16. Josh Heupel, Tennessee Volunteers
17. Jeff Brohm, Louisville Cardinals
18. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State Sun Devils
19. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes
20. Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes
21. Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers
22. Rhett Lashlee, SMU Mustangs
23. Bret Bielema, Illinois Fighting Illini
24. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers
25. Mike Norvell, Florida State Seminoles