CBS Sports ranks the SEC head football coaches going into 2026 season

The SEC had plenty of offseason turnover in the coaching ranks, with five programs hiring new coaches. That will make for a new look in the league this fall and a whole lot of learning on the job.

But who stacks up as the best coach in the league? And which coaches are giving chase entering the 2026 season, hot on the heels of a regular championship winner?

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CBS Sports attempted to answer those questions by ranking the SEC head coaches going into the fall. From 16 to 1, the rankings are in. CBS has also included each coach’s national ranking, which we’ve included in parentheses. Let’s check out the list below.

Bottom of the SEC coaching rankings

16. Will Stein, Kentucky (64)
15. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State (58)
14. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas (56)
13. Pete Golding, Ole Miss (51)
12. Alex Golesh, Auburn (45)
11. Shane Beamer, South Carolina (40)

10. Jon Sumrall, Florida (36)

The new Florida coach takes over a program that has had losing seasons in four of the last five years. He’ll be tasked with putting the program back on the right track in the SEC. He’ll have to do it in a hurry, too, with a roster that looks pretty good on paper as he steps in.

Florida will have plenty of skill position talent to go around, from running back Jadan Baugh to a loaded receiving corps. There are question marks in the trenches and at quarterback, but Sumrall has some pieces to engineer a nice, quick turnaround.

9. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt (29)

Vanderbilt doesn’t traditionally have a ton of success, but it has gone toe-to-toe with Alabama in recent years, if that’s any indication of how far the program has come. The real question is whether Lea can keep building on this and capitalize on the current momentum.

The offseason signing of five-star quarterback Jared Curtis seems to be a positive indicator. That’s the kind of recruiting win Vanderbilt rarely came across in the past. But this is a big year. Vanderbilt needs to at least hold serve and prove it can win post-Diego Pavia. Lea is fully capable of making that happen.

8. Brent Venables, Oklahoma (28)

Oklahoma made a trip to the College Football Playoff last year and Venables’ revamping of his offensive staff, coupled with the addition of John Mateer, looks brilliant. Now the hope is that Mateer is healthy for a full season so Venables can really show what he’s capable of.

The Sooners figure to always have a stout defense with Venables in charge. If the other side gels the way it could, Oklahoma could be a contender for the SEC crown this fall. Still a big if, though, with a lot of football needed to bear it out.

7. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri (23)

In a similar vein as Lea, Drinkwitz has taken a program that has historically only had pockets of high-level success and shown he can produce those kind of results consistently. The top end has been a little lacking to date, though.

Can Missouri push through the nine- to 10-win level to reach the College Football Playoffs or push for an SEC title? Former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons will take the reins of Drinkwitz’ offense this fall. He could be poised for a bounce-back year after losing his job due to injury in 2025.

6. Josh Heupel, Tennessee (19)

Speaking of new players taking the reins, Heupel will have yet another new starting quarterback at Tennessee this fall. It almost makes his success in the SEC all the more impressive; he’s done it with several different guys over the last five years or so.

But some this offseason have questioned whether Tennessee has topped out as a program under Heupel’s leadership. It’s on the head coach to prove the naysayers wrong. Can the Volunteers get back to the College Football Playoff and potentially do some damage there?

5. Mike Elko, Texas A&M (14)

The SEC has proven manageable for Elko, who had plenty of success at Duke before coming over to Texas A&M. Elko has utilized a well-funded machine to put together a very balanced squad that gets the job done on both sides of the football.

Marcel Reed is back and could help take the Aggies to the next level if he can become a little more consistent, especially against top-notch competition. At the very least, Elko appears to have established a very high floor in College Station.

4. Lane Kiffin, LSU (9)

The first of the SEC coaches to crack the top 10 coaches nationally, Kiffin checks in just inside. Only three coaches in the league rank ahead of him for CBS Sports, a nod to what he was able to accomplish at Ole Miss.

Now he inherits an LSU program that can seriously stack some talent. It might not happen all at once, though. To that end, Kiffin is relying on a 40-plus man transfer portal class to help ease the transition. And make no mistake about it: The expectation in Baton Rouge is to win big now.

3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (8)

Given some uneasiness in his own fanbase about him, DeBoer checking in at No. 3 among SEC coaches is certainly interesting. Alabama was thumped in two of its final three games — the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Those kind of results won’t sit well in Tuscaloosa for long.

Alabama has to find a run game if DeBoer is going to survive long-term. He’s also managing a quarterback battle going into fall camp. But CBS Sports is high on the Alabama head man at this point, ranking him ahead of all but two of the league’s head coaches.

2. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (6)

Sarkisian is going on two years removed from back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The expectation is absolutely to return to the playoffs this year, sporting a roster headed up by Arch Manning and a slew of expensive skill position targets.

The head coach seems to have found a nice balance and he has some staff changes defensively this season that could pay dividends. Is this the year Texas puts it all together and challenges for an SEC and national title?

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (2)

The top coach in the SEC remains unchanged. When you’ve won a pair of national championships you’re hard to knock off the peg. That’s not to say things are perfect in Athens, but you can regularly expect the Bulldogs to be in the hunt for everything that matters.

This season, Gunner Stockton is back to lead the offense. He needs more help from his receivers, but if that question gets answered the sky might be the limit for the Bulldogs. Smart knows how to motivate a team, and this has the makings of a very good one.