Best College Football Coaches in 2025
College football is always evolving, but one thing remains the same—great coaches win games. The best coaches always find a way to stay ahead, whether it’s by recruiting top talent, adjusting to new NIL and transfer portal realities, or simply outsmarting opponents on game day.
The year 2025 is a new era for College Football. Some coaches continue to dominate, while others are proving they belong among the elite. Here are the best college football coaches in 2025 based on performance, recruiting, program stability, and championship potential.
Kirby Smart – Georgia
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Elite recruiting, consistent CFP contention, and the ability to plug roster gaps with the right transfer portal moves make him the number one coach. Georgia slipped slightly from its back-to-back national title dominance (2021–2022), but only a little. The Bulldogs won the SEC in 2024 despite a brutal schedule and proved Smart can reload year after year.
Ryan Day – Ohio State
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For years, the knock on Ryan Day was simple—he can’t beat Michigan. Well, he finally delivered a national title for Ohio State, which means his résumé now includes more than just regular-season dominance. If history is any indicator, he’ll reload just fine.
Dabo Swinney – Clemson
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For a while, it looked like Dabo Swinney was stuck in the past and refusing to use the transfer portal. But Swinney adapted in 2025, using the portal strategically while keeping Clemson’s elite development pipeline intact. Swinney is indeed open to fresh ideas again.
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
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Winning at Texas is hard. Sark made it look easy. Many assumed Texas’ financial firepower would make winning easy—but history shows otherwise. Sarkisian changed that narrative. He turned Texas into an NFL factory again, developed elite QB play, and helped the Longhorns finally break through in big moments.
Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame
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Freeman took over a strong Notre Dame program and somehow made it even better. He improved roster depth, continued the program’s offensive line dominance, and has now coached in multiple CFP games. His biggest strength? Freeman is only three seasons in—imagine what he’ll accomplish by Year 10.
Dan Lanning – Oregon
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Lanning has turned Oregon into a top recruiting power, proving he’s playing the long game. He’s brought it on the cusp of a national title. He beat Ohio State in 2024, won the Pac-12, and is building Oregon the way his mentor Kirby Smart built Georgia. The only thing missing? A CFP breakthrough.
James Franklin – Penn State
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Few programs have been as steady as Penn State under Franklin, but there’s one issue—he still struggles to beat elite teams. His teams are always top-10 caliber, but to move up this list, he’ll need to beat the guys ranked ahead of him. The team has achieved double-digit win seasons in six of Franklin’s 11 years.
Brian Kelly – LSU
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Kelly hasn’t been bad at LSU— he has led LSU to a 10–3 record in the 2023 season. But at a school where the last three coaches won national titles, “good” isn’t enough. The failure to capitalize on Jayden Daniels’ Heisman season (2023) still stings. Can he fix LSU’s disastrous 2024 defense and make another title run? Who knows!
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
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DeBoer struggled in Year 1 at Alabama, but one season isn’t enough to judge. He dominated at Washington, winning a Pac-12 title and making a CFP run. Now, he just has to prove he can handle college football’s toughest job.
Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss
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Kiffin has turned Ole Miss into a consistent contender, something few thought was possible 15 years ago. His teams are always fun, always explosive, and always competitive. Unfortunately, a missed CFP in 2024 hurt his ranking, but few coaches navigate the modern game as well as Kiffin.
Josh Heupel – Tennessee
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Tennessee was a mess when Josh Heupel took over in 2021. The program was dealing with an NCAA investigation, mass player transfers, and years of mediocrity. Fast forward to 2025, and Tennessee is a legitimate CFP contender. Heupel’s high-powered offense has transformed the Volunteers into an SEC force, and he’s proved he can recruit elite quarterbacks and skill players.
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
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Google Curt Cignetti’s career path, and you’ll see a coach who wins—everywhere. From Division II (IUP) to FCS (Elon, James Madison) to the Big Ten, Cignetti has climbed the coaching ranks by consistently turning programs around. He took James Madison from FCS to FBS and won 11 games immediately.
Kyle Whittingham – Utah
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No coach has navigated a Power 5 jump better than Kyle Whittingham. When Utah transitioned from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 in 2011, many assumed they’d struggle. Instead, Whittingham turned Utah into a conference powerhouse. Under his leadership, Utah has won multiple Pac-12 titles, played in major bowl games, and consistently beaten blue-blood programs like USC and Oregon.
Lincoln Riley – USC
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Four years ago, Lincoln Riley was expected to dominate at USC. After all, he built an offensive juggernaut at Oklahoma and produced multiple Heisman-winning QBs. But in 2025, USC is trending in the wrong direction. Riley’s offense still racks up points, but his teams struggle defensively. Since arriving at USC, his defenses have ranked near the bottom of the country, costing the Trojans games they should have won.
Matt Campbell – Iowa State
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Winning at Iowa State isn’t easy. Before Matt Campbell arrived, the Cyclones had only ONE 10-win season in school history. Under Campbell, they’ve done it twice. In 2024, Iowa State shocked the Big 12 by going 11-3, proving once again that Campbell can develop talent, out-scheme opponents, and keep ISU competitive against bigger programs.