It can be argued that coaching football at the collegiate level is the most difficult job in sports.
They are in charge of recruiting, they’re in charge of the playbook, they’re in charge of what transpires at practice, they’re in charge of in-game strategy, and they’re in charge of the pre-game speech.
These master pigskin technicians need to know what makes each of his players tick, and these coaches need to know each of his player’s strengths and weaknesses. They must also know when to delegate some of these duties with their assistants.
The head coach of a college football program is the CEO.
There is no tried-and-true way to go about coaching Division 1 football. All of the greats have their own unique way of going about the job.
As the 2026-27 college football season gets underway, these are the Top 10 College Football Head Coaches Right Now.
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Three years ago, DeBoer was regarded as one of the top young minds in college football as he was raising the bar at the University of Washington. DeBoer led the Huskies to that season’s National Title game where his squad was dealt its only loss of the season, a 34-13 defeat to Michigan. Four days after the loss, DeBoer accepted the head job at Alabama—following in the footsteps of arguably the greatest college football head coach of all-time in Nick Saban. You never want to be “the guy to follow THE guy” but DeBoer has done a fine job at Alabama the past two seasons. The Tide went 9-4 in 2024-25, and then improved to 11-4 last season. DeBoer led Alabama to a 34-24 win over Oklahoma in the CFP first round last December before losing to eventual champion Indiana in the Rose Bowl. DeBoer is the same guy he was at Washington. This Alabama rebuild was going to take a few years, but DeBoer is in great position to get the Tide back to the mountaintop.
Kalani Sitake, BYU
BYU had plenty of doubters when it jumped to the Big 12. Could the Cougars keep up their standard of play when going up against the big boys week-in, and week-out? After a rough first year in the conference in 2023, in which Sitake’s crew went 5-7 overall, BYU has become the class of the Big 12. Sitake led BYU to an 11-2 record in 2024 and an Alamo Bowl win over Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. Last season, BYU went 12-2 and won the Pop-Tarts Bowl, 25-21, over Georgia Tech. Penn State attempted to lure Sitake away from his alma mater this past December, but Sitake turned down big money to remain in Provo.
Mario Cristobal, Miami
Cristobal has Miami set up to be a powerhouse for the foreseeable future. It’s unlikely that the 55-year-old jumps to another school either, as this is his dream job. The Miami native played at “The U” as an offensive tackle from 1989-92, and he also served as an assistant coach at the school under Butch Davis and Larry Coker. Cristobal is noted as an elite recruiter, having lured top talent to FIU, Alabama, and Oregon in the past. He led the Hurricanes to a 7-1 record against AP-ranked opponents last season and a surprise trip to the National Championship game where they lost a 27-21 heartbreaker to Indiana.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Ten years ago, the thought of Sarkisian on any type of top college coaches list would have been a laughing matter. Well, “Sark” is doing the laughing now as he has resurrected the Texas Longhorns football program. College football is very much a “what have you done for me lately” business and what Sarkisian has done lately has been quite impressive. In the past three seasons, Sarkisian has led Texas to an overall record of 35-8. A big part of the reason as to why Arch Manning chose to go to Texas was that he wanted to play for Sarkisian, who has long been one of the brightest offensive minds in CFB. Sark’s Longhorns are ranked No. 5 heading into the 2026-27 season.
Dan Lanning, Oregon
Lanning was a career assistant up until 2021, when he agreed to become the 35th head coach of the Ducks. He took to head coaching swimmingly as he went 10-3 out of the gate. The 40-year-old has compiled an incredible 48-8 record in his four seasons in Eugene. His players love playing for him, as the Ducks did not lose one projected starter in the transfer portal this past winter. Quarterback Dante Moore, who would have been a top NFL Draft pick, decided to come back for one more season. Lanning looks to be the Oregon head coach for the long haul, as he has already turned down multiple high-profile jobs. “I feel like I have the things necessary [in Oregon] to win,” Lanning told ESPN. “So how much money does a person need to make? What do you really need in your life?”
Lane Kiffin, LSU
Say what you will about Kiffin (and people have said plenty), but the guy is a phenomenal football coach. Kiffin took over a 4-8 Ole Miss program and got the Rebels back into SEC contention in short order. In his second season at Ole Miss, Kiffin guided the school to a 10-3 record. In the following four seasons, Ole Miss went 42-12. Kiffin has not coached a game at LSU yet, but the Tigers are already back to relevancy as they are ranked 11th in the AP preseason poll. The controversial Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for LSU last November, had the No. 1 ranked transfer portal class this past winter in his first cycle in Baton Rouge.
Ryan Day, Ohio State
Day has been the head coach at Ohio State for over seven years and he guided the Buckeyes to the National Title in 2024-25. He has compiled an incredible record of 82-12 during that time. Under Day’s watch, Ohio State has not lost more than two games in a season. Despite the National Championship win in 2024-25, Day is still criticized by many for being unable to win big games. Day’s Buckeyes lost four straight games to rival Michigan from 2021 to 2024, and his teams have been upset multiple times in the postseason. The most recent big-game gaffe came in the CFP quarterfinals on New Year’s Eve when the Buckeyes, who were -9.5 favorites, fell to Miami, 24-14.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
There was a train of thought by many in South Bend that Notre Dame football was doomed when Brian Kelly walked out the door in November of 2021. Those folks severely underestimated the ability of Freeman, who has produced records of 9-4, 10-3, 14-2, and 10-2 during his tenure. Freeman guided the Fighting Irish to 10 straight wins to finish the regular season last year, but Notre Dame was snubbed when the College Football Playoff field was announced. A tremendous recruiter, Freeman’s 2027 recruiting class has four 5-star commits, which is the most in the nation.
Kirby Smart, Georgia
Smart has been regarded among the best-of-the-best in college football for many years now. While he has not won a National Title since 2022-23, Georgia is consistently ranked in the top 10 and is almost always in the mix. His Bulldogs are No. 3 in the country as the 2026-27 season begins. Smart played college ball for the Bulldogs and made his coaching bones most notably as the defensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban. Since the undefeated season of 2022-23, Smart has led Georgia to the following records: 13-1, 11-3, and 12-2. Smart would have been No. 1 had it not been for the meteoric rise of this next guy on our list.
Curt Cignetti, Indiana
We’ve run out of adjectives to describe what Cignetti has accomplished at Indiana. Phenomenal, unprecedented, incredible, otherworldly … those words don’t do justice to what Cignetti has done in Bloomington. In his introductory press conference at Indiana, Cignetti boldly stated, “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”
Win, he has done.
The Hoosiers went 11-2 in his first season in 2024-25, then followed that up with a 16-0 record and a National Championship in 2025-26. Cignetti began his head coaching career at Division II IUP in 2011. He has since been the head coach at Elon, James Madison, and now Indiana. The former backup quarterback for West Virginia has never had a losing season as a head coach. Cignetti’s evaluation process for bringing in players has already become legendary. He lives by the phrase, “production over potential.”
