The ranking of the top 35 college football coaches ahead of the 2023 season provides immediate talking point at the start of spring training among programs with a chance of making the college football playoffs next season. We saw parity dominate the 2022 campaign as Sonny Dykes and TCU went from unranked to promotion to the national championship game before Georgia’s destruction.
Will we see another freshman coach lead his team to the cusp of a title in 2023? There is some recentness bias in these rankings, and a coach’s 2022 finish has a significant impact on how he feels about participating in the 2023 campaign. The career track record is of the greatest value, along with how many programs would be drawn to the appropriate agents if these coaches provided themselves.
Remember how LSU hired Brian Kelly and USC snatched Lincoln Riley from USC during the previous coaching cycle? These were unbeatable moves by tigers and trojans that provided an immediate return on investment.
Here’s our ranking of the top 35 college football coaches ahead of the 2023 season and why they ended up where they are.
35. Dave Clawson, Wake Forest — The 2021 ACC Coach of the Year, Clawson’s Demon Deacons, were unimpressed last fall after an 11-win season to finish 8-5.
34. Mike Elko, Duke – shDistinguished ACC Coach of the Year last fall, Elko was a shining star outside the national polls in the program that replaced his savior in David Cutcliff. Elko was in the zone with the Blue Devils, whose four defeats totaled 16 points. Duke’s victory over rival Wake Forest State on Senior Citizens’ Day was a landmark victory that ended a notable campaign.
33. Sam Pittman, Arkansas “The upcoming season will be vital to moving Pittman and the Razorbacks forward after taking a small step back in 2022. He has a new coaching staff but a lot of returning weapons to potentially make a splash in the SEC West. Pittman aged 19-17 in three years in Arkansas.
32. Dave Doeren, NC State – Doeren has won at least eight games with the Wolf Pack in five of his last six seasons and has a couple of top 25 finishes during his time in Raleigh, NC.
31. Kirk Ferenc, Iowa “The Hawkeyes’ offense has grown weary in recent seasons, but Ferenc’s success in Iowa speaks for itself. He has been named Big Ten Coaches of the Year four times and has been a conference champion twice (2002, 2004).
30. PJ Fleck, Minnesota – Fleck won 11 games in his third season with the Golden Gophers in 2019 and then had consecutive campaigns with nine wins. He is 4-0 bowling in Minnesota and finished in the top 10. He previously went 30-22 in Western Michigan, including a 1-11 stumble in his first season.
29. Matt Campbell, Iowa State Campbell’s star in the Big 12 is starting to fade a little after a 4-8 failure in 2022, his first losing season since 2016. However, he is respected by his peers and finished in the top 10 two years ago.
28. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt – Narduzzi won the ACC in 2021 with Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett as quarterback and won nine games last season despite heavy talent losses. With the Panthers, Narduzzi is 62-41 overall and has only one losing season. Pitt appears to be a program on the rise under his tutelage.
27. Dan Lanning, Oregon – Lanning went straight to the top five on his freshman year report card at Oregon before battling in the finals with November losses to Washington and Oregon State. However, 10 wins is a great building block for a top recruiter heading into the 2023 campaign.
26. Chip Kelly, UCLA — Kelly’s breakout season with the Bruins after a brilliant stint in Oregon came last season when UCLA emerged as one of the top Pac-12 finishers thanks to a veteran roster.
25. Steve Sarkisian, Texas After crashing 5–7 in 2021, the Longhorns showed signs of competitive spirit, having an 8–5 season behind a notable campaign by Doak Walker Award winner Bijan Robinson. With one of the best signing classes in the country ahead of this fall, Sarkisian is poised to take his next step towards leadership in the Big 12.
24. Shane Beamer, South Carolina — Beamer earned during his 2nd year with the Gamecocks after the end of the regular season, winning back-to-back top 10 events for the first time in the program’s history. South Carolina snapped Clemson’s 40-game home winning streak in the Finals and scored 63 points during the win over Tennessee, a record for an unranked team against a top-five opponent. His sun is rising.
23. Mac Brown, North Carolina “Failing to high expectations in 2021 in the pre-season top 10, the Tar Heels responded last fall with an ACC division title. Brown’s legendary career as a coach centers around his time in Texas, but he also made North Carolina a respectable football program.
22. Dave Aranda, Baylor — Aranda won 12 games and won the Big 12 championship in 2021 with the Bears, but last season was a real dose for the defensive-minded head coach. He will drop significantly in this ranking if Baylor stumbles again in 2023.
21. Mike Norvell, Florida The hottest ACC team entering the 2023 season, the Seminoles won a six-game streak in September’s seismic opening game against LSU in Orlando. Norvell’s third season at Florida State had a positive momentum, which was part of the reason the team was able to keep Clemson from finishing first in the ACC.
20. Mario Cristobal, Miami “We have faith in Cristobal despite having a 5-7 face plan last season during his first go-around with the Hurricanes. He has made massive changes to his coaching staff and welcomes the elite signing class in 2023 to make sure it doesn’t happen again. He won 35 games in four years in Oregon, so his reputation still deserves attention.
19. Mike Gandy, Oklahoma State – Gandhi, one of the oldest statesmen of the Big 12, has led the Cowboys since the 2005 season and has won 156 games in that time with a winning percentage of 67.5. A man knows how to score points with the best of them. His program has finished in the top 10 10 times in his career.
18. Chris Kliman, Kansas State Tenacity and perseverance. That’s exactly what Kansas State did last season under Kleeman, whose Wildcats beat three nationally ranked teams, including previously undefeated TCU in the Big 12 championship game. Now the state of Kansas will enter the 2023 campaign as one of the big 12 hunted down and can no longer afford the luxury of flying stealthily. Kleeman’s star was born as a head coach in North Dakota State, where he won 69 games in five years.
17. Kalen DeBoer, Washington — In a head-to-head victory over Lanning and six consecutive victories to end the 2022 season, DeBoer has been a breath of fresh air for Washington’s program in need of stability. Michael Penix Jr. was an underrated transfer from Indiana that DeBoer unblocked in his widespread offensive pattern. Both of Washington’s losses last season came within a few weeks on the road to one possession, so the team was only a few games away from a national title challenge.
16. Willy Fritz, Tulane — Fritz was nominated for the National Coach of the Year award last fall for good reason – his Green Wave won the most competitive Group of Five league ever after a mid-November loss to UCF. Tulane responded with wins over SMU and Cincinnati to get another shot at the UCF and took the win for the second time, earning a top 20 tally and a spot in the New Year’s Six. Tulane set a longtime program record with his 12th Cotton Bowl victory over USC.
15. Mark Stoops, Kentucky – Stoops has done more with less in Kentucky, where he’s had a couple of 10-win seasons and a couple of top-15 finishes in recent years. In 2023, the Wildcats will be pleased with their chances of battling for second place in the SEC East with the arrival of NC State Transfer quarterback Devin Leary.
14. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M…
Source: 247sports.com
