Coaches can be overrated right? Yes, they work hard and it’s a thankless job at times, but these guys have a reputation that might be above where they should be.
1. Lincoln Riley, USC
74-18 is an impressive record but a case can be made that his teams regress each season. He inherited a loaded OU program from Bob Stoops, made some playoff appearances but fell off in 2020 and 2021. And with a Heisman QB he’s only 19-8 through two seasons at USC and his team took a big step backwards last year.
2. Brian Kelly, LSU
He did a great job at Cincinnati and he made a couple of runs at Notre Dame which isn’t easy but many consider him the best coach without a national title and that’s just not true. Excuses at Notre Dame don’t exist at LSU and so far he’s been average. Like Riley, he didn’t do enough with a Heisman winner because he didn’t address defensive issues.
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
I’m not sold yet. 25-3 at Washington is amazing and all but he’s stepping into a situation at Alabama that is impossible and there is no way he can go up from here. A 9-3 season will be considered a failure and we will see a few of them from DeBoer.
4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
I like Sark and what he’s overcome and he’s a good coach, but let’s pump the brakes a bit. 25-14 at Texas is solid but he’s had one great season and if you take away the 12-2 record from last season you have a coach who is 59-47 overall as the lead dog.
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5. James Franklin, Penn State
Franklin is a good guy and good fit at Penn State but we all know he needs to win some bigger games. The job he did at Vanderbilt was amazing so we know he can coach but he’s finished third or worse in the Big Ten East in 7 of his 10 seasons.
