Ranking the top 25 Power Four college football coaches entering the 2024 season

We began ranking Power Five — now Power Four — college football coaches at CBS Sports in 2015, and for the first nine years, there was a routine I could rely on when putting together my ballot. I’d start at the bottom and list any newcomer yet to coach a game for his team. Then, at the top, I’d write Nick Saban’s name and follow it with Dabo Swinney, Kirby Smart, Urban Meyer or Jimbo Fisher, all of whom were national title winners. After that, the top 10 to 15 were pretty simple with the middle-of-the-pack range being where things got tricky.

This year’s ranking, however, was the most difficult time I’ve experienced putting together my list in 10 seasons. 

I’m sure the rest of our CBS Sports and 247Sports voters felt the same. With Saban’s retirement and Jim Harbaugh leaving for the NFL fresh off a national title victory, there’s a vacuum at the top. While I can’t speak for the other voters, it was simple to put Smart at No. 1 on my ballot. Trying to figure out who to put at No. 2 and every spot after was a chore, though.

There’s a clear changing of the guard in the college football coaching world, and it’s evident in our final rankings. Eight new coaches entered the top 25 this year, some of whom climbed more than 25 spots. Never in my 10 years writing this piece have I seen such dramatic movement across the board. So many questions need to be answered in the near future. 

Will the list find a stasis, or will we continue to see wild fluctuations? Will an expanded College Football Playoff have a greater impact on our opinions? What about how we view certain jobs in light of their new conference surroundings? Hopefully these are answered in the years to come.

But, for now, let’s have a look at the top 25 Power Four coaches in the country heading into the 2024 season, according to our panel of experts (and idiots like me). Also, don’t forget to check out the Power Four coaches ranked 68-26