The Athletic Ranks The Top 25 College Football Coaches For 2024

The Athletic writers Bruce Feldman and Steward Mandel recently ranked the top 25 college football coaches for 2024, and both put LSU's Brian Kelly at Number 6.

Feldman moved Kelly up two spots from last year, while Mandel dropped Kelly two spots.

Bruce Feldman's Top 10:
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (2023: No. 2)
2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (2023: No. 3)
3. Lance Leipold, Kansas (2023: No. 10)
4. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (2023: No. 16)
5. Ryan Day, Ohio State (2023: No. 6)
6. Brian Kelly, LSU (2023: No. 8)
7. James Franklin, Penn State (2023: No. 5)
8. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (2023: No. 9)
9. Lincoln Riley, USC (2023: No. 7)
10. Mike Norvell, Florida State (2023: No. 21)

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6. Brian Kelly, LSU (2023: No. 8)
The 62-year-old Kelly has been very consistent, having now posted seven consecutive seasons of 10 wins or more and a postseason top-16 ranking. Kelly puts together very good teams. The challenge is, can he produce a great one? He’s just 3-5 against Top 25 opponents in two seasons at LSU, and his squads have been blown out in a lot of big games. Since his BCS title game loss to Alabama while at Notre Dame, Kelly’s teams are 5-13 against AP top-10 opponents.

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Steward Mandel's Top 10:
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (2023: No. 1b)
2. Lance Leipold, Kansas (2023: No. 11)
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (2023: NR)
4. Mike Norvell, Florida State (2023: NR)
5. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (2023: No. 8)
6. Brian Kelly, LSU (2022: No. 4)
7. Ryan Day, Ohio State (2023: No. 7)
8. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (2023: No. 3)
9. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (2023: No. 14)
10. Jamey Chadwell, Liberty (2023: NR)

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6. Brian Kelly, LSU (2022: No. 4)
Kelly is polarizing and easy to nitpick. He just shook up his LSU staff after fielding a woeful defense last season. But zoom out: He’s notched seven consecutive 10-win seasons dating back to Notre Dame; reached a BCS championship game; and made two Playoff fields. He’s off to a 12-4 start in SEC play. There frankly aren’t many active coaches with that quality of resume.

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