Ranking The Top 25 Power Four College Football Coaches For 2026

CBS Sports recently ranked the Top 25 Power Four Coaches entering the 2026 season.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin landed just inside the Top-10 at No. 9.

This is CBS Sports' 11th season of these rankings, with Kiffin landing as high as No. 7 and as low as No. 15.

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9. Lane Kiffin, LSU
Lane Kiffin shies away from the spotlight as much as possible, but darn it, that doesn't stop us from recognizing his abilities as a coach! OK, so, in all seriousness, a lot of things can be said about Kiffin and how he handles his business off the field. There aren't nearly as many things that can be said about his ability as a coach other than "he's pretty damn good at it." He left a program that he had in the playoffs for one he believes gives him a better chance to win a national title. That means he'd better do it (and soon), or he could suffer the same fate as the LSU coach who we had ranked in the top 10 at this time last year, too. 2025 rank 12 (+3), High 7, Low 15

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Top-10 Coaches:
1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
2. Kirby Smart, Georgia
3. Ryan Day, Ohio State
4. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
5. Dan Lanning, Oregon
6. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
7. Mario Cristobal, Miami
8. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
9. Lane Kiffin, LSU
10. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan