The Big Ten enters the 2025 college football season with back-to-back national championships after Ohio State’s impressive run through the College Football Playoff. While the criticism surrounding coach Ryan Day has tempered, he still has that Michigan monkey on his back. Certainly, winning a national title warrants plenty of respect, but does it fully erase the sting of those four consecutive losses to the Wolverines?
Beyond Day’s saga, the Big Ten coaching landscape is as competitive and dynamic as ever. Though the conference welcomes just one new face, Barry Odom at Purdue, there’s been significant movement within the ranks, especially after surprise double-digit win seasons from Indiana and Illinois shifted expectations.
Dan Lanning has quickly established Oregon as a national title contender, while James Franklin continues to push Penn State toward elite status despite ongoing debates about his ceiling. Impressively, seven of the Big Ten’s 18 coaches rank among the top 25 nationally, matching the SEC’s representation.
When it comes to ranking these coaches, there’s no official checklist or one-size-fits-all formula. The question of, “who’s the best?” is obviously subjective, blending factors like recent success, program trajectory and the ability to win big games just to name a few.
So, with all that in mind, here’s how we rank the Big Ten’s coaches heading into the 2025 season, based on input from experts at CBS Sports and 247Sports.
Complete Power Four coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-68
2025 Big Ten coach rankings
1. Ryan Day, Ohio State
National rank: No. 2
Day has a Michigan problem, but a national title quieted plenty of critics. He’s 70-10 at Ohio State, with four of those losses coming to the Wolverines. Against everyone else, Day owns a staggering .920 win percentage across six seasons — including a 3-0 mark as acting coach in 2018. Last season’s championship reestablished the Buckeyes atop the national landscape, reaffirming Day’s standing as the top coach in the Big Ten. But until he ends a four-game losing streak to Michigan and captures another conference crown, the pressure in Columbus won’t fully fade. Last year: No. 1 in Big Ten
2. Dan Lanning, Oregon
National rank: No. 5
Oregon went undefeated and captured the Big Ten title in its first year as a member of the expanded conference, reaffirming the Ducks’ success under Lanning. That momentum briefly stalled after a humbling Rose Bowl loss to national champion Ohio State, but the program’s trajectory remains strong. Since Lanning took over in 2022, Oregon is 35-6; only Kirby Smart and Ryan Day have more wins. With elite recruiting, the Ducks have quickly become a powerhouse in the Big Ten’s new landscape. Last year: No. 2 in Big Ten
3. James Franklin, Penn State
National rank: No. 7
James Franklin jumped a spot in the Big Ten coach rankings after what could arguably be his best season yet at Penn State. The Nittany Lions were just 8 minutes away from playing for a national championship before losing in the College Football Playoff semifinal. While debate over whether Franklin is overrated or underrated persists, many agree he’s positioned appropriately based on his track record — or shortcomings, depending on who you ask. Still, Franklin enters a career-defining year determined to silence critics. Last year: No. 4 in Big Ten
4. Lincoln Riley, USC
National rank: No. 13
Is Riley still riding the success he had at Oklahoma? He’s yet to win a conference title in three seasons at USC and is just 15-11 over the past two years. Riley did add a third Heisman Trophy to his résumé with Caleb Williams, but the main reason for bringing him to Los Angeles was to return the Trojans to national championship contention. So far, that hasn’t happened. While Riley has shown flashes of brilliance, the pressure is rising to deliver consistent winning seasons at USC and make a deep playoff run. Last year: No. 3 in Big Ten
5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
National rank: No. 19
Ferentz’s tenure at Iowa — the longest of any active FBS coach — has delivered steady success, but the Hawkeyes have struggled to consistently compete with the Big Ten’s elite. Ferentz turns 70 in August ahead of his 27th season at Iowa. Although he’s been to the Big Ten Championship Game three times in the past decade, the last conference crown for the Hawkeyes came way back in 2004. Half the players on Iowa’s 2025 roster weren’t even born then. Ferentz remains one of the sport’s most respected figures, with 204 wins — the most among any active FBS coach. Last year: No. 6 in Big Ten
6. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
National rank: No. 21
No Big Ten coaching stock moved more — up or down — from last year than Indiana’s Cignetti. After taking over a struggling Hoosiers program, he engineered one of the most stunning turnarounds in recent memory, leading Indiana to an 11-2 record that included an unexpected berth in the College Football Playoff. His no-nonsense style and proven track record have quickly made Indiana a rising threat in the Big Ten, and expectations are no longer modest in Bloomington. Last year: No. 14 in Big Ten
7. Bret Bielema, Illinois
National rank: No. 23
Bret Bielema jumped into the top 25 of the Power Four coach rankings after leading Illinois to its first 10-win season since 2001. In four seasons, Bielema has compiled a 28-22 record with the Fighting Illini. Now, entering Year 5, Bielema has positioned Illinois as a popular preseason pick to reach the College Football Playoff — the Illini are currently listed at +500 to make the CFP field, per DraftKings Sportsbook — provided they capitalize on returning production.. Last year: No. 10 in Big Ten
8. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
National rank: No. 27
There’s a reason Minnesota has Fleck locked in long term. In eight seasons, the Golden Gophers have won at least seven games five times and have yet to lose a bowl game. Unfortunately, Minnesota hasn’t found its way into the Big Ten title game yet, finishing with fewer than four conference losses in just two of those seasons. Last year: No. 11 in Big Ten
9. Matt Rhule, Nebraska
National rank: No. 32
Rhule was able to end Nebraska’s dreadful bowl drought in 2024 but still drops a spot in the Big Ten coach rankings with a 12-13 overall record with the Huskers. He’s 10-6 from August through October but just 2-7 in games played November or later. Year 3 is when Rhule has historically flipped programs, and Nebraska’s hoping that pattern holds as it pushes to become relevant in the Big Ten again. Last year: No. 8 in Big Ten
10. Jedd Fisch, Washington
National rank: No. 39
Fisch endured nearly a complete roster overhaul upon his arrival after Washington finished as the College Football Playoff runner-up. So, going 6-7 in his first year with the Huskies isn’t as disappointing as it may seem. But for a program that has five 10-plus win seasons in the past eight full campaigns, expectations aren’t changing. Last year: No. 9 in Big Ten
11. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
National rank: No. 40
No Power Four coach fell further in the national rankings last year than Fickell. His tumble within the Big Ten is tied for the worst in the conference. What once seemed like a potential home-run hire back in 2022 — and, honestly, most of them do, right? — has instead resulted in a disappointing 13-13 overall record through his first two seasons. Not to mention ending the Badgers’ streak of 22 consecutive years with a bowl appearance. Last year: No. 5 in Big Ten
12. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
National rank: No. 43
Rutgers has long been a tough place to find sustained success in college football, but relatively speaking, Schiano is doing just that. He has coached the Scarlet Knights to nine of their 13 all-time bowl appearances, including three in the last five years during his second stint. Under Schiano, Rutgers achieved back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over a decade. Their four Big Ten wins in 2024 marked the best conference performance since joining in 2014, and the seven Big Ten victories over the past two seasons surpass the total from the previous five years combined. Last year: No. 12 in Big Ten
13. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State
National rank: No. 49
Smith joins Wisconsin’s Fickell as the biggest fallers in the Big Ten coach rankings. In his first season in East Lansing, Smith posted a shaky 5-7 record in 2024 — though that’s largely in line with how the Spartans have fared over the past seven years, aside from their standout 11-win campaign in 2021 under Mel Tucker. Last year: No. 7 in Big Ten
14. Barry Odom, Purdue
National rank: No. 51
Odom is the lone first-year coach in the Big Ten for 2025 after Purdue swiftly ended the Ryan Walters experiment. But Odom isn’t new to the Power Four level; he makes his return after his four-year Missouri tenure, which ended in 2019 with an even 25-25 record. Since then, Odom rebuilt his reputation at UNLV over the past two seasons, leading the Rebels to a combined 20-8 record, including matching a program high with 11 wins in 2024. It’s easy to forget Purdue is just three years removed from an appearance in the Big Ten title game. Perhaps Odom can find some of that winning spark and bring it back to West Lafayette. Last year: N/A in Big Ten
15. Sherrone Moore, Michigan
National rank: No. 58
Moore is 2-0 against Ohio State if you include his fill-in performance for a suspended Jim Harbaugh in 2023. That should carry weight, but Moore wasn’t overly successful in his first full season as Michigan’s coach in 2024. Had the Wolverines fielded a legitimate quarterback, perhaps they could’ve done more with a defense that ranked top-20 nationally in scoring. Last year: No. 15 in Big Ten
16. Mike Locksley, Maryland
National rank: No. 59
The post-Taulia Tagovailoa era hasn’t been kind to Maryland and Locksley. After a solid three-year stretch with a 23-16 record, the Terrapins tumbled to 4-8 in 2024, managing just one conference win and raising questions about the program’s trajectory under Locksley. His 15-35 record against Big Ten opponents remains a major blemish as he has yet to post a winning mark in conference play through six seasons. Last year: No. 13 in Big Ten
17. DeShaun Foster, UCLA
National rank: No. 61
Good news: Foster is no longer at the bottom. Bad news: The UCLA coach moved up just one spot in the Big Ten rankings after a 5-7 debut season in 2024. The Bruins showed flashes, but consistency — especially on offense — was hard to find. Adding five-star transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava certainly raises the ceiling, but expectations remain tempered until Foster proves he can string together wins in a brutal Big Ten slate. Last year: No. 18 in Big Ten
18. David Braun, Northwestern
National rank: No. 64
Only four Power Four coaches rank lower than Braun, who wrapped up his first full year as Northwestern’s coach in 2024 after serving as interim in 2023. That surprise eight-win campaign in his interim year set the bar high, but the Wildcats took a clear step back in 2024, winning just half as many games while playing in a temporary stadium next to their practice facility. It was a fitting backdrop for a team searching for stability in the post-Pat Fitzgerald era. Last year: No. 16 in Big Ten
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