With the coaching hierarchy well-established in the SEC, the small collection of college football’s best in the sport aims to show it on the field this fall in hopes of pushing the Big Ten off its perch as the two-time defending national champions. Kirby Smart is one of only three active coaches with a national championship to his credit, though he and his Georgia team are not the preseason favorite to win another conference title — at least according to media members.
That distinction goes to Texas and Steve Sarkisian, who will try and push the Longhorns over the hump in the playoff as he continues his march toward coaching’s top spot.
So, let’s now have a look at how the SEC’s coaches stuck up with one another heading into the 2025 season, based on voting from experts at CBS Sports and 247Sports.
Complete Power Four coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-68
2025 SEC coach rankings
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
National rank: No. 1
The only active coach in the SEC with a national championship under his belt, Smart has two of them and could capture another in 2025 if the Bulldogs can use the lack of preseason buzz as a motivational schtick. At CBS Sports, Smart was a unanimous top-ranked choice among voters and has been exemplary in recent years on the recruiting trail despite widescale changes in NIL driving parity with talent accumulation. Smart has three times as many wins over nationally-ranked competition than any other SEC coach at their current stop. Last year: No. 1 in SEC
2. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
National rank: No. 4
Sarkisian moved one spot closer to Smart in the SEC and into the top five nationally after as second consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals and berth in the SEC Championship Game during his first season as a newcomer to the superconference. Sarkisian’s program has been a successful red-zone conversion away from reaching the pinnacle of the sport in back to back years, so perhaps Arch Manning and a couple future first-rounders on defense can get the Longhorns over the top in 2025. Last year: No. 3 in SEC
3. Brian Kelly, LSU
National rank: No. 8
He’s not on the SEC’s hottest coaching seat, but few face more pressure than Kelly this fall. He has admitted Year 4 in Baton Rouge should — at minimum — result in a playoff appearance for the Tigers, who reloaded through the transfer portal and welcome back the league’s top quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier. Few programs invested as many resources into its 2025 roster as the Tigers, and now it’s up to Kelly to push the right buttons toward success. Last year: No. 2 in SEC
4. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
National rank: No. 9
No one’s bailing on the DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa just yet, but he did slip a few spots nationally after failing to meet lofty program expectations in 2024. This is a show-me year for DeBoer, whose sparkling 15-3 record against top-25 teams as a coach was primarily accomplished at Washington. It’s time to win big in the SEC now, and Alabama expects the offseason hire of Ryan Grubb — DeBoer’s righthand man offensively — to result in a playoff berth. Last year: No. 4 in SEC
5. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
National rank: No. 12
Sandwiched between Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and USC’s Lincoln Riley just outside the top 10 nationally, Kiffin’s getting his due after his third top-15 finish over the last four seasons with the Rebels. During that stretch, Kiffin has notched 39 total victories and holds a winning percentage of 65.6 against SEC competition. No SEC coach has navigated the transfer portal and the challenges that brings as well as Kiffin, who’s preference of proven talent over prep signees has paid dividends in Oxford. Last year: No. 5 in SEC
6. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
National rank: No. 16
Coming off the program’s first playoff appearance, Heupel surges this year into the top 20. However, his decision to let returning starter Nico Iamaleava walk this spring will be heavily-scrutinized if the Vols fail to produce a difference-maker at quarterback and mirror their 2024 results. Those close to the program are saying switching signal callers isn’t substantial, and this season’s offense could be more productive in the passing game. Time will tell for Heupel. Last year: No. 8 in SEC
7. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
National rank: No. 24
Those complaining about the Drinkwitz hire early in CoMo are non-existent now coming off consecutive double-digit win seasons. The Tigers took out Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to end the 2023 campaign, then beat Iowa for win No. 10 in Nashville last fall. Drinkwitz has received full buy-in from Missouri’s biggest boosters and wants to see further playoff expansion so a program like Missouri can get its bite at the apple at the national level. Last year: No. 7 in SEC
8. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
National rank: No. 28
Beamer has won more games than any coach in program history over his first four seasons, topping Steve Spurrier by one. That came in last year’s regular-season finale at Clemson, his second win in the last three years against the Gamecocks’ arch rival. With that level of production, Beamer’s going to have this job in Columbia as long as he wants it and believes South Carolina can get to a conference title and playoff appearance under his watch. Last year: No. 12 in SEC
9. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
National rank: No. 29
Elko deserves an applause for what he was able to do at Duke with lesser talent. Then, during his first season with the Aggies, Elko was one victory away from Texas A&M’s first trip to the SEC Championship Game. That’s impressive. Another coach in the SEC who has used the transfer portal to with considerable expertise early, navigating through the 2025 slate is his toughest assignment yet. Last year: No. 9 in SEC
10. Mark Stoops, Kentucky
National rank: No. 36
Regression to the mean is underway in Lexington for Stoops. He fell several spots nationally after a dismal campaign with the Wildcats. And with little to no buzz for this year’s team after heavy talent losses and top assistant Vince Marrow bolting for Louisville, the spiral likely continues. Last year: No. 6 in SEC
11. Billy Napier, Florida
National rank: No. 45
Napier slashed his way through what many considered the toughest schedule in college football history last fall and lived to fight another day with the Gators. And part of the reason for optimism under his tutelage is the emergence of D.J. Lagway at quarterback, a former elite recruit that Napier managed to hold onto before unleashing as a freshman in 2024. Lagway’s the singlemost important player for the former Louisiana coach and likely determines whether whether his tenure will be successful or not. Last year: No. 13 in SEC
12. Hugh Freeze, Auburn
National rank: No. 47
When offseason buzz has centered more on your golf game than football, that’s never a good sign. Freeze deflected much of that fodder at SEC Media Days, but a downturn in recruiting for 2026 has heightened the on-field pressure that begins in a few weeks. Thus far, his return to the SEC from Liberty has been a disappointment, and there’s no reason why the Tigers should suffer another losing season under his watch with this roster they’ve put together. Last year: No. 10 in SEC
13. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
National rank: No. 52
Venables’ 10-win season two years ago in Norman feels so far in the past. He’s firmly on the hot seat needing to show considerable momentum in 2025 after the Sooners went all-in this offseason from a roster enhancement standpoint, along with the hire of a new offensive coordinator and former Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy as their GM. Venables is now calling plays on the defensive side, too, getting back to his bread and butter. We’ll see if it works. Last year: No. 11 in SEC
14. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
National rank: No. 53
Diego Pavia might have saved Lea’s career as a head coach, at least for the time being. The former New Mexico State quarterback who helped the Commodores win more SEC games (3) than the previous three seasons under Lea last fall returns in 2025 and gives Vanderbilt a fighting chance at another victorious campaign. Lea is tactical with his approach, but hasn’t had the overall talent yet for annual success. Last year: No. 15 in SEC
15. Sam Pittman, Arkansas
National rank: No. 57
No coach in the SEC has faced more nationally-ranked opponents over the last five seasons than Pittman at Arkansas. He has three winning records to show for it, including a 9-4 mark in 2021. That said, the Razorbacks are restless and a record of .500 or worse in 2025 might be the end of his tenure. He’s treading water in college football’s most competitive league and the decision-makers say that’s not good enough in Fayetteville. Last year: No. 14 in SEC
16. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
National rank: No. 68
When you’re ranked at the bottom of the Power 4 coaching ranks following a winless conference season, there’s very little pressure moving forward. Job security is a worry, sure, but there’s not a single media member or opposing fan nationally expecting Mississippi State to be a force in the not-so-distant future under Lebby. That should allow him to try and build this program up without being under a microscope. Last year: No. 16 in SEC
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