Up Next: Which college football head coaches are best positioned to win their first national title?
There are 131 FBS head coaches in college football, but you can count on a single hand the number of active coaches with a national title ring.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart ended 40 years of 1980s jokes by breaking into the exclusive club last season, and after slaying the dragon that was Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs are among the favorites to compete for the championship again this fall.
Saban laps the field with seven national championships, while former assistant Jimbo Fisher has a national title on his resume from 2013 at Florida State.
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney also has a pair of championship rings, and not to be forgotten, North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a championship with Vince Young at Texas in 2005.
It’s a short list. Winning a national title is hard. And yet, several coaches are well-positioned to add their names to the ledger — one maybe as soon as in 2022, while others potentially in the near future.
So who could join the FBS coaching championship club next? Let’s break it down, tiers style.
TIER I — WHEN, NOT IF
Ryan Day, Ohio State
The most obvious top choice, as the Ohio State Buckeyes enter the fall ranked No. 2 in the polls with potential Heisman Trophy quarterback CJ Stroud, the deepest set of playmakers in America and a remade defense.
Day has only been a head coach for three seasons, and he already has two CFB Playoff appearances, including a loss in the national title game to Alabama. After knocking on the door twice, no one would be surprised if Day breaks through in 2022.
Lincoln Riley, USC
Riley has been no stranger to the CFB Playoffs, taking Oklahoma to the playoff three straight seasons from 2017-19. With a new tan and giant mansion in the Hollywood Hills, the new mayor of Los Angeles hopes he finally gets his exclusive ring with USC. The Trojans will compete for the Pac-12 this year, but Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison & Co., only play one side of the football. Once Riley solves USC’s issues in the trenches, the Trojans looked primed to win a title in the near future.
Brian Kelly, LSU
Much like Southern Cal, LSU won’t win a title in 2022 — barring a 2007-esque insanely wacky season. Still, Kelly left Notre Dame — unheard of in the history of college football — precisely because he believes he has a better chance at winning a championship with the Tigers than the Irish.
History confirms as much.
While Kelly took Notre Dame to the playoff twice, and also lost a BCS Championship to Alabama in 2012, the last three coaches at LSU (Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron) all won a national title within the last 25 years.
Kelly has proven he can build a sustainable power, and now he’s at a place with the most fervent local support and a recruiting hotbed. It’s why he bolted South Bend. So can he finish the drill?
TIER II — Possible but not probable
Kyle Whittingham, Utah
I do not think the Utes will win the national title in 2022, but Utah’s veteran coach deserves mention on this list because he has a Top 10 team with big expectations this fall. Utah, not Riley’s Trojans, are the Pac-12 favorites, so if the Utes can make their way into the CFB Playoff, then the former Urban Meyer assistant could have a chance to become a member of the exclusive club — 18 seasons into his tenure in Salt Lake City.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame
Freeman is likely to start his head coaching career 0-2 when the Irish lose at Ohio State to open the season. Yet, the charismatic first-time HC is well-positioned to have Notre Dame continue competing for championships.
Freeman inherited an engine that was already humming, and then he added some NOS to it, taking Notre Dame’s recruiting to a different gear. If the Irish stack Top 5 classes on top of one another, then Freeman could be the coach that snaps their 34-year (and running) championship drought.
Mario Cristobal, Miami
The South Florida native returned home with the purpose of returning the Hurricanes to their previous championship glory. The program has made unprecedented financial commitments to staffing, facilities and recruiting with Cristobal now in charge.
If Clemson reverts back to the pack in the ACC, then Cristobal could have the Canes positioned to level up. Miami should be frisky at best this fall, but if quarterback Tyler Van Dyke continues to improve and opts to return to school for the 2023 season?
Look out.
TIER III — So you’re saying there’s a chance
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
The President of the Khakis Crew came close to joining a far cooler club in 2021 when he beat Ohio State and had the Wolverines in the CFB Playoff for the first time.
Michigan is a Top 10 team again this fall, and although it must replace some studs on defense, there’s optimism in Ann Arbor the team might actually be more well-rounded than a year ago.
Can Harbaugh beat the Buckeyes in The Shoe, though? Can they compete against a likely SEC-foe in the playoff?
I’m very skeptical.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Little on Sark’s resume suggests that he’s anywhere close to winning a national title as a head coach, and yet, he is at Texas, recruiting is on the upswing, the Longhorns are a NIL machine and there’s the whole stacking 5-star quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning factor.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Gundy likely missed his moment in 2021, when the Cowboys fell inches short of winning the Big 12 Championship and sneaking into the CFB Playoff.
Still, he’s had Oklahoma State close a time or two before as well, and it’s all about the number of bites at the apple. Oklahoma State is a fringe Top 10 team in 2022, returning veteran quarterback Spencer Sanders in a down Big 12.
James Franklin, Penn State
It almost feels wrong to mention Franklin considering the Nittany Lions are just 11-11 the last two seasons, but the former Vandy head coach did win a Big Ten title in 2016 — and probably should’ve made the CFB Playoff — and just signed a 5-star freshman quarterback.
Again, I don’t really see it happening now or in the near future, but you can’t outright dismiss the possibility.
Note: I did not include Florida’s Billy Napier, Oregon’s Dan Lanning or Oklahoma’s Brent Venables on this list. Sure, all three coaches are at programs with championship expectations, but let’s see them coach a game first. But what about Marcus Freeman, Jesse?!?! It’s apples and oranges. Notre Dame is Notre Dame. This is where it benefits them to be different.