Where Kalen DeBoer ranks among CBS Sports' top college coaches for 2025
A panel of college football writers from CBS Sports ranked the best college football coaches in the country. It ranked the top 68 head coaches in the Power Four conferences, each based on his own criteria, and compiled a list of the best coaches entering the 2025 season.
Entering his second year at Alabama, Kalen DeBoer was ranked the ninth-best head coach in the land, according to CBS Sports. That’s two spots lower than his ranking before his inaugural season as the Crimson Tide head coach. DeBoer is the fourth-highest SEC coach.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart topped this year’s list once again, followed by Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Oregon’s Dan Lanning. Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame was No. 6, James Franklin of Penn State was No. 7 and Brian Kelly of LSU was No. 8. Behind DeBoer at the No. 10 spot was Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
DeBoer has an unbeaten record against the coaches ranked ahead of him, having faced four.
“Nobody envies the spot DeBoer was put in last season,” wrote Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports. “Well, OK, plenty of coaches probably wish they could coach at Alabama, but they don’t want to be the coach who replaces Nick Saban.
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“All things considered, it went well enough for DeBoer. There were bumps along the way (as well as some hilarious discussion of how DeBoer dresses on game days), but the Tide were still in the hunt for a playoff spot, which is the expectation every season. I’m very interested in seeing what Year 2 brings in Tuscaloosa.”
DeBoer’s first campaign at Alabama ended with a 9-4 overall record. The Crimson Tide claimed impressive wins over Georgia and LSU but fell short on the road against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Alabama won all of its home games throughout the 2024 season, but it capped DeBoer’s first season with a 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Before arriving at Alabama and taking on the task of replacing Nick Saban, DeBoer served as the head coach at Washington, where he guided the Huskies to a national championship game appearance to conclude the 2023 season. He boasts a career record of 113-16.
To see CBS Sports’ full rankings of the Power Four college head coaches, CLICK HERE.
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