Where is James Franklin on CBS Sports’ Top 25 coaching list?
CBS Sports has been ranking the top 25 coaches in the Power 5 conferences in college football since 2016. Their goal is to create a pecking order to keep in mind when top jobs become open and to highlight who are the elite coaches in the sport.
When putting together the list, the experts who rank the coaches say the top 10 is fairly straightforward, but anything after that is mainly opinion based.
As with most things related to analyzing sports, a lot of things are based on opinion and can be argued one way or another. That’s what makes sports and college football so great. It’s hard to truly know if the fifth best Pac-12 coach is worse than the fifth best Big Ten coach when they are playing different teams and schedules.
James Franklin has been a topic of conversation with Penn State fans and college football fans in general when discussing if he’s truly one of the best in the country.
Here are the top 25 Power 5 coaches in the country according to CBS Sports and where coach Franklin is ranked.
Dave Doeren - NC State
Years at NC State: 10 years
Overall Record: 72-54
2022 Record: 8-5
Dave Doeren has had an impressive run at NC State. In his 10 years there, he’s only had two losing seasons. He’s also been ranked in five seasons and got to a career high 10th in the AP rankings.
PJ Fleck - Minnesota
Years at Minnesota: 6 years
Overall Record: 44-27
2022 Record: 9-4
PJ Fleck is one of the biggest characters in college football. He had some whacky mottos at Western Michigan and brought that over to Minnesota. He’s had four winning seasons and finished top 10 in the AP Poll after the 2019 season following their Outback Bowl win.
Lance Leipold - Kansas
Years at Kansas: 2 years
Overall Record: 8-17
2022 Record: 6-7
Any coach who is able to win games at Kansas has to be viewed as one of the best guys in the country. Not only was Lance Leipold able to do that last season, he got his team ranked 19th in the AP Poll. After a successful fun at Buffalo where he was 37-33, Leipold decided to take on the challenge at Kansas and seems to be turning things around.
Mack Brown - North Carolina
Years at North Carolina: 14 years
Overall Record: 99-68-1
2022 Record: 9-5
Mack Brown is mainly known for his successful tenure at Texas where he won the National Championship in 2005. Prior to Texas, Brown spent 10 seasons at North Carolina. He returned to be the coach of the Tar Heels in 2019 after six years off from coaching. In the four seasons since he’s returned, he has only one losing season and has been in ranked in three out of the four years.
Bret Bielema - Illinois
Years at Illinois: 2 years
Overall Record: 13-12
2022 Record: 8-5
Bret Bielema is a name that is definitely known in the college football world. He had major success in his first coaching stop at Wisconsin before heading to Arkansas. His tenure in the SEC did not go as well, eventually getting fired after the 2017 season. He took assistant jobs in the NFL before returning to college football as the head coach of Illinois where he led them to a winning record in his second season there.
Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
Years at Texas A&M: 5 years
Overall Record: 39-21
2022 Record: 5-7
Being ranked 20th on this list is quite the fall from grace for Jimbo Fisher. While at Florida State, he reached the pinnacle of the sport, going undefeated and winning the National Championship in 14-0. He eventually left Florida State for Texas A&M where he has not had the success that his massive contract would demand. Despite all the recruiting talent in the program, Fisher has underachieved during his time at College Station.
Mike Norvell - Florida State
Years at Florida State: 3 years
Overall Record: 18-16
2022 Record: 10-3
After a successful four years at Memphis where he had a winning record every season, Mike Norvell went to Florida State as the guy who would turn around the program. That did not come to fruition early on where he went 8-13 in his first two seasons. Florida State is not patient and he found himself on the hotseat early. This past season got him firmly off that seat after recording double digit wins. They come into this season as the ACC favorites.
Mark Stoops - Kentucky
Years at Kentucky: 10 years
Overall Record: 66-59
2022 Record: 7-6
It’s rare that an SEC school would be a bigger basketball school than a football school, but that was the challenge that Mark Stoops faced when he took over the Kentucky job. This has been his only head coaching job since he took over in 2013. Stoops has only had one losing season since 2016 and has gotten the Wildcats into a bowl for seven straight years.
Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State
Years at Oklahoma State: 18 years
Overall Record: 156-75
2022 Record: 7-6
Mike Gundy took over the head coaching position in 2005 after being the offensive coordinator for three seasons. He’s been in charge of his alma mater ever since and is currently the second longest tenured head coach at the FBS level. Gundy has had a truly impressive run at Oklahoma State. His lone losing season came in his first season. He’s been in a bowl for 17 straight years and has finished ranked in the AP Poll in half of his seasons has head coach.
Josh Heupel - Tennessee
Years at Tennessee: 2 years
Overall Record: 18-8
2022 Record: 11-2
Tennessee needed a coach who could lead a resurgence of their program. They had been searching for a while, but it was a struggle. That is until Josh Heupel took over and led them their first number two AP Poll ranking since 2001. He’s yet to have a losing season in his five years as a head coach and Tennessee fans hope he can build on the success from last year.
Dave Clawson - Wake Forest
Years at Wake Forest: 9 years
Overall Record: 59-52
2022 Record: 8-5
Although the record might not suggest it, Dave Clawson has had a successful tenure at Wake Forest. He’s exceeded preseason expectations every single season since he’s taken over. After his first two seasons, he’s had a winning record every single year besides the COVID shortened seasons. Clawson also boasts as 5-2 records in bowl games while at Wake Forest.
Lane Kiffin - Ole Miss
Years at Ole Miss: 3 years
Overall Record: 23-13
2022 Record: 8-5
Lane Kiffin might be the most polarizing coach in college football. After flaming out at USC and in the NFL, Kiffin rehabbed his image as the offensive coordinator at Alabama. This got him the Florida Atlantic job, where he won 11 games in two out of his three seasons there. He took the Ole Miss job in 2020 and hasn’t had a losing season.
Chip Kelly - UCLA
Years at UCLA: 5 years
Overall Record: 27-29
2022 Record: 9-4
Chip Kelly took college football by storm when he was at Oregon. The offensive scheme and pace they played at was something that was never seen before. After four years and zero losing seasons, he left to take the Philadelphia Eagles job. He eventually flamed out in the NFL and returned to college football with UCLA in 2018. Kelly struggled to have success early, winning 10 games in three years, but the past two seasons he’s recorded winning seasons and AP Poll rankings.
Chris Klieman - Kansas State
Years at Kansas State: 4 years
Overall Record: 30-20
2022 Record: 10-4
Chris Klieman was absolutely dominate while coaching for North Dakota State at the FCS level. In five seasons there, he won the National Championship four times. Klieman was then tapped to be program legend Bill Snyder’s replacement at head coach. It seemed unlikely that anyone could duplicate the success that Snyder brought to Kansas State, but it seems like Klieman is on his way. His lone losing season came in the COVID shortened season.
Sonny Dykes - TCU
Years at TCU: 1 year
Overall Record: 13-2
2022 Record: 13-2
Talk about a debut for Sonny Dykes. In his first season at TCU, he took them to the National Championship game where the lost to Georgia. After three winning seasons in a row at SMU, Dykes left to coach at the Power 5 level again. It looks TCU made a good decision to bring in Dykes after they parted ways with their previous long time coach Gary Patterson.
James Franklin - Penn State
Years at Penn State: 9 years
Overall Record: 78-36
2022 Record: 11-2
It’s hard to believe it’s almost a decade since James Franklin took over at Penn State. In his three seasons at Vanderbilt, he led them to unprecedented success, including back to back nine win seasons, bowl win victories and top 25 AP Poll rankings. His run at Penn State has been equally impressive, securing winning seasons in every year besides the COVID shortened season. Franklin has a Big Ten Championship, Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Fiesta Bowl victory to his name as well.
Luke Fickell - Wisconsin
Years at Wisconsin: 0 years
Overall Record: 1-0
2022 Record: 1-0
Luke Fickell left Cincinnati to take the Wisconsin job following the 2022 season. He coached Wisconsin to a victory in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl getting his tenure off to a good start. Fickell coached Cincinnati for six seasons, amassing a 57-18 record and a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.
Ryan Day - Ohio State
Years at Ohio State: 6 years
Overall Record: 45-6
2022 Record: 11-2
Ryan Day took over for Urban Meyer in 2018 after Meyer was placed on administrative leave. The machine was rolling in Columbus and Day stepped in to keep it rolling. The only season he hasn’t won double digit games was during the COVID shorted season, when they lost in the National Championship game. Despite the success he’s had, Day’s losses to Michigan in back to back years have him on a surprising hot seat if he’s not able to the Buckeyes to the pinnacle of college football again.
Kyle Whittingham - Utah
Years at Utah: 19 years
Overall Record: 154-74
2022 Record: 10-4
Kyle Whittingham has been coaching at Utah since 1994. He came the defensive coordinator in 1995 and eventually moved into the head coaching role in 2005. After Urban Meyer took the head coaching job at Florida before the Fiesta Bowl, both Meyer and Whittingham coached the game and were credited for the victory. As the head man, Whittingham only has two losing seasons. He boasts an impressive 11-5 bowl game record and has won the Pac-12 the past two seasons.
Brian Kelly - LSU
Years at LSU: 1 year
Overall Record: 10-4
2022 Record: 10-4
Brian Kelly is another one of those coaches who people either love or hate. After 12 seasons at Notre Dame with a record of 113-40, he decided to leave for the open LSU job. In his first season with the Tigers, we beat Alabama and won the SEC West to appear in the SEC title game. In his 19 years as a head coach at the FBS level, he’s only had two losing seasons, while recording 11 double digit winning years.
Jim Harbaugh - Michigan
Years at Michigan: 8 years
Overall Record: 74-25
2022 Record: 13-1
Jim Harbaugh decided to return to his alma mater in 2015 after his stint in the NFL. Michigan was struggling at the time and he was viewed as the savior coming back to the program. Despite only one losing season during the COVID shortened season, there were questions if he was the right guy for the job. He completely flipped that narrative the last two seasons. Harbaugh has beaten Ohio State in back to back seasons, won the Big Ten Championship twice in a row and been to the College Football Playoff the past two years. The next step for him is getting Michigan into the National Championship game.
Lincoln Riley - USC
Years at USC: 1 year
Overall Record: 11-3
2022 Record: 11-3
Lincoln Riley is a wonderkid. He took over for Oklahoma program legend Bob Stoops in 2017 after Stoops retired and hasn’t looked back. He won the Big 12 championship in four of his five seasons at Oklahoma and was in the College Football Playoff three times. Riley was hired at USC in hopes of bringing that program back to the top of college football. In his first season there he won double digit games. Riley has won double digit games in every single season except the COVID shortened season when he won nine.
Dabo Swinney - Clemson
Years at Clemson: 15 years
Overall Record: 161-39
2022 Record: 11-3
Clemson is the only head coaching job that Dabo Swinney has held. He was named the interim head coach midseason in 2008 and was given the head coaching job after the season. Swinney only has one losing season in his coaching career. The year after, he started his incredible streak of double digit wins of 12 years in a row and counting. Swinney is a two time National Champion and has won the ACC Championship eight times.
Kirby Smart - Georgia
Years at Georgia: 7 years
Overall Record: 81-15
2022 Record: 15-0
Despite dominating college football the past couple seasons, Kirby Smart finds himself second on the CBS Sports list. He took over the job in 2016 and has never had a losing season. Under Smart, Georgia has only lost one game the past two seasons, including a 15-0 season in 2022. Georgia will go into the season defending their back to back National Championships and try to build upon Smart’s two SEC Championship victories.
Nick Saban - Alabama
Years at Alabama: 16 years
Overall Record: 194-27
2022 Record: 11-2
What is there to be said about Nick Saban that hasn’t already been said? He’s arguably the greatest head coach in the history of college football and has dominated the game since he went to Alabama in 2007. His first season at Alabama was the only time he hasn’t won double digit games in Tuscaloosa. He’s a six time national champion and eight time SEC champion at Alabama. Saban’s mentee Kirby Smart may have surpassed him the past two seasons, but the longevity of success that Saban has in unmatched.
