Every year, college football insider Bruce Feldman of The Athletic puts together a list ranking the top coaches in all of college football. Naturally, every year, that list caused quite a bit of controversy among college football fans, and this year is no different on that front.
On Thursday morning, Bruce Feldman released his ranking of the top coaches in college on The Athletic, ranking Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban at the top with Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart just behind him at No. 2.
Feldman then has Dabo Swinney of Clemson at No. 3, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan at No. 4, and James Franklin at No. 5 with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day at No. 6.
Behind them, USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley comes in at No. 7, and LSU head coach Brian Kelly at No. 8 while Kyle Whittingham of Utah ranks No. 9 and Lance Leipold of Kansas ranks No. 10.
The list caused quite a bit of drama in the college football world with many voicing their disagreements about some of Feldman’s selections.
LOLOL Leipold at 10 https://t.co/T2uAzTdOJD
— Tyler Morgan (@tyler_morgan28) March 9, 2023
Harbaugh at 4
Franklin at 5
Day at 6
Putting Franklin over Day is nuts. Day is 4-0 head to head and OSU has outscored PSU 143-97. Franklin has lost by two scores in every single game. https://t.co/aKpetTaOYV
— Chris(to🅿️her) Larsen 🙈 🙉 🙊 (@ESPNChrisLarsen) March 9, 2023
6 is too high for Ryan Day, but being behind James Franklin is crazy. James Franklin has never beaten Ryan Day. Penn State hasn’t even been to the playoff. Wild https://t.co/LljqQryThR
— Nick Fink (@finkn23) March 9, 2023
Death, taxes, and Bruce's love for James Franklin.
I love Feldman, but I don't get his infatuation with Franklin. https://t.co/pYwNimGpZ3
— JV All-American (@jv_allamerican) March 9, 2023
Um, yes. No one in modern CFB has come close to his SEVEN national titles, and finished in the top eight in 14 of the past 15 years, and he just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country that had 9 five-stars.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 9, 2023
Much as I agree with Whittingham, putting Franklin in the top 10 ruins the poll. He’s 78-36 at PSU, 5 of 9 seasons < 10 wins. You cite Vandy but forget he lost to Clay Helton, who had a better W-L% at USC. PSU never finished above 7 AP, but you rank him 6th?!?
— BearFlagFan (@BearFlagFan) March 9, 2023
The press love for JH is strange to me.
— MT (@southernsunny1) March 9, 2023
It’s certainly a controversial list for many reasons, but the debate is what makes it fun. We’ll have to see which of these coaches rise and fall on Feldman’s list this season.
