CBS Sports capped its 2024 Power Four coach rankings with the release of Wednesday’s top 25, highlighting the upper echelon of coaches at the highest level of college football. This year’s list features several new names after Nick Saban’s retirement and Jim Harbaugh’s departure for the NFL left some huge vacancies near the top.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart was a natural successor for the No. 1 slot, and the rest of the top 10 is a combination of veterans who already boast multiple College Football Playoff appearances and relative newcomers who seem poised to take the sport by storm. However, just because a coach lands in the top 25 does not mean they’re immune to pressure.
Added expectations come with such a lofty billing. With seven at-large bids up for grabs, making the cut for an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is now the bar for a top-10 coach. For some, even that won’t cut it, and only a run toward the national title will soothe fanbases clamoring for more.
Not that any top coaches are on the hot seat entering 2024, but this season certainly feels like a turning point for some prolific figures in CBS Sports’ top 25.
2024 Power Four coach rankings: 68-26 | 25-1
Ryan Day, Ohio State
CBS Sports rank: 2 | 2023 record:11-2
Most programs would kill for the level of success — both on the field and in the recruiting sphere — Ohio State has enjoyed in recent years. But for all the 11-win seasons and New Year’s Six bowl appearances, it’s hard to shake the feeling Day has fallen well short of expectations since a 2020 run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The 2023 season marked a third straight loss to top rival Michigan, a third consecutive year without a Big Ten Championship Game berth and the…
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