June 9, 2026
By Bill Bender, The Sporting News via Yahoo Sports: Sporting News has a new No. 1 on its annual Top 25 Coach Rankings for 2026.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti is our No. 1 after leading the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record and national championship in 2025. He takes over the spot held by Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who is one of just two FBS coaches with multiple national titles. The Bulldogs also have won back-to-back SEC championships.
This is yet another layer of the struggle between the Big Ten and the SEC in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. The Big Ten led all conferences with eight coaches on this list. The SEC was second with seven coaches. The ACC had four coaches, and the Big 12 had three coaches. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman rounds out the top 25.
Should Cignetti or Smart be No. 1? Smart was No. 1 on this list in 2024 and 2025, which broke up an eight-year run by Nick Saban at the top. Cignetti and Smart, of course, are both former Saban assistants.
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