1. Kirby Smart (UGA)
2. Ryan Day (Ohio State)
3. Curt Cignetti (Indiana)
4. Dan Lanning (Oregon)
5. Kalen DeBoer (Alabama)
6. Mike Elko (TAMU)
7. Mario Cristobal (Miami)
8. Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
9. Joey McGuire (Texas Tech)
10. Jon Sumrall (Tulane)
11. Bob Chesney (James Madison)
12. Pete Golding (Mississippi)

Hard to argue too much with this ranking. What says TexAgs? And, just for fun, where would you have ranked Lane Kiffin had he stayed at Ole Miss?

https://apple.news/AewdNB2bJSJatKlbUDjQF_A

swap 4&5

Deboer has 3-0 record against Lanning and has won a playoff game.

Kiffin at 6

BubblesMcGee said:

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1. Kirby Smart (UGA)
2. Ryan Day (Ohio State)
3. Curt Cignetti (Indiana)
4. Dan Lanning (Oregon)
5. Kalen DeBoer (Alabama)
6. Mike Elko (TAMU)
7. Mario Cristobal (Miami)
8. Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
9. Joey McGuire (Texas Tech)
10. Jon Sumrall (Tulane)
11. Bob Chesney (James Madison)
12. Pete Golding (Mississippi)

Hard to argue too much with this ranking. What says TexAgs? And, just for fun, where would you have ranked Lane Kiffin had he stayed at Ole Miss?

https://apple.news/AewdNB2bJSJatKlbUDjQF_A

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"Best" is a pretty fuzzy metric. Cignetti has to be #1 on any attempted list. I would argue that Smart, Day, Lanning, DeBoer, Cristobal, and Venables inherited programs that have seen significant success over the last couple of decades. Yes, they appear to have revived some of the past glory, but they had well-known brands from which to start.

In 3 years, Cignetti turned the losingest program in FBS into a contender. Guy might be... abrasive, but he has delivered.

Cignetti has beaten like maybe 3 quality teams in 2 years. What he's done at Indiana is impressive given their history, but the schedule has been light and easy with no non-conference challenges.

DeBoer isn't so great if you take Ryan Grubb out of the equation.

I'd put Cristobal and Venables above Elko.

What has Cristobal done other than lose a couple WTF games every year with teams that usually have superior talent to the teams they lose to?

Logos Stick said:

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I'd put Cristobal and Venables above Elko.

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Elko has finished above Venables in both years he's coached in the SEC but sure whatever.

it's interesting how perception can change if you win a natty. ryan day was in danger of being forced out and now he is considered a great coach. for what he does with what he has tough to argue with cignettis results

Playing to public perception to provide fan service to their audience is my first take…

With that said. Apple.news is an aggregator and is a poor source for a link. This is the USAToday link:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/12/16/college-football-playoff-coaches-ranked-cfp/87778447007/

Cignetti it the most incredible coach I've seen in almost 50 years watching football.

When I am sick I go to a doctor. When I have legal things I go to a lawyer. When I want football opinions I do not go to the USA Today or sportswriters. It's good for conversation but does not mean much. Tell me what these guys know about coaching other than wins or losses? I have been blessed to coach very talented teams who won big. I have also had a team that won one game. We coached harder to get that team one win. It was one of our staffs best coaching jobs. That team had pretty much no talent. But more than that they had never won. Learning how to win is bigger than people believe. That team got better every week and should have won a few more times but they expected to lose. They finally broke through that barrier. I am as proud of that team as I am any great team I coached. Elko built this team, changed the culture, and broke through a lot of barriers. Day, Lanning took over programs that were already pretty much there. Indianas coach and Elko have done the best coaching jobs this season in my opinion.

This place never misses a chance to self-deprecate.

Scratch out Dan Lanning and write in Phil Knight/Nike.

BTW, did you see this one:

Did Phil Knight give $2 billion to Penn State?

Breaking News: In a historic move set to reshape the future of American football, Phil Knight co-founder of Nike has pledged a record $2 billion donation to the Penn State Nittany Lions.Aug 27, 2025

These rankings are an absolute joke year after year

That's crazy.......

We know money drives this professional sport. Now you have individuals and funds investing. Army - Navy game remains pure.

Logos Stick said:

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I'd put Cristobal and Venables above Elko.

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No friggin way.

TMartin said:

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Scratch out Dan Lanning and write in Phil Knight/Nike.

BTW, did you see this one:

Did Phil Knight give $2 billion to Penn State?



Total bs, he gave it to Oregon. He's a goofy guy who still can't buy a natty.

Breaking News: In a historic move set to reshape the future of American football, Phil Knight co-founder of Nike has pledged a record $2 billion donation to the Penn State Nittany Lions.Aug 27, 2025

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I don't see how they put Pete Golding at #12. He's the only coach on this list that's undefeated. He also has Ole Miss in the playoffs without having to coach a single game. Pretty impressive if you ask me. He'd be my clear #1.

Logos Stick said:

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I'd put Cristobal and Venables above Elko.

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Cristobal is not a good game day coach. He routinely struggles with decision making when the game is on the line. This is the one aspect of Saturday's game I haven't heard discussed.

Jimbo4win said:

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Cignetti it the most incredible coach I've seen in almost 50 years watching football.

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Cignetti has built a sustainably good IU football program but he has definitely been blessed with very very manageable schedule. I don't think that IU team makes it to the CFP if they were in the SEC.

Quote:

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Cignetti has beaten like maybe 3 quality teams in 2 years. What he's done at Indiana is impressive given their history, but the schedule has been light and easy with no non-conference challenges.

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This is just silly from a standpoint of where the program was before he got there.

Day? He was handed the keys to a Lamborghini and was told not to wreck it.

Quote:

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Cignetti has built a sustainably good IU football program but he has definitely been blessed with very very manageable schedule. I don't think that IU team makes it to the CFP if they were in the SEC.

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If they had our schedule, they probably would have.

As already noted by Stone44, the PennState story is apparently from a fake Facebook account. The $2B gift was to the Oregon cancer center https://oncodaily.com/stories/celebrities/2-billion-donation-phil-knight.

Detmersdislocatedshoulder said:

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it's interesting how perception can change if you win a natty. ryan day was in danger of being forced out and now he is considered a great coach. for what he does with what he has tough to argue with cignettis results

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I always thought he was a really good coach and I thought Ohio st fans were completely insane for wanting him gone

Jimbo4win said:

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Cignetti it the most incredible coach I've seen in almost 50 years watching football.

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He'll make everyone forget about Saban.

That's a pretty reasonable ranking. I lean more towards the swap of 4 & 5.

rootube said:

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Logos Stick said:

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I'd put Cristobal and Venables above Elko.

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Elko has finished above Venables in both years he's coached in the SEC but sure whatever.

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Ya that post has to be satire. Vegetables is an incredibly mediocre HC. His defenses were always good to great as a coordinator, but the guy flat out sucks as a HC.

akm91 said:

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Jimbo4win said:

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Cignetti it the most incredible coach I've seen in almost 50 years watching football.

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Cignetti has built a sustainably good IU football program but he has definitely been blessed with very very manageable schedule. I don't think that IU team makes it to the CFP if they were in the SEC.

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They beat Oregon on the road and OSU at a neutral site. That's arguably two of the best three wins this season.

Where's Sark?