Sports

Ranking the SEC's College Football Coaches for 2026

By Steven Lassan Athlon Sports

Updated May 29, 2026 6:05 AM

The SEC doesn't lack intrigue among its 16 coaches entering the 2026 college football season. The conference features six new head coaches this fall, including Lane Kiffin at LSU, Jon Sumrall at Florida, and Alex Golesh at Auburn. Georgia's Kirby Smart has a clear hold on the No. 1 spot in the rankings, but there's plenty of volatility elsewhere in the conference. Can Steve Sarkisian at Texas and Kalen DeBoer at Alabama deliver on high expectations in ‘26? Can Texas A&M's Mike Elko, Oklahoma's Brent Venables, or Tennessee's Josh Heupel return their program to the playoff after all three teams made appearances over the last two years?

Coaching talent isn't in short supply in the SEC. However, with the overall uncertainty surrounding the direction of some programs, plenty of these coaches have something to prove in '26.

How did we compile the rankings for coaches by conference? For starters, it's an impossible task. However, we tried to weigh every possible factor. This is not simply a list of coaches ranked by accomplishment or wins. Career biography/resume, success in developing talent and landing prospects on the recruiting trail factored into the ranking. Additionally, Athlon's annual coach rankings also take into account a blank slate and subjectivity. If you start a program from scratch, which coach would you hire knowing what they accomplished so far and their career trajectory? Remember, you don't get the assistants - only the head coach. And head-to-head wins do not matter for this ranking.

Here are the results for the SEC:

Stein - a Kentucky native and former Louisville quarterback - is one of college football's top coaches on the rise after a three-year stint as Oregon's offensive coordinator. During that run, the Ducks finished each season as one of college football's top-20 scoring offenses and ranked second nationally by averaging 7.82 yards a play in ‘23. Stein is a first-time head coach, but his work as an offensive coordinator at UTSA and Oregon suggests he's more than ready for this promotion.

Silverfield takes over at Arkansas following a successful 50-25 run at Memphis. The Tigers went 29-9 over his final three years, including an 11-win campaign in ‘24. However, Silverfield never won an American Conference title but went 16-8 in league play since ‘23. Although Silverfield's hire was met with plenty of skepticism, his track record of successfully building rosters in the portal/NIL era should work well in Fayetteville. The 45-year-old coach has a tough assignment ahead, as Arkansas went 2-10 last year and is projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC once again in ‘26.

After a 2-10 debut in Starkville in 2024, the Bulldogs showed progress in Lebby's second year. Mississippi State finished 5-8 and played in the Duke's Mayo Bowl after landing a postseason spot despite a losing record. However, Lebby's team was a few plays away from a winning mark, as it lost to Tennessee, Florida, and Texas by one score. A nine-game SEC schedule won't make life any easier for Lebby. However, he also needs to do a better job at managing end-game situations to turn those close losses into victories.

So far, so good for Golding in Oxford. After a promotion from defensive coordinator to head coach following Lane Kiffin's departure to LSU following the season finale at Mississippi State, Golding delivered playoff wins over Tulane and Georgia before falling to Miami in the final minutes for a trip to the national championship game. Golding is still largely unproven as a head coach, but he pushed the right buttons in the playoff run and retained a good chunk of the roster, including quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.

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Golesh returns to the SEC after a successful three-year run at South Florida. From 2021-22, Golesh worked under Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and helped assemble some of the SEC's top offenses in that span. That success helped Golesh land the top spot with the Bulls, as he guided USF to a 23-15 mark from 2023-25. Included in that stretch was a 9-3 campaign in ‘25 and three consecutive bowl trips. Golesh's background on offense should provide an immediate spark for an Auburn attack that managed only 18.5 points in SEC play last year.

After a run at the College Football Playoff in 2024, the Gamecocks had high expectations for ‘25. But instead of challenging again for a spot in the 12-team playoff, South Carolina regressed to 4-8 and recorded just one victory in SEC play. Beamer is 33-30 overall in Columbia and has guided the program to three bowl trips. A revamped offensive staff should help South Carolina return to a winning record in ‘26. Assuming the Gamecocks are back in the postseason, that should cool the pressure on Beamer after last year's disappointment.

Sumrall grew up in the SEC footprint, played his college ball at Kentucky, and later coached as an assistant in Lexington and at Ole Miss. Essentially, he's the perfect coach to take over at a SEC job. The 43-year-old coach arrives in Gainesville after successful stints at Troy (23-4 from 2022-23) and Tulane (20-8 from 2024-25). Sumrall guided the Trojans to back-to-back Sun Belt titles and led the Green Wave to an American Conference title and College Football Playoff last year. Sumrall has only worked as a FBS head coach for four seasons, but he's 43-12 overall and has thrived at getting the most out of a roster and developing talent.

Lea has made a significant jump in Athlon's SEC coach rankings over the last two seasons. After a 9-27 start to his tenure (2021-23), Lea is 17-9 over the last two years. Included in that span was last season's run at a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 10-3 record and No. 15 finish in the final Associated Press Top 25. After a prolific two-year stint with the Commodores, quarterback Diego Pavia will be missed this fall. However, Lea has positioned the program to prevent a major drop off in ‘26 and beyond.

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Venables began 2025 on the hot seat but finished as a top contender for SEC Coach of the Year honors. After going 6-7 in Oklahoma's SEC debut in 2024, Venables delivered a big-time turnaround with a 10-3 record and College Football Playoff appearance. That season improved Venables' overall record to 32-20 in Norman, with two double-digit win seasons. The next step for Venables? Guide Oklahoma to a deep playoff run and contend for a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Drinkwitz has guided Missouri to one of the best three-year stretches in school history with a 29-10 overall mark and 15-9 record in SEC play. Since taking over in Columbia, Drinkwitz is 46-29 and has led the program to a bowl game in all six years at the helm. The Tigers have two double-digit win totals (2023-24) under Drinkwitz. With a rebuilt defense and a new quarterback in Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons in ‘26, can Drinkwitz quickly mesh all of the new pieces and make another run at a top-25 finish?

Heupel's tenure on Rocky Top enters a critical phase in 2026. After making the College Football Playoff with a 10-win season in ‘24, the Volunteers took a step back with an 8-5 record last year. Heupel wasted no time making tweaks to the program to address last season's issues by hiring veteran coordinator Jim Knowles to fix the defense and making changes to the strength and conditioning program. Heupel is 45-20 in Knoxville and has won at least eight games in four out of five seasons in charge. Counting a previous stint at UCF, Heupel is 73-28 overall as a head coach at the FBS level.

Texas A&M's stock is on the rise entering 2026. Under Elko's watch, this program is starting to reach its potential, especially after the ‘25 campaign that brought 11 victories and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Although last year ended in disappointment with a first-round loss to Miami, Elko's ‘26 squad is capable of another run in the postseason. Also, the future looks bright in College Station with more standout recruiting hauls headed to join Elko's program. He's 19-7 in two years at Texas A&M and 35-16 overall as a head coach counting a previous stint at Duke.

Kiffin has been among the best coaches at adapting to the new era of college football and the transfer portal/NIL impact on rosters. And after a chaotic departure from Ole Miss, he's now at the controls of one of the top jobs (LSU) in the nation. The marriage of Kiffin's high-powered offense and roster building, along with all of the committed resources for the Bayou Bengals, should result in a ton of high-level success. Kiffin previously went 55-19 in Oxford, which included three consecutive double-digit win seasons and a trip to the College Football Playoff in ‘25. Counting stops at Tennessee, USC, Florida Atlantic, and Ole Miss, Kiffin is 116-53 overall as a FBS head coach and is one of the top offensive minds in the game.

It's never easy following a legend. However, DeBoer had arguably one of the toughest assignments in college football history by following Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. Matching Saban's success and track record of consistently playing for the national championship was never realistic. However, DeBoer is off to a solid start, going 20-8 overall and earning a trip to the SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff last year. Upgrading the team's physicality and offensive line is a priority after last season's lackluster showing up front, but DeBoer should have another team capable of playoff contention in ‘26. He also went 25-3 at Washington (2022-23), 12-6 at Fresno State (2020-21), and 67-3 at Sioux Falls (2005-09). DeBoer needs to get Alabama beyond the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in the future, but his track record of winning at every coaching stop easily places him among the top coaches in ‘26.

Texas opened the 2025 season with high expectations and among the frontrunners to win a national title. The Longhorns didn't quite live up to those lofty preseason predictions, but Sarkisian's team still finished 10-3 and just missed out on a spot in the College Football Playoff. After a 13-12 start to his tenure in Austin in 2021-22, Sarkisian has guided Texas to three consecutive double-digit win totals, including back-to-back playoff trips in 2023-24. Also, he's 13-3 in SEC play since the Longhorns joined the conference prior to the ‘24 season.

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Smart enters 2026 as the unquestioned No. 1 coach in the SEC. Georgia is 117-21 since he arrived in ‘16 and has posted eight consecutive seasons of double-digit victories in a full year of games. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back SEC titles and qualified for the playoff in four out of the last five seasons. Georgia hasn't won a playoff game since ‘22. However, with one of the nation's deepest rosters in place this fall, the Bulldogs are poised to make a deep run and potentially win it all.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:45 AM.

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