Why Josh Heupel, Brian Kelly top my list of underrated SEC coaches

My phone rang Monday with a call from a steadfast supporter of my work, but this time, he had a bone to pick: How could Josh Heupel be ranked 17th nationally in USA TODAY’s ranking of top-25 coaches? Why wasn’t Heupel ranked higher?

Well, I responded, I voted Heupel higher on my ballot. Other voters must have seen it differently. Them’s the breaks. This provided little consolation to my caller.

I joined four other USA TODAY scribes in voting for this top 25. The final rankings, published Monday, reflected the aggregate from our five ballots. I considered this a fair way to approach the project. Bringing in multiple perspectives usually helps level out outlying opinions en route to a consensus grade. Mostly, our aggregate rankings weren’t too far off from my ballot, with a few exceptions.

While I enjoyed participating in the group effort, I’m also not shy about ballot transparency.

[ This column initially published in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter, emailed free to your inbox five days a week. Want more commentary like this? Sign up here for the newsletter. It’s free. ]

Here’s how I voted in the top 25. The final USA TODAY ranking is listed in parentheses.

My top-25 college football coaches ballot:

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia (1)

2. Ryan Day, Ohio State (2)

3. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (4)

4. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (3)

5. Dan Lanning, Oregon (6)

6. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame (7)

7. Brian Kelly, LSU (10)

8. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama (8)

9. James Franklin, Penn State (5)

10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss (9)

11. Curt Cignetti, Indiana (13)

12. Jeff Brohm, Louisville (16)

13. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (11)

14. Josh Heupel, Tennessee (17)

15. Chris Klieman, Kansas State (15)

16. Dan Mullen, UNLV (unranked)

17. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (14)

18. Rhett Lashlee, SMU (22)

19. Bret Bielema, Illinois (19)

20. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (12)

21. Kenny Dillingham,…

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Publish date : 2025-05-09 10:01:00

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