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College Football Coaches
By Chris Wright
Last Updated:
Going back decades, SEC football coaches are very much the royalty of the South. Players come and go at the storied SEC football programs, but the coach can often be the mainstay and the face of the program for decades. Unless, of course, things aren’t going well. Time and time again, programs will opt to pay large buyouts just to get rid of a failed coach. The SEC football coach matters, and every football program down south is desperate to find “the guy.”
The current crop of SEC football coaches is perhaps as varied as it has ever been. Sure, any list of SEC football coaches (and perhaps all NCAA football coaches) starts with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, but he retired in 2023. But Kirby Smart has Georgia on the rise as arguably the “new Alabama.” Veteran coaches such as Brian Kelly, Mark Stoops, Steve Sarkisian and Sam Pittman are all angling for that next level of success at their current programs. Younger, but experienced, guys like Josh Heupel, Eli Drinkwitz and Billy Napier are trying to bring their programs back into championship contention. And who can forget Lane Kiffin? Perhaps no SEC football coach entertains and delights like the Lane Train down in Oxford.
SEC Football Coach Bio Pages
When it comes to SEC football coaches, there is a wide range of experience. Kirby Smart is the only active SEC coach who has won a national championship, but Steve Sarkisian and Brian Kelly have come close.
But every SEC coach brings something unique to the table, and all of them have their own distinct histories and personalities.
To learn more about each of the 16 current SEC football coaches entering the 2025 season, check out our in-depth coach bio pages below:
- Alabama: Kalen DeBoer
- Arkansas: Sam Pittman
- Auburn: Hugh Freeze
- Florida: Billy Napier
- Georgia: Kirby Smart
- Kentucky: Mark Stoops
- LSU: Brian Kelly
- Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby
- Mizzou: Eli Drinkwitz
- Oklahoma: Brent Venables
- Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin
- South Carolina: Shane Beamer
- Tennessee: Josh Heupel
- Texas: Steve Sarkisian
- Texas A&M: Mike Elko
- Vanderbilt: Clark Lea
Next, we’ll take a look at some interesting information involving the current SEC football coaches, including salaries, buyout numbers and overall SEC records.
SEC Football Coaches Salaries
How much do the SEC football coaches make? Here’s a look at what each SEC coach who was at his school in 2024 made last season:
Vanderbilt does not publicly release its salary information, so Clark Lea’s compensation reportedly was $3.189 million.
As you can see, being among the 16 SEC football coaches is a lucrative profession. The pressure is high, yes, but so is the compensation. Depending on who has strong 2024 seasons, it’s safe to say more raises will be handed out this coming offseason.
Other schools are always eager to poach top talent from the SEC, so keeping the paychecks large is one way the league keeps its elite coaching talent in place.
SEC Football Coaches Buyouts
SEC athletic departments have deep pockets, and that means boosters and administrators aren’t afraid to pull the plug and fire a coach if the team is struggling on the field. We’ve seen some big-time buyouts paid out in recent years — though none larger than the $77.5 million Texas A&M paid to Jimbo Fisher after firing him late in the 2023 season.
That trend is sure to continue moving forward, so let’s take a look at each SEC coach’s current buyout number. Here’s what each SEC school would owe its coach if he’s fired before the conclusion of the 2024 season:
(Source: USA TODAY)
Vanderbilt doesn’t release contract information publicly.
Arkansas’ Sam Pittman has an interesting buyout setup. If he’s fired without cause, he’s owed 75% of the money remaining on his contract. If he has an overall record below .500 when he’s fired, though, he’s only owed 50% of his remaining money.
Jimbo Fisher Buyout
Jimbo Fisher’s buyout numbers deserve their own section on this page, as it was a constant source of conversation in College Station and around the SEC.
Texas A&M finally fired Fisher during the 2023 season. Here’s a breakdown of how much Texas A&M would have owed Fisher if they waited longer to fire him after the conclusion of each campaign:
- 2024: $67,550,000
- 2025: $58,200,000
- 2026: $48,750,000
- 2027: $39,200,000
- 2028: $29,550,000
- 2029: $19,800,000
- 2030: $9,950,000
Fisher’s buyout remains the largest ever paid to a college football coach.
Winningest SEC Football Coaches of All-Time
Some of the best coaches in the country have brought their skills to the SEC — Bear Bryant, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, General Robert Neyland, Johnny Majors, Urban Meyer and many, many more — with varying degrees of success.
In the SEC, dominance is measured not only on a national scale, but by how well you do against your fellow SEC squads. Below, you can see the 25 coaches with the most career victories as an SEC head coach against other SEC teams entering the 2025 season:
(Source: SEC Media Guide)
SEC Championship Game victories are included in the above totals. Nick Saban retired just before he was able to chase down Bear Bryant’s all-time SEC win total.
College Football Coaching Legends
While this page is mostly focused on current SEC football coaches, it wouldn’t be complete without mentioning several current and past coaches who have either led SEC programs to great success or have been thorns in the sides of SEC squads.
So, while they aren’t necessarily active SEC coaches, here are some biography pages for some legendary coaches (past and present) in the college football world:
- Paul “Bear” Bryant
- Urban Meyer
- Nick Saban
- Steve Spurrier
- Jimbo Fisher
- Lou Holtz
- Robert Neyland
- Vince Dooley
- Johnny Majors
- Warren Powers
- Ray Graves
- R.C. Slocum
Which current coaches will become the next crop of legends? We’ll see what happens over the next few years of college football as Nick Saban (likely) inches closer to retirement and a new batch of budding legends like Kirby Smart and others take over the mantle.
ACC Football Coaches
- Boston College coach Bill O’Brien
- Cal coach Justin Wilcox
- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney
- Duke coach Manny Diaz
- Florida State coach Mike Norvell
- Georgia Tech coach Brent Key
- Louisville coach Jeff Brohm
- Miami coach Manny Diaz
- NC State coach Dave Doeren
- North Carolina coach Bill Belichick
- Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi
- SMU coach Rhett Lashlee
- Stanford coach Frank Reich
- Syracuse coach Fran Brown
- Virginia coach Tony Elliott
- Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry
- Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert
- Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame is a part-time ACC member in football)
Recent ACC coaching history: North Carolina made the biggest splash on the coaching carousel following the 2024 season with its hiring of Bill Belichick. The hiring of the 6-time Super Bowl champion to his first college job at the age of 72 was a bold move designed to elevate the Tar Heels’ program to an elite level. Belichick won’t be the only new coach in the ACC in 2025. At Wake Forest, Washington State’s Jake Dickert was hired to replace Dave Clawson, who stepped down after 11 seasons with the Deacons while Frank Reich was hired by Stanford on an interim basis after the unexpected firing of Troy Smith in March. The 2025 hires follow an even busier 2024 offseason that saw 6 new coaches added to the ACC ranks: Bill O’Brien replaced Jeff Hafley at Boston College, Manny Diaz replaced Mike Elko at Duke, Fran Brown replaced Dino Babers at Syracuse while Cal’s Justin Wilcox, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee and Stanford’s Troy Taylor entered the conference through expansion.
Most recent ACC national champion: Clemson won the College Football Playoff national championship in 2018.
Big Ten Conference Football Coaches
- Illinois coach Bret Bielema
- Indiana coach Curt Cignetti
- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz
- Maryland coach Mike Locksley
- Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
- Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith
- Minnesota coach PJ Fleck
- Nebraska coach Matt Rhule
- Northwestern coach David Braun
- Ohio State coach Ryan Day
- Oregon coach Dan Lanning
- Penn State James Franklin
- Purdue coach Barry Odom
- Rutgers coach Greg Schiano
- UCLA coach DeShaun Foster
- USC coach Lincoln Riley
- Washington coach Jedd Fisch
- Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell
Recent Big Ten coaching history: Purdue fired Ryan Walters after the 2024 season, replacing him with Barry Odom. That was the only head coaching change after the 2024 season.
There was more turnover following the 2023 season: Michigan promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to head coach after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL; Indiana fired Tom Allen and hired Curt Cignetti; UCLA hired DeShaun Foster after Chip Kelly left to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator; Washington hired Jedd Fisch after Kalen DeBoer left to become Alabama’s head coach; Michigan State fired Mel Tucker and hired Jonathan Smith.
Most recent Big Ten national champion: Ohio State won the 2024 national championship, following Michigan’s national title in 2023.
Big 12 Conference Football Coaches
- Arizona coach Brent Brennan
- Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham
- Baylor coach Dave Aranda
- BYU coach Kalani Sitake
- Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield
- Colorado coach Deion Sanders
- Houston coach Willie Fritz
- Iowa State coach Matt Campbell
- Kansas coach Lance Leipold
- Kansas State coach Chris Klieman
- Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy
- TCU coach Sonny Dykes
- Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire
- UCF coach Scott Frost
- Utah coach Kyle Wittingham
- West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez
Most recent national champion: Texas won the 2005 national championship but left the Big 12 for the SEC. Oklahoma won the 2000 national championship but also left for the SEC. Among current Big 12 members, Colorado is the most recent national champion, having shared the 1990 title.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
