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The SEC was well represented at the top of Bruce Feldman’s annual top-25 coach rankings for The Athletic.
Three coaches from the SEC made the top 5 and several others earned spots in the top-25. Georgia coach Kirby Smart retained the top spot on this year’s list. He was followed by Texas coach Steve Sarkisian at No. 4 and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer at No. 5.
Feldman’s list takes recent performance into account, but also credits coaches for work they’ve done in the past. For example, Feldman cited DeBoer’s impressive history at both Fresno State and Washington when including him at No. 5 on his list.
As for the rest of the top 5, Ohio State coach Ryan Day is at No. 2 while Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is at No. 3. That makes Sarkisian the highest-ranked coach on the list who has not yet won a national title.
Elsewhere in the SEC, LSU coach Brian Kelly earned a spot at No. 10. Kelly dropped 4 spots this year, but did retain his place in Feldman’s top-10. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is at No. 16 following a CFP season in Knoxville. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is in a tie for 20th place on the list as well, giving the SEC 6 coaches in total who made the cut.
Feldman also named a few honorable mentions from the SEC: Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops and Texas A&M coach Mike Elko.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
