CBSSports released its annual college football head coach ranking this week. The service went through all 68 Power Four coaches throughout the week, finally releasing its top 25 on Wednesday afternoon.
The bottom of the ranking was full of familiar names — mostly unproven former assistants. It includes UCLA HC DeShaun Foster at No. 68, Syracuse HC Fran Brown at No. 67, Mississippi State HC Jeff Lebby at No. 66 and Purdue HC Ryan Walters at No. 65.
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Foster, Lebby and Brown were hired this offseason after excelling as the UCLA running backs coach, Oklahoma offensive coordinator and Georgia DBs coach respectively. None of the three have head coaching experience.
The comparison between the bottom tier and the top group is significant. Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day are predictably toward a top group that now is no longer led by college football legend Nick Saban.
Of note, Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell was No. 9 on CBS’ list ahead of the 2023 season. He was two years removed from taking Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff and had just taken over at Wisconsin with sky-high expecations.
The Badgers’ 7-6 2023 season with losses to Indiana and Northwestern predictably cooled the national sentiment on the program and on Fickell.
Now, entering 2024, here is where Fickell ranks among CBSSports’ top 25 coaches in college football: