It's crazy how things change so quickly in the college football landscape. A few years ago, Mike Norvell wasn't near the top of any best coaches list. However, after going 23-4 between the 2022-23 seasons, he became one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. I supplanted Dabo Swinney with him in my best coaches in the ACC list going into the 2024 season.
Lo and behold, Mike Norvell went 2-10 and gave us the worst FSU football team in our lifetimes. Dabo Swinney snuck in the backdoor with help from new ACC coach Fran Brown at Syracuse, winning the ACC and moving back into the top spot. Here's what my list looked like going into 2024:
Here are my updated rankings going into the 2025 season:
- Dabo Swinney-Clemson
- Rhett Lashlee-SMU
- Jeff Brohm-Louisville
- Mike Norvell-FSU
- Dave Doeren-NC State
- Brent Key-Georgia Tech
- Pat Narduzzi-Pittsburgh
- Manny Diaz-Duke
- Mario Cristobal-Miami
- Fran Brown-Syracuse
- Bill O'Brien-Boston College
- Brent Pry-Virginia Tech
- Justin Wilcox-California
- Tony Elliott-Virginia
- Jake Dickert-Wake Forest
- Troy Taylor-Stanford
- Bill Belichick-UNC
Notables:
Bill Belichick has never coached in college and is 72 years old. He's been terrible ever since Tom Brady left the Patriots. What he did in the NFL has nothing to do with the college game.
Mario Cristobal finally won the 10 games but easily could have been 8-5 and severely underachieved with a quarterback who'll likely get drafted in the first round. He recruits well on paper, but most of the talent never gets developed, as evidenced by the heavy amount of transfers who started for Miami in 2024. They won't win 10 games in 2025, so there's no sense in putting him any higher than here.
Manny Diaz got nine wins in his first year at Duke, but they played a soft schedule. He got a nice piece at quarterback from the transfer portal, but I doubt they replicate what they did in 2024 this year.
We saw Dino Babers win 10 games at Syracuse early on before falling off like Big Mac toppings. I respect what Fran Brown did in year one, but he's gonna have to do it again before I put him any higher.
I know some look at where Mike Norvell is and laugh. Yes, FSU only won two games last year, but you can't discount what they did in the two years before that. FSU still has more talent than most of these teams and should win at least eight games in 2025.
Jeff Brohm didn't fall off too much in 2024 with nine wins after making the ACC Championship game in 2023.
Rhett Lashlee has put together back-to-back 11-win seasons at SMU. Miami administration has to be kicking themselves when they could have hired him instead of Mario Cristobal.
I'm curious to see what this list looks like a year from now. Maybe a few will make me eat crow.