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Jackson's SEC head coach rankings for 2026. His top 16 coaches ranked from worst to first, including Lane Kiffin, Josh Heupel, Brent Venables, Mike Elko, Jon Sumrall, Clark Lea, and Pete Golding.
It's never too early to get excited about the next season of college football, and we'll continue to talk about it and debate it all offseason long. The Southeastern Conference saw six coaching changes among the 16 programs in this offseason's cycle, and the caliber of coaching has arguably never been stronger in the league. In this article, we'll rank all 16 head coaches from worst to first.
Some of the newer SEC coaches will start lower in the rankings by default, and there are a few coaches in the middle of the pack who could be big risers with another season or two of excellence. Meanwhile, some of the coaches near the top could be fallers if their programs continue to regress after a down year in 2025.
Below, check out where Lane Kiffin, Josh Heupel, Brent Venables, Mike Elko, Jon Sumrall, and Pete Golding stand among all 16 program leaders.
16. Will Stein, Kentucky
Career Record: 0-0
The Mark Stoops era has come to an end in Lexington. Stoops had some high moments with the Wildcats, but he ultimately failed to consistently compete in the SEC in the new era of college football. Will Stein, who has served as Oregon's offensive coordinator for the last three seasons, is tasked with getting the program back on track.
For Kentucky fans looking for information on Will Stein’s offense and ability to create points you should look at the last month of Oregon football.
Down WR1, 2 and 4 + multiple OL injuries and he adjusted the offense to score points. Games in the rain. On the road. Very…— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 2, 2025
The 36-year-old brings a new energy to Big Blue Nation, and his work with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore is impressive. It's tough to win at Kentucky, but an innovative offensive mind might be able to get it done. Since he's the only man with no head-coaching experience on this list, he takes the last-place slot by default.
15. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
Career Record: 50-25
Ryan Silverfield has a solid resume and is clearly a good coach, but his No. 15 placement on this list speaks to the talent and depth in the conference. Memphis is one of the best jobs in the American Conference. It is equipped with resources, and coaches are set up to succeed, as shown by Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech), Mike Norvell (Florida State), and Silverfield (Arkansas) landing Power Four jobs after leading the Tigers.
Silverfield did a good job overall with the program, but he never made it to an American Conference Championship game despite having some of the most talented rosters. Fuente and Norvell both won American titles. Now, Silverfield will be at a talent disadvantage at Arkansas. It's tough to get too excited about his prospects of competing at a high level.
14. Pete Golding, Ole Miss
Career Record: 2-1
So far, so good for Pete Golding. The 41-year-old has only coached in three games and has two playoff wins on his resume -- including one over Kirby Smart. He did a great job managing Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin left before the CFP, and the program has retained several key pieces heading into next season.
It looks like Trinidad Chambliss will be the Rebels' quarterback in 2026, so expectations will remain high in Oxford. If Golding can get the defense back on track, the Rebels should be CFP contenders. Golding could be a big riser in these rankings with a strong full first season as the leader of the program.
13. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
Career Record: 7-18
Jeff Lebby's first season in Starkville was a disaster, as the Bulldogs went 2-10 and were winless in the SEC. He took over the program in a tough spot, but there was noticeable improvement in Year 2. Mississippi State went 5-7 in the regular season, and they had No. 15 Tennessee and No. 22 Texas on the ropes in overtime. A few plays here or there could have drastically changed the outlook of the season.
Lebby's offense ranked eighth in the league in total offense per game last season after ranking 13th in 2024. With talented freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor entering the starting role and Zach Arnett back in Starkville calling the defense, both sides of the ball could take leaps forward in 2026. This could be a make-or-break season for Lebby. For now, he can't go any higher in the rankings with a losing record.
12. Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Career Record: 33-30
A coach winning four games in Year 5 of their tenure is never a good sign, and Shane Beamer needs a strong campaign in 2026 to avoid potentially being fired. Beamer's teams seem to be at their best when expectations are low. With LaNorris Sellers entering his sophomore campaign last year, that wasn't the case. The Gamecocks were the No. 13 team in the AP Poll last preseason and jumped into the No. 10 spot after a big win over Virginia Tech.
Shane Beamer on taking advantage of what could be final year with LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart: "I realize that we have a quarterback who, if everything goes the way that it should, should be getting ready for the NFL draft next year at this time. I realize we have a… https://t.co/N40uVq5e3n pic.twitter.com/mC5b81KzdY
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) February 12, 2026
Then, Vanderbilt came to Williams-Brice Stadium and stomped USC by 28. It was downhill from there, with South Carolina's only SEC win coming over Kentucky in Week 5. Overall, it just hasn't been quite good enough under Beamer. His team is among the most experienced in the country in 2026, so he can't afford another disaster.
11. Alex Golesh, Auburn
Career Record: 23-15
Alex Golesh engineered an impressive turnaround of the Bulls program in a hurry after two seasons as Tennessee's offensive coordinator. In the four seasons before Golesh was hired, the Bulls went 4-8, 1-8, 2-10, and 1-11. In Golesh's three seasons, they posted 7-6, 7-6, and 9-4 records, including two bowl wins. In 2025, South Florida ranked third in total offense (488.7), 18th in passing offense (276.6), 13th in rushing offense (212.1), and fifth in scoring offense (40.5) in the nation.
He's been a part of some of the best offensive attacks in Knoxville and Tampa over the last half-decade, so don't be surprised if Auburn hits the ground running on that side of the ball. He is bringing Byrum Brown to The Plains from South Florida, which should help expedite the process. Retaining defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is another huge win.
10. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Career Record: 26-36
Clark Lea was at the bottom of these rankings for his first three seasons in Nashville, but the 2024 campaign showed us he's an SEC-level head coach. And the job he did in 2025 was the best we have ever seen from a Commodores coach. Many could argue he should be higher on the list, and he'll skyrocket if Vandy sustains success in the post-Diego Pavia era.
🏆⚓️
This evening in Miami, @Coach_Lea received the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award! pic.twitter.com/XFb8RvdZkX
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) January 18, 2026
Grabbing five-star quarterback Jared Curtis is a great start, but it could take a few seasons for Curtis to be ready to play at a high level. If Vanderbilt is even bowl eligible next season with Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and a trip to The Swamp on the schedule, Lea will prove he's here to stay, and so is the program.
9. Jon Sumrall, Florida
Career Record: 43-12
Curt Cignetti's famous introductory press conference line of "Google me. I win," can also apply to Jon Sumrall. In two seasons at Troy and two seasons at Tulane, Sumrall has won at least 11 games three times, and he's never failed to qualify for the conference title game. Sumrall is a defensive-minded head coach, but he's made strong hires on the offensive side of the ball, and he's already done that at Florida with the addition of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech.
At just 43 years old, Sumrall has already tasted a ton of success in a short time as a head coach in the lower-level conferences. Some Florida fans didn't want to roll the dice with another small-conference coach after the Billy Napier disaster, but Napier and Sumrall are far from the same coach. Sumrall was one of the hottest names in this year's cycle, and he was undoubtedly going to land a big-time job soon.
8. Mike Elko, Texas A&M
Career Record: 35-16
Despite its resources, Texas A&M has struggled to break through and compete for conference and national titles. However, that looks to be changing dramatically with Mike Elko at the helm. The defensive-minded Elko has had the Aggies one game away from the SEC title game in each of his two seasons in College Station, and he coached in the College Football Playoff in 2025-26
Texas A&M has arguably faced the easiest SEC schedule since Elko took over for Jimbo Fisher, but the 2026 campaign will be a great test. The Aggies host Arizona State, Tennessee, and Texas next year, and they'll go on the road to face Missouri, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. If he leads A&M to another CFP with this schedule, he'll shoot up the list.
7. Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Career Record: 32-20
Brent Venables appeared to be on the hot seat after a 6-7 campaign in 2024. The Sooners struggled mightily on offense, and there were few bright spots outside of a win over a good but not great Alabama team. The schedule was daunting in 2025, but Oklahoma managed to win 10 games, including four in a row with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line. Despite the offense continuing to struggle, led by the injured John Mateer, Oklahoma won back-to-back games in Neyland Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium in November.
OKLAHOMA GETS THE STOP! THEY UPSET #4 ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA 🚨
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) November 15, 2025
That two-game streak raised Venables' stock in a big way -- deservedly so. He has to find a way to beat Texas again, and blowing the lead against Alabama in the College Football Playoff wasn't ideal. But he flexed his muscles as one of the greatest defensive minds in the sport last year, and if Mateer can take a step forward at full health next year, watch out for the Sooners.
6. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Career Record: 58-30
After a sluggish start to his career at Missouri, Drinkwitz is 29-10 over the last three seasons. His 21-5 stretch from 2023 to 2024 is one of the more impressive coaching jobs in the country, considering Missouri isn't as loaded with talent as some of its SEC counterparts. The Tigers took a step back in 2025 with Beau Pribula at the helm, but Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons could get the vertical passing attack back on track in 2026.
Drinkwitz has consistently put productive offenses on the field, and for the most part, he's made under-the-radar staff hires that have gone on to age fantastically. The Chip Lindsey hire at offensive coordinator isn't inspiring, but Drinkwitz has earned the benefit of the doubt here after homerun coordinator hires, Kirby Moore, Blake Baker, and Corey Batoon.
5. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Career Record: 73-28
Tennessee is back to relevance, so it's easy to forget what a dumpster fire the program was when Heupel took it over from Jeremy Pruitt. He's done such a great job that eight wins in 2025 were far from meeting expectations from a fan's perspective, despite his big-name quarterback leaving after spring practice. Tennessee continued to thrive under Heupel on offense, ranking second in the league in passing yards per game (292.8).
However, its defensive woes popped back up, leading to Heupel replacing Tim Banks with Jim Knowles. The program also brought in National Championship strength coach Derek Owings. These are two "swing big" hires, and they are aimed at correcting Tennessee's weaknesses during the Heupel era -- defense and finishing games strong. Heupel is 38-14 since 2022. He deserves a top-five spot.
4. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Career Record: 93-55
No, Texas did not meet expectations in 2025 after being ranked No. 1 in the preseason. But the Longhorns still won 10 games, and Steve Sarkisian is now 35-8 over the last three seasons. He's the only head coach with two College Football Playoff Semifinal appearances in the last three years, and the arrow is still pointing up in Austin.
Arch Manning came alive in the second half of his first year as a starter, and Texas has added a ton of talent around him heading into next year. The hype was probably too high in 2025, but Texas should be a legitimate National Title contender in 2026. In today's college football, where all that matters is the CFP, Sarkisian's reputation took a slight hit after a 10-win season. But how many coaches have had more success in recent years? Not many. He's still fantastic.
3. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Career Record: 124-20
Growing pains should have been expected at Alabama after Nick Saban retired, but Kalen DeBoer's record speaks for itself, and we're not ready to erase the memory of him taking Washington to the CFP National Championship Game in 2023 after beating Sarkisian head-to-head. 2024 was a rough showing for the Tide, but Ty Simpson fit DeBoer's vision better than Jalen Milroe, and Alabama won a playoff game in Norman in 2025.
You can argue DeBoer has lost too many games that he shouldn't, but the expectation at Alabama is always to go undefeated. That's not going to happen often in the new era of college football. It will be interesting to see how Alabama looks with a DeBoer-picked quarterback under center, whether that's Austin Mack or Keelon Russell. We can judge DeBoer more fairly the longer he gets into his Alabama tenure. Taking over for the greatest coach of all time isn't easy.
2. Lane Kiffin, LSU
Career Record: 116-53
No matter what you think about Lane Kiffin's antics and personality, the man can coach football, and he just took Ole Miss to its greatest stretch of seasons since the middle of the 20th century. Kiffin failed with the Raiders, Tennessee, and USC, but he's enjoyed immense success since spending time with Nick Saban at Alabama. In his last nine seasons at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss, Kiffin has tallied six double-digit win years, including each of the last three.
Elite athletes surrounded by elite athletes. It’s Just Different. pic.twitter.com/nQ2NToxWDR
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) February 6, 2026
Rather than rejecting NIL and the portal like Dabo Swinney and Mike Gundy, Kiffin has adapted quickly, and his personality is perfect for the new era of college football. Brian Kelly was never a good fit at LSU, but Kiffin is. Now, we'll get to find out if leaving Ole Miss, where he had bulletproof job security, was a mistake. His resources at LSU are unmatched, so it's easy to believe he'll have big-time success.
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
Career Record: 117-21
Kirby Smart is so well respected that the last two seasons of Georgia football, which saw the program go 23-5 and win two SEC Championships, felt like a disappointment. Smart's Georgia teams in 2021 and 2022 were among the most dominant in College Football history, so the Bulldogs going three straight years without a College Football Playoff win has been surprising.
But again, college football has changed, and sustained dominance is likely going to be rare moving forward. Smart has won at least 11 games in eight of his 10 seasons between the hedges, including each of the last five. He's won or competed in the SEC title game in each of those 11-plus win seasons. He remains the gold standard in the SEC until further notice, and only Curt Cignetti has a case to be ranked over him nationally.
