Where Ohio State’s Ryan Day ranks on CBS Sports top 10 NCAA football coaches

It’s that time of year again when college football is close, but not close enough to really ponder about the season.

What many can think about are who are the best of the best, in this case, coaches. CBS Sports Tom Fornelli put together a list of the top 25 coaches of Power Five programs entering the 2023 season.

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It was an extensive list, one which saw six total Big Ten coaches being recognized as some of the best in the profession. As for Ohio State’s Ryan Day, he made the list but not quite where you would expect. Find out where the Buckeye boss landed among the top ten below along with their career records in college and last year’s ranking in parenthesis.

1

Alabama’s Nick Saban (1)

Jan 11, 2021; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood (70) celebrates with the CFP National Championship trophy after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

280-69-1

Despite a so-called down year last season, Saban is still one of the best coaches of all time. Every coach seems to have the beginning of the downturn and we’ll see if Alabama bounces back in 2023.

2

Georgia’s Kirby Smart (2)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart celebrates after winning the NCAA College Football National Championship game between TCU and Georgia on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. Georgia won 65-7.News Joshua L Jones

Career record

81-15

Smart is clearly the quick riser here and if Georgia continues to win at the clip it has over the last few years, it’ll be hard to not elevate him to No. 1.

3

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (3)

Jan 14, 2017; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney lifts the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy during a celebration in Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

161-39

Dabo’s program has been on a slide over the last couple of years. If there’s not a turnaround this season for Clemson, it’s going to be hard to keep him this high on the list.

4

USC’s Lincoln Riley (4)

Sep 10, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

66-13

Riley is a good coach, no doubt, but when will he get his first College Football Playoff win? Will he finally get that monkey off of his back at USC?

5

Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (9)

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines against the TCU Horned Frogs in the second half of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

132-52

It’s funny how two years have erased the struggles Harbaugh had during his first six years in Ann Arbor. His Michigan teams have also only won one bowl game. We’ll see if that changes this season.

6

LSU’s Brian Kelly (7)

LSU football coach Brian Kelly speaks to media following the first spring practice under him on March 24.jump2

Career record

273-100-2

Having Kelly this high on the list is a little optimistic when others in this area have had more consistent postseason success. But hey, maybe he’ll get that done with LSU.

7

Utah’s Kyle Whittingham (8)

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham looks to the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2022.Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Career record

154-74

Nodoby does less with more on a consistent basis, right? Whittingham is a great coach but has yet to really break through with College Football Playoff success.

8

Ohio State’s Ryan Day (6)

Dec 31, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team in warm-ups prior to the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchNcaa Football Peach Bowl Ohio State At Georgia

Career record

45-6

You could make an argument for Day to be higher on this list but until he solves the Michigan problem and wins a national title, it’ll be hard for him to climb. That’s the way things are at Ohio State.

9

Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell (N/A)

Dec 27, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

63-25

Fickell did wonderful things with a Group of Five program and now all eyes are on him to see how he handles a team in the Power Five with much better competition at Wisconsin.

10

Penn State’s James Franklin (15)

Oct 29, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field during a warm-up prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Career record

102-51

James Franklin is seemingly always trying to get the Nittany Lions over the “elite: hump but has the program in a much better spot with recruiting and on-field success than when he arrived there.

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