College football has many great head coaches, but a select few, like Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart, are continually making headlines. Connor O’Gara, a columnist for Saturday Down South, recently unveiled the top active coaches in victories against AP Top 10 teams.
Well, these coaches don’t just win games—they redefine football excellence and inspire fans and fellow coaches with their strategic brilliance. Curious to see who made the list and what makes them so special?
Top Active College Football Coaches in Top-10 Victories
1. Kirby Smart: 21 Wins
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Smart enters his 10th season with an impressive 105-19 record and a .847 winning percentage. His achievements include back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, multiple SEC titles, and a 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship game appearance.
In 2024, Smart became the fifth-fastest coach to reach 100 career wins with a memorable victory over No. 1 Texas. Over the past four years, Smart has led Georgia to dominance in college football, with a 53-5 record, two national titles, and two SEC crowns.
2. Dabo Swinney: 19
Swinney enters his 18th season at Clemson as the program’s all-time winningest coach and the first to secure multiple national championships.
With 180 victories, Swinney surpassed ACC legend Bobby Bowden’s 173 wins, becoming the winningest coach in conference history. Notably, he achieved his record-breaking 174th win in 2024 on Bobby Bowden Field in Tallahassee against the Florida State Seminoles, further cementing his legacy among the Clemson Tiger greats.
3. Ryan Day: 16
Day has led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 70-10 record in six full seasons starting in 2019, including a dominant record in Big Ten play.
With back-to-back Big Ten titles (2019, 2020), a Sugar Bowl victory (2020), and a Rose Bowl victory (2021), Day’s leadership has been transformative in Columbus. The Buckeyes also have three College Football Playoff appearances, making Ohio State one of the nation’s elite programs.
4. Kirk Ferentz: 12
Kirk Ferentz is in his 27th year as the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. He has consistently steered the team to success with a record of 203-124 and a 10-10 record in bowl games. Despite some fans’ criticism of his recent results, he is undoubtedly one of the most underrated head coaches in college football.
5. Mike Gundy: 11
Gundy, the second-longest-tenured head coach in college football, holds a 169-88 record over 20 seasons with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
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Throughout his tenure, he has only had two losing seasons. In addition, he has led the team to 10 or more wins seven times and has a commendable 12-6 record in bowl games.
6. Dan Mullen: 8
UNLV’s 14th head coach, Mullen, has three decades of coaching expertise, including 13 years as a head coach. His career includes nine years leading Mississippi State and eight years at Florida, where he served as offensive coordinator/QBs coach before returning as head coach from 2018-21.
With an overall record of 103-61 (.628) and a 7-3 bowl game record, Mullen has guided 76 players to NFL drafts, showing his exceptional leadership and talent development skills.
T-7. Brian Kelly: 7
During his three years with the LSU Tigers, Kelly has secured 29 victories, including consecutive 10-win seasons in 2022 and 2023, along with 17 SEC wins. These 17 SEC victories since 2022 are only surpassed by Georgia’s 22 and Alabama’s 19 within the same period.
In 2024, Kelly led LSU to a 9-4 record, finishing the season with a three-game winning streak. LSU’s triumph over Baylor in the Texas Bowl marked their third consecutive bowl victory under Kelly’s leadership. Before his time with the Tigers, Kelly spent short stints in Central Michigan and Cincinnati before 11 seasons at Notre Dame.
T-7. Lincoln Riley: 7
Lincoln Riley is one of college football’s most accomplished coaches, achieving unprecedented success by age 40. Over his seven-season head coaching career, Riley has guided three of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners, making him the only coach to mentor three Heisman-winning quarterbacks.
Before his current stop at USC, Riley led the Oklahoma Sooners for five seasons.
T-7. Rich Rodriguez: 7
With 40 years of coaching experience, Rich Rodriguez is one of the most recognizable names in the game. He was named the head football coach for West Virginia—his second stint with the Mountaineers—back in December.
Rodriguez has led his teams to 14 bowl games throughout his career, including prestigious appearances in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, 2008 Fiesta Bowl, and 2014 Fiesta Bowl. His coaching prowess extends back to the early days, with two NAIA Division I playoff appearances in 1993 (championship game) and 1994 (quarterfinals).
T-7. Steve Sarkisian: 7
Sarkisian, a former All-American quarterback with the BYU Cougars and renowned offensive coordinator, became the head coach at Texas in 2021. Under his leadership, the Longhorns posted a school-record-tying 13 wins in 2024 and earned back-to-back spots in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
In addition to his tenure in Austin, Sarkisian has also spent time leading the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans.
T-7. Kyle Whittingham: 7
Whittingham is the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the FBS. In 2025, he is set to begin his 21st season leading the Utah Utes and his 32nd overall season as the program’s all-time wins leader.
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As Utah enters its second season in the Big 12, Whittingham ranks second among active Big 12 head coaches in career victories at the FBS level with 167 wins. His impressive career total ranks fifth among all active FBS head coaches and fourth among those leading the same school.
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