{"id":815540,"date":"2026-03-16T16:26:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/815540\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:26:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:26:29","slug":"ranking-the-10-best-coaching-combos-in-college-football-basketball-in-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/815540\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the 10 best coaching combos in college football, basketball in 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

College basketball’s most exciting week of the season is here with the first round of the NCAA Tournament<\/a> tipping off Thursday. With that comes pressure-packed situations for many of the game’s top coaches who will try to outshine their football brethren’s postseason laurels at the highest level.<\/p>\n

It’s not often athletic departments hit home-run hires across multiple sports at the same time, but there are six Power Four programs enjoying heightened success in football and basketball entering March Madness after striking gold with their respective leaders.<\/p>\n

Program standards differ across the country, and that’s one element you must take into consideration when putting together a top coaching combos ranking. Success doesn’t necessarily mean championships at most, but all of these tandems have — or at least possess the potential to — secure some level of hardware before bracket mania ends in Indianapolis next month.<\/p>\n

March Madness<\/a>\u00ae is better with friends, especially when you beat them!\u00a0Get your bracket pools ready now<\/a>\u00a0and invite your friends, family and co-workers to play.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

10. Grant McCasland and Joey McGuire, Texas Tech<\/p>\n

McCasland and the Red Raiders finished two wins short of reaching the title game during last year’s NCAA Tournament, which is the obvious goal this time around as a third-place finisher from the Big 12. Getting to the Final Four, however, might be the only way to top the football program’s epic climb under McGuire, whose top-end portal haul last cycle led to a conference championship and CFP berth. McGuire and the Red Raiders should be just as potent in 2026 after adding Cincinnati<\/a> quarterback Brendan Sorsby<\/a> via the portal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

9. Pat Kelsey and Jeff Brohm, Louisville<\/p>\n

Kelsey needs to win a postseason game (or two) this week to appease a rabid basketball fanbase, but in Year 2 with the Cardinals, the former College of Charleston success story has Louisville<\/a> dreaming big moving forward as a potential force in the ACC. Brohm has exceptional finishes each of his first three seasons at his alma mater, including a conference title game appearance in 2023. After another impressive portal showing this cycle, including the retention of several key starters, Louisville is a dark-horse candidate to make its first playoff appearance in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

8. Jai Lucas and Mario Cristobal, Miami<\/p>\n

In only his first season with the Hurricanes, Lucas is 25-8 overall with a chance to make a deep run during March Madness after finishing third in the ACC behind Duke<\/a> and Virginia<\/a>. He spent the previous decade on staff at Texas<\/a>, Kentucky<\/a> and Duke, so his pedigree as a budding superstar in the coaching profession speaks for itself. Cristobal has “The U” back as an annual playoff threat after reaching the national championship game in January following several postseason wins, including underdog victories against Texas A&M<\/a> and Ohio State<\/a>. Cristobal is recruiting at an elite level, and the Hurricanes have completely bought into his regime as a transfer portal maven and physicality-first mindset at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

7. Mark Byington and Clark Lea, Vanderbilt<\/p>\n

Buy stock now in Byington before the stock price is too costly. He has led the Commodores to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and\u00a0has a top-15 class coming in for 2026<\/a>. Even with Vanderbilt<\/a>‘s basketball success, Byington’s football counterpart overshadowed anything March Madness-related coming off a 10-win season. Even with Diego Pavia<\/a>‘s departure to the NFL<\/a>, Vanderbilt should be a tough out in the SEC this fall with five-star quarterback Jared Curtis — a Georgia<\/a> flip — expected to shoulder the load offensively. Across the board, Vanderbilt’s athletic department has serious momentum with Byington and Lea out front.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

6. Todd Golden and Jon Sumrall, Florida<\/p>\n

Looking to join UConn<\/a>‘s Dan Hurley as a recent coach with consecutive national championships, Golden has a chance to win another in the next few weeks with the Gators. Florida<\/a>‘s lengthy winning streak ended in the SEC Tournament, but this team has a cohesiveness like few others nationally this season, despite replacing several starters from last year’s elite squad. While the jury’s still out on proving his maximum value at a major program like Florida, there’s a reason Sumrall was a top priority for the Gators last coaching cycle. He won\u00a0big\u00a0at Troy<\/a> and Tulane<\/a> and now gets an opportunity as a former SEC player to showcase his coaching ability at the highest level. Florida is a top-10 job if you’re an elite recruiter, and Sumrall’s system for identifying talent is proven.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

5. Bill Self and Lance Leipold, Kansas<\/p>\n

One of the active wins leaders in the NCAA Tournament, Self’s a Hall of Fame coach for a reason. He’s won two national championships at Kansas<\/a>, but hasn’t moved past the first weekend since capturing the title in 2022. Competition in the Big 12 has stiffened, and the Jayhawks have been knocked off their pedestal as the league’s annual preseason favorite. Leipold inherited a doormat program ahead of the 2021 season after winning consecutive bowl games at Buffalo<\/a> and pushed the Jayhawks to their first postseason appearance in more than a decade two years later. In fact, Kansas was ranked in the AP poll during that 2022 campaign for the first time since 2009 after a 5-0 start. Leipold posted nine wins the following year, marking the Jayhawks’ first time hitting that lofty number since 2007.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

4. Dusty May and Kyle Whittingham, Michigan<\/p>\n

By all accounts, a fantastic hire in 2024 by the Wolverines following Juwan Howard’s firing after a 24-loss season, May has provided the program with immediate credibility at the top of the polls. The Wolverines reached the Sweet 16 in his first season and hold a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region this time around. May’s an analytics guru of sorts, and his teams always rank amongst the game’s most efficient offensively. Speaking of coaching hires that move the needle nationally, Michigan<\/a> landed a gem with Whittingham in December, coaxing the veteran Utah<\/a> coach to take over in Ann Arbor. With bountiful resources and a more talented roster, Whittingham’s acumen for getting the job done on gamedays will be heightened at his new program.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

3. Nate Oats and Kalen DeBoer, Alabama<\/p>\n

Oats learned as much as he could about building a championship program from Nick Saban when he arrived in 2019 and has taken the Crimson Tide to six consecutive March Madness appearances, including a Final Four trip in 2024 and an Elite Eight berth last spring. Six players average double figures in scoring for this season’s Crimson Tide squad, who haven’t yet seen a 3-point attempt they don’t like under Oats. Sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. is one of the NCAA Tournament’s most prolific scorers and makes Alabama<\/a> the toughest No. 4 seed in the field. DeBoer has 20 total wins, a playoff appearance and a runner-up SEC honor in his first two years at Alabama post-Saban and still hasn’t met extremely lofty program expectations. After getting to the national championship game at Washington<\/a> in 2023, Alabama fans want to see that level of impact this fall.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

2. Kelvin Sampson and Willie Fritz, Houston<\/p>\n

Sampson is due to win a national championship on the hardwood after taking Houston<\/a> to the Final Four twice over the last five seasons. His program finished runner-up to Todd Golden and Florida last April and is back in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed after losing a heartbreaker to Arizona<\/a> in the Big 12 Tournament finale. The 70-year-old leader is an old-school, defensive-minded pro whose teams are known to attack at that end of the floor. One of\u00a0college football’s most underrated coaches<\/a>, Fritz won 10 games with the Cougars last season, including seven decided by a touchdown or less. Identifying talent and getting the most out of his players is a Fritz staple, and he has helped turn things around at Houston in short order since finishing inside the top 10 at Tulane in 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

1. Jon Scheyer and Manny Diaz, Duke<\/p>\n

Maybe there’s a hint of recency bias here, but when you capture the program’s first football conference title since 1962, merit is warranted. Each of Duke’s top coaches won conference championships this season, with Scheyer sporting the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. The Blue Devils are one of the frontrunners to cut down the nets in April, and Scheyer is gunning for his second straight Final Four trip. The Blue Devils sit 32-2 overall following Saturday night’s win over Virginia in the ACC Tournament final and have won 11 straight games entering March Madness behind the play of fabulous freshmen Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr, along with sharpshooter Isaiah Evans<\/a>. Diaz’s improbable run with back-to-back nine-win campaigns ended just short of the Blue Devils’ first playoff appearance in program history last fall after quarterback Darian Mensah<\/a> led a late-season charge culminating with a victory over Virginia in the ACC title game. Mensah’s now at Miami<\/a>, and the Blue Devils hope they’ve reloaded\u00a0with an underrated signing class<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"College basketball’s most exciting week of the season is here with the first round of the NCAA Tournament…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[52,930,113380,331,612,11013,7643,380,1301,7,221,5042,805,4719,994,577,216,26726,957,71,49,48,113381,2299,4721,2286,7205],"class_list":{"0":"post-815540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-alabama","9":"tag-alabama-crimson-tide","10":"tag-college-basketball-coaches","11":"tag-college-football","12":"tag-college-football-coaches","13":"tag-duke","14":"tag-duke-blue-devils","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-florida-gators","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-houston","19":"tag-houston-cougars","20":"tag-kansas","21":"tag-kansas-jayhawks","22":"tag-louisville","23":"tag-louisville-cardinals","24":"tag-miami","25":"tag-miami-fla-hurricanes","26":"tag-michigan","27":"tag-michigan-wolverines","28":"tag-ncaa","29":"tag-ncaa-football","30":"tag-ncaa-tournament-2026","31":"tag-texas-tech","32":"tag-texas-tech-red-raiders","33":"tag-vanderbilt","34":"tag-vanderbilt-commodores"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}