It’s easy to settle the debate over which coach is the best in the Big Ten by asking a simple question: Who has won a national championship?
Only Ohio State’s Ryan Day, that’s who. After leading the Buckeyes through the gauntlet of the debut 12-team College Football Playoff, Day is one three active coaches to have the accomplishment on his resume, joining Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
So that settles the No. 1 spot. But the wealth of high-profile coaches in the conference makes things a little more complicated from there.
In fact, there are so many accomplished coaches in the Big Ten that Lincoln Riley barely cracks the top 10. While he’s struggled the past two years at Southern California, Riley made three trips to the playoff at Oklahoma and has already made Bowl Subdivision history as the head coach for three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks.
Let’s break down the Big Ten pecking order from No. 1 through No. 18:
1. Ryan Day, Ohio State
While he has come under fire for the Buckeyes losing four in a row against Michigan, Day enters his seventh year as the full-time coach with an overall record of 70-10 and a 46-5 mark in Big Ten play. If he maintains that pace through his 10th year, Day’s winning percentage of 87.5% would rank second all-time among FBS coaches, trailing Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne.
2. James Franklin, Penn State
A national championship ring continues to escape Franklin and the Nittany Lions, though last year’s team came within a few plays against Notre Dame of meeting Ohio State in the title game. While detractors will focus on what he isn’t, Franklin has brought Penn State back to national prominence and crafted a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
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3. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in the Bowl Subdivision. Iowa has won at least eight games in every non-COVID season since 2015 and has posted a losing record just once since 2006. While his preferred style of play has its detractors, you can’t argue with the Hawkeyes’ consistent success punching above its weight and annual push for a major bowl.
4. Dan Lanning, Oregon
While he’s only three seasons into his career as a head coach, the 39-year-old former Georgia assistant has transformed the Ducks back into one of the elite programs in the FBS. After reaching the Fiesta Bowl in the 2023 campaign, last year’s team went unbeaten in the regular season and earned the top seed in the playoff bracket before losing in a rematch against the Buckeyes.
5. Matt Rhule, Nebraska
Rhule is starting to pull Nebraska back toward relevancy, just as he did during previous stints at Temple and Baylor. His disciplined approach should yield a breakthrough for the Cornhuskers in 2025. Performing another turnaround would bolster Rhule’s case for being seen as one of the top rebuilders in the sport.
6. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
All Cignetti does is win, even at Indiana. Last year’s team was the success story of the Power Four after losing just once in the regular season and booking a playoff berth. Whether or not that’s sustainable is moot: Cignetti has worked wonders at every stop along the way in a head coaching career that began on the Division II level.
7. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Fleck isn’t everyone’s taste, as even he might admit. But he’s won at a relatively high level at a program that lacks the same history and resources as the Big Ten’s best. Minnesota has reached the postseason in every non-COVID year but Fleck’s first, including at least eight wins in four of the past five full seasons, including finishing No. 10 in the final rankings in 2019. He also led Western Michigan to a New Year’s Six bowl before being hired by the Gophers.
8. Bret Bielema, Illinois
Bielema will soar up this list if he’s able to capitalize on Illinois’ momentum and earn a playoff bid with one of the most experienced rosters in the Power Four. He’s clearly back in his comfort zone in the Big Ten after a failed five-year run at Arkansas. Before the Razorbacks, Bielema won 68 games and led teams to three Rose Bowl appearances in seven seasons at Wisconsin.
9. Lincoln Riley, Southern California
Riley’s reputation has suffered with the Trojans’ 13-11 mark over the past two years. But he did go 11-3 in his debut at USC and made three playoff appearances at Oklahoma, where he went 55-10 overall with four top-six finishes in the coaches poll. As noted, that a coach with an 81-24 record ranks ninth on this list speaks to the Big Ten’s coaching depth.
10. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Schiano’s second turn at Rutgers hasn’t gone as well as his first, though that’s related to the much more difficult path to competitiveness in the Big Ten compared to the Big East. But as during that previous stint, Schiano has turned the Scarlet Knights into a consistent bowl team with three postseason trips in the last four years. We’re still waiting for that breakthrough season, though.
11. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Like Riley, Fickell has struggled since joining the Big Ten with major fanfare. After turning Cincinnati into a Group of Five powerhouse and reaching the College Football Playoff, Fickell has gone 12-13 in two full seasons with the Badgers, including last year’s team ending a run of 22 consecutive bowl appearances with the program’s first losing record since 2001. His missteps since arriving in Madison, notably at quarterback, makes this a huge season for Fickell’s future.
12. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State
Smith will need a little time to get Michigan State back into the top third of the Big Ten. As he showed during his previous run at Oregon State, he’s well-equipped to take on this project. The Beavers posted a 7-23 record in the three years before he was hired before going 9-24 in his own first three seasons. But Smith went 25-13 from 2021-23, with the 2022 squad finishing No. 17 in the Coaches Poll.
13. Barry Odom, Purdue
Odom won at UNLV, which might say it all. That long-suffering program went 19-8 in his two seasons, posted back-to-back winning finishes for the first time since 1983-84 and reaching two bowl games in a row for the first time. That followed a four-year run at Missouri from 2016-19 when he posted a 25-25 record. The challenge to rebuild the Boilermakers will provide a big test.
14. Sherrone Moore, Michigan
The jury is still out on Moore after an up-and-down debut season that ended with a flourish: Michigan closed with another win against Ohio State and then beat Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. That’s a very positive sign for 2025 and beyond. He’s recruited well and has already taken the necessary steps to beef up last year’s woeful offense, so Moore could climb these rankings by this team next year.
15. Jedd Fisch, Washington
Fisch was able to transform Arizona into a Top 25 team before joining Washington, where he went 6-7 in his debut. While disappointing, that record reflects the program’s massive changes after reaching the national title game in Kalen DeBoer’s final season. On the other hand, Fisch’s foundation with the Wildcats clearly didn’t carry over to his replacement, Brent Brennan, who is already on the hot seat. Fisch has to prove he can build and maintain a winner in the Power Four.
16. Mike Locksley, Maryland
Last season’s 4-8 finish was a major step back after Maryland had made three bowl games in a row. The Terrapins beat only two Power Four opponents and lost seven of eight Big Ten games by at least 14 points. As with a few other names in the bottom third of our rankings, Locksley heads into the 2025 season needing a rebound to bolster his lagging job security.
17. DeShaun Foster, UCLA
Foster is still an unfinished product as a head coach after taking over at UCLA last February following Chip Kelly’s departure for Ohio State. But the early returns have been pretty positive: UCLA won four of six to end the year after a slow start, as Foster was able to greatly increase the Bruins’ physical style to adapt to the Big Ten. This has made Foster a younger coach to watch in the Power Four. At this point, though, there are many, many coaches in the conference with immensely deeper résumés.
18. David Braun, Northwestern
Braun caught lightening in a bottle as a late replacement for a fired Pat Fitzgerald in 2023, somehow winning eight games and earning conference coach of the year honors. But his second team slumped to four wins and finished 16th in the conference. This season will help tell if Braun is a long-term fit for the Wildcats.
