CBS Sports Panel Ranks Power Four Coaches for 2026 Season
Brent Venables and Jon Sumrall lead the segment, while Bill Belichick faces a notable decline following a challenging debut season.
CBS Sports experts have released their rankings of Power Four college football coaches for the 2026 season, covering positions 68 to 26. The panel, comprising 10 voters, utilised subjective criteria including recent performance, potential, and personal preference to evaluate the coaches. The release highlights significant movements in the rankings, notably Brent Venables’ rise following Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff appearance and Bill Belichick’s decline after a 4-8 debut season at North Carolina.
Jon Sumrall of Tulane and Brent Venables of Oklahoma headlined the top of this specific ranking segment. Venables climbed 24 spots to rank 35th after leading Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. Sumrall, another Power Four debutante with a playoff berth to his name, also secured a high position based on his strong conference record at Tulane. The panel’s evaluation reflects a focus on institutional success and the ability to navigate competitive conference landscapes.
Conversely, Bill Belichick dropped nine places to rank 54th following a 4-8 season at North Carolina. He was the only coach besides Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard to receive last-place votes from the panel. Pritchard, the hand-picked selection of Andrew Luck, started at 68th, ranked last by seven of the 10 voters. The inclusion of new head coaches such as Collin Klein at Kansas State and Tosh Lupoi at Cal underscores the panel’s assessment of emerging leadership within the Power Four structure.
Other notable declines include Luke Fickell and Lance Leipold, who saw significant drops in their rankings. Fickell fell eight spots to 40th after another losing season at Wisconsin, while Leipold dropped 19 spots to 34th following a second consecutive losing record at Kansas. These movements indicate the panel’s responsiveness to recent institutional performance and the pressure for consistent results in high-profile programmes.
The rankings also feature coaches like Pete Golding, who received widely varying opinions despite winning two playoff games, and Tony Elliott, who climbed 26 spots to the top 40 after reaching the ACC Championship with Virginia. The segment illustrates the subjective nature of the evaluation process, where voter discretion plays a significant role in determining the hierarchy of coaching talent ahead of the 2026 season.
