Who is SEC's most underrated coach? Tennessee's Josh Heupel tops our chart
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Who are college football's top 25 coaches?
The college football writers at USA TODAY Sports have an opinion on that.
We recently released our coach rankings, and, in a bit of a surprising development, Tennessee's Josh Heupel was nearly left off the list entirely. He checked in at No. 24.
Heupel's never had a losing record in eight seasons, including five as the Vols' coach, and he's logged four double-digit-win seasons. That includes a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. He owns wins against Nick Saban, Brian Kelly and Kalen DeBoer.
Hey, don't blame Heupel's ranking on us at "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network. On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine the case for Heupel being the SEC's most underrated coach.
Toppmeyer had a ballot in the USA TODAY Sports project. He discloses where he ranked Heupel, and he explains his surprise that his colleagues view Heupel so differently. Toppmeyer also offers another SEC coach he believes is underrated in the list.
Adams agrees with Toppmeyer that Heupel is vastly underrated in this USA TODAY pecking order, but Adams lightly pushes back on where Toppmeyer ranked Lane Kiffin.
COACHES RANKINGS:Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
PROGRAM RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
Who are the SEC's most underrated coaches?
Toppmeyer: Start with Heupel. Then, continue with Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz. Apparently, I value each much more than my colleagues. I slotted Heupel at No. 14 on my ballot and penciled in Drinkwitz at No. 21.
Ten USA TODAY writers voted in our tabulation, and Heupel shook out at No. 24. Drinkwitz did not crack the top 25.
I could hardly believe how far Heupel dropped. He was ranked No. 17 last year. (Once again, I voted him higher.) He tumbled seven spots after going 8-5.
I think the world of my colleagues, but, fellas, what am I missing?
True, Tennessee beat nobody of consequence last season. The 2025 campaign was not Heupel's finest hour. But, if his bad seasons are going 8-5 at Tennessee (which endured more than decade of dysfunction before hiring Heupel), is that so bad?
Coaches ranked ahead of Heupel included Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham (No. 18), SMU's Rhett Lashlee (No. 21) and Florida newcomer Jon Sumrall (No. 22). All solid coaches, and I'm intrigued by what Sumrall might do with the Gators. Sumrall and Lashlee were on my ballot, but I can't imagine Tennessee would trade Heupel, a proven commodity in the SEC, for any of those guys.
As for Drinkwitz, he totaled 29 wins the past three seasons at Missouri. If anyone doesn't think that's impressive, peep Missouri's history. It's skimpy on three-year runs of 29 wins.
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Adams: No argument on Heupel. At No. 24, he's underrated.
Drinkwitz is starting to win me over, too. I previously had been skeptical he'd achieve much at Missouri, but I'm not afraid to change my mind. And his record the past three seasons is starting to change my mind.
Who else got snubbed?
Toppmeyer: Death, taxes, and Toppmeyer valuing Dan Mullen more than my industry peers. I put Mullen No. 20 on my ballot, fresh off his 10-4 season at UNLV. He finished unranked in our USA TODAY tabulation.
I also voted for Mullen in my top 25 last year, when he was also unranked.
Mullen produced a meek end to his Florida tenure with a bad season in 2021. He earned his firing (although Billy Napier made Mullen look like a savant). Aside from that one bad season that spoiled an otherwise pretty good Florida tenure, what do I see in Mullen? A consistent winner, no matter where he's coaching.
I also tend to value Louisville's Jeff Brohm more than my colleagues. I voted Brohm No. 10. He finished ranked No. 17.
Adams: You had me at Mullen. Much like Toppmeyer, I tend to think Mullen is a better coach than many of my journalist peers.
What about Lane Kiffin?
Toppmeyer: I voted Kiffin No. 8 in the nation. He came out at No. 6 in our USA TODAY pecking order. Did I get this wrong?
Adams: Yes, No. 6 is more appropriate than No. 8. Toppmeyer might be the Kiffin whisperer, but apparently not a Kiffin homer.
Toppmeyer: For me, it came down to this: The seven coaches I ranked ahead of Kiffin all have multiple playoff victories. I give Kiffin lots of credit for what he achieved at Mississippi. He's never been a better coach than he is now. But, he vamoosed before the playoff, so I couldn't justify ranking a coach with no playoff wins higher than No. 8. If Kiffin's first season at LSU comes up aces, he'll zoom up my list.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is SEC's most underrated coach? Tennessee's Josh Heupel tops our chart
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