We are still in the middle list time here in the off-season of College Football.
@AndyStaples ranked the football coaches of the ACC for 2026.
No surprise, Miami’s Mario Cristobal has taken over the top spot as the Hurricanes have become the ACC’s premier football program. That happens when you come within a play of winning the national title, finishing as the #2 team in the country, and turning SEC football into your personal play toys, going 4-0 over the last 2 years against teams from that league.
After that, it gets debatable. Virginia Tech James Franklin jumps ahead of Dabo Swinney and his 2 national titles at #2 without coaching a game in the ACC.
Tony Elliot at #8 after an 11-win season seems low.
Brent Key also seems low at #9, but I’m not sure who in the top 8 I’d rank below him. More consistent and bigger winners are ahead of him.
Mike Norvell at 12 seems like a gift since FSU has been the ACC’s worst program over the last 2 years, despite some earlier success at Florida State.
We’ll do a set of rankings later this summer. Let’s see if it matches up with Staples.
