Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Miami’s Mario Cristobal share top billing on this year’s Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award odds, both priced at +700 as the race for college football’s top coaching honor kicks off.
This year’s board doubles as a snapshot of one of the wildest coaching carousels in recent memory.
Lane Kiffin’s stunning midseason jump from Ole Miss to LSU headlines the movement, alongside James Franklin’s ouster at Penn State, Kyle Whittingham’s swap of Utah for Michigan, and a chain reaction that saw Bob Chesney, Alex Golesh and Jon Sumrall all change addresses within days of each other.
2026 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award Odds: Full List
- Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame) +700
- Mario Cristobal (Miami) +700
- Dan Lanning (Oregon) +850
- Steve Sarkisian (Texas) +900
- Curt Cignetti (Indiana) +1100
- Lane Kiffin (LSU) +1200
- Kirby Smart (Georgia) +1600
- Ryan Day (Ohio State) +1600
- Brent Venables (Oklahoma) +1800
- Matt Campbell (Penn State) +2000
- Joey McGuire (Texas Tech) +2200
- Kalen DeBoer (Alabama) +2200
- Kyle Whittingham (Michigan) +2200
- Lincoln Riley (USC) +2800
- Pete Golding (Ole Miss) +2800
- Kalani Sitake (BYU) +3000
- Mike Elko (Texas A&M) +3000
- Eric Morris (Oklahoma State) +3500
- James Franklin (Virginia Tech) +3500
- Willie Fritz (Houston) +3500
- Alex Golesh (Auburn) +4000
- Bob Chesney (UCLA) +4000
- Clark Lea (Vanderbilt) +4000
- Dabo Swinney (Clemson) +4000
- Jon Sumrall (Florida) +4000
- Josh Heupel (Tennessee) +4000
- Morgan Scalley (Utah) +4000
- Rhett Lashlee (SMU) +4000
- Shane Beamer (South Carolina) +4000
- Bill Belichick (North Carolina) +5000
- Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri) +5000
- Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) +5000
- Matt Rhule (Nebraska) +5000
- Mike Norvell (Florida State) +5000
- Collin Klein (Kansas State) +6000
- Jedd Fisch (Washington) +6000
- Jeff Brohm (Louisville) +6000
- Sonny Dykes (TCU) +6000
- Brent Brennan (Arizona) +7500
- Dan Mullen (UNLV) +7500
- Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State) +7500
- Manny Diaz (Duke) +7500
- Tony Elliott (Virginia) +7500
- Bret Bielema (Illinois) +8000
- Deion Sanders (Colorado) +10000
- Fran Brown (Syracuse) +10000
- Jason Eck (New Mexico) +10000
- Spencer Danielson (Boise State) +10000
Note: Odds are subject to change.
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Freeman and Cristobal Lead Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Odds
Freeman and Cristobal have become the sport’s most reliable postseason presences, and the market treats them accordingly.
Freeman has guided Notre Dame to the national championship game and back to the playoff picture in back-to-back years, while Cristobal’s Miami program authored one of the most improbable playoff runs in recent memory last season.
Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkisian round out the true favorites tier, both leading programs that enter the year as legitimate national title contenders.
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The Carousel’s Biggest Names Bring Real Star Power to the Middle of the Board
Lane Kiffin’s arrival at LSU headlines a fascinating group in the +1200 range, a coach with a proven track record now inheriting one of the sport’s most talent-rich rosters.
Kirby Smart and Ryan Day, both former winners of major national coaching honors, sit close behind, a reflection of how quickly voters would reward either for a return to championship form.
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First-Year Hires Fill Out a Deep Field of Long Shots
An unusually large group of brand-new head coaches populates the back half of this board — Kiffin, Pete Golding, Bob Chesney, Jon Sumrall, Alex Golesh, Morgan Scalley and Kyle Whittingham all took over new programs this offseason, giving the award an unusually high number of first-year storylines to track.
Further down, names like Bill Belichick, still adjusting to the college game at North Carolina, and Deion Sanders at Colorado add star power to a board that otherwise leans heavily on proven, established winners at the top.
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