Dodd Trophy Elite
Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List Honors 20 Top Coaches for 2026 Season
Key Points
Other high-profile coaches named on the 2026 Dodd Trophy watch list include Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, Ryan Day, Marcus Freeman and Mike Elko, underscoring the award’s reach across multiple power programs.
Brent Key has a 27-20 overall record at Georgia Tech through four seasons, with 23 victories in his first three seasons as permanent head coach, which ties for the second-most by a Tech head coach in that span.
Key’s Georgia Tech teams finished fourth in the ACC in 2023 and 2024 and finished second in 2025, making Tech the only program to finish fourth or better in the ACC in each of the last three seasons; he is also 7-1 against nationally ranked ACC opponents.
In 2025, Key’s Yellow Jackets won nine regular-season games for the first time since 2014, reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings, and finished top-25 in both the final CFP rankings and coaches poll.
Kirk Ferentz is in his 28th season at Iowa—the longest-tenured coach in college football—with 209 career wins (133 in the Big Ten) and 23 bowl invitations; he was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2015 and is a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. have named 20 head coaches to the 2026 Dodd Trophy preseason watch list, according to Ducks Wire. The list includes some of college football's biggest names, from Oregon's Dan Lanning to Georgia's Kirby Smart to Iowa's Kirk Ferentz.
The Dodd Trophy goes to the coach who wins on the field while also upholding the award's three pillars: scholarship, leadership, and integrity. Academic performance — measured by the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, or APR — is factored into the final decision alongside wins and losses.
Dan Lanning Enters 2026 Among Elite Candidates
Oregon's Dan Lanning is one of the marquee names on the list. He has gone 48-8 over four seasons with the Ducks, per Ducks Wire. Oregon won the Big Ten title in 2024 and made the College Football Playoff. That record puts Lanning among the sport's top coaches heading into 2026.
Other high-profile coaches on the watch list include Ohio State's Ryan Day, Texas' Steve Sarkisian, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, and Duke's Mike Elko, according to Yahoo Sports. The list spans programs across multiple major conferences, showing how wide the Dodd Trophy's reach has become.
Brent Key's Georgia Tech Rise Earns Recognition
Georgia Tech's Brent Key is also on the list. He holds a 27-20 record at Tech, with 23 wins in his first three full seasons as permanent head coach, per Albany Herald. That ties for second-most wins by a Tech coach in that span. His teams carry an APR of 977, which meets the trophy's academic standard.
Key's Yellow Jackets have been one of the ACC's most consistent programs. Tech finished fourth or better in the ACC in each of the last three seasons — the only program to do so. In 2025, the Jackets won nine regular-season games for the first time since 2014 and reached as high as No. 7 in the national rankings, finishing top-25 in both the CFP rankings and coaches poll. Key is also 7-1 against ranked ACC opponents, according to Albany Herald.
Kirk Ferentz: College Football's Longest-Tenured Coach
Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is in his 28th season leading the Hawkeyes — the longest-tenured head coach in college football. He has 209 career wins, including 133 in the Big Ten, and has led Iowa to 23 bowl games, per Ducks Wire. Ferentz already won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year award in 2015 and is a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Ferentz's long track record of both winning and running a clean program makes him a natural fit for the Dodd Trophy. The award values sustained excellence, not just single-season results. Few coaches in the country can match his combination of longevity, wins, and program integrity.
Alabama and Louisville Round Out a Deep Watch List
Alabama's Kalen DeBoer also made the list after the Crimson Tide went 11-4 last season, per Herald Sun. DeBoer is in his third year running one of college football's most storied programs. Louisville's Jeff Brohm was another notable addition, according to 247Sports, helping give the ACC three representatives on the full watch list.
The Dodd Trophy watch list is trimmed throughout the season before a winner is named after the bowl games. The full 20-coach list shows the award carries real weight across college football. Being named to the preseason list signals that a program meets high standards both on the field and in the classroom.
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