With March Madness upon us, the folks at CBS Sports broke out a list of the schools with the best college football and basketball coach tandems.
It is a list, quite frankly, tailor-made for the SEC. Traditionally a strong football conference, the SEC got a record 14 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
However, heading into the 2025 NCAA Tournament, it is Kansas that takes the top spot on the top-10 list for the second straight year with football coach Lance Leipold and basketball coach Bill Self.
However, as CBS Sports points out, the Jayhawks “narrowly hang onto the top spot, but the race is closer than ever.”
That’s because the Alabama Crimson Tide, with basketball coach Nate Oats and football coach Kalen DeBoer, has moved from No. 3 a year ago to No. 2 on the list.
Per the report:
“Oats continues to elevate his stock as one of the best coaches in college basketball after leading the Crimson Tide to the first Final Four in program history,” CBS Sports writes. “In six years, he has two SEC regular season titles, two SEC tournament titles and five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. DeBoer’s first season at Alabama had ups and downs but still ended on the edge of the expanded College Football Playoff. Nominally, it was the worst season of his coaching career with a 9-4 record — but that says more about his storied coaching career. This combo is on the way up.”
The only other SEC school to make the list is Tennessee with the Josh Heupel/Rick Barnes combo, which comes in at No. 4 after debuting at No. 7 a year ago.
Take a look at the list here.
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
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