ACC coach rankings 2023: Florida State's Mike Norvell makes big leap as Clemson's Dabo Swinney remains king
Here's how the ACC's coaches stack up against each other entering the 2023 college football season
By
Will Backus
•
7 min read
Each offseason, the CBS Sports and 247Sports college football teams gets together and rank every single Power Five coach ahead of the upcoming season. While conference ranks swelled and coaching changes abounded elsewhere, the ACC -- on its face -- remained largely unchanged. The same 14 schools will compete for the conference title, and the league is set to welcome just two new coaches.
In addition, only one of those coaches -- Louisville's Jeff Brohm -- is arriving from another school. Georgia Tech, which moved on from Geoff Collins in the middle of the season, decided to promote from within.
This isn't to say that the rankings are completely unchanged from a year ago. While most names are in a familiar spot, coaches like Florida State's Mike Norvell made a significant leap after a long-awaited breakout season.
Here is a look at how all 14 ACC coaches stack up, as previously voted by the CBS Sports college football staff.
Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-69
2023 ACC Coach Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Dabo Swinney (3 overall): It is a testament to Swinney's absurd level of success that the last couple of years at Clemson could be considered a "disappointment." In 2021, the Tigers missed out on the ACC Championship Game for the first time in seven years, and last year they fell just short of the College Football Playoff. Most programs would kill for the consistent 10-win campaigns Swinney pumps out whether it means playoff contention or not. Last year: 1 in the ACC | |
| 2 |  |
| Dave Clawson (15 overall): Wake Forest's record for career wins as a head coach is set at 77, a mark held by both D.C. Walker and Jim Grobe. Smart money says that Clawson, who has already piled up 59 wins through just nine years, breaks that record at some point. If he sticks to his pace of 8.5 victories per year over the last four seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign), it probably will not take him much time to become the Deacons' new all-time wins king. He has already garnered more bowl appearances than any other coach in program history with seven straight. Last year: 2 in the ACC | |
| 3 |  |
| Mike Norvell (19 overall): It was not long ago that folks were drumming up hot seat talk about Norvell. He managed just eight wins over his first two seasons, and the Noles' 2021 outing was marred by a loss to FCS Jacksonville State. It is hard to blame fans for losing some patience. So Norvell made a huge statement -- and probably saved his job -- by winning 10 games last season, falling just short of downing perennial challenger Clemson. Based on that strong showing, and a roster teeming with returning talent, folks around FSU are talking College Football Playoff. Crazy how quick things change in college football. Last year: 9 in the ACC | |
| 4 |  |
| Mack Brown (22 overall): It is hard to assess where things really stand with modern Mack Brown. He is one of a few active coaches with a national championship to his name, and he has a Heisman Trophy candidate in Drake Maye leading his offense at quarterback. The Tar Heels even made it to the ACC Championship Game last season, their first appearance since 2015. But that came after a four-game skid to end the regular season, including a loss to a four-win Georgia Tech team that had an interim coach. North Carolina's defense looked hapless at times, and Brown's decision to stick with defensive coordinator Gene Chizik seems questionable. That unit's improvement determines North Carolina's ceiling. Last year: 4 in the ACC | |
| 5 |  |
| Dave Doeren (25 overall): NC State has been on the cusp of a breakthrough over the past couple seasons. The Wolfpack even beat Clemson in 2021 -- the first time in a decade -- but fell short of the ACC title game. Unfortunately for NC State, the 2022 season derailed when star quarterback Devin Leary went down with injury. Even so, Doeren is the first NC State coach in almost 30 years with two consensus top-25 finishes to his name. Last year: 5 in the ACC | |
| 6 |  |
| Pat Narduzzi (29 overall): Narduzzi lost a Heisman finalist at quarterback, had to cycle through signal-callers due to various injury issues in 2022 and still managed to win eight regular-season games -- including a bowl victory over UCLA. This came a year after he led the Panthers to their first ACC championship in program history and first New Year's Six bowl appearance since 2004. Narduzzi has just one losing season on his ledger as Pitt's head coach. Last year: 6 in the ACC | |
| 7 |  |
| Jeff Brohm (33 overall): Brohm is the ACC's only brand-new coach (not counting returning interims) this year. He returns to his alma mater after an underrated stint at Purdue where he led the Boilermakers to the 2022 Big Ten Championship Game, emerging as the benefactor of a messy Big Ten West. In his last two years as Purdue's coach, Brohm posted a 17-9 record with a more impressive 12-6 showing in Big Ten play. Though Louisville did not have to fire a coach to get Brohm home (Scott Satterfield left of his own volition), it seems as if the Cardinals upgraded. Last year: N/A in the ACC | |
| 8 |  |
| Mario Cristobal (39 overall): What a difference a year makes. Cristobal debuted in the top three of last year's ACC coach rankings but plummets after a sorry first year at Miami. It was his first losing season as a full-time Power Five coach, and the Hurricanes finished just above Virginia and Virginia Tech in the ACC Coastal standings. They lost at home to Middle Tennessee State and beat just one FBS team that finished with a winning record. Cristobal recruited well, so the hope is Miami takes a leap in his second season. Last year: 3 in the ACC | |
| 9 |  |
| Mike Elko (44 overall): For Elko to still be ranked this low after what he did with the Blue Devils last season seems weird. Maybe voters didn't want to jump the gun too quick, or chalked Elko's 9-4 record in his coaching debut to beginner's luck. The Blue Devils lost just one game at home and notched their first bowl win since 2018 by knocking off UCF in the Military Bowl. Duke is set to make noise in 2023 with Riley Leonard back at quarterback. Last year: 13 in the ACC | |
| 10 |  |
| Dino Babers (53 overall): Syracuse's 10-win season from 2018 is looking more like a flash in the pan with each passing year. Babers led the Orange to just 11 wins from 2019-21 but bounced back in 2022 with a 7-5 regular season and an appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl. While Babers may not be capable of taking Syracuse back to prolific heights on a consistent basis, making a bowl after three years of wandering in the wilderness is a step in the right direction. Last year: 10 in the ACC | |
| 11 |  |
| Jeff Hafley (60 overall): Hafley punched well above his weight from 2020-21, leading the Eagles to consecutive six-win seasons and coming up just short in back-to-back upset bids against ACC king Clemson. His stock plummeted in 2022, though, as an injury-plagued Boston College plodded its way to a 3-9 showing. On the bright side, two of those wins came in ACC play with an upset against No. 16 NC State serving as a late-season highlight. Maybe Hafley can right the ship and get Boston College back in bowl contention in 2023, but his squad must replace a ton of talent. Last year: 7 in the ACC | |
| 12 |  |
| Brent Key (63 overall): It is impressive that Key, a longtime assistant and first-time coach, already ranks above a couple names entering their second year. Georgia Tech made Key the interim coach four games into the 2022 season after Geoff Collins was fired, and he absolutely earned the promotion. He provided the Yellow Jackets a spark of energy, fighting his way to a 4-4 record while picking up ranked wins against Pittsburgh and North Carolina. There is reason for optimism about Tech's future as Key continues to establish himself. Last year: N/A in the ACC | |
| 13 |  |
| Tony Elliott (66 overall): Truly assessing Elliott's first year as Cavaliers coach is an almost impossible task. Sure, the Cavaliers were not great in their showings on the field with a 3-7 record through the first 10 games, but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Three football players (D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr.) were killed in a mass shooting on campus in November, so Virginia canceled its final two games in response. Last year: 12 in the ACC | |
| 14 |  |
| Brent Pry (67 overall): It took just one season for Pry's outlook at Virginia Tech to turn bleak. His initial hire did not generate a ton of buzz, and instead of quieting any doubters, he created more by winning just one ACC game in 2022 and finishing the year with a 3-8 record overall. Let's not mince words here: The Hokies were awful in 2022. Few things stood out about the on-field product, and Virginia Tech only kept it close a few times during a seven-game losing streak that stretched from September to November. Last year: 14 in the ACC | |
