Brian Kelly Ranked As 5th Best Power 5 Head Coach By CBS Sports

CBS Sports released its ranking of the 65 best Power 5 head coaches in college football, and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was ranked fifth by the outlet.

Kelly has surely solidified himself as a top five coach, but where he fits in after Alabama's Nick Saban (No. 1) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney (No. 2) is a matter of debate. The Athletic released a ranking of head coaches back in March and they had the Fighting Irish head coach ranked third.

Here is what CBS Sports wrote about Kelly:

"There was once a time when fans could complain that Notre Dame was constantly overrated, and they were right. Thanks to Kelly, it's no longer the case. Kelly has led the Irish to two CFP berths in the last three years, and he also led them to the ACC Championship Game in their only season as a member of the conference. There's still a bit of a gap between the Irish and the elite programs, but that gap seems to narrow slightly with each passing season. 2020 rank: 5 (E)" - CBS Sports

Kelly and Notre Dame have gone 43-8 the last four seasons and earned a pair of college football playoff berths. The Irish went undefeated in the regular season in two of the last three seasons. Notre Dame's 2-9 record against Alabama (0-2), Clemson (1-3), Ohio State (0-1), Georgia (0-2) and Oklahoma (1-1) during Kelly's tenure and the fact the Irish have yet to win a playoff game or major bowl are what likely drag his ranking down a bit.

Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley (No. 3) and Ohio State's Ryan Day (No. 4) both ranked ahead of Kelly. Day leading Ohio State to back-to-back playoff appearances in his two seasons, including a trip to the title game in 2020, has vaulted him up the rankings. Riley being ahead of Kelly is up for greater debate, as Riley also lacks a playoff victory and has had his fair share of blowout losses on the big stage as well.

There were some curious rankings, like having Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher ranked sixth and having Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald ranked ahead of Matt Campbell of Iowa State.

Here is the ranking of Notre Dame's opposing coaches in 2021:

Florida State - Mike Norvell - No. 44
Purdue - Jeff Brohm - No. 53
Wisconsin - Paul Chryst - No. 18
Virginia Tech - Justin Fuente - No.
USC - Clay Helton - No. 48
North Carolina - Mack Brown - No. 12
Virginia - Bronco Mendenhall - No. 26
Georgia Tech - Geoff Collins - No. 55
Stanford - David Shaw - No. 24

Not ranking the Group of 5 coaches in this breakdown makes this list incomplete.

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