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Ranking college football's 10 best head coach-QB pairings
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian (left) and quarterback Quinn Ewers (right). Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ranking college football's 10 best head coach-QB pairings

In today's age of player mobility and prolific offenses, a strong head coach-quarterback pairing is invaluable in college football. 

Last season, Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh and QB J.J. McCarthy rose above the pack en route to winning a national title while HC Kalen DeBoer and QB Michael Penix Jr. parlayed Washington's big season into exciting new jobs. 

What HC-QB duos will be exceptional this season? Ranked in inverse order, here are the best pairings leading into the 2024 season:

10. Washington | HC Jedd Fisch | QB Will Rogers

This is the only duo on our list with a head coach and quarterback in their first season with a program.

Two seasons after going 1-11, Fisch led a turnaround at Arizona in 2023, finishing 10-3. Rogers, a transfer from Mississippi State, threw for 12,315 yards and 94 TDs in four seasons at the SEC school. 

After losing a coach (DeBoer to Alabama) and QB (Penix Jr. to Falcons in NFL) who came a win away from a national title, Washington has high hopes for this reload.

9. USC | HC Lincoln Riley | QB Miller Moss

Moss, who succeeds Caleb Williams as starter, has three seasons in the program, but a limited stat sheet (914 yards passing, nine TD passes). He got his first real shot during the 2023 Holiday Bowl, throwing for six TDs in a win over Louisville.

Riley has a strong track record with quarterbacks. In addition to Williams, he has guided Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray to Heisman trophies and another, Jalen Hurts, to a second-place finish.

Moss isn't as talented as any of the aforementioned QBs, but he's a well-respected recruit who should be up to the task of making USC a Big Ten contender.

8. Alabama | HC Kalen DeBoer | QB Jalen Milroe

This duo was hastily thrown together after the legendary Nick Saban's retirement, but it has lots of promise. Interestingly, these two made last season's College Football Playoff, both losing to Michigan.

Although he averaged a whopping 10 yards per attempt and threw for 23 TDs last season, Milroe must become a more refined passer. DeBoer could be the right coach for the job after unlocking Penix Jr.'s talent. 

7. Oregon | HC Dan Lanning | QB Dillon Gabriel

This pairing is made even more interesting by the fact that another transfer QB, former UCLA Bruin Dante Moore, is a strong backup for Oregon. But let's focus on the passer we're expecting to start, Gabriel, who formerly played for Oklahoma and Central Florida. 

Oregon could be the best fit yet for Gabriel, who has 125 TD passes during a five-year college career, including 55 in the past two seasons at Oklahoma.

Lanning's Ducks did a phenomenal job in two seasons getting the most out of Bo Nix, a transfer who never played exceptionally at Auburn. Nix set efficiency records at Oregon (74.9 percent completions), so there's no reason Gabriel can't do the same.

6. Kansas | HC Lance Leipold | QB Jalon Daniels

After going 2-10 in his first season at Kansas, Leipold has put together seasons of 6-7 and 9-4, solidifying himself as a consummate program builder. 

Because of injuries, Daniels (31 TD passes in four seasons at KU) only played three games last season after his 2022 breakout. 

Can Daniels stay healthy while maintaining his electrifying playing style? If he can, Kansas could rise to the top of a Big 12 that lost two perennial contenders Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.

5. Missouri | HC Eliah Drinkwitz | QB Brady Cook

These two have been at Missouri for four years and are looking for a supreme performance to put an exclamation point with their pairing.

After four consecutive seasons at or below .500, the Tigers went 11-2 last season, capped by a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State. It was the program's most wins since 2014, the last time Missouri won a bowl. 

Cook's on-field connection with star wideout Luther Burden (86 catches, 1,212 receiving yards in 2023) was the primary driving force of the offense last season. It should be in 2024, too.

4. Ole Miss | HC Lane Kiffin | QB Jaxson Dart

The Kiffin project at Mississippi is in full swing after a pair of double-digit win seasons in the past three years. Dart, a USC castoff just like his head coach, appears to be the quarterback to take Ole Miss (11-2 last season) into the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. 

Dart, who threw for 3,364 yards and 23 TDs in 2023, will again be at the helm of an outrageously talented offense. The big difference compared to last season for Mississippi should be on defense, where it will lean on a unit fortified via the transfer portal. 

Dart may not have to be the hero every week, which could allow him to be more efficient and win more games.  

3. Texas | HC Steve Sarkisian | QB Quinn Ewers

This duo, which has the potential to rise to No. 1 in this ranking, probably had the best 2023 of any pairing. Sarkisian and Ewers linked up to win a game at Alabama, earned Texas its first conference title since 2009 and were a few plays from getting a national title game berth. 

There are few football minds in the country better than Sarkisian (25-14 at Texas) and few arm talents better than Ewers (37 TD passes), but consistency is an issue for both. At their best, there's nothing this pairing can't do, even in the hyper-competitive, new-look SEC.

2. Utah | HC Kyle Whittingham | QB Cameron Rising

Whittingham has an argument to be the best head coach in the country. In 20 years at Utah, he has a 162-79 record while working with fewer resources than most SEC and Big Ten coaches. Now, he's charged with taking the Utes from the Pac-12 to a less competitive Big 12.

This pairing has been shut out of the playoff conversation due to the parity in the Pac-12 and injuries to Rising, a former first-team All-Pac-12 selection. 

Now that the QB is apparently healthy, the Utes will no longer be at the mercy of the CFP committee. If Utah can win the wide-open Big 12, it will get a top-four seed and a shot at a national title. 

1. Georgia | HC Kirby Smart | QB Carson Beck

No coach-QB pairing has higher expectations in 2024 than this one, and for good reason. 

Smart, a two-time national champion at Georgia, could easily have two more rings if not for a few tough breaks against Alabama. Beck, last year's SEC passing yardage leader (3,941), is a probable first-rounder in a QB-barren 2025 NFL Draft. Anything short of SEC and national titles will be considered a disappointment for the Bulldogs. 

Beck, along with Ewers and Dart, could also be in the running for a Heisman, another layer of expectations this duo must shoulder this season. 

William Schwartz

William Schwartz has been writing about sports since middle school, when he started his own blog. Since then, he has written in every capacity from school newspapers to sports news outlets. He graduated from the University of Michigan and his goal is to provide readers with entertainment, insight, and strong analysis on all of your favorite teams and players

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