One of the biggest reasons for confidence in DeBoer is his success against top competition. Over the past five seasons, he’s gone 15-3 against top-25 teams, trailing only Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Ohio State’s Ryan Day in that category. Winning big games has been a staple of his career, showing he doesn’t need the perfect setup to succeed.

Kalen DeBoer knows exactly where Alabama football stands heading into the summer. And it's something the Crimson Tide coach seems happy about.

Kirby Smart has to be No. 1, or does he? What about Ryan Day? Or Marcus Freeman? Who made our list -- and why.