The Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year award is given every year to the top coach in FBS football.

This year, a total of 6 coaches were named finalists for the award, including 2 coaches from the SEC ranks.

As you can see below, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Georgia’s Kirby Smart are representing the SEC alongside fellow finalists Sonny Dykes (TCU), Willie Fritz (Tulane), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) and Jeff Traylor (UTSA):

Dykes, Harbaugh and Smart will all compete for the College Football Playoff title. The only coach in this year’s Playoff not named a finalist for this award is Ohio State’s Ryan Day.

Who will win the award? Every coach to qualify as a finalist is very deserving following the incredible 2022 seasons they put together.