DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced nine finalists for the 2024 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award Tuesday. The FWAA's National Coach of the Year will be chosen from among a list that includes three prior finalists, including one repeat finalist from last season and six who have been nominated for the first time. Seven of the nine have their teams playing in the College Football Playoff and five won conference championships.
The finalists in alphabetical order are Shane Beamer of South Carolina, Curt Cignetti of Indiana, Spencer Danielson of Boise State, Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State, Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame, Dan Lanning of Oregon, Rhett Lashlee of SMU, Jeff Monken of Army and Kirby Smart of Georgia. Lashlee, the only returning finalist, Monken and Smart have been finalists in the past.
The finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership. The award honors regular season performance, including conference championship games. The 2024 recipient will be announced on Wed., Dec. 18. The official presentation will be at a reception Sat., Jan. 18, 2025, in Atlanta, the site of the College Football Playoff National Championship.
"Our nine Coach of the Year finalists represent everything that has defined college football in 2024: From surprise success stories like Curt Cignetti, Jeff Monken, Kenny Dillingham and Rhett Lashlee to the resurgence of South Carolina under Shane Beamer and Boise State under Spencer Danielson, to the programs with sustained excellence under Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman and Dan Lanning," FWAA president Andrea Adelson said. "Each coach has demonstrated an exceptional ability to get the most out of his players, and we look forward to the winner carrying on the legacy set forth by the legendary Eddie Robinson."
"The FWAA and the Eddie Robinson family believe this is an outstanding group of finalists with a mixture of conference champions and inspiring breakthrough seasons for some teams,” said Eddie Robinson III, Coach Robinson’s grandson, along with FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson. “The outstanding coaching jobs done by several rising coaches gives us as much depth to this field as we have ever had. The FWAA membership will have an interesting time picking a winner."
"The Allstate Sugar Bowl is proud to work with the FWAA as the title sponsor of the annual Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award," said Sugar Bowl Committee President Walter Becker. "Not only do we get to recognize coaching excellence on the football field from around the country, but we also get to honor the legacy of Louisiana’s own Coach Eddie Robinson. We are looking forward to hosting this year’s Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year event next month in Atlanta."
Indiana’s Cignetti and Notre Dame’s Freeman face each other in the CFP’s first round Dec. 20 in South Bend. The winner faces Smart and Georgia in the quarterfinals Jan. 1 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. An opening round win at Penn State would send SMU’s Lashlee to face Boise State’s Danielson in the quarterfinals at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl. Lanning coaches the CFP’s No. 1 seed and Dillingham the No. 4 seed as both teams open their playoffs on Jan. 1, Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Arizona State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State's Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. In 1997, the FWAA coaching award was named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.
A closer look at the 2024 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalists:
Curt Cignetti, Indiana: Cignetti is a first-time Eddie Robinson finalist, riding an historic season in Bloomington. The Hoosiers (11-1) own the first double-digit-win season in program history and their 8-1 record in Big Ten play are the most wins by an IU team since joining the conference in 1900. Named the Big Ten’s Coach of the Year last week, Cignetti has engineered an eight-game improvement for IU from 2023 to '24, the second-best improvement by a first-year head coach since at least 1996 per IU research, and a place in the CFP where the No. 10 seed Hoosiers will open at No. 7 seed Notre Dame on Dec. 20. Cignetti is the first Division I head coach to start 8-0 or better in consecutive seasons at different institutions (he also led JMU to a 10-0 start in 2023). Cignetti is Indiana’s third Eddie Robinson Award finalist following Tom Allen in 2020 and IU’s only winner, John Pont in 1967.
Cignetti is no stranger to winning Coach of the Year honors, the 63-year-old coach has won five such awards from 4 different leagues, including B2B2B COY awards for three years running across the Sun Belt and B1G conferences (Google it). Guiding Indiana from a 3-9 season a year ago to a 10-0 start in his inaugural season with the Hoosiers, coupled with a 10-0 start at James Madison in 2023, Cignetti became the only coach in FBS history to start a season 8-0 or better, at two different schools.
PSAC Coach of the Year (2012)
CAA Coach of the Year (2017)
CFN Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2022)
Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2023)
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2024)
Shane Beamer, South Carolina: Beamer is a first-time finalist after leading the surging Gamecocks (9-3) to a 5-3 record in the SEC. Picked in the preseason for the bottom half of the SEC standings, South Carolina has won nine games for the first time since 2017, owns a six-game win streak for the first time in 11 seasons and carries a No. 14 ranking heading into the Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl vs. Illinois. South Carolina won a school-record four games over ranked opponents sparked by edge rusher Kyle Kennard, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner announced Monday, and a defensive front that has created 40 sacks, second in the SEC and tied for third nationally. Beamer is South Carolina’s first Eddie Robinson Award finalist.
Spencer Danielson, Boise State: Danielson is a first-time finalist while leading Boise State (11-1) to back-to-back Mountain West championships for the first time and an 11-game win streak as it enters the postseason as the CFP’s No. 3 seed. In Danielson's first full season as head coach, the Broncos are in the top five of multiple offensive categories riding the legs of all-purpose back Ashton Jeanty, a Heisman Trophy finalist. The MW Offensive Most Valuable Player has 2,497 rushing yards, the fourth-highest single-season total in FBS history and within reach of Barry Sanders’ 1988 record mark of 2,628 single-season yards heading into the CFP quarterfinals. His nation-leading 344 carries have outpaced the rushing totals of 115 FBS teams. Danielson is Boise State's seventh Eddie Robinson Award finalist, following Chris Peterson (2006, ’08, ’09, ’10) and Bryan Harsin (2014, ’19). The Broncos have yet to have a winner.
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State: In Arizona State's first season in the Big 12, the youngest coach in the FBS guided the Sun Devils to their first outright conference championship since 1996 and 11 wins for just the sixth time in program history and first time since that 1996 season. Picked last in the Big 12's preseason poll, ASU increased its win total from 2023 by eight games, one of only three teams since 2012 to do it, buoyed by a 4-0 mark against ranked teams. Spurred by Cam Skattbo, one of the FBS’ top all-purpose backs with 2,074 yards, the Sun Devils’ march into the postseason culminated last week in a 45-19 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game. ASU (11-2) earned the CFP’s No. 4 seed and will host either Clemson or Texas on Jan. 1 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Dillingham is ASU’s third Eddie Robinson Award finalist along with Dennis Erickson (2007) and 1996 winner Bryce Snyder.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: In his third season in South Bend, Freeman has Notre Dame in the CFP as the No. 7 seed with an 11-1 record. The Irish defense, Freeman’s specialty, has been stout and leads the FBS in passing defense (139.5 ypg) and turnovers gained (26), is second in scoring defense (11.6 ppg) and in the top five in eight other categories. The 26 turnovers gained have led to 127 points as the Irish are the only FBS team to hold all their opponents to under 24 points. Notre Dame’s win over then-No. 18 Army was the 11th ranked win of Freeman’s tenure, more than any other Irish head coach in their first three years. Notre Dame hosts Indiana and fellow finalist Curt Cignetti on Dec. 20 in the CFP’s first round. Freeman is the sixth Notre Dame coach to be an Eddie Robinson Award finalist and its first since 2018. Brian Kelly (2012), Charlie Weis (2005), Lou Holtz (1988) and Ara Parseghian (1964) are previous winners.
Dan Lanning, Oregon: Lanning is first-time finalist after leading the Ducks to an undefeated regular season (13-0) for the second time in program history and a Big Ten championship in the program’s first year of membership. Their 9-0 conference record matches the only other Ducks team to do it, the 2010 team that played for the national title. Oregon, ranked No. 1 in both polls since mid-October, earned the top spot for the first time since 2012 and has wins over three of the CFP’s top eight seeds, including No. 6 seed Penn State last week for the Big Ten championship as Heisman Trophy finalist and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Dillon Gabriel threw for four touchdowns. Gabriel has re-written the Oregon record books in 2024, posting four of the top 11 single-game performances for completion percentage. Oregon, riding the nation’s longest win streak of 14, is the CFP’s No. 1 seed and will play either Tennessee or a rematch with Ohio State on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl. Oregon’s two previous Eddie Robinson Award winners are Rich Brooks (1994) and Chip Kelly (2010).
Rhett Lashlee, SMU: Lashlee is a second-time finalist and repeats his appearance from last season. SMU overcame a Sept. 6 loss to BYU to become one of the great stories of the season, winning nine in a row, sweeping its ACC schedule (8-0) in its first season in the league, and eventually making the College Football Playoff with an 11-2 record despite a last-second loss in the ACC Championship Game. The Mustangs are sixth in the nation in scoring offense at 38.5 points per game and 20th in total offense (443.1 ypg) but also have an agressive defense with one of the top pass rushes in the FBS. No. 11 seed SMU (11-2) plays at Penn State on Dec. 20 in the CFP’s first round. SMU's only other Eddie Robinson Award finalist was Sonny Dykes in 2019.
Jeff Monken, Army: This is Monken’s third finalist nod and first since 2018. He was also a finalist in 2017. Monken guided Army to a 9-0 start as the Black Knights had a spot in the American Athletic Championship Game clinched before Thanksgiving. Army moved up as high as No. 18 in the polls and appeared in the CFP Rankings for the first time. Army had a 13-game win streak that at the time was the nation’s longest going into a Nov. 23 game against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium, its only loss. Army has since won two straight, including a 35-14 home win over Tulane in the AAC Championship Game to win the league in its first year of membership. Army is 11-1 going into its annual clash with Navy on Saturday. Tom Cahill is Army’s only previous Eddie Robinson Award winner from the 1966 season.
Kirby Smart, Georgia: Smart is an Eddie Robinson Award finalist for a fourth time, with previous nominations in the 2017, '21 and '22 seasons. Georgia continued to rally back this season, winning at Texas on Oct. 19 following a shaky start to SEC play. Three straight wins following an early-November loss at Ole Miss put the Bulldogs into the SEC Championship Game, where they beat Texas again in overtime to earn the No. 2 seed in the CFP. Georgia (11-2) will face Indiana or Notre Dame, both of which have fellow finalist coaches, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Vince Dooley is Georgia’s only previous Eddie Robinson Award winner from the 1980 season. Jim Donnan was a finalist in 1997.
The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit allstatesugarbowl.org
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
2024 Eddie Robinson Award Finalists: Shane Beamer, South Carolina, Curt Cignetti, Indiana, Spencer Danielson, Boise State, Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame, Dan Lanning, Oregon, Rhett Lashlee, SMU, Jeff Monken, Army, Kirby Smart, Georgia
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