Big 12 football coach rankings starts with someone yet to make College Football Playoff

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It takes quite the skill to succeed as a football coach in the Big 12.

Known for its unpredictability on the field, the league got flipped on it head in the offseason as the coaching carousel changed the landscape dramatically. Two of its best, Matt Campbell and Kyle Whittingham, went to the Big Ten, Mike Gundy got the axe and Chris Klieman decided to hang up the headset.

That leaves plenty of room for ball coaches − new and old− to make their way up the pecking order in our Big 12 coaches rankings. There are some obvious ones that have been in the College Football Playoff conversation or even participated, but don’t sleep on those that could easily join the party.

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In a league that’s always shifting power − with no repeat championship game participant in the past five seasons − here is where every coach stands going into the 2026 season, trying to bring the conference its first national championship since the Vince Young-led Texas Longhorns, who are no longer in it.

1. Kalani Sitake, Brigham Young

Even without a playoff appearance, Sitake has built himself into the standard of coaching. He’s had winning seasons in eight of his 10 campaigns at his alma matter, the most of any other coach in the league, and he’s 57-20 since 2020. That comes with back-to-back 11-win seasons, with the Cougars finding their footing in the Big 12 and on the fringe of making the playoff, with a great chance to be back in the conversation one more time. There’s a reason Penn State wanted this man.

2. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

Having the financial support to fund your teams is one thing, but actually turning it into success is another. After building Texas Tech toward taking that next step, McGuire got the Red Raiders over the hump with a dominant 2025 that ended with their first Big 12 title and CFP appearance. He’s a proven coach that knows how to improve players from good to great, and the fantastic situation in Lubbock gives him the chance to be among the best coaches in the country.

3. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

It took just two seasons for Dillingham to thrust his alma mater into the national spotlight with the playoff berth and Big 12 title in 2024. There was a chance to repeat before injuries derailed the Sun Devils last season. Even with the stars of the playoff team gone, he’s a great offensive mind who can instantly find success with newcomers. The best part is he has plenty of years ahead of him to keep Arizona State a contender. He is still only 36 and bleeds Sun Devil maroon with a passion.

4. Sonny Dykes, TCU

Dykes cemented himself as a TCU icon when he took the school to the national championship game in 2022. And while the Horned Frogs haven’t generated the same amount of hype since, he still is winning games in Fort Worth. TCU is coming off consecutive nine-win seasons with bowl victories, bringing his total record to 36-17 in four seasons. Dykes is a guy you can bank on to bring home victories, and he is perhaps one of the most underrated coaches in the country.

5. Willie Fritz, Houston

No matter where he goes, Fritz wins. He has done a fantastic job of getting Houston back into relevancy after the team’s rough transition into the Big 12. The Cougars went 4-8 in Fritz’s first season before surprising people with a 10-3 record in 2025, which were the most wins for the program since 2021. It’s just another example of how good Fritz is. He’s a solid recruiter that is only getting better with more resources, and he’s generating hype with Houston a dark horse contender.

6. Brent Brennan, Arizona

After a major disappointing first season in Arizona, Brennan turned it around for a nine-win season highlighted by beating Arizona State to win the Territorial Cup. He made the necessary changes to help his star players thrive and is no longer on the hot seat, getting back into the good graces of Wildcat nation. If he can find consistency, he’ll be set since Arizona hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 2014-15.

7. Deion Sanders, Colorado

There’s no doubt Colorado is a must-see attraction with Sanders, but there wasn’t much to watch on the field. Without son Shedeur and Travis Hunter, Colorado went 3-9 in an ugly season full of blowouts. He’s 16-21 at Colorado, not the results the Buffaloes hopes for when he took over, but the allure of playing for him still remains as top recruits head to Boulder. However, impatience may be growing if he doesn’t bring “Prime Time” results back.

8. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati

The seat has cooled down a bit for Satterfield after showing progress by taking the Bearcats to a bowl game for the first time in his three seasons. But don’t think he’s entirely out of the woods yet. He had to find a new quarterback and will be a much more difficult conference schedule than in 2025. With a 15-22 record with the Bearcats, Satterfield has to make progress toward a .500 mark, or bad news could be awaiting by the end of the season.

9. Dave Aranda, Baylor

The hottest seat in all of the Big 12 belongs to Aranda. Baylor looked to be on the path toward back-to-back winning seasons when it started 4-2 in 2025, but the Bears lost five of their last six for its second losing campaign in three years. The allure from the 2021 Big 12 title has completely worn off, with Baylor 22-30 since then. Aranda is going to have to fix it immediately, or he may not last the entire 2026 schedule.

10. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

The sentimental hire brought good vibes to West Virginia, but it quickly wore off with a 4-8, the worst since 2013. Rodriguez revived his carer at Jacksonville State, but the poor return to the Mountaineers brought questions on whether the power conference level had run past him for him to be a successful coach. His offense is going to have to improve before the noise starts to build of whether running it back was a great idea.

11. Lance Leipold, Kansas

Credit Leipold for instilling some belief Kansas could compete in football with that solid nine-win season in 2023 with a renovated stadium, but the Jayhawks haven’t been able to capitalize off of it completely. Leipold is coming off consecutive 5-7 seasons, with just two winning campaigns in his five years in the program. He does have plenty of runway for all that he’s done for Kansas, but the results need to start coming in.

12. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State

The Pokes got a good one in Morris, who has won at every stop so far in his young career. He’s a quarterback guru, helping Cam Ward blossom at Incarnate Word before he moved to North Texas and revived the Mean Green to an 11-win campaign in 2025 with Drew Mestemaker. It was only a matter of time before a power conference school nabbed him, and he has a tremendous ceiling with the chance to rise up the ranks in year one.

13. Scott Frost, Central Florida

The return of Frost started off hot with a 3-0 record, but UCF lost seven of its last nine for his sixth consecutive losing season as a coach, going back to his disappointing run at alma mater Nebraska. The Knights have struggled the most adapting to the Big 12 compared to the other newcomers. There hasn’t been much done to think that will turn around soon, with the 2017 perfect record a distant memory of Frost’s greatest success.

14. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State

It will be hard to replace what Campbell did for Iowa State, but Rogers fits the bill as a solid replacement. He knows success, playing for South Dakota State and learning under John Stiegelmeier before taking over the Jackrabbits, leading them to a perfect 15-0 national title in 2023. His lone season at Washington State was solid, but not enough to confirm how he will do at the FBS level. The biggest question will be if he can follow Campbell’s doing-more-with-less blueprint.

15. Morgan Scalley, Utah

The Utes coach-in-waiting finally gets his shot after the strange departure of Kyle Whittingham. Scalley built Utah into a tough defensive program, and knows the landscape as well as anyone since his playing days in Salt Lake City. However, the Utes defense did take steps back in recent years, and Scalley will be compared to Whittingham a ton, as the fanbase awaits to see if he can sustain success when he’s in charge.

16. Collin Klein, Kansas State

Optimus Klein returns to Manhattan where he was a legend, capped by his Heisman Trophy-finalist season in 2012. He takes over Kansas State after several years of experience as an offensive coordinator, including two seasons with the Wildcats in 2022 and 2023. While he deserves credit for Texas A&M’s offense last season, he has no head coaching experience and will be thrust into a power conference role with expectations, no matter how beloved he is.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 12 football coach rankings starts with someone yet to make College Football Playoff

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