Who’s the best coach in the Big 12? On3’s Brett McMurphy thinks it’s BYU’s Kalani Sitake

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Who’s the best coach in the Big 12?

According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, who recently ranked all 16 coaches in the league, it’s BYU’s Kalani Sitake.

McMurphy “weighed the combination of career achievement, recent performance, program-building ability, roster building, player development and overall value in today’s market” in his rankings.

He continued: “Past accomplishments, especially at the Power Four level, matter. But so do factors such as current trajectory, adapting to the changing world of college football and winning at schools that were down and/or historically had not won at a high level.”

Over his decade at the helm in Provo, Sitake has guided the Cougars from independence to contenders in the Big 12 Conference. Last year, Sitake’s Cougars finished 12-2 and earned a spot in the Big 12 championship game for the first time in program history, falling to Texas Tech for the second time that season in Arlington, Texas.

Sitake holds a combined 23-4 record over the past two years and drew interest from Penn State for its open head coaching position this offseason before ultimately signing a contract extension with BYU.

“In the past two years in the Big 12, no one has done it better than Kalani Sitake. The BYU alum has led the Cougars to a 15-3 record in Big 12 play, the league’s best mark,” McMurphy wrote.

“Last year, the Cougars reached the Big 12 title game and in 2024 finished in a four-way tie for first place. Overall, BYU is 23-4 the past two seasons. Sitake enters his 11th year at BYU with an 84-45 record (.651), including double-digit wins in four of the past six seasons.”

BYU is considered by many college football prognosticators to be a contender for the Big 12 title again this season, led by returning quarterback Bear Bachmeier and running back LJ Martin.

Meanwhile in McMurphy’s rankings, Utah’s Morgan Scalley, who enters his first season as the Utes’ new coach, ranks No. 12 on the list.

“Morgan Scalley‘s head coaching debut came earlier than expected, but he’s 1-0 after leading Utah to an easy victory against Nebraska in last year’s Las Vegas Bowl. Scalley takes over at his alma mater for Kyle Whittingham,” McMurphy wrote.

“Scalley has been part of Utah’s staff since 2006, including the past 10 years as defensive coordinator. In that stretch, Utah finished in the top half of the Pac-12 or Big 12 in total defense in nine of the 10 seasons.”

Utah’s hope is that Scalley will be able to continue the long success of the program, which was led by Kyle Whittingham for the past 20 seasons.

Scalley has said and done the right things since taking over as head coach, and Utah’s players have a lot of excitement about the new era, but as with any new head coach, he will need to prove it on the field.

Scalley helped bring back some key pieces from Utah’s 11-2 team, including quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin and running back Wayshawn Parker, and found some promising wide receiver talent in the transfer portal in Utah State’s Braden Pegan and San Jose State’s Kyri Shoels.

However, Utah will have a new starting front five on both offense and defense.

It’s setting up for an intriguing first year for Scalley, who jumps right into the fire with high expectations.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos