16. Kenny Dillingham- Arizona State

Kenny Dillingham took over at his alma mater in 2023 and immediately faced tough circumstances.  Caught in the wake of the Herm Edwards tenure and the situation he left behind, Dillingham understandably struggled in his first season at the helm of Arizona State football.  However, Dillingham is a very young coach and I still believe in his future at Arizona State.  While it will be tough to replace standout quarterback Jaden Rashada who transferred to Georgia, the Sun Devils should at least compete for a bowl spot in 2024.  

15. Deion Sanders- Colorado

Do you believe?  Unfortunately for Deion and the Buffaloes, I am not a huge believer in Sanders as the long-term option at Colorado.  While he has done a great job bringing in high-level talent like Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, he finished with the 81st ranked recruiting class according to 247 Sports in 2024 and doesn’t seem to be emphasizing high school recruiting in his rebuild.  While the transfer portal is very important in building a roster, we have seen many times that it can’t be used to completely overhaul a roster year in and year out.  With all this being said, the Buffaloes do have a decent shot at competing in the new Big 12.  With the star power they do have on the roster, the offense should be near the top of the conference and if the defense can just be below average instead of downright awful, the Buffaloes should go bowling in 2024. 

14. Dave Aranda- Baylor

Dave Aranda's tenure as Head Coach of the Baylor Bears has been a wild ride, to say the least.  Taking over in 2020, the Bears went 2-7 in a weird year one for any first-year coach.  However, in year two the Bears exploded for a 12-2 season that saw them beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.  While Aranda was seen as the next great coach in the industry, the Bears then went 6-7 the next year, followed by an awful 3-9 season in 2023.  While Aranda is still leading Baylor into 2024, another season missing bowl eligibility and the Bears may just have a new coach going into 2025.  

13. Scott Satterfield- Cincinnati

When Satterfield was hired in the 2022 offseason, myself as well as many others were skeptical about the hire.  While he saw some success at Louisville, going 25-24 in four seasons, Louisville fans and media agreed he was on the brink of being fired before he left for Cincinnati.  However, prior to Louisville, Satterfield deserves credit for his tenure as Head Coach of Appalachian State, as he is one of the main reasons that program remains so successful today.  Nevertheless, following a 3-9 season in year one, it is a make-or-break year for Satterfield and the Bearcats. 

12. Brent Brennan- Arizona

Similar to Brent Pry, Brent Brennan is the Big 12 coach I think may take the biggest leap in next year’s rankings.  After being the lead man at San Jose State since 2017, Brennan receives his first Power 4 gig and seems to be set up in a pretty good position.  With Arizona coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory and returning star players like quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, Brennan could have his squad competing for the Big 12 Championship in 2024.  Previously at San Jose State, Brennan may have only put up a 34-48 record but a lot of those losses came from his first two seasons where he went a combined 3-22.  After those initial seasons, Brennan consistently made bowl games and even won a Mountain West Championship in 2020, an achievement previously unheard of at San Jose State.

11. Joey McGuire- Texas Tech

 Joey McGuire is an interesting case in terms of Head Coaches.  While most of these coaches were previously FBS head coaches or high-level coordinators, McGuire got the Texas Tech job based on his experience in the Texas high school football scene.  While his most recent job was Associate Head Coach at Baylor, McGuire is known for his high school coaching and connections in Texas.  His tenure is off to a decent start, with bowl appearances and wins in both of his first two seasons and an overall record of 15-11.  Additionally, he finished with a Top 25 recruiting class in 2024 according to 247 Sports and currently has another Top 25 class for 2025.

10. Neal Brown- West Virginia

Heading into the 2023 season, few expected Neal Brown to rank this high or even retain his job.  However, despite ranking at the top of every preseason hot-seat list, Brown went 9-4 last season and earned an extension through 2027.  After seeing immense success at Troy, Brown left to take the West Virginia job in 2019.  He stayed around .500 until this most recent season which marked the best season Brown has had with the Mountaineers.  Going into 2024, West Virginia returns a great deal on the offensive side of the ball including quarterback Garrett Greene.  If Greene and the rest of the offense can live up to expectations, the Mountaineers should be bowling again in 2024.  

9. Kalani Sitake- BYU

BYU is an extremely tough place to recruit to and win football games.  This makes the job Kalani Sitake has done all the more impressive.  Bursting onto the scene in 2016 with a 9-4 record, Sitake followed this up a few years later with an 11-1 season in 2020, led by second overall pick Zach Wilson.  Making a bowl game in six of his eight seasons, Sitake has not only been consistently solid, but has also shown flashes of being able to get BYU relevant on the national stage.  However, now in the Big 12 against far superior programs, it’ll be interesting to see if Sitake can continue this success into the future. 

8. Matt Campbell- Iowa State

Matt Campbell really deserves to be higher on this list.  Taking over at Iowa State in 2016, after compiling a 35-15 record in four full seasons at Toledo, Campbell inherited a program that had finished above .500 only once in the last decade.  After a 3-9 record in his first season, Campbell has achieved a winning record in every single season since, except for one.  In addition, he led Iowa State to unprecedented heights by reaching the Big 12 Championship and winning the Fiesta Bowl in 2020, achievements the program had never before accomplished.  I don’t think Campbell quite gets the credit he deserves as there are very few coaches that could do what he’s done at Iowa State.  Don’t be surprised if he gets a bigger job in the future. 

7. Willie Fritz- Houston

At 64 years old, Willie Fritz is one of the oldest coaches in the game, but he remains one of the strongest.  Fritz has won at every job he's held, whether at the Division II level with Central Missouri, the FCS level with Sam Houston State, or in the Group of Five with Georgia Southern and Tulane. Across all these programs and levels of competition, Fritz has consistently won a lot of football games.  Now, taking over at Houston in the Big 12, I am very excited to see how Fritz handles his first Power 4 job.  If Fritz's past is any indication, a lot of winning and success lie ahead for Houston Football.

6. Sonny Dykes- TCU

Following a 5-7 second season at TCU, a lot of hype has understandably died down around the program.  However, that doesn’t take anything away from the special things Sonny Dykes and his team accomplished in the 2022-23 season.  Going into the first season of the Dykes era at TCU, there were essentially no expectations.  The Frogs caught fire and quickly established themselves as one of the best teams in the country, going 12-1 and making the College Football Playoff. They then shocked Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl before falling to Georgia in the National Championship.  Despite a disappointing second season, you can’t take anything away from Dykes as he remains the only coach in the Big 12 to make the four-team College Football Playoff. 

5. Gus MALZAHN- UCF

In 2013, Gus Malzahn took over at Auburn and immediately burst onto the scene in his first season.  Going 11-1 in the regular season and capping it off with a win over Missouri in the SEC Championship, Auburn punched their ticket to the final BCS National Championship.  While they would ultimately fall to Florida State in an all-time classic, the stage was set for the Malzahn era at Auburn.  However, the rest of his tenure didn’t quite live up to the standard set in year one. While he achieved bowl eligibility in each of his eight seasons as head coach and enjoyed considerable success, with only one more SEC West title, Malzahn was let go in 2020.  He then took over at UCF and has done very well in his three seasons.  Going 18-9 in their final two years in the AAC, the Knights were also the only Big 12 newcomer to be bowl eligible in 2023. With quarterback transfer KJ Jefferson coming in from Arkansas, perfectly fitting the Gus Malzahn quarterback mold, the Knights should be poised for even more improvement in 2024.

4. Chris Klieman- Kansas State

Who would’ve thought a coach with four National Championships would fall in the fourth spot on this list?  While those championships may have been at the FCS level, they still count nonetheless as Klieman won an astounding four national championships in his five years as Head Coach of North Dakota State. Following this, he took the job at Kansas State and has done a very good job thus far. It also cannot be understated how difficult it was to take over after the retirement of Kansas State legend Bill Snyder, who brought the program essentially every ounce of success it has ever had.  Klieman got off to a somewhat pedestrian start going 20-16 in his first three seasons before going 10-4 and winning the Big 12 outright in 2022, something the program had not done since 2003.  After another solid 9-4 season last year, and highly rated quarterback prospect Avery Johnson returning to lead the offense in 2024, the Wildcats are set for another step forward in the Klieman era.  

3. Mike Gundy- Oklahoma State

For me, the dispute between the two and the three on this list was the toughest debate.  Ultimately, Mike Gundy lands in the three spot.  Promoted to Head Coach of the Cowboys in 2005, Gundy is one of the longest tenured coaches in the game.  With eight seasons of 10 or more wins in his career, he is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, coaches in Oklahoma State history.  Gundy has not only made them relevant on a national stage, finishing as high as third in the country in 2011, but they have also made a bowl game in eighteen straight seasons.  That is a ridiculous amount of consistency for a coach and a program that can also be elite at times.  Now, with powerhouse programs Oklahoma and Texas leaving the conference, Oklahoma State has the opportunity to step up and potentially establish themselves as a powerhouse in the new Big 12. As long as Gundy is at the helm, expect the Cowboys to consistently contend for the top spot in the standings year after year.

2. Lance Leipold- Kansas

With the job that Lance Leipold has done at Kansas, you can argue that he should be at the top of these rankings.  The only reason he isn’t ranked higher is that he has yet to win at a national level. However, at Kansas, consistently getting to a bowl game is absolutely remarkable, and he has achieved that and more.  Beginning his head coaching career at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold went an unbelievable 109-6 in eight seasons, winning six Division III national championships, including a stretch of three in a row from 2009-2011.  He then took over at Buffalo for six seasons before taking the job at Kansas.  When Leipold took over in Lawrence in 2021, Kansas hadn’t made a bowl game since 2008 and hadn’t won more than three games since 2009. He inherited what was likely the worst program in the nation and went 2-10 in his first season before getting Kansas to a bowl game in 2022, and finishing 9-4 in 2023, the best record Kansas has had since 2007.  He also heads into 2024 with what is likely the most anticipated season in Kansas football history, with offensive stars Devin Neal and Jalon Daniels returning, along with many starters on the defensive side as well.

1. Kyle Whittingham- Utah

Who else would be in the top spot but Kyle Whittingham?  Similar to Mike Gundy, Whittingham took over at Utah in 2005 following the departure of Urban Meyer.  Still in the Mountain West at the time, Whittingham slowly rebuilt the program back to national prominence that peaked in 2008 when the Utes went 13-0 and took down Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.  Two more 10-win seasons following this catapulted them into the Pac-12 with lots of momentum.  In the Pac-12, it may have taken a few years to get their footing, but after a 5-7 season in 2013, Utah has rattled off nine straight seasons reaching a bowl game (outside of the Covid season),e and that includes four 10+ win seasons.  Additionally, Utah won back-to-back Pac-12 Championships and reached the Rose Bowl in both 2021 and 2022.  Whittingham is not only the best coach in the Big 12, but one of the best coaches in the entire country and has brought Utah football to heights never seen before in the program’s history. As star quarterback Cam Rising returns for the 2024 season, Utah finds itself ranked in the top 10 of most preseason rankings. With Whittingham at the helm as they transition into the Big 12, Utah emerges as one of the perennial favorites, poised for sustained success in the years to come.