The Big 12 is home to some of the elite coaches in college football, but it's also home to some major duds - and several are facing make-or-break seasons in 2017. We're here to separate the best from the worst by power ranking all of the coaches in the conference going into the season:
10) David Beaty -- Kansas Jayhawks
Beaty inheirted a terrible Kansas program in 2015, but has only won two games in his tenure. Given, both of them came in 2016 (including an upset of Texas), so there is some progression. There's just a long way to go.
9) Matt Campbell -- Iowa State Cyclones
Campbell is another guy who seems to have his program trending in the right direction, but the Cyclones still went just 3-9 in his first season after coming over from Toledo. The future looks promising, but for now, he falls behind the other, more accomplished coaches until he can make his mark recruiting and on the field.
8) Kliff Kingsbury -- Texas Tech Red Raiders
This year will determine if Kingsbury keeps his job or gets fired. He is 24-26 in his four seasons at the helm (despite starting 6-0), including just 13-23 in Big 12 play. They simply haven't made strides under Kingsbury, and their defense is annually one of the worst in the entire country.
7) Matt Rhule -- Baylor Bears
I'm sure I don't need to tell you how much of a mess Baylor is or how difficult it's going to be for Rhule in his first year or two at the school, but he is coming off a very successful stint at Temple where he led them to back-to-back 10-win seasons. Give him some time and he should have this program back on track.
6) Dana Holgorsen -- West Virginia Mountaineers
Holgorsen finally got off the hot seat and just got a five-year contract extension, giving this program some stability. Last year was big for the Mountaineers as they won 10 games and went 7-2 in conference play, but WVU has to start producing consistently for Holgorsen to move higher up this list.
5) Tom Herman -- Texas Longhorns
Yes, Herman hasn't coached a game for Texas yet, but that's why he's not even higher than this. Charlie Strong brought in several great recruiting classes, but was unable to produce results on the field. Now, Herman has plenty of tools in the toolbox and has shown that he knows what to do with them, going 22-4 in two years at Houston (including wins over Oklahoma, Florida State and Louisville twice).
4) Bill Snyder -- Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State won just three games in the four years prior to Snyder's hire in November of 1988. Since then, Snyder's teams have posted a losing record just five times. Nobody finds JUCO talent and develops it better than Snyder. He's done more at a recruiting disadvantage than most big-program coaches have done with their pick of top-tier talent. And, after another nine-win season in 2016, K-State should be in for a big year.
3) Mike Gundy -- Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys nearly won the Big 12 each of the last two seasons and have won at least 10 games in five out of the last seven seasons. Gundy has also posted winning seasons of 11 of his 12 years. He's really one of the most underrated coaches in the country.
2) Gary Patterson -- TCU Horned Frogs
Patterson has won 149 games over 16-plus seasons in Fort Worth, with 10 or more wins in 10 of those. Last year was a rebuilding year after they lost a ton of talent to the NFL, but he has transformed TCU from an also-ran to a national power with his steady vision and creative game-planning.
1) Bob Stoops -- Oklahoma Sooners
Going into his 19th season as Oklahoma head coach, Stoops is the longest tenured head coach in college football (along with Iowa's Kirk Ferentz). During his time in Norman, Stoops has guided the Sooners to 10 Big 12 titles (including two in a row), a College Football Playoff appearance and one national championship (2000). Simply put, Stoops has kept OU as one of the premier programs in the country, is one of the best coaches anywhere and should be at Oklahoma for the rest of his career.
Follow our Big 12 news page for all the latest Big 12 football news!
Back to the Big 12 Newsfeed