Ranking the Big 12 head football coaches ahead of the 2022 season

Some of the top head coaches and strategists come from the Big 12 conference.

Despite recruiting limitations for most teams, the coaches for a handful of programs keep the conference competitive nationally.

Iowa State has never won 10 games in a season in their history. Had they played a full season in 2020, Matt Campbell’s squad likely would have reached that mark. Campbell’s success has kept him in conversations for coaching job openings elsewhere.

Baylor and Oklahoma State were typically not known for great football. For much of their program history, the schools struggled to have winning seasons. Last year, Mike Gundy and Dave Aranda led their squads to the conference title game.

Steve Sarkisian is trying to get Texas over the hump, while Brent Venables, Sonny Dykes and Joey McGuire are taking over new programs.

Although many are likely to disagree, here is my list of the best coaches in the Big 12 conference ahead of the 2022 season.

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Neal Brown

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Neal Brown is on the hot seat at West Virginia. Brown was not left the most desirable situation when he inherited the remains of Dana Holgorsen’s roster in 2019. Albeit, the third-year coach has been unable to elevate the team. Brown made positive moves this offseason on the offensive side. It appears West Virginia will adopt the air raid this season with Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator. In addition, JT Daniels transferred to run the offense at quarterback. Brown will need improved offensive play from his team this season.

Joey McGuire

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Joey McGuire has had one of the better offseason’s in college football. McGuire added offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, whose offense should put up great numbers at some point. The first year coach also has one of the nation’s top recruiting hauls to this point. How well he can run a program is still to be seen, but McGuire has done everything right so far.

Lance Leipold

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Leipold proved how well he could coach last season, defeating the Texas Longhorns in Austin in his first season. Leipold’s challenge will be to recruit players capable of making a bowl game. Last season, Kansas finished 2-10 but played a number of close games. The Jayhawks could win a couple more games this season.

Brent Venables

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Brent Venables is one of the better defensive minds in college football. However, any predicted success as head coach would be projection, as he’s never been a head coach before. Venables will look to bring dominant defensive line play to Oklahoma after building one of the better front fours in college football at Clemson.

Steve Sarkisian

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Steve Sarkisian went 5-7 last season, but will likely climb up this list with a winning season this year. In his first head coaching stint, Sarkisian took over for a winless Washington team in 2009 and improved their record by five wins. He followed that with four straight seasons of seven or more wins at Washington, earning a head coaching job at USC. Sarkisian did not fare as well with the Trojans. The Texas head coach has a lot to prove, but his offense showed signs it could take the next step this season.

Chris Klieman

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Chris Klieman cut his teeth at North Dakota State, where he famously won four national championship in five years as the Bison head coach. In that time he helped send Carson Wentz to the NFL Draft. Klieman has faced tougher obstacles at Kansas State. The Wildcats have gone 13-14 in conference play in his three seasons as head coach. Heading into his fourth year, Klieman will hope to ride momentum from a 42-20 Texas Bowl win over LSU last year.

Sonny Dykes

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Sonny Dykes pulled SMU out of death penalty purgatory. That feat alone should put him in the top four. At SMU, Dykes ran one of the more explosive offenses, as Tanner Mordecai and Shane Buechele became two of the top passers in college football. Dykes will likely duplicate the offensive success at TCU with Chandler Morris and elite receiver Quentin Johnston.

Matt Campbell

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Matt Campbell took Iowa State to their first Big 12 title game in 2020. Campbell is one of the conference’s best at creating mismatches with his offensive personnel. The Iowa State coach is 3-3 against Texas since joining the Cyclones. Campbell also has signature wins over top ten Oklahoma, TCU, and West Virginia teams in conference play.

Mike Gundy

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Mike Gundy has made Oklahoma State a consistent bowl game participant in his time in Stillwater. After quite of few Bedlam losses, Gundy finally got over that hump and made his first Big 12 title game. The Cowboys are no longer just an Air Raid team that struggles to get stops. The Oklahoma State coach transformed the team into one of the better defenses in the country. Gundy is adept at hiring great assistant coaches, two of which went on to coach for Ohio State.

Dave Aranda

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Dave Aranda had one of the more impressive turnarounds in college football last season. The Baylor head coach turned the Bears into a national powerhouse, winning a Big 12 championship against Oklahoma State and Sugar Bowl over Ole Miss. Hiring Jeff Grimes likely catapulted the Bears into contention. Grimes’ offense was easily one of the most improved teams in college football. Now Aranda will aim to follow last season with another Big 12 title.

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