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Jackson's Big 12 head coach rankings for 2026. His top 16 coaches ranked from worst to first, including Kalani Sitake, Joey McGuire, Kenny Dillingham, Deion Sanders, and Eric Morris.
The Big 12 conference was one of the most competitive in 2024, but we saw Texas Tech dominate from start to finish in 2025. Behind a promising group of coaches, it will be interesting to see if one of the Big 12 teams can put a stop to the Red Raiders' run in 2026.
Like with any conference, some of these coaches enter 2026 on the hot seat, while others are building momentum as they look to turn their programs into consistent conference title and CFP contenders.
In this article, we'll rank all 16 Big 12 coaches, from worst to first. Let's dive in!
16. Collin Klein, Kansas State
Career Record: 0-0
Klein is the only man on this list to have never acted as a head coach for a single game, so he takes the No. 16 spot by default. However, it's a fun story to see the former Kansas State Heisman Trophy finalist return to the Wildcats after a strong two-year stretch calling offensive plays for Texas A&M.
It was merely a, "See you later."@CK_KleinCollin x #EMAW pic.twitter.com/ubL4RoWXyf
— K-State Athletics (@kstatesports) December 12, 2025
In Year 1, he'll get to work with quarterback Avery Johnson, who has shown flashes of brilliance in the last two seasons as the QB1. The 36-year-old Klein can stick around a long time if he's successful.
15. Morgan Scalley, Utah
Career Record: 1-0
Scalley has one win on his resume heading into Year 1 as a full-time head coach after longtime Utes coach Kyle Whittingham stepped down. It's always difficult to replace a program legend like Whittingham, but Scalley has been with the program since 2001 as a coach or player.
He played under Urban Meyer and coached under Whittingham for two decades, so there is optimism he can pick up where Whittingham left off and potentially take the team to the next level. Utah expects to win, and Scalley has a solid roster heading into 2026.
14. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State
Career Record: 33-9
Matt Campbell turned down several jobs to remain at Iowa State over the last half-decade, but the Penn State job lured him away from Ames. Now, Jimmy Rogers, who won an FCS National Championship at South Dakota State before leading Washington State for one season, will take over the Cyclones program.
His FCS national title counts for something, but Iowa State is a tough place to win, and we don't have a lot of data from his FBS career to lean on. He could be great, or he could flame out. For now, he takes the No. 14 spot.
13. Brent Brennan, Arizona
Career Record: 47-60
Arizona hiring Brent Brennan was somewhat of a head-scratcher after he went 34-48 in seven seasons with San Jose State, and it was a rough first season with the Wildcats. Arizona went 4-8 in 2024 despite having Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan.
However, Fifita bounced back in a big way in 2025, and Arizona tallied nine wins. Three of Arizona's four losses were by six or fewer points. Last year was a nice showing for Brennan, but he needs to put together a few strong seasons to rise on this list.
12. Scott Frost, UCF
Career Record: 40-45
During his first stint at UCF, Frost began his career with a 6-7 season. Then, he remarkably led the Knights to a 13-0 campaign in 2017, and some publications even recognized UCF as national champions. He immediately left for his alma mater, Nebraska, which ended poorly. Frost tallied a 16-31 record in just over four seasons with the Huskers before being fired in the middle of his fifth campaign.
2017 UCF
• 13-0 Overall Record
• 8-0 Conference Record
• 3rd Highest Margin of Victory (22.9)
• #6 in the Final AP Poll
• Averaged the most PPG in CFB, 48.2 Points Per Game (Offense)
• AAC Champion
• Only undefeated CFB team in 2017
• Defeated Auburn in the Peach Bowl… pic.twitter.com/fAqb4SUhMT— College Football Report (@CFBReport) June 1, 2023
Now back in Orlando, he has a lot to prove. His 13-0 team was awesome, but it was his only team with a winning record in eight years as a head coach. After a 5-7 showing in 2025, Frost needs to improve, and fast.
11. Deion Sanders, Colorado
Career Record: 43-27
Deion Sanders had a great run at Jackson State, winning two conference titles and posting a 27-6 record in three seasons at the helm. At Colorado, it hasn't been as pretty overall. The program has received a ton of hype and attention, but the results have been underwhelming. His best season (2024) ended with a 9-4 record and a loss in the Alamo Bowl, and he is 7-17 otherwise.
Colorado was in a bad place when he arrived, and he deserves the chance to turn it around. But for now, it's difficult to rank him any higher than 11th.
10. Dave Aranda, Baylor
Career Record: 36-37
After an abysmal 2-7 debut season in 2020, Dave Aranda looked like a potential future star at the head coach spot after winning 12 games and winning the Big 12 title in 2021. The Bears lost just two games by a combined 12 points that season, and Aranda's defense showed up in a big way.
Since then, it's been a rough showing for the former LSU defensive coordinator. Baylor is 22-28 over the last four years and has not won a bowl game. Aranda's stock has cratered in recent years, and his defense prevented Baylor from having a respectable campaign last year. Aranda is firmly on the hot seat heading into 2026. The only reason he is ranked this highly stems from his accomplishments early in his Baylor tenure.
9. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
Career Record: 91-70
Scott Satterfield hasn't been successful at the Power Four level, posting a 40-46 record in four seasons at Louisville and three seasons at Cincinnati. His 2025 Bearcats team started the year 7-1 and was ranked as highly as No. 21 in the country, but it lost steam and lost its final five contests.
There may not be much separation between him, Sanders, and Aranda, but his three straight Sun Belt titles with Appalachian State from 2016-2018 give him a slight edge on this list. He's probably on the hot seat in 2026, too, though.
8. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
Career Record: 194-137-2
During his first stint at West Virginia from 2001 to 2007, Rich Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to five straight seasons of at least eight wins and four Big East titles in five seasons. He left for Michigan in 2008, only to flame out with a 15-22 record in three years. He had some strong seasons out of the gate at Arizona, but he ultimately fell out of favor there, too, and did not hold a head coaching gig from 2018 to 2021.
Rodriguez landed the head job at Jacksonville State in 2022, and he successfully led the Gamecocks in the program's jump from the FCS to Conference USA. He tallied an 18-8 record in the school's first two years of FBS play, and he captured a CUSA title in 2024. Now, he's looking to revive West Virginia after a 4-8 showing in his first year back with the program. Can he recapture the magic in Morgantown? It'll be fun to find out.
7. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State
Career Record: 46-34
This ranking is aggressive for a coach without a long history of success at the P4 level, but this demonstrates confidence in the 40-year-old. In just a relatively short time, Morris has helped develop Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, Cam Ward at Incarnate Word and Washington State, and Drew Mestemaker at North Texas. As a freshman, Mestemaker led the country in passing yards (4,379). He ranked second in passing touchdowns (34), behind only Fernando Mendoza (41), who played in two more games.
Eric Morris:
• recruited Patrick Mahomes to Texas Tech
• developed Cam Ward from a 0-star recruit to the #1 pick
• has Drew Mestemaker as FBS’s leading passer (3,469 yds) after he never started a varsity gameMorris has led UNT to 10 wins for the 1st time since 1947.
In his… pic.twitter.com/fhOQ0G5qRf
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) November 25, 2025
Morris has "offensive genius" written all over him, and he's tallied double-digit seasons in his final campaigns at Incarnate Word and North Texas. He's a strong hire for Oklahoma State, as Morris drew interest from several other P4 programs. At the very least, the Cowboys should get back to having an explosive offense, as they used to under Mike Gundy.
6. Lance Leipold, Kansas
Career Record: 173-74
Lance Leipold hasn't sustained big-time success at Kansas, but he's a six-time DIII National Champion and built a winner at Buffalo before heading to Lawrence. Kansas is arguably one of the toughest jobs in Power Four football, and five-win seasons are more impressive than you might think. Prior to Leipold taking the job, Kansas won three or fewer games in 11 straight seasons.
In his five seasons with the Jayhawks, Kansas has four straight seasons of at least five wins, including a nine-win campaign in 2023. All things considered, he's a clear top-half coach in the conference and one of the most underrated in the country.
5. Willie Fritz, Houston
Career Record: 222-127
Willie Fritz has been a head coach for 33 straight seasons in stops with Blinn Junior College, Central Missouri, Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern, Tulane, and Houston. The 65-year-old has two junior college national titles and six overall conference titles on his resume. He built up the Green Wave program before Jon Sumrall took it over, and he now has Houston on the rise.
The Cougars posted back-to-back 4-8 seasons upon joining the Big 12, but Fritz led the program to a 10-3 campaign in 2025. With quarterback Conner Weigman back in 2026, Houston is a team to watch in the Big 12 race. Fritz wins. It's as simple as that.
4. Sonny Dykes, TCU
Career Record: 107-80
Sonny Dykes failed at his first power-conference stop at Cal from 2013 to 2016, winning just 19 games in four seasons. However, he turned things around at SMU, winning 10 games in 2019, which was their most since 1984 at the time. His success there propelled him to the TCU job, where he led the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2022.
Sure, TCU got demolished in that game, but even to be there after a win over Michigan in the semifinals was highly improbable. TCU is coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons capped off by bowl wins. Dykes likely won't have a roster ready to compete for a title in the NIL era, but he continues to put together solid teams.
3. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State
Career Record: 22-17
At just 28 years old, Kenny Dillingham earned his first offensive coordinator job at Auburn. He then worked as Florida State's OC for two seasons before coaching Bo Nix again for one year at Oregon. He was named Arizona State's head coach at 32, and after a rough 3-9 start, he led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff Berth in Year 2.
Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State:
• Year 1 - 3-9 Record
• Year 2 - 11-2 Record
- Big 12 Champion 🏆
- CFB Playoff Appearance 🔥• Wins outright conference championship for Arizona State for the first time since 1996 pic.twitter.com/9NCB141XLM
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) December 7, 2024
Arizona State was picked to finish last in the conference that year, but behind Sam Leavitt and Cam Skattebo, the program won 11 games, including four over ranked opponents. And the Sun Devils gave Texas all it could handle in the Peach Bowl. Dillingham led the team to eight wins last year despite being without Leavitt for much of the season. It'll be interesting to see how he performs with former Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley under center.
2. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
Career Record: 35-18
Yes, Texas Tech had a wide talent advantage in the Big 12 last season, but it's tough not to rank McGuire among the top coaches in the conference when you compare him to the others. McGuire hasn't posted a losing season in four years with the Red Raiders, and TTU easily won the Big 12 last season en route to 12 wins. The team's only regular-season loss came with its starting QB out of the lineup.
The Red Raiders have a lot to replace from last year's defense, but former Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby should provide a strong boost to their passing offense. Anything but winning the Big 12 again and going to the College Football Playoff next year would be a letdown for McGuire, and it would move him down this list.
1. Kalani Sitake, BYU
Career Record: 84-45
Sitake has done an incredible job at BYU, which is why Penn State reportedly came calling before the Big 12 title game last year. But he decided to stay in Provo, which is great news for Cougars fans. BYU has four seasons of at least 10 wins over the last six years, including at least 11 wins in three of those campaigns. Sitake has been steady, and his only two losses last year came against Texas Tech, all while starting a true freshman limited passer at quarterback.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 28, 2025
Bear Bachmeier should improve heading into next year, and workhorse running back LJ Martin is back. You can count on BYU's defense being aggressive and fundamentally sound, so the sky is the limit again in 2026. Oh, and Texas Tech isn't on BYU's schedule next year. Expect another terrific coaching job from the BYU alum.
