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Oklahoma football: How do the Big 12 coaches rank in 2021?

By Chip Rouse

Dec 28, 2019; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley reacts during the 2019 Peach Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the LSU Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2019; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley reacts during the 2019 Peach Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the LSU Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley may not be the oldest or longest tenured of the Big 12 coaches, but he is clearly the one with the most success.

That is also the benefit of heading up the Oklahoma football brand, one of the most recognized and respected programs in college football.

The 37-year-old Riley not only is ranked No. 1 by the Sporting News among current Big 12 head coached, but ranks No. 3 nationally, according to SN, behind Nick Saban of Alabama and Dabo Swinney of Clemson.

Riley is not the only Big 12 coach, though, that Sporting News has in its top-10 nationally. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell is in the No. 9 spot (No. 2 in the Big 12) just behind Kirby Smart of Georgia and Florida’s Dan Mullen, but ahead of such notables as James Franklin of Penn State, Ed Orgeron of LSU and Jim Harbaugh of Michigan.

Here is how Sporting News ranked the current crop of Big 12 coaches, three of whom are in their first or second season coaching in the Big 12 (their overall FBS coaching record in parentheses):

1. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma (45-8, .849)

2. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (71-43, .623)

3. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (137-67, (.672)

4. Gary Patterson, TCU (178-74, .706)

5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas (46-35, .568)

6. Neal Brown, West Virginia (46-27, .630)

7. Lance Leipold, Kansas (37-33, .529)

8. Chris Klieman, Kansas State (12-11, .522)

9. Matt Wells, Texas Tech (52-48, .520)

10. Dave Aranda, Baylor (2-7, .222)

The top four Big 12 coaches in the Sporting News ranking do not surprise me. In fact these four rank in the top-25 nationally, which is a good representation for the Big 12. Sarkisian’s ranking is more the result of his affiliation with major schools previously, but also because of Texas’ blue-blood status in college football.

What surprised me the most was seeing Leipold, who is in his first season Kansas, ranked as high as seventh. He may be a great coach, but he is taking over a team that has won a total of three Big 12 games in the last five seasons and doesn’t look to be that much better heading into the 2021 season.

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