It's a season of change across the Big 12 with three new coaches entering the league, headlined by the first outside hire at Oklahoma since 1999. However, the turnover has only highlighted the strength of the league's returning coaches at championship-contending programs.
Longtime Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is in the middle of a strong second act at his alma mater with a defense-first team, while Baylor's Dave Aranda nabbed headlines nationwide after leading his squad to a Big 12 title in 2021. Texas' Steve Sarkisian rose in the rankings despite a miserable debut, while West Virginia's Neal Brown fell dramatically. Texas Tech's Joey McGuire and Oklahoma's Brent Venables both enter 2022 as first-time coaches, and TCU's Sonny Dykes joined the Horned Frogs after a successful tenure at rival SMU.
Next year, there will be four new coaches to add to the Big 12 coach rankings with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining in 2023. For now, here are the current ranking of Big 12 coaches as voted on earlier in the offseason by the CBS Sports staff.
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Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-65
2022 Big 12 Coach Rankings
| 1 | |
| Mike Gundy (10 overall): Gundy has been terminally disrespected during his time in Stillwater, but he now takes his rightful place at the top of the conference. The Cowboys earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game and a Fiesta Bowl victory in 2021 to cap off Gundy's seventh 10-win season in the past 11 years. For context: prior to Gundy's arrival, OSU had not won 10 games in a season since he and some guy named Barry Sanders played in Stillwater. Last year: 3 in the Big 12 | |
| 2 | |
| Dave Aranda (11 overall): Meet perhaps the biggest riser in the history of the CBS Sports coach rankings. Not only did Aranda jump 51 spots in the overall rankings after leading the Bears to a program-record 12 wins, but he jumped from No. 10 to No. 2 in the Big 12. Two years is still a limited sample size, but Aranda hasn't come anywhere close to his ceiling in Waco. Last year: 10 in the Big 12 | |
| 3 | |
| Matt Campbell (12 overall): Campbell's luster wore off slightly after his first disappointing season in Ames. After starting 2021 in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll, the Cyclones finished 7-6 with five of the six losses coming by one score. Now, Iowa State enters a new era with Brock Purdy, Mike Rose and numerous other key pieces off to the NFL. Campbell is still a well-respected candidate, but he has a little more work to do to stay at the top. Last year: 2 in the Big 12 | |
| 4 | |
| Chris Klieman (31 overall): Outside of the tumultuous pandemic year, Klieman has brought consistency to Kansas State in the post-Bill Snyder era. If the Wildcats' hot finish to 2021 is to be trusted, they could be a dark horse conference championship contender in 2022. Pushing into the top three of this ranking will be a tall task, but a breakout season could launch Klieman permanently into the top 25 nationally. Last year: 6 in the Big 12 | |
| 5 | |
| Sonny Dykes (35 overall): I'm a big Dykes fan, but even I was surprised to see the ex-SMU coach ranked so high in his return to the Power Five ranks. Dykes did a heck of a job across town, leading the Mustangs to a 25-10 record over his final three seasons and the first 10-win season since 1983. However, SMU failed to hit another gear and reach a conference championship game. A move to TCU could help Dykes unlock that upside. He has grown tremendously during his tenure as a coach. Last year: N/A in the Big 12 | |
| 6 | |
| Steve Sarkisian (39 overall): This is easily the most head-scratching ranking on the board, not even counting that Sark was overrated heading into last year. Sark had a dreadful debut in Austin, as he finished with the worst record for a first-year Longhorns coach since 1937 and the worst losing streak for the program since 1956. Sure, getting back-to-back No. 1 quarterback recruits should help, but I'm in no rush to elevate Sarkisian before the Longhorns win anything. In seven full seasons as a head coach at Washington, USC and Texas, Sarkisian has never lost fewer than four games. Last year: 8 in the Big 12 | |
| 7 | |
| Lance Leipold (42 overall): I'm not exactly sure what Leipold did to drop seven spots overall and two in the Big 12. He led the Jayhawks to a road win over Texas and provided a promising second half to the year after joining late in the offseason. Needless to say, the month of November was promising enough that Leipold should easily continue to tread water as he builds Kansas back to competitiveness. Last year: 5 in the Big 12 | |
| 8 | |
| Brent Venables (45 overall): Venables debuts as one of the highest-ranked first-time coaches on our list, but it's well deserved. The longtime defensive coordinator has contributed to a streak of 10-win seasons dating back to 2010, along with three national championship rings between Clemson and Oklahoma. He has a unique challenge taking over for the first Sooners coach to leave Norman for another college job since 1947, but Venables is up to the task. Last year: N/A in the Big 12 | |
| 9 | |
| Neal Brown (52 overall): Brown's stock slipped further after his second losing season in three years -- the first such stretch in Morgantown since 2001. More than 20 players entered the transfer portal this offseason, including several key contributors. Brown is praying for a second act after hiring Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator and bringing in former five-star quarterback JT Daniels. Will it be enough? Last year: 7 in the Big 12 | |
| 10 | |
| Joey McGuire (62 overall): McGuire has never been a head coach -- or even a coordinator -- but don't expect him to stay this low for long. The former Texas high school coach built also-ran Cedar Hill (Texas) into a state power and is already off to a blazing start off the field in Lubbock. McGuire built an outstanding staff with proven coordinators, and he has the Red Raiders in the top 15 in the recruiting rankings. Buy McGuire stock. Last year: N/A in the Big 12 | |