Ranking coaches in college football is a very difficult thing to do. A lot of different factors go into how well a coach does. Do they coach at a big names university? How nice are their facilities? How good are their assistant coaches? Did they inherit a team loaded with talent or did they make a bad team great? All of these things and more have to be looked at when ranking coaches. Here are early Big-12 coach rankings.
10. Charlie Weis, Kansas: 1-11 (2012-present)
Weiss was a great offensive coordinator in the NFL with the Patriots, but that just didn't carry over to being a head coach. His first job as a head coach at Notre Dame was not a success. Yes, he ended up with a winning record, but he went 16-21 in his last three seasons there. His record last year at Kansas was 1-11 and while they were more competitive, they still ranked as one of the worst in the country on both offense and defense. Weis is not the answer in Kansas.
9. Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech: 0-0 (First Season)
Kingsbury is the only first-year head coach on this list. Kingsbury started coaching at Houston with Kevin Sumlin in 2008. He worked his way up the coaching ranks there to become offensive coordinator quickly and helped Case Keenum throw for almost 20,000 yards. He then went to Texas A&M with Sumlin and helped lead Johnny Manziel to a Heisman Trophy. Kingsbury now returns to the school that he played at for four years and seems like a perfect fit.
8. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: 24-27 (2009-present, four years)
If you just looked at record, Rhoads wouldn't look like a good coach at all. However, Iowa State is one of the toughest places to coach in all of college football. He has led them to three bowl games including a victory over Minnesota in the 2009 Insight Bowl. He has beaten rival Iowa twice and gotten upset victories over Texas and Oklahoma State.
7. Dana Holgorsoen, West Virginia: 17-9 (2011-present, two years)
Holgorsen is one of the best offensive minds in college football. He showed that at Texas Tech, Houston and Oklahoma State before he finally got a head coaching opportunity at West Virginia. In his first season there, he led them to a 10-3 record and a 70-33 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Last season started of great, winning their first five games. However then they proceeded to lose five games in a row before winning their final two of the season. Holgorsen has proven he is a great offensive mind, but West Virginias defense was terrible. If he wants to be one of the top coaches in the Big-12, he has to correct that.
6. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: 67-35 (2005-present, eight years)
Mike Gundy bleeds Oklahoma State orange. He played there, he was then an assistant coach there and now he is the head coach there. His first three seasons weren't great, they just posted a 18-19 record. Then Gundy went on to lead them to five straight seasons of at least 8 wins. In 2011 Oklahoma State won the outright Big-12 title and beat Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. He is no longer just the "I'm a man. I'm 40" guy.
5. Mack Brown, Texas: 150-43 (1998-present)
If you were ranking these coaches three to five years ago, Brown would be at or near the top of the list. However, the last three years in Austin have not been kind to Brown. Since losing to Alabama in the 2009 National Championship, Texas has not been the same. Part of Brown's problem might be the success he has had at Texas in the past, but he won't last much longer if he doesn't get this team back to where it was, contending for the Big-12 title and the National Championship.
4. Art Briles, Baylor: 33-30 (2008-present)
Briles is another coach whose overall record doesn't blow you away, but he has turned around a couple of pretty bad teams. First, he took over Houston and compiled a 34-28 record there in five years. He then took over a Baylor team that was 31-94 in the 10 years before Briles got there. Baylor has won 25 games over the last three years and made three consecutive bowls. They also consistently have one of the best offenses in the country now. Briles is a name to watch going forward.
3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: 149-37 (1999-present, 14 years)
A lot of people will look at this and wonder how Stoops isn't higher. I admit, I almost put him at two, but he has one glaring thing going against him. He is 1-5 in his last six BCS bowl games. Other than that Stoops is the model of consistency for a head coach. Oklahoma has won at least 10 games in 11 of 14 seasons Stoops has been the coach. Stoops won a National Championship in 2000 and has won a share of the Big-12 title nine times. If Stoops can start winning the big game, he could be at the top of this list.
2. Gary Patterson, TCU: 116-36 (2000-present, 13 years)
Gary Patterson has overcame all obstacles and all conferences he has been in with TCU. However, none of them have been as good as the Big-12. Patterson has eight seasons of ten or more wins at TCU since 2000 when he was promoted having had no FBS coaching experience. From 2005-2011 TCU lost only seven games in the Mountain West Conference. In order to continue to be ranked this high Patterson is going to have to keep winning games like he has in the past. However, With him at the helm I see no reason to think TCU won't continue to be one of the nations top teams.
1. Bill Snyder, Kansas State: 170-85-1 (1989-2005, 2009-present, 21 years)
Bill Snyder is probably the best coach that few people have heard of. From 1971-1988 the Wildcats recorded one winning season and one bowl appearance. Snyder only won six games his first two seasons, but then from 1993-2003, Kansas State recorded 10 straight years of at least nine wins. Snyder retired in 2005, but after three years of failure under Ron Prince for Kansas State, Snyder came back in 2009. Already since he has returned, he has Kansas State in the mix for the Big-12 title and the National Championship. Snyder isn't flashy, but you won't find a better prepared team in the country than one coached by him.