Big 12 football has been blessed with excellent coaches for quite some time now. In fact, two of the three longest-tenured coaches in college football reside in this conference.
However, the national media seems to forget that the league even exists when it comes to putting together their “Top 10” lists.
On3’s JD Pickell—a former wide receiver in the Big 12 for what it’s worth—recently put together a list of the Top 10 coaches in college football, and there wasn’t a single Big 12 name to be found.
Nobody is going to argue with names like Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, or Dabo Swinney. Those guys have paid their dues and won national championships. Any list without them can’t be taken seriously.
With that being said, Kenny Dillingham has proven as much as most of the other names on this list. The same can be said for Matt Campbell and Kalani Sitake, as well.
To stand here and pretend that the Big 12 is operating with the same levels of talent as the Big Ten and SEC are would be asinine, but I saw Kenny Dillingham go toe-to-toe with the third-best coach on this list, and in many scenarios, outcoach Sarkisian.
What Matt Campbell has squeezed out of Iowa State football is incredible, especially in the transfer portal age. Heck, even Deion Sanders made a case after taking Colorado to a bowl game against the odds.
Lists like this one are difficult to assess objectively, but there’s an argument that the Big 12 deserves to have a couple names on this list after what we saw in the 2024 season.
