STILLWATER – I’m going to start this article by simply stating this isn’t a bash piece. I’ve got a ton of respect for the writer, Shehan Jeyarajah, who is one of the best in the game. But I do take some umbrage with his rankings of the Big 12 coaches going into the season.
I can’t argue with a few of the selections, like Utah’s Kyle Whittingham at No. 2 or Chris Klieman at No. 3, Kenny Dillingham at No. 5, or even his bottom three of Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield at No. 14, UCF’s Scott Frost at No. 15 or Arizona’s Brent Brennan at No. 16.
This is a personal preference list.
With that being said, I can’t agree with Mike Gundy being No. 8 while Whittingham is No. 2, simply based on the reasoning provided in the article. Whittingham is given credit for his career in the Pac-12, and despite coming off two disappointing seasons in a row, is still second on the list. And he deserves to be towards the top of the list. He’s a great coach.
As for Gundy, he’s No. 8 behind Deion Sanders, who’s at No. 7. First off, in no world is Prime a better coach than Mike. Full stop.
But if we’re going to give credit to Whittingham for his career, despite having two bad seasons in a row, then it’s only fair Mike gets that same treatment. 18 consecutive bowl games, three Big 12 Coach of the Year awards and is well above .500 in his career in Stillwater.
If we’re going to use tenure and career, Mike is the best coach in the Big 12.
Here’s the complete ranking by Jeyarajah and CBS Sports.
- Matt Campbell – ISU
- Kyle Whittingham – Utah
- Chris Klieman – KSU
- Lance Leipold – KU
- Kenny Dillingham – ASU
- Kalani Sitake – BYU
- Deion Sanders – CU
- Mike Gundy – OSU
- Sonny Dykes – TCU
- Dave Aranda – BU
- Willie Fritz – Houston
- Rich Rodriguez – WVU
- Joey McGuire – TTU
- Scott Satterfield – Cincy
- Scott Frost – UCF
- Brent Brennan - UA
Be sure and tune into Robert’s radio show Wednesday morning on Triple Play Sports Radio as he’ll be interviewing Shehan. It’s not going to be an attack, just going to ask him about the list and how he feels the Big 12 will play out. I’m excited to hear what he has to say.
We’ll have a follow up piece following the interview in the morning.
