who the heck is Lance Leipold?
Photo by Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer
Oklahoma State Football
New College Football Coach Rankings and Gundy Holds Steady
STILLWATER – On Wednesday CBS Sports released their annual ranking of Power Five college football head coaches. It is list season as spring football is over and the wait for the football season is on. This is a list I think is usually pretty fair and makes sense. It is not a one-person creation as the entire college football staff puts a ballot in and the list is the product of tallying all the ballots. I can live with that a lot more than I can one person’s opinion.
I did feel the need to throw in a couple of purely factual and results-based lists in with the CBS Sports tally. I thought the list of top 10 winningest coaches (win total) was pertinent and then I had to throw in a list of how all the coaches in the Big 12 stand. On that list for full transparency, I have the total collegiate record of each coach, their Big 12 record in parenthesis, and then their win percentage in Big 12 only next to that record.
We start with the CBS Sports rankings.
| Ranking | Coach | School | Comment |
| 1. | Nick Saban | Alabama | Absolutely, no one else can have this spot |
| 2. | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | Terry Don Phillips can identify coaching talent |
| 3. | Lincoln Riley | Oklahoma | He is definitely top five this early in his career |
| 4. | Ryan Day | Ohio State | He’s been good since taking over |
| 5. | Brian Kelly | Notre Dame | Two CFP invites over the past three seasons |
| 6. | Jimbo Fisher | Texas A&M | Has the Aggies poised for huge season |
| 7. | Kirby Smart | Georgia | I'd like to see a little more |
| 8. | Pat Fitzgerald | Northwestern | Gets a lot of credit for winning at Northwestern |
| 9. | Matt Campbell | Iowa State | Has had two really strong seasons at a school not used to it |
| 10. | Dan Mullen | Florida | Top 10? |
| 11. | Ed Orgeron | LSU | One hit wonder? |
| 12. | Mack Brown | UNC | Should be ranked higher, hall of famer in my book |
| 13. | James Franklin | Penn State | Has risen from Vanderbilt, but bad year in 2020 |
| 14. | Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Ranks behind Gundy in record and wins |
| 15. | Mike Gundy | Okla.State | As consistent as any coach on college ranks |
| 16. | Mario Cristobal | Oregon | Still early in tenure and yet to make mark |
| 17. | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | Dean of Big 10 coaches very consistent |
| 18. | Paul Chryst | Wisconsin | Threatened a couple of times with winning Big 10 |
| 19. | Gary Patterson | TCU | Long run of consistency until last few years |
| 20. | Tom Allen | Indiana | Amazing run since taking over Hoosiers |
I really like what I’ve seen out of Tom Allen, both as a scheme and X-and-O coach and especially as a motivator and program manager. Nothing to do with the last name, I promise.
Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer
Mike Gunt]dy and Gary Patterson
Three ways to compare is always better than one.
The CBS rankings get a little straightening out from the winning active coaches list. I sure think overall, and based on last season that Mike Gundy should be ahead of Kyle Whittingham and James Franklin, but I can’t put Gundy ahead of Mack Brown.
| Ranking | Coach | School | W/L Record |
| 1. | Nick Saban | Toledo/Mich.St./LSU/Alabama | 256-65-1 |
| 2. | Mack Brown | Tulane/UNC/Texas/UNC | 253-127-1 |
| 3. | Gary Patterson | TCU | 178-74 |
| 4. | Frank Solich | Nebraska/Ohio | 173-101 |
| 5. | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | 168-106 |
| 6. | Mike Leach | Tex.Tech/Wash.St./Miss.St. | 143-97 |
| 7. | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 140-33 |
| 8. | Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | 137-67 |
| Tied-9th | Brian Kelly | C.Mich./Cincinnati/ND | 134-61 |
| Tied -9th | Kyle Whittingham | Utah | 134-66 |
Finally, smaller sample size of coaches, but it will always be more accurate to compare coaches in competition head-to-head. I find it is a great way to discover who can do more with more, who can do more with less, and who can do well with what they have or well with what they don’t have.
| Rank | Coach | School | Record (Record at Big 12 school) Pct. in Big 12 |
| 1. | Lincoln Riley | OU | 45-8 (45-8) .849 |
| 2. | Mike Gundy | OSU | 137-67 (137-67) .672 |
| 3. | Gary Patterson | TCU | 178-74 (69-44) .611 |
| 4. | Matt Campbell | Iowa St. | 70-43 (35-28) .555 |
| 5. | Chris Klieman | K-State | 81-17 (12-11) .522 |
| 6. | Neal Brown | WVU | 46-27 (11-11) .500 |
| 7. | Matt Wells | Tex.Tech | 52-48 (8-14) .363 |
| 8. | Dave Aranda | Baylor | 2-7 (2-7) .222 |
| 9. | Lance Leipold | Kansas | 146-39 (0-0) .000 |
| 10. | Steve Sarkisian | Texas | 46-35 (0-0) .000 |
Lincoln Riley has earned his ranking, but so has Gundy. Another conference championship and win or two over Oklahoma would make Gundy even more centented in his legacy. He is absolutely the greatest coach in Oklahoma State
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