Big 12 football coaching hot seat tiers: How safe is Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy?

The Big 12 became the Chaos Conference in Year 1 of the post OU/Texas era. 

BYU, Colorado and Arizona State are at the top. Oklahoma State, Utah and Arizona are occupying the basement. The preseason poll was right just as long as you read it from the bottom up. 

But for as unhinged as this Big 12 season has been (and we still have two weeks to go), the offseason coaching carousel is shaping up to be … kind of calm?

Today we’re sorting Big 12 coaches into tiers. Is their seat hot or not? How does their school feel about them? 

More:Make way for Colorado football atop the Big 12 power rankings

“You’re OUR coach of the year” 

Only one can win Big 12 Coach of the Year, but each has a worthy case. And ironclad job security entering next season. 

Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

  • Year: Second 
  • Record: 11-11 (5-2 Big 12) 

Picked dead last in the preseason, the Sun Devils are very much alive to make it to the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas. Dillingham hasn’t just cleaned up the huge mess left by Herm Edwards. In two years time, Dillingham has remodeled and rejuvenated the program. The ASU alum could be the guy in Tempe for a long time.

Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy talks with Arizona head football coach Kenny Dillingham before the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov., 2, 2024.

Willie Fritz, Houston

  • Year: First
  • Record: 4-6 (3-4 Big 12) 

OK, Fritz isn’t going to win coach of the year, but he’s deserving of an honorable mention. Houston was picked 15th in the conference preseason poll, but the Cougars have exceeded expectations with three Big 12 wins — the same number as Arizona, Utah and OSU combined. One season in, Houston has to feel good about its hire. 

Deion Sanders, Colorado 

  • Year: Second
  • Record: 12-10 (6-1 Big 12) 

Colorado is more than a sideshow. The Buffs are a good football team. Two-way stud Travis Hunter should win the Heisman, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders should get Heisman votes. And Colorado’s defense has been better than its offense. A tip of the cap to Coach Prime, whom I very much doubted. Can Colorado hang onto him?

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes walks across the field before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Kalani Sitake, BYU

  • Year: Ninth
  • Record: 70-42 (8-8 Big 12) 

The Cougars have won at least nine games in four of Sitake’s nine seasons at alma mater BYU. Despite the slip-up against Kansas, BYU is still in Big 12 Championship/College Football Playoff contention. Sitake has near-universal approval. 

More:Will Oklahoma State football’s young players see more action in final 2024 season games?

“We’re in this together” 

Each has established a baseline of success at hard-to-win places. It’s not always pretty, but their schools are happy to have them. 

Matt Campbell, Iowa State 

  • Year: Ninth
  • Record: 61-50 (43-36 Big 12) 

The Cyclones are trying to make the Big 12 Championship Game for the second time in the last five seasons. Campbell has achieved unprecedented success at Iowa State. He’ll coach the Cyclones for as long as he wishes. 

Sonny Dykes, TCU 

  • Year: Third
  • Record: 24-13 (16-9) 

Dykes bought himself a lot of time by taking TCU to the national championship in his first season. The Horned Frogs were bad last season, but they’ve rebounded this year. Dykes also has the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big 12 coming in, according to 247Sports. 

Chris Klieman, Kansas State 

  • Year: Sixth
  • Record: 46-27 (30-22 Big 12) 

It’s been a disappointing year for the Wildcats, who many believed (myself included) were the class of the Big 12. K-State’s floor will always be high with Klieman at the helm. 

Lance Leipold, Kansas 

  • Year: Fourth
  • Record: 21-27 (12-22 Big 12)

Kansas got off to a dismal start, but the Jayhawks have won three of their last four games, including back-to-back wins against Iowa State and BYU. Kansas wasn’t the Big 12 contender we thought it would be, but don’t lose sight of just how far the Jayhawks have come under Leipold. 

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech

  • Year: Third
  • Record: 21-15 (14-11 Big 12) 

The Red Raiders have won at least four Big 12 games in each of McGuire’s three seasons. From 2016 to 2021, Texas Tech never won more than three Big 12 games in a season. McGuire has quietly done a good job in Lubbock. 

More:What should Oklahoma State football prioritize in final two weeks of 2024 season?

“So … how long are we going to do this?” 

They’re the best coaches in school history. They’ve also grossly underachieved this season. Perhaps the time is right to step aside. 

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

  • Year: 20th
  • Record: 169-86 (102-70 Big 12) 

What a disaster. An OSU team that had College Football Playoff aspirations is still looking for its first Big 12 win. This is Gundy’s worst coaching job of his 20-year career, and then he had to go and alienate some of OSU’s staunchest fans. Gundy will almost certainly be back for a 21st season. He has a lot of making up to do. 

Kyle Whittingham, Utah 

  • Year: 20th
  • Record: 166-85 (1-6 Big 12)

Whittingham, unlike Gundy, has hinted at retirement. This would be a sour ending to a fantastic career. Nothing has gone right for the Utes in their maiden Big 12 season. 

More:Big 12 Conference to air football, basketball games on TNT, Max as part of ESPN deal

“We’re not mad, just disappointed” 

Uh oh, those dreaded words. 

Brent Brennan, Arizona

  • Year: First
  • Record: 4-6 (2-5 Big 12) 

Star quarterback/receiver duo Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan came back even after Jedd Fisch left. And the Wildcats flopped in their Big 12 debut. Not exactly a great start to the Brent Brennan era in Tucson. 

“We have a decision to make” 

And it could go either way. 

Dave Aranda, Baylor

  • Year: Fifth
  • Record: 29-29 (19-24 Big 12) 

The Bears made their decision. Aranda will return in 2025 as head coach. Aranda was coaching for his job this season, and he apparently did enough to save it. Baylor is 6-4 (4-3 Big 12) with two winnable games left: at Houston, vs. Kansas. Baylor probably needs to be as good or better next season for Aranda to stick around. 

Neal Brown, West Virginia

  • Year: Sixth
  • Record: 36-34 (24-27 Big 12) 

Brown’s seat is perpetually warm. A 9-4 campaign last season was enough to keep his job. If Brown is to be safe, the Mountaineers need to beat UCF at home and Texas Tech on the road to close the season. And then this time next year we can have this same conversation all over again. 

Gus Malzahn, UCF 

  • Year: Fourth
  • Record: 28-22 (5-11 Big 12) 

Malzahn led UCF to back-to-back nine-win seasons in his first two years on the job. But that was in the American Athletic Conference. The Knights have struggled in Big 12 play. Enough to put Malzahn’s job in jeopardy? 

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati 

  • Year: Second
  • Record: (8-14, 4-12 Big 12) 

The Bearcats have lost three straight, and they finish the season at Kansas State and vs. TCU. If Cincinnati misses a bowl game, you have to think Satterfield is on the hottest of seats entering next season.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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