Brent Venables at No. 8 in CBS Sports Big 12 head coach rankings
This past winter saw the Big 12 turn over more than 25% of its coaching ranks as Brent Venables, Sonny Dykes, and Joey McGuire took over at Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas Tech.
Dykes is the only one of the three that enters 2022 with any head coaching experience after stops at Louisiana Tech, Cal and SMU. While Venables doesn’t have any head coaching experience, he’s spent the better part of the last 30 years learning from hall of fame coaches Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops and Dabo Swinney. As arguably the best defensive coordinator of the last decade, Venables gets to try his hand at building and running his first football program.
There’s a great deal of optimism surrounding Oklahoma under Venables, and there’s little doubt that the Sooners will have success. However, the turnover the Sooners endured this offseason leaves many wondering if Oklahoma can reassert itself as the king of the Big 12 in 2022.
In a deep league full of quality coaches, Venables checks in at No. 8 in CBS Sports Big 12 coach rankings for 2022. And that’s simply because he hasn’t done it before.
Here’s a look at how the coaches stack up in the Big 12 conference.
Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire talks to the crowd during the halftime of an NCAA college basketball game against North Florida, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, in Lubbock, Texas. Brad Tollefson/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal via AP
Next to Brent Venables, Joey McGuire comes in with the most fanfare of the three first-time head coaches in the Big 12. His success at Texas’ Cedar Hill High School and connections in the state has many believing he’s just what the doctor ordered to get the Red Raiders back to the top of the conference.
Neal Brown, West Virginia
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
If there were ever a year for Neal Brown and West Virginia to emerge from the back end of the Big 12 standings, 2022 has to be the year. Defense hasn’t been the problem for the Mountaineers, and now he has a strong offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell, and a good quarterback, J.T. Daniels, who has much to prove after several injury-stricken seasons.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma
April 23, 2022; Norman; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables reacts during the spring game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
He may not have any experience as a head coach, but Brent Venables came to Norman with a clear plan for his program. He’s rallied the fans, current and former players, and the rest of the athletic department together to help push the Sooners into the SEC. First, he’ll have to navigate a deep Big 12 to get Oklahoma back to the championship game after missing out in 2021.
Lance Leipold, Kansas
Head coach Lance Leipold of the Kansas Jayhawks prepares to walk out of the tunnel with his team before a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 23, 2021 in Lawrence, Kansas. Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
In his short time in Lawrence, Lance Leipold has already changed the culture and the mindset surrounding Kansas Jayhawks football. Their first half performance against Oklahoma, their win against Texas, and the way they finished the season with one-score losses to West Virginia and TCU has many believing the arrow is pointing up for the Jayhawks. What that means for their season outlook in 2022 is anyone’s guess, but Leipold had his team believing they could be competitive in the conference. And that alone is a masterful job.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Oct. 16, 2021; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is escorted off the field by police after a loss against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Steve Sarkisian heads into 2022 with a lot of momentum from a ton of recruiting success. At the same time, if he doesn’t help the Texas Longhorns make significant improvement, he may not be there long enough to use his stellar 2023 recruiting class led by Arch Manning.
After going 5-7 and losing to Kansas in 2021, there’s some doubt whether Sarkisian can translate the recruiting success onto the field. Texas is armed and loaded with premier talent on both sides of the football. Though it was fourth in the Big 12 preseason media rankings, it has the firepower to win the conference in 2022.
Sonny Dykes, TCU
Jan. 25, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas; TCU Horned Frogs head football coach Sonny Dykes and wife Kate during the game against the Texas Longhorns at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Though it’s a limited sample, one can’t help noticing the pattern developing in Sonny Dyke’s head coaching career. He helped create some good teams at Louisiana Tech, followed by a disappointing tenure at Cal, which was followed by quite a bit of success at SMU.
In his four seasons in the Power Five at Cal, he had one winning season, going 8-5 in 2015. Now, it’s difficult to recruit to Cal when you’re up against the Pac-12 powers, but it’s not like USC has been a powerhouse and UCLA has experienced some down years.
Can Dykes find more success at this Power Five stop or will it be back to the Group of Five in a few years?
Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Jan. 4, 2022; Houston, Texas; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman walks on the field before the 2022 Texas Bowl against the LSU Tigers at NRG Stadium. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
We’re just three years into Chris Klieman’s tenure at Kansas State. Despite some big wins, including a 2-1 record against Oklahoma, the Wildcats haven’t been able to rise above middle-of-the-pack status in the Big 12. There’s once again optimism for Kansas State as a dark-horse candidate with the addition of the veteran Adrian Martinez, but is he enough to elevate the Wildcats into contender status?
Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell celebrates with running back Breece Hall, left, and quarterback Brock Purdy, right, after Purdy tossed a passing touchdown to Hall in the third quarter against TCU on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Iowa State had arguably the most disappointing season in the Big 12 outside of Austin. The Cyclones were a top-10 team in the preseason and the trendy pick to make it to Arlington to play in the Big 12 title game. Instead, they went 7-6 and lost in the Cheez-It Bowl to Clemson. Campbell has never had a 10-win season in his 10 full seasons as a head coach at Toledo or Iowa State. Losing Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, Charlie Kolar, and Mike Rose to the NFL, it seems unlikely this will be the year Campbell gets his first 10-win season.
Dave Aranda, Baylor
Head coach Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears watches his team play against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half at McLane Stadium on Nov. 13, 2021 in Waco, Texas. Baylor won 27-14. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
The year one to two turnaround for Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears was incredible. The question now is can Aranda and the Bears sustain that success and build off it? They have arguably the best offensive line in the country and the consensus is their quarterback situation improved when they made the move from Gerry Bohanon to Blake Shapen. Aranda’s a good coach, but it takes more than good coaching to have success in a deep Big 12 Conference.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Nov. 2, 2019; Stillwater; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy looks back towards his bench during the fourth quarter of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Boone Pickens Stadium. Oklahoma State defeated TCU 34-27. Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
The conference’s longest-tenured head coach. He’s won one Big 12 championship in his 17 seasons in Stillwater but holds a .683 winning percentage and has gone 11-5 in bowl games. Since 2010, Gundy and the Cowboys have won 10 or more games seven times and he hasn’t had a losing season since his first at the helm.
