Early-season losses to LSU and Oklahoma led to a five-loss season, and Herman enters his fourth year still trying to close the gap with five-time defending champion Oklahoma. That’s the trick with the Big 12 coach rankings. Lincoln Riley is a no-doubt choice at No. 1 and a top-five coach in our 1-130 rankings. The rest of the conference is trying to catch up. Herman, however, faces more pressure than the rest of those coaches because of the Texas brand.
MORE 2020 COACH RANKINGSACC | Big Ten | Pac 12
Texas is a half-game behind Oklahoma State for the second-best record in the conference the past three seasons, but we still picked Herman at No. 2 in our Big 12 coach rankings. At least for this year.
Here’s a deeper look at our Big 12 coach rankings for 2020:
2020 Big 12 Coach Rankings
Quick reads
— Kansas State’s Chris Klieman led the Wildcats to eight wins — including a victory against Oklahoma — in his first season. That led to a 37-spot jump in our overall rankings. Klieman showed he’s a championship-caliber coach at North Dakota State and continues to build on that in Manhattan.
— The other second-year coaches struggled in Year 1. West Virginia’s Neal Brown, Kansas’ Les Miles and Texas Tech’s Matt Wells combined for a 12-24 record in 2019. Brown and Miles will have to do better than that to hold on to their spots in the overall top 50.
— This is an interesting year for Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy. The Cowboys are 25-14 the past three seasons, which is the second-best record in the conference. Oklahoma State also is a trendy Playoff pick given that Chuba Hubbard returned for another season. Gundy is primed for a big season, but it’s less hyped than Texas and Herman. Can the Cowboys deliver?
— Dave Aranda is our lowest-ranked coach, and the longtime LSU assistant made an interesting choice with Baylor. The Bears are coming off an 11-win season under Matt Rhule, and it will be interesting to see whether Aranda can keep that momentum rolling.
