Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Coach Rankings 2021
10. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
The Big 12 Championships keep rolling right in, and the consistency and greatness doesn’t drop all that much even when it’s not a College Football Playoff season. Yeah, it would be nice to finally make some noise in the tournament, and he’s got the team to do it.
Record With Team: 45-8
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 10, 2019: 10, 2018: 7
Oklahoma Preview | Schedule
9. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Campbell is coming off a Big 12 title game appearance and has what should be one of the top ten teams in the country coming into the season. You’ve won as many outright conference championships as Iowa State has – Campbell has done wonders to make the program a major player.
Record With Team: 35-28
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 7, 2019: 8, 2018: 6
Iowa State Preview | Schedule
– 2021 CFN Preseason Big 12 Rankings
8. Lance Leiplold, Kansas
It’s going to take a while, and Leipold will get plenty of time to try cleaning up the mess. There’s no bigger rebuilding job among the Power Five programs, but he has the coaching chops to to do it. This year, anything positive will be celebrated.
Record With Team: 0-0
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: NA, 2019: NA, 2018: NA
Kansas Preview | Schedule
7. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Kirk Ferentz and Gary Patterson. Those are the only two head coaches who’ve been leading their teams longer than Gundy, who started in 2005 and followed it up with 15 straight winning seasons. No one’s saying it wouldn’t be nice if the Cowboys could make a push for the Big 12 title for the first time since 2011, but there’s little complaining with five eight-plus win seasons in the last six.
Record With Team: 137-67
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 5, 2019: 7, 2018: 8
OSU Preview | Schedule
6. Gary Patterson, TCU
A made man with the program, only Kirk Ferentz has enjoyed a longer tenure with the same school. However, it took a three-game winning streak to make it 18-17 over the last three years. There’s no real pressure, but a bad year would generate some rumbling.
Record With Team: 178-74
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 4, 2019: 6, 2018: 9
TCU Preview | Schedule
– 2021 CFN Preseason All-Big 12 Team
5. Neal Brown, West Virginia
The Mountaineers have been good so far in Brown’s two seasons, and the defense has improved in a hurry, but now the offense has to rise up and the wins against the big boys have to kick in. He’s fine this year even with a dud, but the base will soon need more.
Record With Team: 11-11
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 3, 2019: 3, 2018: NA
West Virginia Preview | Schedule
4. Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Closing out with a five-game losing streak to end the 2020 season was hardly a positive, but like everything else for the teams that struggled last year, there were reasonable excuses. This is the year Kansas State needs to take a leap forward on this watch.
Record With Team: 12-11
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 6, 2019: 4, 2018: NA
Kansas State Preview | Schedule
3. Dave Aranda, Baylor
2020 was going to be a rebuilding year no matter what, and then Aranda had to kick things off in a pandemic. He gets a free pass for that, but after the program got to the Big 12 Championship in 2019, and with a national title in basketball, the school’s expectations for greatness have cranked up a notch.
Record With Team: 2-7
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 8, 2019: NA, 2018: NA
Baylor Preview | Schedule
– 2021 CFN Big 12 Predictions For Every Game
2. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Tom Herman went 7-3 last year, won five of his last six games, and blew out Colorado in the Alamo Bowl with an offense that scored 124 points over the last two games and scored 41 or more six times. The Longhorns lost to Iowa State on a late field goal, lost by two to TCU, and battled Oklahoma in a 53-45 fight. No pressure, new guy, but do a lot more than that.
Record With Team: 0-0
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: NA, 2019: NA, 2018: NA
Texas Preview | Schedule
1. Matt Wells, Texas Tech
It was a wee bit of a questionable hire at the time after an up-and-down run at Utah State. Starting out with two straight four-win seasons – worse yet, with a mediocre offense – put the pressure on in a big, big way. He’s got the quarterback in Tyler Shough, and he has a decent defense – now the wins have to follow. It might be win-or-else this year.
Record With Team: 8-14
Big 12 Preseason Hot Seat Rankings
2020: 1, 2019: 1, 2018: NA
Texas Tech Preview | Schedule
2021 Preseason Hot Seat Coach Rankings
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