Three current Big 12 head coaches made Pat Forde’s list of top coaches of the last 25 years, including West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, and Kansas’ Lance Leipold.
Whittingham, ranked No. 16 by Forde, brings a resume that instantly boosts the Big 12’s coaching pedigree. As Utah’s head coach since 2005, Whittingham has delivered two Pac-12 titles, 11 bowl victories, and an undefeated 2008 season that ended with a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.
Before the Utes transitioned into the Big 12 last year, Whittingham was Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice and has continued to keep Utah in national contention year after year.
Ranked No. 22, Rodriguez’s first tenure with WVU came before the Mountaineers joined the Big 12.
From 2001–07, Rodriguez went 60–26, won four Big East titles, and popularized the spread offense that produced some of the highest scoring games in conference history. His schemes remain a blueprint for many modern offenses across the country.
He won Big East Coach of the Year twice during his first stint and took over a program that finished below .500 last season and has just one bowl win in the past four seasons.
Rodriguez also served stints with Michigan, Arizona, and Jacksonville State.
At No. 24, Leipold earns recognition for engineering one of the sport’s most impressive turnarounds with the Jayhawks. Since arriving in Lawrence in 2021, he has transformed Kansas from consistently placing at the bottom of the Big 12 into a ranked, bowl-winning program.
The year before his arrival, Kansas failed to win a single game, going 0-9 in 2020.
The Jayhawks posted back-to-back bowl appearances in 2022 and 2023, including a nine-win season. Leipold also coached at Buffalo and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Several other coaches named on the list spent time with Big 12 programs, including Mike Leach (Texas Tech), Gary Patterson (TCU), and Les Miles (Kansas and Oklahoma State).
