With the Big 12 football season in the books, it is time to go back and review how the head coaches performed throughout the 2025 season. I was never much of a student myself, but I am familiar with how grading works. Instead of being the student, I will be the one handing out grades this year. Let’s get started as I grade each Big 12 football coach and the job they did in 2025.
Joey McGuire (Texas Tech): A+
Record: 12-2
This was a no brainer for me. Texas Tech was by far the best team in the Big 12 and they dominated in conference play. Despite the sour outcome in the College Football Playoff, Joey still deserves an A+ in my book for putting all the pieces to the puzzle of that team together. If you win the conference, you get a good grade. Don’t be surprised to see another A+ next year.
Kalani Sitake (BYU): A+
Record: 12-2
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. No longer will I doubt Kalani Sitake and BYU. For two years now, I haven’t given him the respect he deserves, and the Cougars were the second-best team in the Big 12. There’s a reason why Penn State wanted him and it’s because he’s a damn good coach who did yet another great job this season. With him in charge, BYU should always be a contender.
Willie Fritz (Houston): A+
Record: 10-3
To go from 4-8 last season to 10-3 this year is one of the best turnarounds we have seen in recent history. In 2024, we saw flashes under Willie Fritz and this year, we saw the consistency. Fritz is a veteran coach who has a knack for building programs up and Houston is in a much better place than where it was two years ago under Dana Holgorsen. I can’t wait to see what that next step looks like for this program.
Brent Brennan (Arizona): A+
Record: 9-4
It’s rare that I give out four A+’s, but I had to give one to Brent Brennan for the job he did this season. Much like Houston, Arizona had quite a turnaround in a short amount of time. Last year, Arizona went 4-8 and this season they went out and won nine games. I forget just how little time Brent had when he took over. But the offense looked better, and the defense was much improved. Maybe I was too quick to judge him off the bat.
Kyle Whittingham (Utah): A
Record: 11-2
Even though he is at Michigan now, there’s no doubt that Utah made a bit of a comeback this year after a disappointing 2024. The defense was as good as advertised and offensively, they showed signs of improvement with Devon Dampier and a little staff shakeup. The Utes were a Big 12 title contender and not too far off from reaching Jerry World. In fact, the only problem for Utah is that they had to play Texas Tech and BYU this season. Goodbye Kyle, we will miss you.
Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State): B
Record: 8-5
I know expectations were high in Tempe this season and it didn’t end like we all thought it would but there were a few unexpected speed bumps. Quarterback Sam Leavitt was hurt most of the year and star wide out Jordyn Tyson missed several games as well. To lose your two best players and win six conference games is not easy and just goes to show how good of a coach Dillingham is as a head coach. And now, he’s armed with another nice contract extension that hopefully has him in Tempe for years to come.
Sonny Dykes (TCU): B-
Record: 9-4
Winning nine games sounds great but four of those wins game in non-conference action. TCU had a ton of talent across the board but at no point did I ever feel like they were a legitimate Big 12 title contender. They had some ugly losses and most importantly Josh Hoover never took that step forward and now he’s gone. However, Sonny did do enough to stick around for another year.
Matt Campbell (Iowa State): B-
Record: 8-4
Much like TCU, I had high expectations for Iowa State this season and they never quite reached them. They got off to a hot start and then fell off for a bit before ending the year with three straight wins. I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore since Matt Campbell is now at Penn State, but if he would have stayed, I think 2026 could have been special for Iowa State.
Scott Satterfield (Cincinnati): C
Record: 7-6
After a 5-0 start in Big 12 play, it felt like Scott Satterfield finally had things figured out. But then the month of November reared its ugly head once again as the Bearcats lost five straight to end the 2025 season. Until they start winning games in the most important month of the year, then this grade won’t change much.
Chris Klieman (Kansas State): C-
Record: 6-6
Kansas State’s 2025 season was a memorable one for all the wrong reasons. They were supposed to compete for a Big 12 title and instead, they barely got to six wins. They did have a game here and there where they put it all together, but the consistency was almost non-existent. But now Klieman is gone and it’s up to Collin Klein to restore the program.
Scott Frost (UCF): D+
Record: 5-7
I am going to be kinder to these first-year head coaches from now on. UCF wasn’t great by any means, but I didn’t think Scott Frost was just flat out bad this season. Defensively, the Knights looked better, but they just need to figure out the other side of the ball to be a threat in the Big 12.
Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia): D+
Record: 4-8
Much like Scotty Frost, I am giving Rich Rod a bit of a pass here. Now it wasn’t all bad this year in Morgantown with a win over Pitt and Houston that I didn’t see coming but it’s clear that there is plenty of work to do. However, for what he had to work with, I think West Virginia has the right guy in place.
Dave Aranda (Baylor): F
Record: 5-7
At this point, Dave Aranda is just a ticking time bomb in Baylor. The only thing that has surprised me about this season in Waco is the fact he still has his job. I am still not sure how a coach on the hot seat coming into the season, finished 5-7 and still doesn’t get fired. And if not 2026 for Aranda, then when is it fair to expect the turnaround to begin?
Lance Leipold (Kansas): F
Record: 5-7
It seems like the shine has worn off Lance after finishing 5-7 in back-to-back seasons now. Even with Jalon Daniels at quarterback, Kansas still couldn’t figure things out and it seems like this program has now taken multiple steps back after making so much progress. Or, is this just the new reality that Kansas, which was in the basement of FBS football, is now a team that will hover around bowl eligibility? It’s improvement, but KU fans got teased a couple of years ago, which set a higher bar.
Deion Sanders (Colorado): F
Record: 3-9
Losing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter was tough, but Colorado simply failed to be competitive in a lot of games this season. The offense couldn’t settle on a quarterback and the defense was a mess at times. Both sides of the ball need to show a lot of improvement and Deion needs a bounce back year in 2026.
Mike Gundy/Doug Meacham (Oklahoma State): F
Record: 1-11
Do I really need to even say anything here? Mike Gundy got canned and Doug Meacham didn’t do much better. Oklahoma State hasn’t won a conference game since 2023. The good news is that Eric Morris is there now.
