Several media outlets last week ranked the Big Ten's top football coaches, and it struck me just how good the Big Ten is because Washington's Jedd Fisch was listed no higher than No. 10 among Big Ten coaches.
Breaking the top 10 in the Big Ten requires Hall of Fame-type coaching. One list I saw ranked the Big Ten coaches this way: 1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana; 2. Ryan Day, Ohio State; 3. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan; 4. Dan Lanning, Oregon; 5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa; 6. Lincoln Riley, USC; 7. Matt Campbell, Penn State; 8. Bret Bielema, Illinois; 9. Matt Rhule, Nebraska; 10. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State. No Fisch.
Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch holds the Apple Cup trophy after a game against the Washington State Cougars at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025. Washington won 59-24.
How would you rank the Big 12? I don't think there is a coach who has earned automatic mention in, say, the first five. I would probably go this way: 1. Kalani Sitake, BYU; 2. Sonny Dykes, TCU; 3. rookie Utah head coach Morgan Scalley. The rest of the contenders, such as West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, Kansas' Lance Leipold and maybe Brent Brennan, don't have national reputations. The most well-known Big 12 head coach is Colorado's Deion Sanders, and he might be no better than No. 14 or 15 on any list of league coaches.
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