Stoops tops Big 12 coach rankings. Look who debuts at No. 2
Published: 3/23/2012 8:07 AM
Last Modified: 3/23/2012 8:07 AM
The crew at Athlon ranked the Big 12 Conference coaches last week, notable because it's the first list including the two new Big 12 programs.
One of the newcomers fared extremely well – TCU's Gary Patterson ranked second behind Oklahoma's Bob Stoops.
You can't quarrel with the Stoops ranking. The only coach of any sport with a tighter grip on the conference over the past decade is Kansas' Bill Self.
That Patterson, yet to coach his first Big 12 game, ranks second is the latest sign that the Horned Frogs are going to be trouble.
Mike Gundy, by the way, checks in at No. 3 in Athlon's rankings, ahead of Mack Brown and Bill Snyder at Nos. 4 and 5.
The second five, in order, are Art Briles, Paul Rhoads, Dana Holgorsen, Tommy Tuberville and Charlie Weis.
By way of comparison, here's how the staff at CollegeFootballNews.com ranked the 10 Big 12 coaches in April of 2011 (on the basis of who they would want leading a program for the next five-plus years):
1 – Stoops
2 – Brown
3 – Gary Pinkel
4 – Gundy
5 – Briles
6 – Rhoads
7 – Tuberville
8 – Mike Sherman
9 – Turner Gill
10 – Snyder
Conclusions, based on the past year:
Gundy has made a big, big move.
Patterson is the new Pinkel.
Never underestimate Bewitching Bill Snyder.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
