Fact or Fiction: Kansas State’s Chris Klieman is the best coach in the Big 12
Argument for Fact
Kansas State was not in the best spot when it comes to the roster and team morale when Chris Klieman was hired in December of 2018. However, he still won eight games in 2019. Eight wins has been the baseline for Klieman at K-State every year outside of the pandemic season in 2020.
The Wildcats also look to be strong heading into 2023 as well, posting four players on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Klieman has also elevated the Kansas State recruiting profile. The 2023 recruiting class was the highest ranked class since 2005 according to On3.
Even with mid-tier recruiting classes according to the recruiting services, Klieman has developed seven NFL Draft picks that includes first rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah last April. K-State may have another first round pick next year in Cooper Beebe, too.
The Big 12 as a whole is also a bit in flux when it comes to coaches. Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State appear to be trending down, Joey McGuire and Sonny Dykes are still just in their second season at Texas Tech and TCU, respectively.
Lance Leipold has not had a winning record at Kansas and the early returns on Brent Venables at Oklahoma are less than impressive. Matt Campbell’s star seems to be fading. Dave Aranda has had a strange start to his career at Baylor and Steve Sarkisian still has not won more than 10 games in a season.
That leaves Neal Brown and the four new schools in the league. Brown may not be employed at West Virginia this time next year. I am also not sure about any of the new schools’ head coaches, and none of the four compare well to Klieman.
Taking all the other coaches in the league into account, Klieman is the one that has proven results and is still on an upward trajectory. Remember, the only three coaches who have won the Big 12 are Klieman, Gundy and Aranda.
ARGUMENT FOR FICTION
A main argument for fiction is that Klieman is still just going into his fifth season at Kansas State. He is also just 20-16 in conference games for his career. Gundy, on the other hand, is entering year No. 19 at Oklahoma State and has only missed a bowl game once.
Although Dykes is beginning just year two at TCU, they were just in the National Championship game. He also has the Horned Frogs recruiting at a very high clip and has fast made it perhaps the most complete roster in the conference.
In my opinion, Dykes and Gundy would be who could top Klieman as the best coach in the Big 12. Gundy has proven results and longevity, despite the Cowboys trending downward in recent months. Dykes reached the National Championship in his first season in Fort Worth and has the Frogs ascending further.
KANSAS STATE PREDICTION: Fact
I believe Klieman is the best coach in the Big 12. He is one of the three coaches to win the Big 12 Championship and has the program trending in a positive direction. I’m not quite ready to put Dykes in the top spot because of a lack of a sample size.
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