There was crazy turnover this season as far as head coaching changes went.
Texas Tech fired Kliff Kingsbury, Kansas State’s Bill Snyder retired (again), Dana Holgorsen left West Virginia to take the head coaching job at University of Houston, and Kansas hired Les Miles and fired Dave Beaty, who was the holder of a six-win, 42-loss record including going two out of 36 against Big 12 opponents.
This is such a wild conference as far as offenses go that it will be fascinating to see how these new coaches adjust to the constant feeling of being under fire.
KANSAS
Former coach: David Beaty
New coach: Les Miles
Wow was this a weird, weird hire. Les Miles is one of the most eclectic people in all of sports, and while he had success at both Oklahoma State and at LSU, his chances of actually turning a truly poor tradition into a winning company does not seem likely. At all.
His return to the Big 12 is going to be a long and painful one. For one thing, he doesn’t run the flashy, pass-first offenses that other Big 12 teams run. It was even a complaint that he was too conservative with the offense he ran, specifically during his tenure at LSU, where bad quarterback play plagued them for multiple seasons.
What’s good news for Les Miles is that KU has one of the best players they’ve had in years, and he plays running back, the key to the Les Miles offense. Pooka Williams might not be a good person, but he’s a great tailback. And that’s all that matters to Les Miles, evident in that Miles only suspended Williams Jr. for one game despite his arrest for alleged domestic violence.
I’ve written before about the state of the Kansas football program, and the truth is that they just cannot compete in the Big 12 with the talent that they have. They are seriously lacking in this area and have been since basically 2007.
Since that Orange Bowl victory, Kansas’ overall record is 31-102. Conference opponents routinely rout the Jayhawks, and though they have stolen games from TCU and Texas in the last three years, the culture at KU is still that of a losing one. It’s going to take more than Les Miles to fix what’s going on in Lawrence, KS.
KANSAS STATE
Former coach: Bill Snyder
New coach: Chris Klieman
Chris Klieman’s teams were nothing short of dominant during his reign at North Dakota State University, where he managed to win four national championships in five seasons with a record of 69-6 overall.
Though it was FCS and not FBS, the second-level division in college football is highly competitive. Being as successful as he was there is a good sign that he can bring that level of prosperity to his new team, the Kansas State Wildcats.
What K-State does lose is a legend in Bill Snyder, whose tenure at Kansas State is more than hall-of-fame worthy. He went 215-117-1 after coaching from 1989-2005, retiring, then coming out of retirement a la Brett Favre, and coaching again from 2009-2018.
Snyder brought more success to Kansas State then they ever could have imagined, turning them from a doormat sort of program into one that competed for and won Big 12 Championships.
Klieman seems like the best possible hire for Kansas State, as the tough midwestern attitude NDSU had will translate perfectly to the Wildcats team and staff.
A concern is whether or not Klieman’s run-first approach will work in the pass-happy conference. But since Klieman took over at NDSU, the Bison averaged 252 yards per game on the ground. Can they play highly physical, run-based football in the Big 12? I guess we will have to see. But the coach’s pedigree is undeniable.
A true home-run for KSU, expect them to, over the next few years, become more of a contender in the Big 12. Their recruiting will probably stay around the same, but Klieman is the type of guy who can keep the Wildcats in the conversation.
TEXAS TECH
Former coach: Kliff Kingsbury
New coach: Matt Wells
Kliff Kingsbury was a great offensive mind, but not a great head coach at Texas Tech, and though he looks like Ryan Gosling, I still don’t think he will succeed as the new HC of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, even with Kyler Murray under center.
I do however like what new hire Matt Wells brings to the table for the Red Raiders. Former Utah State University quarterback, then offensive coordinator, and finally head coach, Wells won two coach-of-the-year awards during his stint in the Mountain West, winning it in 2013 and again in 2018.
He was the OC during the 2012 season, where the Aggies went 11-2, finishing the season ranked at 16 in the AP Poll, and was the HC during the 2018 season in which they also went 11-2 and finished top 25 as well. They also finished third in scoring offense in 2018 behind the arm of Jordan Love, who threw for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Considering Tech already has a solid quarterback in Alan Bowman, whatever offense Wells decides to run in Lubbock will be all about quarterback play. If they want to win now, they should probably stick to the offense that Kingsbury was running or some close amalgamation of it considering the entire roster is full of players recruited to run the air raid.
Is it the sexiest name? No, but considering how good the Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt has been with such success in both men’s basketball and baseball, this hire will most likely work out well for the Red Raiders.
WEST VIRGINIA
Former coach: Dana Holgorsen
New coach: Neal Brown
Neal Brown from Troy was one of the hottest names in the coaching search this year, and though he had ties to Texas Tech and its vacancy at HC, he finally wound up with the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers are coming off of a season where they squandered some of the best players they’ve ever had in Will Grier at quarterback and David Sills at wideout. A frustrating season was one of the reasons HC Dana Holgorsen jumped ship and headed to the University of Houston.
Neal Brown was the OC at Texas Tech from 2010-2012, so we can deduce from that the style of offense he likes to run: air raid, perfect for the Big 12 (not that Holgorsen wasn’t also using a pass-first offense).
West Virginia is undergoing a quarterback battle between Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall and Miami FL transfer Jack Allison; whichever player wins better get ready to be throwing the ball 30+ times a game.
If Neal Brown can get good play out of his quarterback, there is no reason that the level of success Holgorsen offered West Virginia’s football team cannot be replicated by the former Troy HC.
Overall, I believe that Neal Brown will be a successful coach in the Big 12 because he’s already ran an offense in this conference. The three-straight 10-win seasons at Troy are no fluke–Brown knows what he is doing. Though this first year will be a down one, the hopes for the future should be high in Morgantown.
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