Thirteen seasons and counting. That’s how long it’s been since a team from the Pac-12 has won a college football national championship.
USC was the last team from the conference to win a title in 2004. When the Trojans won that title, #Pac12AfterDark wasn’t even a thing yet. Only three teams have even made it back to the title game since then — USC in 2005, Oregon in 2010 and Oregon in 2014.
The conference’s lack of success on a national level can’t be blamed on the lack of quality coaches. Some of the best coaches in the country reside in the Pac-12, but the league simply doesn’t have a national power. At least not yet.
Here are our rankings of the coaches in the Pac-12. Check out our previous rankings of coaches in the SEC and the ACC.
Group 1: The Newbies
- Jonathan Smith, Oregon State
Smith is both the youngest coach in the Pac-12 and the only one without head coaching experience at any level. At 39, he takes over his alma mater a year after they finished 1-11. The Beavers haven’t had a winning season since 2013, and this will be a difficult rebuilding job for Smith.
Smith learned from one of the best in the business. He was an assistant under Chris Petersen from 2012 through 2017 at Boise State and Washington. Now, he has an opportunity to resurrect the program he guided to an 11-1 record as a quarterback in 2001.
- Herm Edwards, Arizona State
This might’ve been the most baffling hire in sports in recent years. Edwards has been out of coaching for 10 years. His only collegiate coaching experience came from 1987-89 as a defensive backs coach at San Jose State. He doesn’t have recruiting experience. And to top it all off, the 64-year-old Edwards 20 games under .500 as a head coach in the NFL.
Edwards has a great personality, and he was very entertaining on ESPN as an analyst. Outside-the-box hires can be successful in college, but it’s hard to imagine this experiment going well. The school made the right decision in moving on from Todd Graham. Perhaps the best Sun Devil fans can hope for is a few noteworthy press conferences. At least they have a coach who knows you have to play to win the game.
- Justin Wilcox, California
A 5-7 record might not be inspiring to some fan bases, but Wilcox did a great job with the Golden Bears in his first season. Oddsmakers only projected them to win about three games, yet Cal was seconds away from making a bowl game. The 37-3 win over then No. 8 Washington State was even worse than the score indicated. Wilcox has the program trending in the right direction, and a bowl berth would be a positive step for Cal in 2018.
- Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Oregon promoted Cristobal to head coach following the departure of Willie Taggart, who left for Florida State. Cristobal spent six seasons at Florida International from 2007 to 2012. While his record was only 27-47, he practically built the program from scratch.
The Ducks were disappointing in Cristobal’s debut during the bowl game, but he has a team ready to compete in 2018. Cristobal has a reputation as a great recruiter, and Oregon isn’t far removed from competing for national titles, but they’ve been passed by Washington and Stanford in the Pac-12 North. Cristobal certainly has his work cut out for him entering his first full season in Eugene.
Group 2: Is This It?
- Clay Helton, USC
This might seem low considering Helton has guided the Trojans to New Year’s Six bowls in the last two seasons. However, given the talent level at USC the last few years, it sure feels like Helton missed out on two great opportunities to lead his team to the playoffs.
Here’s what Helton was working with the last couple of seasons: Sam Darnold, a top three pick in the NFL Draft; JuJu Smith Schuster, an All-Rookie performer in 2017; Adoree’ Jackson, a first round pick at cornerback — who also played receiver in college; Ronald Jones, a second round pick at running back. They were loaded pretty much everywhere except the offensive line.
Helton has recruited well the last two years, but he might’ve missed his chance because the Pac-12 South will soon be vastly improved. He has time to prove himself, but the expectation at USC is to compete for championships.
- Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
Perhaps success at Colorado isn’t sustainable. The Buffaloes were 5-7 a year ago, and MacIntyre has a losing record overall. But he earned this spot in the rankings after what he accomplished in 2016. Colorado had suffered through 10 straight losing seasons before 2016. Not only did MacIntyre lead them to a winning record; he led them to the Pac-12 championship game and a 10-win season. Time will tell if the Buffs can be an annual contender in the league, but they certainly have the right coach.
Group 3: Right Place, Right Time
- Kevin Sumlin, Arizona
Sumlin was fired after four straight five-loss seasons at Texas A&M, and he was hired by Arizona two months later. It couldn’t be a better situation for Sumlin. He inherits Khalil Tate at quarterback, who is perfect for the offense Sumlin likes to run. Tate should put up Heisman level numbers this fall under his new coach. Sumlin was 51-26 at Texas A&M and never had a bad team. His teams weren’t physical enough to handle the rigorous demands of the SEC West, but he should have plenty of success in Tucson.
Group 4: Overachievers
- Mike Leach, Washington State
Mike Leach is one of the very best things about college football. He’s the best interview in the sport, and he also happens to be one hell of a coach.
His two head coaching stops have been at Texas Tech and Washington State, which are two of the most difficult Power 5 jobs to win at consistently. He never had a losing season at Texas Tech, and he’s won 26 games over the last three seasons at Washington State despite being in one of the toughest divisions in college football.
Leach is an offensive genius, and his air raid offense helped inspire the wave of spread offenses that took over college football in the last two decades. It’s unlikely Leach ever wins a championship, but he’s still a tremendous coach.
- Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Life was definitely easier for Whittingham when Utah was in the Mountain West Conference. Nevertheless, the Utes made a seamless transition into the Pac-12 in 2011 thanks to Whittingham’s guidance. Since taking over for Urban Meyer in 2005, Whittingham is 111-56 in 13 seasons. His record in bowl games is an astonishing 11-1. Whittingham is one of the most consistent coaches in college football, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him as a head coach in the NFL in the near future.
Kyle Whittingham. If he isn't top-3 on NFL coaching lists to interview, well…whatever. #ASUvsUTAH
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) October 18, 2015
Group 5: Championship Caliber
- Chip Kelly, UCLA
After four largely unsuccessful seasons in the NFL, Kelly is returning to his roots in the Pac-12. Kelly’s experiment in the NFL should take nothing away from what he accomplished in four seasons at Oregon. He never lost a game he should have won with the Ducks, and he quickly turned the program into a national contender. The Ducks nearly won the national title in 2010, and Kelly was 46-7 overall and 33-3 in the Pac-12 during that four-year stretch.
Now, Kelly is tasked with turning another Pac-12 program into a national contender. The Bruins have never won more than 10 games in a season. Kelly has never won less than 10 games in a season. It’s unrealistic to expect UCLA to be a contender immediately, and going head-to-head with USC won’t be easy. But once Kelly brings in the right players for his system, the Bruins will be a force in the Pac-12.
- David Shaw, Stanford
When Jim Harbaugh handed Shaw the keys to the program in 2011, he left behind a loaded roster — including Andrew Luck at quarterback. Shaw had a great season with Luck, and he managed to keep the Cardinal in the national spotlight in the six years following Luck’s departure for the NFL. Shaw is 73-22 in seven seasons in Palo Alto, and his teams have won three conference titles during that span. The 45-year-old Shaw might give the NFL a try in the near future, but for now, he has one of the best programs in the country at Stanford.
- Chris Petersen, Washington
Petersen boasts an astonishing 129-29 record during his 12 seasons as a head coach. He turned Boise State into a national power, and he managed to accomplish the same feat at Washington in only three seasons. The Huskies made the College Football Playoff in Petersen’s third season, and they followed that up with a 10-3 campaign a season ago.
Though he doesn’t have a national title, there aren’t many coaches in football better than Chris Petersen. There’s a good chance Washington will be the best team in the Pac-12 in 2018, and Petersen could lead the Huskies back into the playoffs for the second time in three years. Regardless, Petersen has proven he’s on the short list of best coaches in the country.
