The Big Ten is on top of the football world. Having won three consecutive national championships, that fact is indisputable. A big part of that is the excellent coaching within the conference.
Today we took a stab at ranking the 18 head coaches in the Big Ten heading into the 2026 season. These rankings are purely subjective and combine overall coaching prowess, historical success, and future projection.
1. Curt Cignetti, Indiana
Cignetti is the cream of the crop currently. His Hoosiers are the reigning national champs and
look primed to compete for a CFP spot yet again. There’s no way to overstate how impressive a job Cignetti has done by turning historical doormat Indiana into a national power. It is arguably the biggest turnaround in sports history. Cignetti is an obvious No. 1 on this list.
2. Ryan Day, Ohio State
As a Michigan centric blog, it pains me to put Day this high. However, winning a championship puts a certain floor on your ranking. Unfortunately for us, Day has maintained Urban Meyer’s level of play on the field despite his shortcomings in The Game (remember when Davis Warren beat Ohio State?).
3. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
As a head coach, Whittingham’s track record is extremely impressive. He turned a program with limited funds and limited resources into a perennial power at Utah. Whittingham is a future Hall-of-Fame coach who Michigan was fortunate to hire late in his career. Despite not yet coaching a game for the Wolverines, Whittingham has the chops and the historical track record to be considered one of the best in the conference.
4. Dan Lanning, Oregon
Lanning is the polar opposite of the three coaches above him. His track record isn’t lengthy yet and he hasn’t won anything major. However, his future prognostication is about as good as it gets. Oregon has been an elite recruiting factory under Lanning, and the current team is as talented as Oregon’s program has ever been. The present and future is bright in Eugene.
5. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
There is a monstrous gap between the top-four and everyone else. Ferentz is the best of the rest, as he’s the longest tenured head coach in college football. While Iowa is never elite, it is rarely ever bad, and that’s a testament to Ferentz. The fact he has been able to navigate the transfer portal/NIL era is even more impressive.
6. Lincoln Riley, USC
Riley’s resume at Oklahoma was phenomenal. Since he ditched Norman for Los Angeles, something hasn’t felt right. While Riley is an elite recruiter and talent evaluator, he just hasn’t seen the success on the field that everyone expected when he took over at USC.
7. Matt Campbell, Penn State
Campbell has been a hot name during coaching carousel season virtually every year. Whether the success he had at Iowa State translates to the Big Ten is yet to be determined, but on the outside looking in, it appears to be a solid hire. He could ascend up this list as time goes on, but I can’t put him any higher than seventh for now.
8. Jedd Fisch, Washington
Fisch has had modest success everywhere he’s went. While he’s still early in his tenure at Washington, it appears to be more of the same. Fisch is unlikely to win a championship with the Huskies, but he can certainly return them to respectability. This is a program that was in the National Championship just three years ago after all.
9. Bret Bielema, Illinois
It’s been a slow burn for Bielema at Illinois, but he’s got the program headed in the right direction. After a very successful tenure at Wisconsin, Bielema made the puzzling decision to jump ship for Arkansas. That proved to be a mistake. Now back in the heart of Big Ten country, Bielema has gone back to his roots and has created a very physical program.
10. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
When Fleck was hired by the Golden Gophers, many thought they had won the lottery. While not quite true, it would be unfair to say Fleck has been a bust. He has brought them out of the cellar in the Big Ten, but is nowhere near breaking through to the upper echelon. His teams look the same nearly every season, which isn’t necessarily bad but is certainly predictable.
11. Bob Chesney, UCLA
The last time James Madison lost a coach to a Power 4 program, Cignetti resurrected a dormant program and took them to the mountaintop. UCLA is hoping to replicate that same recipe, as Chesney maintained Cignetti’s success at James Madison. Chesney is largely an unknown, but could certainly climb these rankings in a hurry.
12. Matt Rhule, Nebraska
After successful turnarounds at Temple and Baylor, Rhule expected to do the same at Nebraska. While he still certainly could, it’s starting to get late in Lincoln. He has yet to lead Nebraska to a winning record in Big Ten play. Rhule’s phenomenal track record keeps him out of the bottom third of this list, but don’t be surprised to see his name on hot seat lists next offseason if he doesn’t have his much-needed breakthrough this season.
13. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State
Similar to Rhule, Fitzgerald slots in here mostly due to his historical success. At Northwestern, he turned a perennial cellar-dweller into an occasional bowl team. While he wasn’t contending for titles in Evanston, he was a respectable coach who will look to bring his tough-guy mantra to East Lansing.
14. David Braun, Northwestern
Braun has done admirably in what might be the toughest job in America. While his record may not be stellar, the Wildcats have been competitive in a lot of football games under his watch.
15. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Fickell would have appeared much higher on this list when he was first hired by Wisconsin. However, he has done nothing but run Wisconsin into the ground since then. The Badgers are in a significantly worse spot now than they were when he was hired.
16. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Schiano’s first tenure in Piscataway was a smashing success, but his second stint has been anything but. Rutgers is admittedly a very tough job. However, what was billed as the prodigal son coming home when Schiano returned is appearing to be a bust.
17. Barry Odom, Purdue
Odom took over a Purdue program at rock bottom. He has a decent history of turning programs around, but Purdue may be too tough to overcome. Time will tell for Odom.
18. Mike Locksley, Maryland
Locksley has actually had some solid success on the recruiting trail. On the field, however, has been the opposite. In the past two seasons, Maryland is 2-16 in Big Ten play. That isn’t a recipe for success. It’s surprising he was able to hang onto his job this offseason.
