Where does Dan Lanning stand among Pac-12 coaches according to the latest rankings?

Lincoln Riley is in a race with Ryan Day and Brian Kelly as the best coach who never won a national title, and much like his peers mentioned above, USC’s sophomore is hoping to cross his name off that list as early as next season.

The Utes are one of the most enduring programs in America, with eight top-25 finishes under their longtime head coach. Whittingham has won at least nine games 11 times in 18 seasons. With the return of quarterback Cam Rising, Whittingham aims to become the first Pac-12 coach to win the conference three straight years.

DeBoer is 90-11 as a head coach, including three NAIA National Championships. He was also a better recruiter than some expected, and with USC and UCLA leaving the conference, he has currently positioned the Huskies to be one of the big boys in the league.

He’s slowly built the Beavers from the Pac-12’s basement (2-10 in Year 1) into a feisty contender. Despite Smith’s background as a QB coach, Oregon State was led by the league’s best defense in 2023. The Beavers suffered narrow losses to USC and Washington (six points combined), but they rallied to stun Civil War rival Oregon and then crushed Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The program’s development only looks up as Lanning builds a strong staff and recruits better than any other team in the conference. In two cycles under Lanning, Oregon has signed two top-11 classes (both best in the Pac-12) — and has become one of the top transfer portal destinations for former blue-chip recruits.

Chip Kelly’s overall resume might deserve a higher rank on some lists, but this is one thing you’ve done for me lately, and the former Oregon head coach, who was 46-7 with the Ducks with three episodes in the top-5 Placements, has yet to deliver a 10-win season at UCLA in six years.

Sanders hasn’t coached a game in Colorado yet, but he’s already made good on his promise to revamp the roster and shine a spotlight on a program nobody’s talked about. Around 47 new faces will join the squad in 2023 – and more newcomers are expected in the second transfer window in May. He flipped the 5-star Miami Cormani McClain and added transfers from 11 different Power 5 programs.

Dickert navigated Washington State through the Nick Rolovich saga reasonably well, and despite a tough schedule (nine conference games and a road trip to Wisconsin), the Cougars walked away with a 7-5 win in Madison.

Due to state laws, Cal was among the programs hardest hit by the pandemic due to the inability of Wilcox and his staff to perform traditional practices or a typical strength and conditioning program. After back-to-back winning seasons in 2018-19, Cal is 10-18 for the past three years (1-3 in 2020) and has failed to make a bowl game.

Fisch’s next goal is to lead Arizona back to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017, but that could be a challenge given the rest of the “Cats” roster has so far been bled dry by the transfer portal. They lost their top edge rusher to LSU while three key plays were transferred to USC — led by star-wideout Dorian Singer.

Troy Taylor was a successful FCS coach, winning 30-8 in three seasons at Sacramento State. The former Cal quarterback led the Hornets to a 12-1 record and a loss in the FCS quarterfinals in 2022 and translated the success into Stanford’s opening.

The Phoenix native is an Arizona state glove fitter and is returning to his alma mater where he began his coaching career. Dillingham, a former high school coach, has connections across the state and retains beloved interim Shaun Aguano, who will continue to support ASU’s recruiting efforts. He also nabbed Washington State DC’s Brian Ward for the same role at ASU.