The long-term outlook for the Pac-12 is uncertain amid the news that USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten in 2024, depleting the conference of two vital brands in its largest market. In the meantime, there are two more seasons for the Pac-12 under its current construction, and the first one features some significant change within the league's coaching ranks.
USC made one of the splashiest coaching hires in recent memory by pulling Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to replace Clay Helton and revitalize a proud program that is coming off a 4-8 season. But the Trojans are just one of the league's big brands undergoing a coaching change, as Dan Lanning steps in for Mario Cristobal at Oregon and Kalen DeBoer takes over for Jimmy Lake at Washington.
Washington State's Jake Dickert could also be considered a first-year coach, too, as he enters his first full season on the job after guiding the Cougars to a 3-3 record in six games as the program's interim coach last season. All told, it amounts to a substantial shakeup within the league's coaching ranks as the Pac-12 seeks to produce its first College Football Playoff representative since Washington in 2016.
So how do the Pac-12 coaches stack up against each other? Here is the order as voted by the CBS Sports Staff in our offseason Power Five coach rankings.
Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-65
2022 SEC Coach Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Lincoln Riley (4 overall): Riley actually dropped a spot in our national rankings this year, but he debuts at No. 1 in his new conference after amassing a 55-10 record with three CFP appearances in five seasons at Oklahoma. Still young at just 38, and with a stacked group of playmakers at his disposal for Year 1, Riley is expected to execute an instant turnaround and have the Trojans back in the Pac-12 title mix this season. Last year: N/A in Pac-12 | |
| 2 |  |
| Kyle Whittingham (8 overall): Given that Whittingham ranked No. 1 in the league last year and won the Pac-12 title, it seems absurd that he's dropping a spot ahead of the 2022 season. But that's the Lincoln Riley effect. Whittingham did rise six spots in the overall Power Five coach rankings as he enters his 18th season with a 144-70 record. Last year: 1 in Pac-12 | |
| 3 |  |
| Chip Kelly (28 overall): It took four seasons, but Kelly finally got the Bruins back above .500 with an 8-4 record last year. The Bruins' 2022 schedule ranks as the Pac-12's easiest, and with Dorian Thompson-Robinson back for a fifth season at quarterback, there is room to keep building. On the whole, Kelly's tenure hasn't met expectations relative to what he accomplished at Oregon, but he's in a good place entering Year 5. Last year: 6 in Pac-12 | |
| 4 |  |
| David Shaw (29 overall): With an 11-19 record over the past three seasons and minimal external expectations for the 2022 season, Stanford has departed from the Rose Bowl trajectory it enjoyed earlier in Shaw's tenure. The proliferation of transferring makes life tough at a school with such high academic standards. However, Shaw's 93-45 record over 11 seasons is enough to land him comfortably in the top half of this ranking. Last year: 4 in Pac-12 | |
| 5 |  |
| Jonathan Smith (37 overall): Smith is the biggest riser in this year's ranking after leading Oregon State to a breakthrough season in his fourth year on the sideline. The Beavers finished 7-5 (5-4 Pac-12) in the regular season with wins over typical conference powers like Utah, USC and Washington. When the former OSU quarterback took over, the Beavers were coming off a three-year stretch with a 7-29 record, so he's done well to get his alma mater back to respectability. Last year: 10 in Pac-12 | |
| 6 |  |
| Justin Wilcox (44 overall): There is no questioning the defensive bona fides of Wilcox, whose defensive coordinator success with several big brands has translated fine on that side of the ball in his first head coaching gig. But the 45-year-old is losing his luster as a head coach because of the complete ineptitude of Cal's offenses under coordinator Bill Musgrave during a 6-10 stretch over the last two seasons. Last year: 5 in Pac-12 | |
| 7 |  |
| Kalen DeBoer (51 overall): DeBoer led Fresno State to a 9-3 record last year in just his second season as an FBS head coach. The 47-year-old former Indiana offensive coordinator now inherits a Washington program in desperate need of an offensive jolt after finishing 114th in total offense last season. The schedule is favorable enough that DeBoer should be able to guide the Huskies back to bowl eligibility after a 4-8 season. Last year: N/A in Pac-12 | |
| 8 |  |
| Dan Lanning (54 overall): Lanning deserved a head coaching position after his work as defensive coordinator at Georgia, but this is a daunting place to learn on the fly. Oregon has made three straight Pac-12 title game appearances and there likely won't be an extended grace period just because Lanning is 36 and working in the Pac-12 North for the first time. Recruiting at an elite level won't get easier for Lanning amid the uncertainty surrounding Oregon's future conference home. Last year: N/A in Pac-12 | |
| 9 |  |
| Herm Edwards (55 overall): Edwards takes the furthest fall in this season's ranking, even after leading Arizona State to an 8-5 record in his fourth season. More was expected from a team that started 5-1, and the NCAA investigation into the program's alleged recruiting violations only compounds the underwhelming on-field results. With top recruiter Antonio Pierce out amid the controversy, it's unclear if the Sun Devils will remain a perennial bowl team under Edwards. Last year: 3 in Pac-12 | |
| 10 |  |
| Karl Dorrell (59 overall): Dorrell's 4-2 mark in 2020 during his first season seemed to portend good things for the Buffs, but last season's 4-8 mark and a brutal transfer cycle that included the loss of leading rusher Jarek Broussard have Colorado on a bleak trajectory entering the 2022 season. It doesn't help that CU plays one of the league's toughest schedules this year. Last year: 9 in Pac-12 | |
| 11 |  |
| Jedd Fisch (61 overall): Fisch is up one spot in the league ranking and improved three spots in the overall Power Five ranking, so it's not all bad after a 1-11 debut season for the former journeyman NFL and college assistant. The Wildcats were at least competitive in his first season, and now that he's got a solid QB in Washington State transfer Jayden de Laura, Fisch can give us a more accurate picture of his ability as a program builder. Last year: 12 in Pac-12 | |
| 12 |  |
| Jake Dickert (63 overall): Dickert did an excellent job of stabilizing Washington State following a tumultuous ending to Nick Rolovich's tenure in the middle of last season. Now, the former defensive coordinator and interim coach gets his shot as a Pac-12 head coach less than a decade after he was a Division III defensive coordinator. The decision to bring in Incarnate Word coach Eric Morris as offensive coordinator could prove to be a stroke of genius that makes Dickert a rapid riser in this ranking next year. Last year: N/A in Pac-12 | |
