Each offseason, the CBS Sports and 247Sports college football teams get together and rank every single Power Five coach ahead of the upcoming season. The Pac-12 saw a handful of coaching changes during the offseason, headlined by Deion Sanders leaving his position at Jackson State with the hopes of reviving a dormant Colorado program.
Other coaching changes in the conference include Arizona State hiring Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham to replace Herm Edwards and Stanford replacing David Shaw with Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor. Both coaches are in full rebuild mode with their respective programs.
The rest of the rankings remain relatively unchanged. Washington's Kalen DeBoer, Washington State's Jake Dickert and Oregon's Dan Lanning all took steps forward, while Cal coach Justin Wilcox dropped a few spots. USC's Lincoln Riley and Utah's Kyle Whittingham occupy the top two spots for the second consecutive season.
Here is a look at how all the Pac-12 coaches stack up, as previously voted by the CBS Sports and 247Sports college football staff.
Complete Power Five coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-69
2023 Pac-12 Coach Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Lincoln Riley (4 overall): Riley is one of the best offensive minds in college football, and he meticulously used the transfer portal to rebuild the Trojans from a 4-8 team in 2021 to an 11-win team in his debut. Though USC's season had a bitter ending with consecutive losses to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game and Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, expectations are high once again going into Year 2. The defense is better on paper this season, which will put less pressure on the offense to produce at high levels like it did in 2022. Last season: 1 in Pac-12 | |
| 2 |  |
| Kyle Whittingham (7 overall): The highlight of Utah's 2022 season was beating USC not once but twice. The Utes downed the Trojans at home to end their quest for an undefeated regular season and delivered a dagger in the Pac-12 title game to eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention. Whittingham has guided Utah to consecutive Pac-12 titles, and you can make the argument he should be ranked as the best coach in the conference. Last season: 2 in Pac-12 | |
| 3 |  |
| Chip Kelly (13 overall): Kelly built off his first winning record with the Bruins in 2021 with a 9-4 record last season. UCLA heads into the 2023 season without a surefire starting quarterback after relying heavily on Dorian Thompson-Robinson the past few seasons. Kelly's job now is to help develop star true freshman quarterback Dante Moore, who will head into the season in the mix for the starting job. It wouldn't be surprising to see him start at some point during the 2023 season. Overall, Kelly is in a good place heading into the season. Last year: 3 in Pac-12 | |
| 4 |  |
| Kalen DeBoer (31 overall): The expectations heading into DeBoer's second season are sky high following an 11-win debut in 2022. Washington returns star QB Michael Penix Jr., who has a legit chance to compete for the Heisman Trophy. Additionally, the Huskies' strength of schedule is quite manageable. Anything less than a trip to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 title in December would be a disappointment. Now ... can DeBoer deliver? Last year: 7 in Pac-12 | |
| 5 |  |
| Jonathan Smith (32 overall): Oregon State won 10 games last season with mediocre quarterback play. Now the Beavers head into the season with former blue-chip QB recruit DJ Uiagalelei to headline the offense. Smith worked his magic once before when he was the offensive coordinator at Washington and helped turn Jake Browning into a Heisman Trophy contender. Smith will be counted on to work the same magic with DJU in 2023. Another 10-win season in Corvallis, Oregon, is attainable with the talent returning. Last season: 5 in Pac-12 | |
| 6 |  |
| Dan Lanning (36 overall): There were high expectations in Lanning's first season at Oregon, and he delivered with a 10-win season. The team got a boost when quarterback Bo Nix announced he was coming back for another season, but the Pac-12 will be as competitive as ever at that position. Couple that with tough conference games on the road against Washington and USC, and it's possible the Ducks take a step back. To his credit, though, Lanning has emerged as one of the best recruiters in the conference; the Ducks' 2023 recruiting class ranked second in the Pac-12. Last year: 8 in Pac-12 | |
| 7 |  |
| Deion Sanders (55 overall): You can make the argument that Colorado will be the most fascinating team in America this season. Using the transfer portal, Sanders completely transformed perhaps the worst Power Five roster into a brand new team in one offseason. Whether it works remains to be seen. Colorado has a tough nonconference schedule with games against Nebraska and TCU, but there will be a lot of eyeballs staying up late this season to watch the Sanders experiment. Colorado may not reap the benefits of Sanders' roster overhaul right away, but it could nevertheless be the team to watch in the Pac-12 going forward. Last year: N/A in the Pac-12 | |
| 8 |  |
| Jake Dickert (57 overall): Dickert is a big riser from last season's rankings. Initially ranked as the worst coach in the conference, he now he moves up a few spots to almost join the middle of the pack. He did a good job of stabilizing the roster in 2021 after Nick Rolovich was fired and later earned the full-time job. The 2023 Cougars will be an exciting watch with Cameron Ward under center. A breakthrough season and Dickert is surely a lock to rise up again. Last year: 12 in Pac-12 | |
| 9 |  |
| Justin Wilcox (58 overall): Wilcox is one of the coaches on this list to drop a few spots from last season. It's possible with a disappointing season in 2023 that this could be his last with the Bears. Cal hasn't had a winning season since 2019, and the time is now to produce. He elected to sign a big contract extension last offseason after receiving consideration for the Washington job. As a defensive mind, he's one of the best in the country, but as a CEO of an increasingly difficult place to win, the jury remains out. Last year: 6 in Pac-12 | |
| 10 |  |
| Jedd Fisch (61 overall): Fisch inherited a poor roster when he was hired in 2020. Now he is entering his third season at the school with real expectations. The Wildcats picked up one of the top defenders in the transfer portal in former Oregon LB Justin Flowe, along with former Colorado WR Montana Lemonious-Craig to replace Dorian Singer, who departed for USC. If there was ever a season to break through and make a bowl game for the first time since 2017, this is it. Last season: 11 in Pac-12 | |
| 11 |  |
| Kenny Dillingham (65 overall): Arizona State ended the Herm Edwards experiment early last season and hired the former Oregon offensive coordinator as the replacement. Dillingham helped revive Bo Nix's career and was considered one of the best recruiters in the conference. Dillingham will have the chance to work with former Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne and star freshman Jaden Rashada this season. If Dillingham can develop Rashada to his potential quickly, ASU's rebuild shouldn't last long. Last season: N/A in Pac-12 | |
| 12 |  |
| Troy Taylor (69 overall): Not only is Taylor ranked at the bottom of the conference, but he is also the lowest-ranked Power Five coach entering this season. Don't be fooled, though. Taylor helped completely transform Sacramento State from Big Sky Conference basement-dweller to back-to-back-to-back conference title winners. The rebuild at Stanford will be much tougher with the rigorous admission requirements that can make transfer portal acquisitions difficult. However, Stanford already has a top-15 class in the 2024 recruiting rankings with Taylor at the helm. Don't be surprised if Taylor is a rapid riser in the rankings next season. He is one of the most underrated offensive play-callers in the country. Last season: N/A in Pac-12 | |
