College Football’s coaching carousel is among us. With that, teams all across the nation will be tasked with replacing coaches they choose to let go, and those that decide to take positions elsewhere.
The Big 12 is filled with a plethora of young coaches that have a high-ceiling of potential. On top of that, the conference also has program leaders who are on the hot seat. Going into 2021, we fully believe there will be some new faces with a fellow conference member or two.
Here are three Big 12 coaches who we think may not be around once the 2021 season kicks off:
- Matt Campbell, Iowa State:
Campbell is the obvious choice for this list. Since taking over the Cyclones in 2016, the former Toledo head coach has completely turned around what was once a bottom-feeding program. Campbell’s name has been thrown around for high profile jobs the last three years, and this may be the year he finally decides to leave Ames. Should Michigan come open, and should he be offered the job, he is gone. If I was a betting man, I would say that Campbell is the most likely to move on to greener pastures in 2021. - Les Miles, Kansas:
In his two years in Lawrence, the Jayhawks have actually gotten worse under Les Miles. The program is well on their way to their second winless season in the last six, and recruiting has failed to get off of the ground entirely. It looked promising early in his tenure at Kansas, but the wheels are slowly falling off of this thing. If Jeff Long wishes to pull the plug now, it could save this program from getting any worse under what was presumed to be the savior of this program. It’s a damn shame, but it is hard to see Miles being around much longer. - Matt Wells, Texas Tech:
I debated momentarily on putting Tom Herman on this list, but we all know he will be back roaming the sidelines for the Longhorns in 2021. Matt Wells has been a strange fit at Texas Tech since the beginning. The program hasn’t really gotten better or worse under him, it has honestly just become stale. His win over Baylor last week may have been enough to win him a third year in Lubbock, but it’s not hard to fathom Tech pulling the plug on him considering his 7-12 record. If Wells isn’t fired before 2021, he will be before 2022. This program is going nowhere.
