2023 Pressure Check Rankings: Neal Brown, Brent Venables and Steve Sarkisian facing pressure this fall in Big 12

College football coaches, from Kirby Smart to Lincoln Riley, love to talk about how “pressure is a privilege,” and for some that’s true. 

Coaches like Smart and Riley aren’t in any danger of ever being fired, but there’s a demand for their programs to be excellent. To win championships. 

For others, there’s the burden of not meeting expectations, so they’re under pressure to win now or else risk finding their names on the coaching carousel come November. 

So this week, we’re going to do a Pressure Check on every Power 5 head coach. We rolled out the SEC first, and have since looked at the coaches from the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12. 

Again: This is not a hot seat list. It’s a pressure gauge — Low, Medium, High and Extreme — for the 2023 season. 

Dave Aranda, Baylor — Medium 

Dave Aranda went 2-7 in Year 1, 12-2 in Year 2, and then 6-7 last season, so it would behoove the well-respected head coach to start showing more consistent results — beginning this fall. 

The Bears were the preseason favorites to win the league in 2022, and after opening the year 6-3, they lost four straight to end the season. Expectations are lower this year, but Baylor does have eight home games and avoids Oklahoma, so there’s an opportunity for Aranda to capitalize on a good schedule draw. 

Kalani Sitake, BYU — Low

Kalani Sitake was on a bubbling hot seat at BYU not too long ago, but three straight solid seasons at his alma mater (including two with double-digit wins) calmed the powers at be. Sitake has taken the Cougars bowling in six of seven years in Provo and now must lead the program through its transition into the Big 12. 

For now, it seems like he’ll be given some time to turn BYU into a Power 5 school — including needing to recruit like one. 

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati — Medium 

In most cases, you don’t want to be the guy to follow the guy, but welcome to the world of Scott Satterfield. The former Louisville head coach didn’t have much of a choice, as he made the most of a bad situation this offseason when he restarted his coaching clock at Cincy. Satterfield takes over for Luke Fickell, who turned the Bearcats into the kings of the Group of 5, becoming the lone program to make the CFP. 

With the program moving to the Big 12, Satterfield isn’t burdened with such expectations in Year 1, but he still needs to prove he’s the right guy for the job after a strange hiring process.

Dana Holgorsen, Houston — High 

Five years ago, Dana Holgorsen bolted West Virginia for Houston to escape the basement of the Big 12. Welcome back, Holgo. While the Cougars are a program with more potential and upside than WVU, they’re coming off a disappointing 2021 season and a very turbulent offseason. 

Houston’s win total sits at just 4.5 wins in preseason markets, and for a school that’s made real investments into the football program, that doesn’t match the internal expectations. Depending on how deep the growing pains are this fall, Holgerson’s return to the Big 12 could be short-lived. 

Matt Campbell, Iowa State — Low

Matt Campbell went 4-8 in 2022, and although he might regret reportedly turning down that insane offer from the Detroit Lions a few years ago, he is still the best head coach at Iowa State in nearly five decades. 

The Cyclones lost six one-score games last season, so if Campbell can get the program bowling again, he’ll once again emerge as a viable candidate for bigger jobs should he ever choose to leave Ames. 

Lance Leipold, Kansas — Low

No coach in the Big 12 faces less pressure than Lance Leipold — both because of where he coaches and for what he’s done with a formally moribund program. Leipold won three Big 12 games last fall and took the Jayhawks to their first bowl game in 14 seasons.

Kansas has a brutal schedule in 2023, but it does return star QB-RB tandem Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal, so if Leipold can take them bowling for a second-straight season he might get a lifetime contract with KU. 

Chris Klieman, Kansas State — Medium 

With Oklahoma and Texas set to leave the conference, Chris Klieman has Kansas State in a solid position to fill the power vacuum at the top of the league standings — but the Wildcats need to sustain last year’s momentum first. 

Klieman has great job security in Manhattan, but because of what he’s done at the program in four seasons (three bowl berths, a Big 12 Championship), the former North Dakota State national champion head coach faces some pressure to continue to deliver strong results. 

Brent Venables, Oklahoma — High

Brent Venables faces as much pressure as any second-year head coach (see: Mario Cristobal and Billy Napier) and you could certainly make the case that his measure meter should be higher than “high.” Oklahoma had its worst season in almost a quarter century in 2022. Its defense was awful and the Sooners got blanked 49-0 against Texas. 

Venables is recruiting at an SEC clip, but with Oklahoma set to join the league in 2024, he needs to prove he can even win 8-10 games in the Big 12 this fall. 

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State — High

The pressure on Mike Gundy is less about getting the Pokes back to the Big 12 Championship — something they in an outlier 2021 season when they went 12-2 — but about changing the vibes in Stillwater. 

After starting 6-1 last season, the Cowboys lost five of six down the stretch and then saw turnover on both the roster and coaching staff this offseason. They’re breaking in a new quarterback, too. The good news is you can practically write it in pen that Gundy will find seven wins, and Oklahoma State’s schedule is fairly favorable compared to many of its Big 12 brethren. 

Sonny Dykes, TCU — Low

I’m sure there’s pressure on Sonny Dykes from some die-hard TCU faithful to somehow replicate last year’s magical season, but from a macro perspective, few coaches in America have engendered as much goodwill as the former SMU head coach. 

Dykes literally moved across town and took a 5-7 to the national championship in Year 1. The Horned Frogs will naturally take a step back this fall, but they’ve done enough in the portal to at least compete for the Big 12 Championship for the second straight season. 

Steve Sarkisian, Texas — High

Steve Sarkisian is 13-12 at Texas, and while he’s a very accomplished and successful play-caller and OC, he’s never won 10 games once in his career as a head coach at Washington, USC or Texas. 

Is this finally the year? It probably needs to be. The Longhorns are the favorites to win the Big 12 in their final season before making the jump to the SEC. They’re loaded on offense and return the bulk of one of the better defenses in the conference last season. Sarkisian’s teams have had a propensity to cough up wins late in games and that must stop this fall.

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech— Low

In Joey McGuire‘s first fall in Lubbock, Texas Tech had its best season in 13 years (8-5). The Red Raiders beat Texas and Oklahoma in the same season for the first time in school history, and they signed a Top 25 recruiting class — fourth-best in the Big 12.

McGuire is beloved in the Longhorn State, and in 2023 he has a veteran team that returns 15 starters and added a couple of key pieces from the transfer portal. The Red Raiders have all the makings of a darkhorse Big 12 contender this fall, and if they do push for the berth in the conference championship, then the pressure on McGuire will rise — simply because he’s so quickly raised expectations at TTU.

Gus Malzahn, UCF — Medium 

Gus Malzahn has won nine games each in his first two seasons at UCF, and thanks to a strong recruiting footprint and an administration investing in the program, the Knights are positioned to make a rather smooth transition to the Big 12 in 2023. 

But Malzahn has to deliver on that potential. UCF isn’t expected to compete for the conference title this fall, but if the Knights prove to be competitive in Year 1 as a Power 5 program, they absolutely can contend for the league — and a CFP Playoff spot in a 12-team field — in 2024 and beyond. 

Neal Brown, West Virginia — Extreme

Neal Brown has three losing seasons in four years at West Virginia, and with a new boss, there’s immense pressure on Brown to “win now.” The Mountaineers were hammered by the transfer portal and have a brutal schedule in 2023, which includes non-conference games against Penn State and Pitt. 

Can Brown win his way into the good graces of new AD Wren Baker? The former Troy head coach must fix an offense that has struggled mightily during Brown’s tenure.  West Virginia ranked 91st in scoring and will have its third play caller in three years in 2023. 

2023 Pressure Rankings: Big 12 Coaches

1. Neal Brown
2. Dana Holgerson
3. Brent Venables 
4. Steve Sarkisian 
5. Mike Gundy
6. Gus Malzahn
7. Scott Satterfield
8. Dave Aranda
9. Chris Klieman
10. Kalani Sitake 
11. Matt Campbell
12. Joey McGuire
13. Sonny Dykes
14. Lance Leipold