By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
The West boasts several established and esteemed coaches, some youthful, some with a ton of experience.
Most of these coaches appeared in my preseason rankings last year (those ranks appear in parentheses in this list).
I did not rank any of the first-time head coaches for 2024, which is why you see the (NR) next to the four men starting their second season as a head coach.
This year, I had planned to rank them all, regardless of whether they had any prior head coach experience, but all of the new coaches in the region come to their new job with at least some experience running a program.
Having brought you this year’s Ranking the Big Ten Football Head Coaches for 2025 to go with Dane Miller’s Ranking the Big 12 Football Head Coaches for 2025, here are my rankings of the men in charge of the 26 FBS programs in our coverage footprint.
They’re sure to spark some debate as we approach the 2025 college football season, but I’m sure things will look different a year from now.
1. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (1)
Kyle Whittingham has recorded seven 10+ win seasons, two Pac-12 titles, and seven finishes inside the AP Top 25.
Last season was a down year for the veteran head coach, with the Utes finishing 5-7, marking just his third losing season (all of them 5-7) of his 20-year career.
He is the second-longest tenured coach in the FBS and has won consistently with the Utes since 2005.
Look for a bounce-back season in Salt Lake City this fall.
2. Dan Lanning, Oregon (2)
Dan Lanning has done nothing but win games. With a 35-6 career mark, he is right on pace to match Ryan Day’s record in a few years.
The young Oregon coach is proving to be an elite recruiter, and this season figures to show just how good the Ducks have been on that front with a slew of stars to replace.
Lanning never shies away from rolling the dice with the game on the line, and you have to think his players love him for that, whether it always pays off or not.
The Ducks took home the regular-season conference crown in Year One in the Big Ten. We will see what the encore looks like and how bright the new stars can shine.
3. Lincoln Riley, USC (7)
Lincoln Riley is a master recruiter.
And when you are bringing in elite talent every season, you can’t afford too many 7-6 seasons, especially at a place like USC.
Over the last two seasons, the Trojans are 13-11 overall and 9-9 in conference play. Those numbers need to improve.
Nonetheless, it is hard to discount the body of work, going 81-24 in his eight seasons as a head coach at Oklahoma and USC.
4. Kalani Sitake, BYU (16)
Kalani Sitake has built the Cougars back into a power.
He has won 10+ games in three of the last five seasons and has led BYU to a bowl game in seven of his nine seasons at the helm in Provo.
In those bowl games, he has gone 5-2.
Coming off a Top 15 finish last season, his coaching prowess will be put to the test this season, as the Cougs will need to break in a new QB for the 2025 campaign.
5. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State (13)
Kenny Dillingham turned the Sun Devils around in no time, taking just two seasons to go from a program in shambles to winning the Big XII and making the playoffs.
ASU went 4-1 last season against ranked opponents with the lone loss to Texas in the playoffs.
Dillingham is well on his way to elite status, but at just 14-12 overall as a head coach, he needs to maintain that level of success a bit longer to climb this list—and I think he will.
But until then, he slots in at No. 5.
6. Spencer Danielson, Boise State (10)
Mark Danielson righted things in 2023 for the Broncos and led them to a 3-1 finish to the season. Last year he led Boise State to the college football playoffs.
The Broncos knocked off SMU before bowing out to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. It is easy to say he is carrying on the success at Boise, but it is hard to argue with a 15-3 mark in your first 18 games as a head coach.
Danielson has proved he can get the most out of his players and they seem to love suiting up for him.
7. Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State (12)
Ken Niumatalolo was fantastic in his stint with Navy, and was successful in his first season with San Jose State.
A good coach will adjust to his personnel, and he certainly has proven to be capable of that. The offensive weapons are more talented with the Spartans than he had at Navy, and the offense is much more wide open.
This ranking might be loftier than some may think is worthy, but the man can coach, and the team should be really good in 2025. This season, they have the tools to take the next step, and the schedule sets up nicely.
With Niumatalolo at the helm, there is no reason to think there will not be more success in Year Two.
8. Troy Calhoun, Air Force (6)
Troy Calhoun is about to begin his 19th season as the head coach of the Air Force Academy.
A model of consistency, he has led the Falcons to a bowl in 13 of his 18 prior campaigns. He has won at least nine games in seven seasons and has won 58% of his conference games.
Calhoun is exactly the kind of coach a service academy needs.
He played for the Falcons and continues to find a mountain of success in Colorado Springs.
9. Jedd Fisch, Washington (4)
Jedd Fisch worked wonders turning around the Arizona program.
It certainly looks a lot different without him.
The Huskies lost a lot of talent from his predecessor’s squad that played for the national title, but they still ended up in the Sin Bowl.
The turnaround in Tucson did not happen overnight and things in Washington should continue to trend upward.
10. Dan Mullen, UNLV (NR)
Dan Mullen has substantial big-time experience.
He found success with Mississippi State, taking the Bulldogs to a bowl in eight of his nine seasons.
At Florida, despite the final year being a struggle, he still won two-thirds of his games and took the Gators to three New Years Six Bowl games in four years.
The guy has championship pedigree as a coordinator as well.
This was a huge hire for the Rebels. Don’t expect any fall-off in Vegas after the coaching change.
11. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State (11)
Bronco Mendenhall had a lot of success at BYU before heading to Virginia, where, despite some success, he found himself burnt out.
After a couple of years away, he seemed to re-find his enthusiasm with New Mexico last season, nearly leading the Lobos to a bowl birth.
He made the jump inside the conference this season.
Utah State should be in good shape in the coaching department for quite some time.
12. Matt Entz, Fresno State (NR)
In five seasons with North Dakota State, Matt Entz won a pair of national championships.
He came just short in his pursuit a third title, ending his career as an FCS head coach with a 60-11 mark.
He makes the jump in divisions this season after a year with USC running the linebackers.
The Bulldogs have had a lot of success with their coaching hires, and this could end up being another home run selection.
13. Jay Norvell, Colorado State (19) — Does Norvell finally have the Rams in position to take the next step? It seems like CSU needs to make that jump this season.
14. Deion Sanders, Colorado (20) — Sanders proved his mettle last season. Now, how will he fare replacing a Heisman Trophy-winner, his sons, and several other talented players?
15. Trent Bray, Oregon State (NR) — Bray only posted a 5-7 mark in Year One, but he did get the better of new conference rival Washington State.
16. Justin Wilcox, Cal (18) — Wilcox took the Bears to a bowl game last season and was oh-so-close to some huge wins. Cal needs to finish some of those wins this season.
17. DeShaun Foster, UCLA (NR) — Foster has a QB this season to run the show; how much better will the Bruins look in Year Two?
18. Frank Reich, Stanford (NR) — Temporary or not, Reich comes with a lot of experience and should offer a good reset for the Cardinal program.
19. Jimmy Rogers, Washington State (NR) — Rogers has won 27 of 30 games as a head coach, which is hard to argue with. We’ll see what happens in Pullman.
20. Sean Lewis, San Diego State (14) — I think a lot of people expected a lot more in Lewis’s first year with the Aztecs, especially out of the offense. But in time they should come around.
21. Timmy Chang, Hawai’i (22) — Chang and the Rainbow Warriors finished strong in 2024 but they need to win more in 2025, or Aloha will mean goodbye.
22. Jeff Choate, Nevada (17) — Year One was a struggle, but the program was in full reset mode.
23. Jason Eck, New Mexico (NR) — Eck had success with Idaho, can he turn around the Lobos?
24. Brent Brennan, Arizona (9) — It took time to turn around SJSU, but the Wildcats were on the rise when Brennan came in. Last season was an overwhelming step back.
25. Jay Sawvel, Wyoming (NR) — Sawvel still has a lot to prove with the Cowboys. His opening season was not impressive.
26. Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State (NR) — Six seasons as a head coach and no winning seasons. That is one less than even Scott Frost can claim.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).