Ranking the Pac-12 Football Head Coaches for 2026

1. Spencer Danielson, Boise State

Boise State football has won three straight Mountain West titles under Spencer Danielson’s leadership.

The Broncos also made the 2024 College Football Playoff in his first full year as head coach.

Daniels was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year that season and was a finalist for many national honors.

He’s been successful from the jump, winning 20 out of his first 25 contests.

After starting as a graduate assistant with the Broncos in 2017, he revitalized the program during a transitional state, turning around an Andy Avalos team that had gone 5-5 and winning a conference championship.

2. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State

Bronco Mendenhall is one of the more tenured coaches on this list, with over thirty years of coaching experience and 19 as the leader.

He ranks fourth among active FBS coaches with 142 wins, and a career winning percentage of .606. He has led 17 different teams to bowl games, and has won seven of these matchups.

Mendenhall’s NFL connections are another facet of his resume, as 138 of his former players have signed a professional contract.

In his first season with Utah State, he led the Aggies to a 6-7 record and a bid to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

The Aggies featured one of the best scoring offenses in the Mountain West, tallying 30.9 points per game.

Seven players from his 2025 roster are getting an opportunity in the NFL. The team also posted the highest GPA in program history.

3. Matt Entz, Fresno State

Matt Entz gets overlooked because he made a name for himself at North Dakota State.

But Entz found instant success with Fresno State when the program felt rocky.

The Bulldogs finished with a 9-4 record last season, which was the second-most wins by a first-year coach in the Valley.

His team also won the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, marking only the second time a first-year coach has gotten a bowl dub.

Prior to Fresno, he spent one year at USC, where he was the assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach.

At the FCS level, Entz won two national championships with the Bison and was named the National Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021, while posting a 60-11 record at NDSU.

4. Jim Mora, Colorado State

A lot of pundits would probably have Jim Mora in their top three, maybe even Number One.

Mora has the most experience on this list, because of his NFL pedigree, where he was a head coach for two different franchises. He also has vast experience at the collegiate level.

But outside of UConn, he’s never won at a consistently high clip.

He was awesome for the Huskies, however, leading them to a 10-2 record and an appearance in the Fenway Bowl.

He also posted UConn’s first back-to-back nine-win seasons in program history. But his career record of 46-30 at UCLA left a bit to be desired. As does his 3-3 career bowl record.

Nevertheless, his experience alone could prove vital in this conference.

5. GJ Kinne, Texas State

GJ Kinne might be the most unknown coach in the Pac-12. In fact, it feels like guys who’ve never coached an FBS game get more buzz than Kinne.

The Bobcats have won since becoming the head coach at Texas State. Last season TXST finished 7-6, with a victory in the Armed Forces Bowl.

The two years prior, the Cats posted an 8-5 mark with two dubs in the First Responder Bowl.

The eight wins were a program high for a team that had only had one winning season before his arrival.

His “Take Back Texas” approach features a high-octane offense that has proven successful at multiple stops.

Texas State finished with the 12th-highest scoring offense in the country last year. Before San Marcos, he led FCS Incarnate Word to a 12-2 record and the FCS Semifinals.

6. Sean Lewis, San Diego State

Sean Lewis is another guy whom most analysts would probably have in their top five. Lewis quickly turned around San Diego State’s program after a rough start.

In Year One, the Aztecs finished 3-9, but the following season, they responded with a nine-win campaign. Lewis is known for his offense, but it was defense that carried SDSU in 2025.

San Diego State’s defense ranked sixth nationally in points allowed per game. If his “Aztec Fast” offense comes to fruition, SDSU could be a tough out.

The “O” showed glimpses, scoring 40-plus points three times, but lacked consistency.

Prior to SDSU, Lewis was the head coach at Kent State, where he brought life to a struggling program.

The Golden Flashes made two bowl appearances during his tenure, including a win in the 2019 Frisco Bowl.

7. Kirby Moore, Washington State

Kirby Moore is one of two coaches in the Pac-12 who have never been a leader at the FBS level. Moore got this opportunity for two reasons.

The first is due to his work as Offensive Coordinator at Missouri. He helped guide the Tigers to the 44th-ranked scoring offense last season.

But more importantly, for his player development.

Running back Ahmad Hardy shone under his tutelage, leading the country in rushing yards per game.

Moore did the same with former quarterback Brady Cook, who led Mizzou to a 21-5 mark as a starter.

The other reason Moore landed in Pullman is his familiarity with the region.

His Dad is a high school coaching legend in Eastern Washington, and he found success as a standout receiver at Prosser High School, less than 170 miles from WSU’s campus.

8. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State

JaMarcus Shephard is last on this list by default.

While he has noteworthy titles such as the assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator at Alabama, he’s never actually run his own unit at the collegiate level.

His highest individual title was wide receivers coach at Alabama. Regardless, he still feels like a good fit for Oregon State.

Before Tuscaloosa, he was the pass game coordinator and wide receivers Coach at Washington during the 2023 season.

The Huskies finished 14-1 and made the National Championship, driven by arguably the best passing attack in West Coast history.

This, combined with his exuberant passion, could make the Beavers a competitor in short order.