Ranking each Big 12 football head coach entering 2024 season

3. Lance Leipold, Kansas

Like Klieman, Leipold is also an emerging coach at the high-major level who has had an incredible amount of success through the years. The 60-year-old is a former quarterback at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater and got his coaching start at his alma mater in the late 1980s. He eventually earned an opportunity as head coach of the Warhawks two decades later and led them to six national championships in eight seasons. Leipold then took on a project at the D-I level at Buffalo where he helped the Bulls reach three bowl games before joining Kansas. He signed a lucrative contract extension late in 2022 after leading the Jayhawks to their first bowl game since 2008 and helped them win nine games for the first time since 2007 last year. The sky’s the limit under Leipold and the Jayhawks could be a darkhorse playoff contender in 2024.