Ranking every Pac-12 football head coach entering 2026 season

The reborn Pac-12 is launching this fall with eight football programs.

With fall camp just around the corner, here are Boise State Broncos On SI’s Pac-12 head coach rankings entering the 2026 football season.

8. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State

2025 record: N/A

Record with school: 0-0 (first season)

Career record: 0-0

Analysis: The former Alabama associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator is No. 8 by default as the least-experienced coach in the new Pac-12. Shephard is an energetic young coach who previously worked under Mike Leach, Jeff Brohm and Kalen DeBoer.

7. Kirby Moore, Washington State

2025 record: N/A

Record with school: 0-0 (first season)

Career record: 0-0

Analysis: Moore gets the nod over Shephard due to his three years of play-calling experience in the SEC as Missouri’s offensive coordinator. Moore, the younger brother of Boise State legend Kellen Moore, signed an impressive transfer class last offseason.

6. GJ Kinne, Texas State

2025 record: 7-6, 3-5 Sun Belt

Record with school: 23-16 (fourth season)

Career record: 35-18

Analysis: Kinne has won a bowl game in each of his three seasons with the Bobcats. Kinne is an offensive-minded coach who helped Texas State rank fifth nationally last season at 472.8 yards per game.

5. Jim Mora, Colorado State

2025 record (UConn): 9-3

Record with school: 0-0 (first season)

Career record: 73-53

Analysis: Mora turned around a struggling UConn program with consecutive nine-win seasons in 2024 and 2025. He is the highest-paid coach in the Pac-12 with a salary of $2.4 million for the upcoming season.

4. Matt Entz, Fresno State

2025 record: 9-4, 5-3 Mountain West

Record with school: 9-4 (second season)

Career record: 69-15

Analysis: Entz went 60-11 with a pair of national titles in five years at FCS power North Dakota State and guided Fresno State to a nine-win season in 2025. Entz’s career winning percentage of 82.1 percent ranks first in the Pac-12.

3. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State

2025 record: 6-7, 4-4 Mountain West

Record with school: 6-7 (second season)

Career record: 146-95

Analysis: The most experienced coach in the Pac-12, Mendenhall won 99 games in 11 seasons at BYU and has also been in the head chair at Virginia and New Mexico. The Aggies lost a bunch of talent from last year’s team, but Mendenhall’s track record of success speaks for itself.

2. Sean Lewis, San Diego State

2025 record: 9-4, 6-2 Mountain West

Record with school: 12-13 (third season)

Career record: 36-44

Analysis: Lewis had success at Kent State and transformed the Aztecs from a three-win team in 2024 to a nine-win group last year. If San Diego State challenges for the Pac-12 title this season, Lewis could be on the move to the Power Four in the near future.

1. Spencer Danielson, Boise State

2025 record: 9-5, 6-2 Mountain West

Record with school: 24-8 (third full season)

Career record: 24-8

Analysis: Danielson had a strong run in the Mountain West, going 19-2 against conference foes with three championships. The Broncos made the College Football Playoff in 2024 under Danielson and expect to contend for another berth in 2026.

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