Ranking the Big Ten's 10 Best Head Coaches: Where Does Bret Bielema Land?

With three straight national championships, the Big Ten is on top of the college football world – well, depending on whom you ask. Many of the nation’s premier football minds reside in the league, ranging from Big Ten mainstays to newcomers. Here are the top 10 Big Ten head coaches entering the 2026 season:

Big Ten football top 10 head coaches entering 2026

No. 10: Jedd Fisch, Washington

After engineering an impressive three-year turnaround at Arizona – which culminated in a 10-3 season in 2023 – Jedd Fisch came to Washington and took the Huskies from six to nine wins in a year's time. They could make another stride forward in 2026 behind quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and a stingy defense.

No. 9: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

In his time at Minnesota, P.J. Fleck has churned out winning season after winning season. The Golden Gophers have rattled off five straight bowl game appearances – and won all five (Fleck is actually 7-0 in bowl games at Minnesota). He has won at least eight games in four of the past five seasons. The next step for Fleck: getting the Golden Gophers over the hump and into College Football Playoff contention.

No. 8 Matt Campbell, Penn State

Former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is now at the helm of the storied Penn State program. The expectations are always high in Happy Valley – just ask James Franklin – so Campbell will be expected to produce from the jump. He went 3-9 in his debut season at Iowa State, but that won’t cut it with the Nittany Lions. Fortunately for him, Campbell arrives with a loaded transfer class – led by none other than his former quarterback, three-year Cyclones starter Rocco Becht.

No. 7: Kyle Whittingham, Michigan

As the head coach at Utah, Kyle Whittingham won 177 games in 22 years – including a 13-0 campaign in 2008. He brings vast experience and a strong defensive identity to Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines' D should flourish from Day 1. But Whittingham’s ability – and that of his staff – to put heralded quarterback Bryce Underwood in the best position to succeed in 2026 may be the key to his maiden voyage at Michigan.

No. 6: Bret Bielema, Illinois

Illinois' football program has been around since 1892, and it has the advantages of some history (think Red Grange and Dick Butkus) and solid resources. Still, the Illini hadn’t won nine or more games in back-to-back seasons since … ever. Bret Bielema accomplished that in just his fourth and fifth years at the helm. He’s a culture builder and an excellent talent developer. Bielema elevates the floor, and of late he has pushed the ceiling to a new level. But can he push Illinois all the way into the CFP?

No. 5: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

Kirk Ferentz is the embodiment of metronome-level consistency. He went 1-10 in his initial campaign at Iowa, then followed that up with three wins in 2000. Ever since, he has won at least six games in every season but one.

The Hawkeyes have appeared in 22 bowl games during that time, finishing ranked in the AP Poll in 11 seasons and winning double-digit games eight times. Ferentz has consistently produced one of the nation’s top defenses on a year-to-year basis. But his never-ending quarterback woes have kept Iowa from earning powerhouse status.

No. 4: Lincoln Riley, USC

Although Lincoln Riley may not be as tenured as others on this list, he has done a lot of winning. In nine seasons, he owns a career win percentage of .763 (though that number has slipped to .660 at USC). He’s 11-7 in Big Ten play as a head coach, but expect the offensive-minded Riley to add lots of wins and very few losses to that total in 2026.

No. 3: Dan Lanning, Oregon

The least-experienced head coach on this list, Dan Lanning has been steering the ship at Oregon for just four seasons – yet he has won 48 games. (That's 12 wins per season. For context, Illinois, a program dating back to 1892, has never even won 11 games in a season.)

Yes, Lanning does have seemingly infinite resources at his disposal, but that doesn’t change the end result: He wins. The only question: How does he navigate the loss of both of his coordinators heading into 2026?

No. 2: Ryan Day, Ohio State

Pop quiz time: Since the conference officially became the Big Ten (in 1953), which Ohio State coaches have never lost more than two games in a season? The list is short: Urban Meyer and Ryan Day.

Sure, Day has all of the resources in the world – but he isn't alone in that regard (hello, Coach Lanning). And Day has won a national championship. As a program leader, Day has made all. the right moves – hire top coordinators, recruit, build a culture, develop – so there’s no reason to believe he won’t win another.

No. 1: Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Winning is the expectation at Oregon and Ohio State. Head coaches are set up for success. At Indiana, not only are they not set up for success – they have been set up for failure. But that wasn't an issue for Curt Cignetti, who just rattled off a mind-boggling 27 wins in his first two seasons in Bloomington, not to mention capturing a national title this past season.

And with the Hoosiers’ talent evaluation, mastermind coordinators and flawless preparation, they’re going to continue to win. Add to that never-before-seen resources – at least not for Indiana football – and the Hoosiers and Cignetti very well may be the nation’s premier powerhouse for the foreseeable future.

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