Ranking the Big Ten West Head Coaches: Who Comes Out on Top?

As Big Ten football programs prepare for another season, I want to say goodbye to the B1G West division, which has been home to a gritty (not pretty) battleground for intense rivalries that I’ve enjoyed deeply.

With perennial powerhouses such as Wisconsin and Iowa and emerging programs like Illinois and Minnesota, the Big Ten West Division is a captivating battleground where every yard matters.

Today, we embark on a journey to power rank the head coaches of the Big Ten West Division. The formula (there isn’t one, basically all gut reaction type stuff) will include their past achievements, coaching philosophies, and the potential impact they could have on their programs — or whatever bullshit I decide is meaningful to me.

Join me as I delve into the fascinating world of the Big Ten West head football coaches, dissecting their strengths and weaknesses and forecasting how their coaching prowess could shape the division’s landscape in its final season.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Badgers 

• Record at Cincinnati: 57-18 (AAC: 35-11)
• Last season: 9-3 (AAC: 6-2)
• CFP appearances: 1
• AAC Championships: 2
• AAC Championship appearances: 3

Call me a homer if you want, but the Wisconsin Badgers have the best head coach in the West — bar none. My argument is simple: no other Big Ten football coach has gotten their program to the playoffs — and he was able to do that with a Group of 5 team nonetheless. 

Luke Fickell is also one of the country’s most accomplished winners, compiling a 57-18 record at Cincinnati in six years a the helm. He also won two AAC Championships (2020, 2021) and finished three seasons with 11 wins or more. 

With Fickell on the sidelines — Wisconsin is so back — and I don’t think it’s particularly close between him and the next tier of Big Ten football coaches. 

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

• Record at Iowa: 186-115 (Big Ten: 115-83)
• Last season: 8-5 (Big Ten: 5-4)
• Big Ten Championships: 2 (Shared titles in 2002 and 2004)
• Big Ten Championship game appearances: 2
• CFP appearances: 0

Listing Kirk Ferentz at No. 2 seems underwhelming, but I have to give respect where respect is due — this man is the longest-tenured head coach in college football — let alone the Big Ten. 

Ferentz has registered 19 winning seasons since 1999 — but his lack of awareness — or unwillingness to fire his son as offensive coordinator is beyond puzzling. Iowa averaged only 251.6 yards per game, the lowest total the Hawkeyes have had during Ferentz’s tenure. 

It’s hard to find that kind of job security when you’re completely inept at your job. But nobody can deny how nasty the Hawkeye’s defense is — or how well Iowa does at developing unheralded recruits. 

Overall, he’s a pretty damn good Big Ten football coach — but a large tier drop between him and Luke Fickell. 

Matt Rhule, Nebraska

• Record at Baylor: 19-20 (Big 12: 13-14)
• Last season at Baylor: 11-3 
• CFP appearances: 0
• Big 12 Championships: 0
• Big 12 Championship appearances: 1

Listing another first-year Big Ten West head coach in Nebraska’s Matt Rhule seems like a stretch — but that says more about the division than anything. 

Rhule gets the nod as the No. 3 head coach because of his track record of being a program builder — despite his failed attempt with the Panthers in the NFL. At both Temple and Baylor, he resurrected dead programs and built back sustainability. 

Known for his ability to identify and develop talent, Rhule now faces the daunting task of returning the Cornhuskers to respectability — and we all know he will have the resources at his disposal to do so. 

It’s worth mentioning, however, that Rhule was 0-11 against ranked opponents at Baylor — that’s an eyebrow-raiser. And in the spirit of transparency, I also thought that Scott Frost was a home-run hire at the time, and I was dead wrong — so do with that information as you will. 

College/Big Ten football is better when Nebraska is good. 

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

• Record at Minnesota: 44-27 (Big Ten: 26-26)
• Last season: 9-4 (Big Ten: 5-4)
• CFP appearances: 0
• Big Ten Championships: 0
• Big Ten Championship appearances: 0

Anyone who knows me — knows that I think P.J. Fleck is an overbearing, self-serving, egotistical douchebag. That said, he’s a solid football coach.

Fleck has brought Minnesota back to respectability, but that’s where the compliments end. He’s 26-26 in Big Ten play and hasn’t won the Big Ten West in his tenure — so anything higher than four is far too rich for my taste. 

The Gophers have produced four winning seasons in six years and won all four bowl games they’ve played in under Fleck — which is worth noting — even if they were trash bowls. His 13-1 season at Western Michigan was pretty damn, but we’re six years removed from that. 

I’d be happier if Fleck rowed his damn boat into an iceberg. 

Bret Bielema, Illinois

• Record at Illinois: 13-12 (Big Ten: 9-9)
• Last season: 8-5 (Big Ten: 5-4)
• Big Ten Championships: 3 (2010-12)
• CFP appearances: 0

Ah, Bret Bielema our old friend. I’d love to list him higher than P.J. Fleck — more than you know, but Big Ten football is a what have you done for me lately league. 

Despite having three Big Ten titles under his belt from his time at Wisconsin, Bielema has been a ho-hum head coach in his last two collegiate stops. 

However, Illinois is coming off its best season in 15 years and looks like a team on the rise. His program won games last year, playing hard-nosed defense and running the ball down other teams’ throats. 

This upcoming season will be a big one for the Illini and Bielema in terms of repairing his image. But sometimes Karma gets the best of you (if you need help understanding this reference, you’re too young). 

*(Wrote this before he was fired) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

• Record at Northwestern: 110-101 (Big Ten: 65-76)
• Last season: 1-11
• CFP appearances: 0
• Big Ten Championships: 0
• Big Ten Championship appearances: 2

Putting Pat Fitzgerald this low on the list feels disrespectful, but your stock has to be in freefall when you win one game in a season. 

Overall, Fitzgerald has done a wonderful job in Evanston (wrote this before the allegations) — putting together three 10-win seasons and a pair of Big Ten football championship appearances. 

Northwestern has its challenges regarding recruiting, and Fitzgerald is a quality football coach — I truly believe that — but winning is what matters, and the Wildcats don’t do much of it. 

*If the allegations against Fitzgerald are true — fuck him.

Ryan Walters, Purdue

• N/A

This ranking has nothing to do with Ryan Walters, who constructed an impressive defense for the Illini in 2022 but is a complete unknown. 

Because I don’t know shit about him other than the surface-level details — I won’t pretend to have a hot take (trust me, I wish this were P.J. Fleck). 

Contact/Follow us @Badger_Notes on Twitter, Subscribe to the BadgerNotes Newsletter here, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.

Follow this link and use promo code: BADGERNOTES for 25% off your next True Classic order.

Join the Badger Notes watch party and stream Wisconsin Badgers games by following this link.

*Subscribe to Locked on Badgers on Youtube and wherever you find podcasts, the only daily Wisconsin Badgers podcast on the internet.