#4 Matt Wells
Matt Wells is coming off a season where his team ranked third in offense in the FBS. He is going to fit in well at Texas Tech. While Kingsbury was fired, Matt Wells has a chance to be a better version of him.
At Utah State, the Aggies averaged 47.5 points per game in 2018. That was second in the country and sandwiched between Oklahoma and Alabama. That will be an easy transition. He will have to improve the 8th ranked Big 12 defense to have early success though.
Being a school not named Texas or Texas A&M makes recruiting in the state of Texas difficult. With the 10th ranked class in the conference in 2018, 2019 and beyond is going to have to be in the top five of the Big 12 for true success at Texas Tech. Wells has the hardest job out of these four, but has a chance to have Texas Tech fans dreaming.
#3 Neal Brown
Coming from Troy, Neal Brown will be used to building what would be considered a small market type team up. Troy could be considered the fourth or fifth program in the state of Alabama, and Brown led them to three straight 10 win seasons.
One of his most famous wins was against in Baton Rouge against LSU in 2017. That season along with two others were bowl winning seasons for Troy and Neal Brown’s team was ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in program history.
You could argue that Brown has the hardest job out of all of these four new coaches, but he also has the best chance of doing great things. West Virginia has been a top level team in college football for awhile. Add someone who knows how to build a program and turn something small into something huge.
#2 Chris Klieman
A four time national champion at the FCS level, Chris Klieman is leaving North Dakota State with a 72-13 all time record. With such a winning record in the past, he is the perfect coach to replace legendary Bill Snyder.
The last time Kansas State had a 10 win season was in 2011 and the last time they won an outright Big 12 championship was 2003. It has been awhile since they have been at the top.
Like Brown, Klieman is coming from a small market. North Dakota is not exactly considered a recruiting hot zone and has had to build with the talent given to him. He will have to do the same at Kansas State. It does not help that the Jayhawks are on the rise too and it may take a couple years, but Klieman should have the Wildcats moving in the right direction.
#1 Les Miles
Based on his track record alone, Les Miles could be considered the best coach in the conference, let alone best new coach. With seven different 10 win seasons at LSU, he also has a National Championship in 2007.
Miles does have experience in the Big 12 when he was the head coach of Oklahoma State before he took over at LSU. He had a record of 28-21 overall and 16-16 in conference. While his last season coached was 15 years ago, he still does have experience in the Big 12.
Mix in his personality and there may not be a more likeable coach in the country right now. He has little to no pressure on him and he is a media gem. A season with anything more than a couple wins will be a great season in Lawrence.