In a recent list from 247Sports’ Carter Bahns, two Big 12 coaches earned some praise among first-year Power Five head coaches.
Arizona’s Brent Brennan and Houston’s Willie Fritz were both awarded spots on the Top 10 list of the most exciting Power Five head coaching debuts of the 2024 season.
Houston‘s Willie Fritz earned the No. 7 spot on Bahns’ list, just ahead of Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Syracuse’s Fran Brown, and Duke’s Manny Diaz.
“The first year as a power conference member came with its growing pains, but Houston hit the reset button with its coaching change and now appears poised to capitalize on its massive upside in the Big 12,” Bahns said. “It will take time, but Willie Fritz is the caliber of coach who can turn the Cougars into a perennial conference championship contender. He already took Tulane to the pinnacle of the Group of Five ranks, and with even more resources, a bigger stage and the recruiting soil that come with the Houston job, Fritz has everything he needs to trigger the Cougars’ breakout.”
The Cougars elected to move on from Dana Holgorsen after five years with the program, following a brutal first year in the Big 12 Conference. Now, with some nice additions through the transfer portal and at the high school ranks, Willie Fritz appears to have the team in motion for a rebuild.
Listed two spots ahead of Fritz on the list is Arizona‘s Brent Brennan, who earned the No. 5 spot. Bahns raved about Brennan’s debut, saying, “There might be more exciting hires at face value across the college football landscape, but Brent Brennan has a unique situation at Arizona wherein the expectation is to compete for the Big 12 title in Year 1. The program withstood admirably the loss of Jedd Fisch late in the coaching carousel cycle when it kept many of its top players — including the dynamic duo of quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan — in the fold. Pairing an already potent roster with a coach who turned San José State into a perennial Mountain West contender is a recipe for immediate success.”
Both programs will take the field on Saturday, August 31st, to make their highly anticipated debuts. Arizona will take on New Mexico, while Houston kicks off against UNLV.
