Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham has, after 20 seasons, etched his name in the annals of college football history with the job he has done at the U.

As such, it isn’t a surprise that Whittingham is considered, even after a down 2024 season from the Utes, one of the best active coaches in the sport.

In CBS Sports’ annual rankings of FBS coaches, which were determined by CBS Sports and 247 Sports experts, Whittingham slotted in at No. 11 overall among Power Four coaches.

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Whittingham received votes as high as No. 9 and as low as No. 37.

“While I’m sure every voter on our panel would appreciate a bit more honesty from Whittingham when it comes to the injury status of his quarterback, we’ll forgive him for it,” Tom Fornelli wrote.

“He’s still one of the most consistent coaches in the country, even if he’s coming off a tough season. It was Utah’s first losing season since 2013, and the Utes responded to that season by going 28-11 over the following three. They’ll be back in the Big 12 hunt this year.”

Whittingham wasn’t alone in the rankings among Big 12 coaches.

Iowa State’s Matt Campbell came in at No. 10, while Kansas State’s Chris Klieman was ranked No. 14, Kansas’ Lance Leipold at No. 15 and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham ranked No. 18.

All are notable for different reasons.

Campbell’s overall success at Iowa State, a program that had traditionally struggled, is well-noted. Before Campbell took the job in 2016, ISU had won nine games in a season one time since 1906.

Campbell has won nine or more games twice in the last five years.

Leipold and Dillingham have also won at programs that many fans — younger ones especially — don’t particularly associate with winning, turning around programs that were considered the dregs of the Big 12 and the Pac-12 at different times in the last 10 years.

And Klieman, well, he’s managed to win at an impressive rate — eight or more wins in five of six seasons — at a school and in a job that many consider one of the toughest in the sport, a job that required a Hall of Fame coach in Bill Snyder to see consistent success.

Campbell and Whiittingham are unique among the group, though, in that they are also considered two of the 25 best coaching hires made in the last 25 years.

That list, compiled by CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah, features three current Big 12 coaches — Campbell, Whittingham and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy.

Gundy isn’t considered a top 25 P4 coach right now, though — he came in at No. 34 in CBS Sports’ rankings — making Campbell and Whittingham unique.

Campbell ranks No. 15 on the list, for reasons not even listed above.

“A successful MAC coach with some upside, Campbell was a fairly traditional hire for a Midwestern program,” Jeyarajah wrote. “Instead, he has delivered one of the most underrated runs in college football history.

“Prior to Campbell, the last time the program had three straight winning seasons was 1925-27. He posted five straight winning seasons and seven in nine years, including a school record 11 wins in 2024. If Campbell can eventually break through and win the program’s first conference title since 1912, he’d easily slide into the top 10. And most scary: he’s only 45.”

Whittingham is ranked higher, though, at No. 12 among the best 25 hires made this millennium.

“There’s a collection of legendary internal hires in college football history, and Whittingham belongs near the top,” Jeyarajah wrote. “He sometimes gets slight criticism for taking over a 13-0 powerhouse that Urban Meyer left behind, but Whittingham built a program in his own image.

“He led Utah to a No. 2 finish in the AP Top 25 in 2008 and brought enough sustained success to earn the Utes a Pac-12 invitation. After some growing pains in the new league, Utah hit its stride in the final years of the Pac-12, winning back-to-back conference titles. The caliber of the job has been transformed because of Whittingham’s long-term impact.”

It probably isn’t coincidence that among the teams believed by many to be legitimate contenders for the Big 12 title this year, four of the top five according to Phil Steele are led by coaches considered among the best in America, namely Whittingham, Campbell, Dillingham and Klieman.

And in that group, Campbell and Whittingham are unique, a level above even the best of their Big 12 peers.

BYU Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake and Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell talk after the Cyclines beat the Cougars 45-13 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News