The Big 12 is in a state of flux. Last season, after officially moving on from Texas and Oklahoma, the conference was up for anyone's taking. Few saw it being Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State to grab the conference by the horns, and eventually earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Many with wishful thinking had hoped the Jayhawks could continue their climb and not prove they were not just a spark. However, after last season's 5-7 record, expectations have been lightly dimmed by many, but not all.
CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah ranked each Big 12 coach and Leipold placed quite high.
The former Buffalo coach was touted at the No.4 spot. Here is what Jeyarajah said of Leipold.
"Leipold shot up the rankings after a strong 2023 season but fell back to Earth after disappointing at 5-7. However, he still belongs in the top group of coaches for his success at multiple different stops. The nine-win campaign in 2023 was the best at Kansas since Mark Mangino's 12-1 Orange Bowl season in 2007 and is tied for the fourth-best season in program history. Combine that with a miracle rebuild at Buffalo and ranking as one of the greatest Division III coaches at all time -- a top-15 ranking is well deserved."
Jeyarajah placed Leipold as the 15th best coach in the nation, which caught many by surprise, as different rankings have seen Leipold's ranking fluctuate.
Without doubt you can see why Jeyarajah touts Leipold so highly. After all, Leipold has turned Kansas from a laughing stock into a legitimate contender in nearly every Big 12 game. Leipold has twice turned Kansas into bowl eligible squads during his relatively small tenure of four full seasons.
Are things perfect? No. There have been consistency struggles that have come about when closing games out. Last season Kansas saw five single digit losses. While it is something that remains somewhat excusable for the near future, if the Jayhawks can't flip a few of these results soon, then the pressure will only build on Leipold, something that he hasn't necessarily experienced thus far at Kansas.
Leipold will have to rely on a hefty transfer haul that has seen 28 new players enter the program, in a range of different positions. Combine that with the in-house promotion of both D.K. McDonald and Jim Zebrowski to defensive and offensive coordinator positions, and Leipold is faced with a lot of moving pieces. The same was said though, when star quarterback Jalon Daniels got injured three games into the 2023-24 season, and that produced the nine-win season Jeyarajah mentioned earlier.