A couple of years ago, we took a look at each Pac-12 coach's best team, but it's time for an update.

Kyle Whittingham led Utah to a 13-0 record in 2008, capped by a Sugar Bowl upset of Alabama. Douglas Jones/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images

Here's how this works: Each coach's best season is defined, for simplicity and consistency, by his team's ranking in the final AP poll and then listed in reverse order below. Four coaches -- Washington's Chris Petersen, Colorado's Mike MacIntyre, Oregon's Willie Taggart (with South Florida) and USC's Clay Helton -- saw their teams from 2016 make the cut.

No. 12 Justin Wilcox, Cal

Season: N/A. The 2017 season will be Wilcox’s first as a head coach, but he was defensive coordinator at Boise State in 2009, when the Broncos went 14-0 and finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

No. 11 Willie Taggart, Oregon

Season: South Florida, 2016

Record: 11-2 (7-1, tied for first in American East)

Final AP rank: 19

Highest AP rank: 19

Bowl result: Beat South Carolina 46-39 in the Birmingham Bowl (Taggart did not coach in the game)

The team: The Bulls' steady improvement throughout the season saw them crack the top 25 in late November, and by early December Taggart was off to Eugene. USF played two ranked teams along the way, losing to then-No. 13 Florida State and beating then-No. 22 Navy.

No. 10 Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

Season: Colorado, 2016

Record: 10-4 (8-1, first in Pac-12 South)

Final AP rank: 17

Highest AP rank: 9

Bowl result: Lost to No. 12 Oklahoma State 38-8 in the Alamo Bowl

The team: MacIntyre was previously on this list for taking San Jose State to its only final ranking in the AP poll, No. 21 in 2012, but this surprise Colorado team finished even higher. He deservedly won just about every coach of the year award out there after guiding the Buffaloes to their best season in years.

No. 9 Gary Andersen, Oregon State

Season: Wisconsin, 2014

Record: 10-3 (7-1, first in Big Ten West)

Final AP rank: 13

Highest AP rank: 11

Bowl result: Beat No. 19 Auburn 34-31 in the Outback Bowl (Andersen did not coach)

The team: In Andersen's second year in Madison after leaving Utah State, the Badgers began the season ranked No. 14 in the AP poll. They dropped their opener in painful fashion against LSU, but a seven-game winning streak to close the regular season had Wisconsin in the College Football Playoff picture.

No. 7 (tie) Todd Graham, Arizona State

Season: Arizona State, 2014

Record: 10-3 (6-3, tied for second in Pac-12 South)

Final AP rank: 12

Highest AP rank: 7

Bowl result: Beat Duke 36-31 in the Sun Bowl

The team: After an 8-1 start, Arizona State had a clear path to the College Football Playoff, but a surprising loss to Oregon State ended any fantasies the Sun Devils were harboring concerning a national title. They remained in position to win the Pac-12 South, but a loss to Arizona in the Territorial Cup prevented an opportunity to play Oregon for the conference title.

No. 7 (tie) Mike Leach, Washington State

Season: Texas Tech, 2008

Record: 11-2 (7-1, tied for first in Big 12 South)

Final AP rank: 12

Highest AP rank: 2

Bowl result: Lost to No. 25 Ole Miss 47-34 in the Cotton Bowl

The team: The Red Raiders started 10-0 and rose to No. 2 after Michael Crabtree's memorable touchdown catch secured a victory vs. No. 1 Texas. After two weeks at No. 2, the Red Raiders lost to No. 5 Oklahoma in a game that propelled Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford to the Heisman Trophy.

No. 6 Jim Mora, UCLA

Season: UCLA, 2014

Record: 10-3 (6-3, tied for second in Pac-12 South)

Final AP rank: 10

Highest AP rank: 7

Bowl result: Beat No. 11 Kansas State 40-35 in the Alamo Bowl

The team: The Bruins improved in each of Mora’s first three season at UCLA, and this team -- led by third-year starting quarterback Brett Hundley -- won six of its final seven games to go from unranked in mid-October to No. 10 in the final poll.

No. 5 Rich Rodriguez, Arizona

Season: West Virginia, 2005

Record: 11-1 (7-0, Big East champions)

Final AP rank: 5

Highest AP rank: 5

Bowl result: Beat No. 8 Georgia 38-35 in the Sugar Bowl

The team: West Virginia started the season unranked, and its lone loss came to then-No. 3 Virginia Tech. A strong case can be made that West Virginia had a better team in 2007, when Rodriguez left following the regular-season finale to become head coach at Michigan. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 2 (No. 1 in the coaches poll) going into Rodriguez's final game but lost to a 4-7 Pittsburgh team in the 100th Backyard Brawl, which cost them a chance to play for the national title.

No. 4 Chris Petersen, Washington

Season: Washington, 2016

Record: 12-2 (8-1, Pac-12 champions)

Final AP rank: 4

Highest AP rank: 4

Bowl result: Lost to No. 1 Alabama 24-7 in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff

The team: This was the second time Petersen coached a team to a No. 4 final ranking; his 2009 team at Boise State also accomplished the feat. The Huskies were dominant throughout the regular season and earned a berth in the playoff with a 41-10 victory over Colorado in the Pac-12 title game.

No. 2 (tie) Clay Helton, USC

Season: USC, 2016

Record: 10-3 (7-2, second in Pac-12 South)

Final AP rank: 3

Highest AP rank: 3

Bowl result: Beat No. 5 Penn State 52-49 in the Rose Bowl

The team: From 1-3 to No. 3, what a wild ride it was. In his first full season as a head coach, Helton saw the Trojans pull a remarkable in-season turnaround and cap it with a victory in one of the most entertaining Rose Bowl games of all time. Not a bad debut.

No. 2 (tie) David Shaw, Stanford

Season: Stanford, 2015

Record: 12-2 (8-1, Pac-12 champions)

Final AP rank: 3

Highest AP rank: 3

Bowl result: Beat No. 5 Iowa 45-16 in the Rose Bowl

The team: It will be remembered best for running back Christian McCaffrey's historic season, which somehow didn’t net him the Heisman Trophy. If not for a puzzling 16-6 loss to Northwestern in the opener, Stanford probably would have made the playoff. Still, a dominant Rose Bowl victory led to the Cardinal's best final ranking in more than 70 years.

No. 1 Kyle Whittingham, Utah

Season: Utah, 2008

Record: 13-0 (8-0, Mountain West champions)

Final AP rank: 2

Highest AP rank: 2

Bowl result: Beat No. 4 Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl

The team: In Whittingham's fourth season as head coach, the Utes finished as the nation's lone undefeated team after starting unranked. Utah opened with a victory at Michigan -- Rodriguez's first game as the Wolverines' coach -- and went on to beat four teams that finished in the final AP poll, including Alabama (6), TCU (7), Oregon State (18) and BYU (25).