College football is crazy competitive and whether you’re a fan or not, your school spirit naturally runs high. Which is of course something you don’t generally experience through an associate degree online. However, that’s not really the point. Instead we’re here to rank the greatest head college football coaches of all time. Ready? Set? Hike!
Steve Spurrier
Here’s the lowdown on good ol’ Steve Spurrier, he’s a genius. No, really, he is. In his 26 year career, he compiled a 228 – 89 – 2 record. We know, impressive is an understatement. So with teams at Florida, Duke, and South Carolina, this trash talker took Florida to Top 12 finishes in the AP Poll every single year he was the coach there.
Steve Spurrier
Ara Parseghian
24 years, that’s how long Ara Parseghian had fans cheering at Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Miami. During that time, he racked up a 170 – 58 – 6 record, and what’s most noteworthy is his mere 17 losses in 11 years with the Fighting Irish. What a wicked accomplishment, shame he retired at 51.
Ara Parseghian
Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney is the current head football coach at Clemson University so yeah, he makes the list. In the 2008 season, he took over midway through the season once Tommy Bowden retired. Just last year, he drove the Tigers to a sweet victory at the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, bagging a national championship.
Dabo Swinney
Lloyd Carr
1995 to 2007 is how long Lloyd Carr was the head football coach at the University of Michigan. Later on he’d get inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame – with a record of 122–40, it makes sense. Furthermore the Wolverines won, or shared, five Big Ten Conference titles.
Lloyd Carr
Chip Kelly
Chip Kelly is currently an ESPN analyst for the NFL/NCAA football – however most of us may remember him as an NFL head coach and Oregon Ducks head coach. While with the Ducks, he lead the team to four consecutive BCS bowl game appearances, which includes the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
Chip Kelly
John Heisman
College Football Hall of Famer John Heisman has a lasting legacy – as a player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, plus as a sportswriter and actor. Dubbed the “pioneer of Southern football”, Heisman compiled a college football record of 186–70–18. Let’s not forget about the Heisman Trophy either, which as you know is awarded annually to the season’s most spectacular player, is named after him.
John Heisman
John Gagliardi
John Gagliardi isn’t here to talk about an associate degree online, he’s here to brag about his near 500 wins! The College Football Hall of Famer even scored numerous National Championships.
John Gagliardi
William Alexander
Georgia Institute of Technology, from 1920 to 1944, was proud to call William Alexander their head coach. Seeing as how in that time, he compiled a record of 134–95–15. Furthermore Alexander has also the second most victories our of any Tech football coach. Alexander was also the first ever college football coach to even place his teams in all the four major post-season bowl games of the time: Sugar, Cotton, Orange, and Rose.
William Alexander
Lane Kiffin
Tad controversial but we’ll let it slide. Currently Lane Kiffin is the head coach at Florida Atlantic University. As it stands his career record is 35–21. No doubt you know him as the son of the longtime NFL defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin.
Lane Kiffin
Howard Schnellenberger
Whether professionally or at the college level, Howard Schnellenberger is a genius. With the NFL’s Baltimore Colts and for college’s with the University of Miami, University of Oklahoma, University of Louisville, and Florida Atlantic University – he’s well liked and admired. Although he might always be remembered best for recruiting Joe Namath to Alabama for Bear Bryant back in 1961.
Howard Schnellenberger
Gus Malzahn
Arthur Gustavo “Gus” Malzahn, III (yeah say that three times fast). As of late, he’s the head coach with the Auburn Tigers – in his first year, he received tons of national attention. Why? Oh, yah know just for coaching one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of college football at Auburn. As a result, the Tigers would win their eighth SEC title and even racked up a record of 12–2, just a year after what was considered, hands down, their worst season in over 60 years.
Gus Malzahn
Vince Dooley
Vince Dooley’s entire 25-year coaching career was at University of Georgia, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record! With six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship under the belt, he easily makes the list. No one can ever forget his team’s hard nosed defense either.
Vince Dooley
Brian Kelly
The University of Notre Dame is proud to present it’s head coach, Brian Kelly. Kelly has held this position since 2009 and has picked up 2x Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, AP College Football Coach of the Year, 3x Big East Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, SN Coach of the Year, and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year. Nope, Kelly certainly has no need for an associate degree online.
Brian Kelly
Bob Devaney
Where do we begin? Oh right, Bob Devaney was head coach at the University of Wyoming (1957 – 1961) and at the University of Nebraska (1962 – 1972). In his career, he racked up a record of 136–30–7. Furthermore, his Nebraska Cornhuskers would win consecutive national championships back in 1970 and 1971 and three consecutive Orange Bowls.
Bob Devaney
Mark Richt
Currently Mark Richt is the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Miami. Before he served as head coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years. He announced his homecoming in the best way, “My wife and I can tell you this: This is our home. We love it. I have no intention of doing anything but finishing my coaching career at Miami.”
Mark Richt
Bret Bielema
Currently Bret Bielema is the head coach at University of Arkansas. Although most of us remember him from his days at University of Wisconsin–Madison (2006 to 2012), where he earned a 68–24 record.
Bret Bielema
Darrell Royal
Three different teams have been lucky to call Darrell Royal “boss man” – throughout a 23 year span, those teams were Texas, Washington, and Mississippi. Catch is, Royal is actually a star player at Oklahoma turned star coach with Texas. Moreover, this genius never experienced a losing season while at Texas – plus he earned 11 Southwest Conference championships and went to the Cotton Bowl a whopping 10 times.
Darrell Royal
Frank Broyles
Not many people can forget Frank Broyles’ career with the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976. Especially considering his career record is 149–62–6. Moreover when he hit 144–58–5 in just 19 seasons, winds up with the most wins and the most games out of any coach in Arkansas history.
Frank Broyles
John McKay
John McKay, from 1960 to 1975, was the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) and NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976 to 1984). During his 16 seasons at USC, McKay earned a respectable record of 127–40–8 and also won nine AAWU/Pac-8 conference titles. Furthermore his teams would make eight appearances at the Rose Bowl, snagging five wins.
John McKay
Kevin Sumlin
Meet the current head coach at Texas A&M University, Kevin Sumlin. Previously, Sumlin was at University of Houston. In his first season as head coach at Texas A&M, he was actually the first head coach to have won more than eight games.
Kevin Sumlin
Mack Brown
Some of you may recognize Mack Brown as the college football commentator for ESPN, and well, you’re far off. However long this exclusive TV career, Mack was the head football coach of the mighty Texas Longhorns. We won’t get too heavy with the details but we will mention that in 2008, he achieved his 200th career win, which actually makes him the first Texas coach to reach that mark! Impressive? Yeah, we think so.
Mack Brown
Tom Herman
Before Tom Herman became the head coach of the University of Texas at Austin, he was the head coach with the University of Houston. Having signed a five-year deal, Herman kicks off his first season with the University of Texas on September 2, 2017 – we can hardly wait. His record currently stands at 22–4.
Tom Herman
Ken Niumatalolo
Since 2007, Ken Niumatalolo has been the head coach of the United States Naval Academy. Impressively he’s the second person of Polynesian descent named head coach of a NCAA Division I FBS college football program. AND he’s also the first ethnic Samoan collegiate head coach at any level. Currently his career record is at 77–42.
Ken Niumatalolo
Jim Tressel
Maybe a tad controversial to include Jim Tressel on our list but there’s a reason. See, during his tenure at Ohio State, Tressel’s teams would compete in three BCS National Championship Games, and his 2002 squad would go on to win a national title – he achieved the first 14–0 season record in all of major college football since the 1897 Penn Quakers.
Jim Tressel
Gary Pinkel
Ahh, Gary Pinkel. Aside from his beautiful character, he’s also the winningest coach in Toledo and Missouri. So yeah, that is something! However we’re sending good vibes Pinkel’s way as he retired in 2015 due to his recent diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Gary Pinkel
Barry Alvarez
College Football Hall of Famer, Barry Alvarez, is currently the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Before this, he was the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons where he earned a 118 – 73 – 4 record. Furthermore he also maintains the longest head coaching tenure ~and~ also the most wins in Wisconsin Badgers football history. Not bad, Barry, not bad.
Barry Alvarez
Jimmy Johnson
Ahem, Jimmy Johnson was quite literally the first and only one out of three football coaches to have lead teams to both a major college football championship and a Super Bowl (Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll are the other two). Extraordinary doesn’t even cover it.
Jimmy Johnson
Lou Holtz
Let’s see, the College of William & Mary, North Carolina State, University of Arkansas, University of Minnesota, Notre Dame, and University of South Carolina. What do all those mean? Just the teams that Lou Holtz has coached since 1969 to 2004. With his quick wit and ability to inspire players, Holtz is easily a fan favorite.
Lou Holtz
Mike Gundy
Since 2005, Mike Gundy has been serving as head coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater. Over the years he’s gained the Big 12 Coach of the Year Award, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year. Nice!
Mike Gundy
Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer will forever be remembered for his time with the Virginia Tech Hokies, forever. See, Beamer was the head coach from 1987 to 2015, yeah, that long! To date he is one of the longest tenured coaches in NCAA Division I FBS and, furthermore when he retired, he was the winningest active coach that level.
Frank Beamer
Kyle Whittingham
Kyle Whittingham – the head football coach at the University of Utah Utes – where he earned the AFCA Coach of the Year and the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award in 2008. Clearly he never bothered with an associate degree online and who can blame him, really.
Kyle Whittingham
Pete Carroll
Let us remind you, although you probably don’t need it, Pete Carroll is the head coach and executive VP to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Plus Carroll is just one of three football coaches to have won a Super Bowl and a college football national championship. Nice work, Pete.
Pete Carroll
Mark Dantonio
Ever since 2007, Mark Dantonio has been head coach at Michigan State University – where he is also brought the team to one of THE most successful eras in the program’s history. As a result, the Spartans have earned three Big Ten Conference championships and seven crucial victories over their arch rival, Michigan.
Mark Dantonio
Gary Patterson
Texas Christian University is honored to have Gary Patterson as their coach and not just because he’s the winningest coach in Horned Frogs’ history. Okay, yeah, that’s a pretty reason why. During his time there, his team won six conference championships, four Mountain West Conference titles, a Big 12 Conference title win, and nine bowl game victories, which include the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl.
Gary Patterson
Joe Paterno
From 1966 to 2011, Joe Paterno served as the Penn State Nittany Lions – in his time, he earned 409 wins which makes him the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. Not bad? Not bad!
Joe Paterno
Barry Switzer
So Barry Switzer was head coach at the University of Oklahoma for 16 years before he served his four years as head coach for the Dallas Cowboys – yes, we mean the NFL team. Looking at his college football career, Switzer has one of the highest winning percentages out of any other college football coach in history! He’s that good. Additionally, he is also just one of three head coaches to have won both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, (Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll are the others).
Barry Switzer
David Shaw
We’ve reached David Shaw who started as the offensive coordinator for Stanford Cardinal in 2007 to 2010. Moreover he was also the assistant coach the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens. Remarkable!
David Shaw
Bernie Bierman
In 27 season, Bernie Bierman coached at a few places, such as Iowa, Minnesota, Tulane, Mississippi State, and Montana. Furthermore, his career record is a total 153 – 65 – 12 in his career and he also won a title with Minnesota.
Bernie Bierman
Pop Warner
Pop Warner – what a name – coached more than 44 seasons for seven different teams, and earned a career record of 319 – 106 – 32. We also should mention he coached Jim Thorpe and earned Temple’s first Sugar Bowl. Eh? Not bad!
Pop Warner
Jimbo Fisher
Before Jimbo Fisher became head coach at Florida State University, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Louisiana State University. Furthermore his inaugural year marked FSU’s first 10-win season ever since 2003. Oh! In addition to this, their first appearance in the ACC Championship Game since 2005.
Jimbo Fisher
Bill Snyder
College Football Hall of Famer Bill Snyder has tons of conference and national coach of the year awards. TONS. Heck, Kansas State even named their stadium after him. Not to mention that once the 2016 finished, he earned 202 wins, which is actually the third-most out of any active NCAA Division I head coach.
Bill Snyder
Walter Camp
Ahem, Walter Camp is the Father of Football and on top of that, he’s also “one of the most influential people in the history of the sport”. In his career, he coached Stanford and Yale for 8 seasons, earning 79 – 5 – 3. Plus he has three national title wins under his belt as a head coach.
Walter Camp
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Before he became a coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg was a star player at Yale. In his 57(!) years as a coach, Stagg coached at Chicago, Pacific, and Springfield.
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Fielding H. Yost
Already we’ve reached college football royalty, and that’s without an associate degree online. See, Fielding H. Yost was a mastermind while at Michigan, taking them to win six titles. Furthermore, in 1905, he led Michigan to one of the most historically dominated seasons. How? Simple, he outscored his opponents by 495 – 0 in the first 12 games.
Fielding H. Yost
Les Miles
Les Miles, aka the Mad Hatter, will always be remembered for signature white hat and total quirkiness. As an assistant coach, he moved around quite a lot, including a stint with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. However in 2007, he would lead the LSU Tigers to a victory over Ohio State at the BCS National Championship Game.
Les Miles
Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh started out as a QB, so clearly not an associate degree online kind of guy, before he became a head coach. In fact, he is currently head coach at his alma mater, University of Michigan – Wolverines. While he was head coach at San Diego, in 2004, he racked up consecutive Pioneer League championships. By 2007, he had moved to Stanford and snagged two bowl berths in just four seasons, and yes that includes the 2011 Orange Bowl.
Jim Harbaugh
Frank Leahy
When World War II raged on, there weren’t many schools with a dominant sports team but Norte Dame was the exception. Is that thanks to Frank Leahy? Probably. For his 13 seasons as a head coach, he served 12 of them at Norte Dame, and it was in this time that he took the Fighting Irish from nothing to the most dominant team of the 40’s.
Frank Leahy
Bobby Dodd
As a College Football Hall of Famer and someone who wasn’t around when an associate degree online was – Bobby Dodd is pretty darn special. See he was actually just one of four to have been inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach. Moreover his career record is 165–64–8.
Bobby Dodd
Tom Osborne
For 25 seasons, Tom Osborne was head coach at Nebraska and when he retired in 1997, his record stood at 255 – 49 – 3. In his many years, Osborne never even had a team go un-ranked or even lose more than three contests. Which is not an easy thing to accomplish! Furthermore, Nebraska earned a trio of National Championships and a dozen Big 8 titles under Osborne.
Tom Osborne
Eddie Robinson
A controversial choice? Maybe, but this isn’t a list of associate degree online programs but rather the greats of college football. So with that being said, Eddie Robinson spent 56 years as head coach at Grambling State – where he actually lead more than 200 players to the NFL. Robinson also managed to win 408 games in his career, which makes him the winningest coach in the game.
Eddie Robinson
Bud Wilkinson
College Football Hall of Famer, Bud Wilkinson, – football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. With the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, Bud had a pretty powerful record of 145–29–4. Plus his Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14 conference titles, impressive. Between 1953 and 1957, his Oklahoma squads went on to win 47 straight games, which is a record that still currently stands at the highest level of college football.
Bud Wilkinson
Bob Stoops
Since 1999, Big Game Bob has served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma – not bad! Whilst in the 2000 season, Bob Stoops lead the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship. As a result, Stoops was awarded the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year twice.
Bob Stoops
James Franklin
Currently the 45 year old is the head coach at Penn State University. Before this, James Franklin was the head football coach at Vanderbilt University. As a head coach, his record currently stands at 49–30. Which is more exciting than an associate degree online ever could be.
James Franklin
Nick Saban
Where do we begin! Nick Saban landed a Top 10 finish for Michigan State and also took LSU back on top with a BCS Title Win.
Nick Saban
Bob Neyland
Former football player, coach, and officer in the United States Army, Bob Neyland is up next. Just one of two college football coaches to win national titles in two non-consecutive tenures at THE same school. Furthermore Neyland holds the record for most wins in Tennessee Volunteers history bagging 173 wins in just 216 games, six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships, and four national championships. Oh yeah, while at UT, he struck undefeated streaks of 33, 28, 23, 19, and 14 games.
Bob Neyland
Knute Rockne
No list could ever be complete without Knute Rockne, he is an absolute legend. In his 13 years of coaching, Rockne was at Notre Dame and went on to accomplish a record of 105 – 12 – 5. Moreover Rockne would coach Notre Dame to 11 seasons with just one or fewer losses. Yeah, he’s that good.
Knute Rockne
Bear Bryant
Did you ever doubt that number on this list would be Bear Bryant?! For 38 years, Bryant was the coach at four different schools and his impressive record only continued to grow. In just one season with Alabama, he built his program and moreover he then immediately turned on the boosters – leading the team to a serious domination that the SEC has rarely seen since that awesome time.
Bear Bryant