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25 Greatest College Football Coaches Of All Time

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25 Greatest College Football Coaches of All Time

Bobby Bowden Joe Paterno — The great game of college football has been around since the late 1800s, and every great team that has taken the field has had an all-time legend directing the action. These 25 coaches stand out above the rest as the greatest in college football history.

The great game of college football has been around since the late 1800s, and every great team that has taken the field has had an all-time legend directing the action. These 25 coaches stand out above the rest as the greatest in college football history.

25. Bo Schembechler

25. Bo Schembechler

In his 21 seasons as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Bo Schembechler's teams amassed a record of 194–48–5 and won or shared 13 Big Ten Conference titles. Though his Michigan teams never won a national championship, they finished ranked in all but one season, and they placed in the final top ten of both major polls 16 times.

24. Darrell Royal

24. Darrell Royal

In his 20 seasons at Texas, Darrell Royal's teams won three national championships (1963, 1969, and 1970), 11 Southwest Conference titles, and amassed a record of 167–47–5. He won more games than any other coach in Texas Longhorns football history and never had a single losing season.

23. John McKay

23. John McKay

In 16 seasons at USC, John McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 and won nine AAWU/Pac-8 conference titles. His teams made eight appearances in the Rose Bowl, winning five times. Four of his squads also captured national titles (1962, 1967, 1972, 1974). At USC, McKay coached legends like O.J. Simpson, Ron Yary and Lynn Swann.

22. Urban Meyer

22. Urban Meyer

Urban Meyer is one of three coaches (the others being Pop Warner and Nick Saban) to win a national championship at two different universities and he guided three different schools to BCS bowls. During his time at Florida, he coached the Gators to two BCS National Championship Game victories during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. He also coached 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

21. Eddie Robinson

21. Eddie Robinson

Eddie Robinson is the second winningest coach in NCAA Division I history and third winningest coach overall. For 55 years, Robinson was the head coach at Grambling State University. More than 200 of his players went on to play in the American Football League, CFL, and NFL and four of his players are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Willie Brown, Charlie Joiner, Buck Buchanan and Willie Davis).

20. Steve Spurrier

20. Steve Spurrier

Before turning Florida into a national power, Steve Spurrier guided Duke to the team's most recent conference championship in 1989. From 1990 until 2001, Spurrier led the Gators to six SEC championships and their first consensus national championship in 1996. After a failed stint with the Washington Redskins, Spurrier coached at South Carolina and tallied three of their four 10-win seasons in team history.

19. Bob Devaney

19. Bob Devaney

Prior to Bob Devaney's arrival, Nebraska football had seven consecutive losing seasons. That changed quickly with a 9-2 season in his first year. Devaney's overall record at Nebraska was 101–20–2 in 11 seasons with nine bowl appearances and two national championships. His 1971 squad, featuring Johnny Rodgers, is considered to be one of the best in college football history.

18. Pete Carroll

18. Pete Carroll

As head coach at USC, Pete Carroll led a resurgence of football at the University and had one of the most dominant teams in recent memory. In his tenure, Carroll made two BCS Championship Game appearances, won two AP National Championships (one was later vacated), and he coached three Heisman Trophy winners.

17. Nick Saban

17. Nick Saban

Nick Saban was the first coach in college football history to win a national championship with two different FBS schools since 1936. Saban started at Michigan State where he guided the Spartans to a 10-2 season in 1999. In 2000, Saban joined LSU and won a National Championship in 2003. In 2007, Saban joined Alabama and has three National Championships.

16. Pop Warner

16. Pop Warner

Pop Warner coached for over 40 seasons and he was one of the game's first pioneers. He coached four different programs, including Georgia, Pittsburgh and Stanford, and won four National Championships, three with Pittsburgh and one with Stanford. He had 319 career wins and is credited with creating Pop Warner football.

15. Barry Switzer

15. Barry Switzer

Barry Switzer was the architect of Oklahoma's famed wishbone offense as an offensive coordinator, and he was pretty good as the Sooners' head coach. Switzer led the Sooners to two undefeated seasons and three National Championships. The Sooners won eight of the thirteen postseason bowl games they played in, and 54 of his players were All-Americans.

14. Amos Alonzo Stagg

14. Amos Alonzo Stagg

Amos Alonzo Stagg is responsible for numerous contributions to the game of football, some of them include the onside kick, the T-formation, the forward pass and the Notre Dame Box among many other contributions. As a coach, Stagg compiled a career record of 314–199–35. His Chicago Maroons teams of 1905 and 1913 are recognized as national champions.

13. John Heisman

13. John Heisman

The Heisman Trophy is named after John Heisman, but arguably his biggest success came as a head coach. Heisman excelled with Georgia Tech, going 30–1–2 from 1915-1918. During that time, Heisman's Yellow Jackets outscored their opponents 1611-93. In 1916, Heisman's Yellow Jackets defeated Cumberland College 222-0, the most lopsided score in college football history.

12. Joe Paterno

12. Joe Paterno

With 409 victories, Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in FBS history. In 45 seasons as Penn State coach, Paterno won two National Championships and have five undefeated seasons. His career ended with his termination from the team as a result of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. His involvement in the scandal is one of the major reasons why he's ranked this low.

11. Bobby Bowden

11. Bobby Bowden

During his time at Florida State, Bobby Bowden led Florida State to an Associated Press and Coaches Poll National Title in 1993 and a BCS National Championship in 1999 as well as twelve ACC championships. Bowden's teams only had one losing season in 34 years, and from 1987 to 2000 the Seminoles finished every season with at least 10 wins and in the top 5 of the AP Poll

10. Bud Wilkinson

10. Bud Wilkinson

From 1947 to 1963, Bud Wilkinson compiled a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14 conference titles. Between 1953 and 1957, Wilkinson's Oklahoma squads won 47 straight games, a record that still stands at the highest level of college football. Except for one season, Wilkinson's Sooners did not lose more than one game per season for 11 years.

9. Robert Neyland

9. Robert Neyland

Robert Neyland holds the record for most wins in Tennessee Volunteers history with 173 wins in 216 games, and his resume is quite impressive. He had six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships, and four national championships. His 1938 squad was and will be the last to go undefeated, His 1939 squad is the last NCAA team in history to hold every regular season opponent scoreless.

8. Ara Parseghian

8. Ara Parseghian

Ara Parseghian joined Notre Dame as head coach in 1964 and quickly turned the program around after five consecutive losing seasons. He proceeded to win two national titles in 11 seasons at Notre Dame and never had a losing season. His 95 wins are the third-most in school history behind Holtz and Knute Rockne.

7. Woody Hayes

7. Woody Hayes

During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, Woody Hayes' teams won five national championships, 13 Big Ten Conference titles, and amassed a record of 205–61–10. His temper caused multiple fines and suspensions, but he was fired after choking a Clemson player in the 1978 Gator Bowl.

6. Tom Osborne

6. Tom Osborne

No person is as synonymous with Nebraska as Tom Osborne. From 1973-1997. Osborne was one of the most successful coaches in American college football history, finishing with a career record of 255–49–3. His Cornhuskers were consistently atop the polls, and his teams won 13 conference championships and three national championships. His 1995 squad is arguably the greatest ever.

5. Fielding Yost

5. Fielding Yost

During his 25 seasons as the head football coach in Ann Arbor, Fielding Yost's Michigan Wolverines won six national championships, captured ten Big Ten Conference titles, and amassed a record of 165–29–10. He was famous for his "point-a-minute" squads, and his teams from 1901-1905 went 55-1-1. During their first five seasons under Yost, Michigan outscored its opponents 2,821 to 42. Wow!

4. Earl Blaik

4. Earl Blaik

Earl Blaik commanded the mighty Army teams of the 1940s and his legacy is unmatched. At West Point, Blaik coached for 18 seasons, compiling a 121–32–10 record. Blaik's Army teams had a 32-game unbeaten streak from 1944 to 1947, won consecutive national titles in 1944 and 1945, and finished second in the nation in 1946 after a scoreless tie against Notre Dame. He also coached three Heisman Trophy winners, including Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis.

3. Frank Leahy

3. Frank Leahy

Frank Leahy's winning percentage of .864 is the second best in NCAA Division I football history despite only coaching for 13 seasons. Before joining Notre Dame, Leahy went 20-2 in two seasons at Boston College. In all, Leahy was a part of six Notre Dame national champions, two as a player and four as a coach. Leahy also had six undefeated seasons, a 39-game winning streak and coached four Heisman Trophy winners.

2. Bear Bryant

2. Bear Bryant

During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, Paul (Bear) Bryant amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships, establishing himself as a coaching legend. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for most wins as head coach in collegiate football history with 323 wins. In his 38 seasons as coach, Bryant had 37 winning seasons.

1. Knute Rockne

1. Knute Rockne

The standard bearer for all coaches is Knute Rockne. An all-time legend as a player, Rockne was even better on the sidelines. During 13 years as head coach, Rockne led the Fighting Irish to 105 victories, 12 losses and three national championships, including five undefeated seasons without a tie. His numbers would've been even better had he not died in a plane crash in 1931.

Brian Kalchik is a writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook.

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