The Pantheon of College Sports: The Greatest Football Coaches
We recently completed another enormously successful NCAA College Football Season with Ohio State defeating Notre Dame in the championship game. Sold out stadiums, high TV ratings, wall to wall coverage, record revenues from network contracts and licensing agreements defined this “success.” This is a high profile- big money industry. The revenue streams are orders of magnitude above what was being realised even 15 years ago. Super conferences dominate the landscape. Ohio State and Texas both generated revenues in excess of 275 million dollars. There are now 20 programs with annual revenues in excess of 200 million and the top 50 programs are at 150 million dollars or above. Sophisticated economists attempting to put a hard valuation on these programs use a 4 - 5 times multiplier. Therefore, if you view the major football programs from a corporate perspective, you are looking at organizations with valuations between 600 million and 1.3 billion dollars. A long way from when I started watching Notre Dame-USC games on a black and white television in the early 60’s. College football programs at public state universities are frequently the most economically powerful entity in the state and the head coach is generally highest paid state and university employee- by a LARGE margin. The top ten coaches compensation wise are paid in excess 10 million dollars a year. An additional 40 coaches now earn 5 million dollars annually. The big budgets, big crowds and big salaries combine to create BIG pressure on the head coach. Win now and win big- this is the mantra if you hope to keep your position. The results on Saturday are the ultimate benchmark of a successful coach and the job is much harder than it was 20 years ago.
The spectacular growth of NCAA football revenues and major changes in the rules on player recruitment and development (think the transfer portal and NIL sponsorships) have radically changed the skill set necessary to lead these major programs. Expertise in the “X’s” and “O’s” is not enough. Looking back to the history of the sport going back to the 60’s, a coach has assumed a wide variety of roles that simply did not exist back then. The head coach then had 1-3 assistants, basic practice facilities, limited and local only media responsibilities and recruiting was primarily regional. You did not need a “face for TV” or a social media brand or identity. The head coach was a dictator with total control over this players for their entire 4 year tenure. Little attention was devoted to academic support for athletes. Now, the head coach is a CEO. He employs a staff of 30-50 people and has specialised coaches for each position. He must be adept at fundraising and have the political skills to placate multiple audiences, including the Board of Trustees, university administration, big donor alumni, media in all its forms, intense parents and greedy and ambitious teenagers. You must be adept at player recruitment, retention and development, brand management, advance analytics and performance metrics. It is a 365 day a year job. Tough, tough job, but if you WIN consistently, the world is your oyster. You will even be hired to do commercials- eg Nick Saban!! You will get lucrative media and broadcast deals after you retire. So I don’t feel sorry for them. Embrace the challenge and accept the pressure.
It is timely to evaluate which coaches deserve to be included in the pantheon of the All Time greats. Who, over a long career in this ultra-competitive sport reached the top of the mountain My usual criteria applies- the 1960’s is the trigger for eligibility since that is when I started watching the sport. Although our discussion above highlights the challenges of the modern coaches, I do recognise the premier coaches from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. I don’t include current coaches like Kirby Smart or Dabo Swinney because their tenures have been too short. My criteria also eliminates Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Fielding Yost and Walter Camp. They dominated their eras, but I never saw their squads in action. I evaluate national championships, conference championships, bowl victories, won and lost records, consistency, longevity, scheme or system innovations and overall impact on the growth of the sport. Plus, was I impressed by their best teams? Plus, did I appreciate their personality? I may have unconscious biases against certain programs and coaches- eg I hate Ohio State and thought Woody Hayes was a fascist, but I made a good faith effort to put any inclination to discriminate aside. The final list is diverse, equitable and inclusive!!
1. NICK SABAN: The smoothest of the smooth. As my Mom would say-“A Fine Looking Man.” Awesome career include 7 national championships and 292 wins. Developed a ton of high NFL draft choices. Mastered all aspects of the responsibilities assigned to the head coach in the modern era. He dominated in a tough conference in an era of increased parity and scholarship limits.
2. PAUL (BEAR) BRYANT: A run on Alabama head coaches. 323 wins, 6 national championships and 4 SEC titles. Recruited first African American player to Bama in mid 60’s over the objection of university leadership. 38 year career. His teams were disciplined and he revolutionised practice and training methods. An early national recruiter- he brought in Joe Namath from Pennsylvania.
3. JOE PATERNO: Poor Joe’s reputation took an unfortunate late career beating when it was discovered that one of his assistants was sexually abusing players. I give him benefit of the doubt. He was always classy, intelligent and modest. He also won 409 games, 2 National championships and made Penn State a consistent national contender even though they were an independent.
4. BOBBY BOWDEN: A Aw Shucks fellow who won 377 games and two national titles at Florida State. Great recruiter who was loved by his players. Some questioned his “x” and “o” intelligence level, but his offences were always creative. Perhaps he was just a great delegator, but it is hard to quarrel with the results
5. WOODY HAYES: Not a fan of his quasi military style, but his record was fantastic. He dominated the powerful Big Ten with 205 conference wins and won 5 national titles. Sad ending when he lost his job for striking a player on the field during a game, but he belongs this high based on the incredibly consistent results on the field.
6. TOM OSBORNE: Legendary coach at Nebraska- powerful teams. He never won fewer than 9 games in a season and won 3 national championships. His overall record was 255-49-3. He inherited an already strong program from Bob Devaney, but actually increased the national profile.
7. JOHN McKAY: He won 4 national crowns at USC and coached some of the most elite running backs of all time. Beat Notre Dame consistently which was painful for me. His big innovation was the I formation. Had a miserable time in NFL coaching the expansion team Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Interestingly, several coaches on this list failed in the pros. Even No 1 Saban was just average as coach of the Miami Dolphins. Perhaps a different skill set. I think control of your roster was easier in college because you personally selected your own players by offering them a scholarship.
8. DARRELL ROYAL: Twenty years of excellence and three national championships. Ruled the Southwest conference. Wishbone offence was a breakthrough. Texas was a team you loved to hate which was a credit to him.
9. ARA PARSEGHIAN: On a personal level, my favourite coach. He brought Notre Dame back to prominence in my formative years. 2 national championships at Notre Dame and record there was 95-17-4. He even had winning seasons at Northwestern. Never lost to USC at home. Exceptional game planning; Sophisticated schemes on offence and defence. Retired rather young- burnt out after 10 years at Notre Dame.
10. PETE CARROLL: Charismatic guy who restored USC to the top of the heap. 2 national championships and 7 PAC 10 titles. Fantastic recruiter with great energy. Won a Super Bowl with Seattle in the pros and should have won 2. Created the “Win Forever” philosophy. His teams were scary good in the first decade of the 20th century.
11. BOB DEVANEY: Built Nebraska into a major power and won 2 national championships. 2 unbeaten seasons. Winning percentage was .850. Osborne learned his craft under Devaney.
12. BARRY SWITZER: Three national titles at Oklahoma. They literally blew opponents off the field on a regular basis. Before scholarship limitations were imposed by NCAA, he stockpiled players at Oklahoma. Very deep squads. You always wondered whether he really coached at all because it appeared that you could roll those rosters on the field and anyone could win with them. That is probably unfair. His winning percentage was .837.
13. BO SCHEMBECHLER: Michigan legend- traditional guy but seemed lighthearted and fun next to Woody Hayes. 20 year career. 13 Big Ten Championships and 5 Rose Bowl victories. His overall record was 234-65-8. Never had losing season and was 194-48-5 at Michigan. Only chink in resume is absence of a national championship.
14. VINCE DOOLEY: Georgia legend with 1 national champion, 6 SEC titles and 201 wins. Recognised as the “Coaches coach” because of his coaching tree. Very respected by his peers.
15. BOB STOOPS: Oklahoma mastermind with 10 Big 12 championships and 1 national title. Had a .800 winning percentage and was excellent at maintaining continuity and excellence as the rules began to change.
16. JIM TRESSEL: 6 Big Ten titles and 1 National Championship. Handled the built in pressure at Ohio State well. Basically beat Michigan every year. He ended up with .828 winning percentage.
17. URBAN MEYER: Three time national champion with incredibly successful tenures at Utah, Florida and Ohio State. Awful pro coach at Jacksonville and a mediocre announcer on Game Day, but his college coaching record is second only to Saban in the modern era. Give him his props!
18. LOU HOLTZ: Lou has become a very irritating Trumpster, but no one could resurrect a troubled program like he could- He performed miracles at Arkansas, Minnesota and Notre Dame. Won a national title with the Irish and 250 games overall. Another guy who flamed out at the pro level- didn’t even finish 1 season with the Jets!
19. LAVELL EDWARDS: A bit under the radar, but he was phenomenal at BYU. 257 wins at non traditional football school and one national championship. Developed outstanding quarterbacks and revolutionised the college passing game. His teams were fun to watch every year.
20. EDDIE ROBINSON: I can hear it now- a DEI pick! I think not- Robinson won 408 games at Grambling and recruited and developed legions of black players who excelled at the next level. Historic guy- a genuine teacher and a wonderful interview.
HONORABLE MENTION: Don Coryell; Steve Spurrier; Barry Alvarez; Bill Snyder; Bill Yeoman; Don James.
