Coaches Research Hub

Explore college football coaches by peak, consistency, and identity.

Turn coach-season records into career arcs, school-by-school tenures, style profiles, and side-by-side comparisons.

Browse coachesCompare coaches

Peak finder

Jump from the broad landscape to the highest single-season ceilings.

Tenure story

See where coaches built, inherited, or stabilized a program.

Compare mode

Stack up to four coaches on the same profile and arc surfaces.

Current Research Window

These totals update with every filter so the discovery visuals and the table below stay on the same coach universe. Start from the recommended sample, then tighten the field around identity, school, time span, or quality.

3+ seasons

1271

Coaches in view

1786 indexed coaches available

11703

Coach-seasons

12402 total coach-season rows

1/51

Page position

1271 coaches in the current filtered result set

Summary and Filtering

Filter and rank coaches

Coach search stays primary, then school, archetype, time span, and quality sharpen the list. The recommended starting point is 3+ seasons.

Reset to recommendedClear all

Recommended baseline

Keep at least 3 seasons in view to avoid tiny-sample profiles dominating the charts and leaderboards.

Coach Identity

The fastest way to narrow style and school context.

Time and Sample

Keep the result set stable before reading the charts.

Recommended: 3+ seasons.

Quality

Shortcut the list toward stronger resumes and stronger finishes.

These filters reshape the charts and the results table together, so every leaderboard and callout below reflects the same active set.

You are on the recommended baseline view.

Primary Discovery

One clear lens at a time.

Start with career shape or flip to identity. Either way, the chart, the coach summary, the outlier list, and the table context all stay synchronized.

Success vs Volatility

Start with the simplest question: who paired real strength with a repeatable week-to-week shape?

250 coaches shown
Elite and steady
Elite but volatile
Lower ceiling but stable
Lower ceiling and unstable

Mike Knoll

Volatility: 4.22 • Average SRS: -30.12

9.1% win rate • -25.6 peak SRS

Volatility
Average SRS

Hover or focus a point to isolate it. Click a coach to carry that selection into the results table.

Average SRS reads overall strength. Volatility is the spread of season-to-season SRS, so lower values mean a steadier profile.

Career shape lens

Mike Knoll

This is the clearest first-pass view for peak versus stability. It is the best place to start browsing.

BalancedBalanced

Mike Knoll coached 4 seasons, won 9.1%, and posted an average SRS of -30.1. Best season: 1986 New Mexico State. The profile was balanced with a very steady week-to-week shape. One primary stop defined the run.

Volatility
4.22
Average SRS
-30.12
Career Win %
9.1%
Peak SRS
-25.6
View coach profile

Active chart outliers

These callouts update with the active discovery mode and filtered coach set.

4 markers

  1. Highest peak

    John Corbett

    Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.

    17.1 peak SRS

  2. Most consistent elite coach

    Craig Fertig

    High average strength without the season-to-season swing.

    -5.12 avg SRS • 4.96 volatility

  3. Steadiest floor

    Mike Sanford Jr

    Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.

    0.21 volatility

  4. Elite but volatile

    Todd Monken

    Big ceiling, but the weekly shape moved around more than the steady tier.

    12.13 volatility

Top Career Peaks

Keep the ceiling board in view, but as a support module for the active lens, not the main destination.

  1. 1. Harry Hughes

    1916

    46.5

  2. 2. Red Blaik

    1945

    44.1

  3. 3. Nelson Norgren

    1916

    44.0

  4. 4. Henry Williams

    1905

    42.5

  5. 5. Amos Alonzo Stagg

    1905

    42.2

Elite and steady

Upper-left is the premium zone: strong average results without much season-to-season swing.

Elite but volatile

Upper-right still reaches major heights, but the shape was less repeatable.

Lower ceiling but stable

Lower-left profiles stayed steady even if the absolute ceiling never reached the very top tier.

Lower ceiling and unstable

Lower-right is where the career shape had neither a high average peak nor reliable steadiness.

Supporting Insights

Quick leaderboards, grouped on purpose.

These are shortcuts into the same table below. Performance leads the stack, while stability and longevity stay visible without competing with the main chart.

Performance

Primary leaderboard shortcuts

The fastest path into peak and results leaders.

3 boards

Highest Peak SRS

Single-season ceiling leaders.

View

  1. 1. Harry Hughes

    1916 Colorado State (6-0-1)

    46.5

  2. 2. Red Blaik

    1945 Army (9-0)

    44.1

  3. 3. Nelson Norgren

    1916 Utah (3-2)

    44.0

  4. 4. Henry Williams

    1905 Minnesota (10-1)

    42.5

  5. 5. Amos Alonzo Stagg

    1905 Chicago (11-0)

    42.2

Best Career Win %

Who won the most across a meaningful sample.

View

  1. 1. Walter Camp

    5 seasons

    97.1%

  2. 2. Knute Rockne

    1924 Notre Dame (10-0)

    88.1%

  3. 3. Ryan Day

    2019 Ohio State (13-1)

    87.5%

  4. 4. Frank Leahy

    1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)

    86.4%

  5. 5. Jesse Harper

    1913 Notre Dame (7-0)

    86.3%

Most Top 10 Finishes

Coaches who stacked elite endings.

View

  1. 1. Bear Bryant

    1971 Alabama (11-1)

    22

  2. 2. Joe Paterno

    1994 Penn State (12-0)

    22

  3. 3. Tom Osborne

    1995 Nebraska (12-0)

    18

  4. 4. Nick Saban

    2016 Alabama (14-1)

    18

  5. 5. Bo Schembechler

    1973 Michigan (10-0-1)

    16

Stability

Stability shortcuts

Who stays in control year after year.

1 board

Most Consistent

Low-volatility coaches with enough sample.

View

  1. 1. Parke Davis

    1897 Lafayette (9-2-1)

    0.0

  2. 2. DM Balliet

    1901 Purdue (4-4-1)

    0.0

  3. 3. Mike Sanford Jr

    2022 Colorado (1-6)

    0.2

  4. 4. Henry Shenk

    1943 Kansas (4-5-1)

    0.5

  5. 5. Jerry Baldwin

    2001 Louisiana (3-8)

    0.5

Longevity

Longevity shortcuts

Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.

1 board

Longest Careers

Big careers and long arcs.

View

  1. 1. John Anderson

    1976 Brown (8-1)

    64 years

  2. 2. Paul Davis

    1963 Mississippi State (7-2-2)

    59 years

  3. 3. Amos Alonzo Stagg

    1905 Chicago (11-0)

    53 years

  4. 4. George Barclay

    1951 Washington and Lee (6-4)

    48 years

  5. 5. Joe Paterno

    1994 Penn State (12-0)

    46 years

Results Table

Coach results table

1271 filtered coaches in view. Lower rank numbers are better. Lower volatility means more stable. Lower SP Def numbers are better on the identity chart.

Compare selected (0)
1271 filtered coachesSuccess vs Volatility activeSorted by Identity ascending
Compare
Mike Knoll

4-40 • 1986-1989

New Mexico State
4444409.1%-30.1
-25.6

1986 peak

4.215.442.4—0
Balanced

—

Tom Arth

3-24 • 2019-2021

Akron
32732411.1%-28.6
-22.6

2021 peak

6.014.038.5—0
Balanced

—

Walt Bell

2-23 • 2019-2021

Massachusetts
3252238.0%-28.8
-19.7

2021 peak

8.716.047.0—0
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Julius Johnston

6-21 • 1940-1942

New Mexico State
32762122.2%-36.4
-28.5

1940 peak

5.9———0
Balanced

—

Pete Cordelli

3-30 • 1991-1993

Kent State
3333309.1%-25.7
-19.8

1991 peak

5.114.835.7—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Mike Stock

6-38-1 • 1978-1982

Eastern Michigan
54563814.4%-26.8
-19.2

1979 peak

5.710.030.2—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Jerry Baldwin

6-27 • 1999-2001

Louisiana
33362718.2%-24.4
-23.8

2001 peak

0.519.243.4—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Tom Lichtenberg

8-45-2 • 1990-1994

Ohio
55584516.4%-25.1
-19.7

1992 peak

4.213.332.6—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Cleve Bryant

9-44-2 • 1985-1989

Ohio
55594418.2%-23.1
-20.6

1987 peak

2.417.835.5—0
Balanced

—

Jim Hofher

8-49 • 2001-2005

Buffalo
55784914.0%-22.0
-17.9

2001 peak

2.816.438.9—0
Balanced

—

Jim Corrigall

8-35-1 • 1994-1997

Kent State
44483519.3%-25.3
-15.2

1997 peak

6.025.343.8—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Tony Cavallo

7-23 • 1955-1957

New Mexico State
33072323.3%-24.2
-22.5

1957 peak

1.3———0
Balanced

—

Richard Voris

1-29 • 1958-1960

Virginia
3301293.3%-21.0
-13.8

1958 peak

5.1———0
Balanced

—

Bobby Keasler

8-28 • 1999-2002

UL Monroe
43682822.2%-24.1
-17.5

2002 peak

5.518.440.9—0
Balanced

—

Vaughn Corley

9-20 • 1948-1950

New Mexico State
32992031.0%-34.4
-25.6

1950 peak

7.2———0
Balanced

—

Don Strock

8-25 • 2004-2006

Florida International
33382524.2%-23.3
-21.7

2005 peak

1.113.136.9—0
Balanced

—

Todd Dodge

6-37 • 2007-2010

North Texas
44363714.0%-21.0
-15.5

2010 peak

6.520.640.5—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Frank Ellwood

9-35 • 1975-1978

Marshall
44493520.4%-21.4
-19.8

1975 peak

1.616.934.4—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Bill Michael

5-43 • 1977-1981

UTEP
54854310.4%-19.0
-16.3

1979 peak

1.918.338.2—0
Balanced

—

Ron English

11-46 • 2009-2013

Eastern Michigan
557114619.3%-23.7
-12.4

2011 peak

6.816.342.2—0
Balanced

—

Jack Lengyel

9-33 • 1971-1974

Marshall
44293321.4%-22.1
-14.8

1973 peak

4.814.931.6—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Ward Haylett

6-20-2 • 1942-1944

Kansas State
32862025.0%-23.2
-16.4

1942 peak

5.5———0
Balanced

—

Jeff Woodruff

11-35 • 2000-2003

Eastern Michigan
446113523.9%-22.0
-17.6

2000 peak

4.123.442.5—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Fred Vonappen

5-31 • 1996-1998

Hawai'i
33653113.9%-20.4
-12.1

1997 peak

6.216.937.3—0
Balanced

—

Ron Blackledge

8-25 • 1978-1980

Kent State
33382524.2%-20.6
-19.8

1978 peak

0.715.531.7—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Showing 1-25 of 1271

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About This Data

How to read the page

Filtered state

Every number, chart callout, and leaderboard on this page reflects the current filter state, not the full indexed universe.

Metric framing

Lower volatility means more stable. Lower finish rank numbers are better. On identity, lower SP Def numbers indicate stronger defense.

Research flow

Use the active chart to form a hypothesis, then drop into the table to sort, compare, and export the exact slice you are studying.