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

16/51

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 is currently highlighted in the success vs volatility view.

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
Chip Lindsey

15-19 • 2019-2021

Troy
334151944.1%-5.3
4.0

2020 peak

6.626.929.3—0
Balanced

—

Scott Shafer

13-23 • 2013-2015

Syracuse
337132335.1%-1.4
0.6

2013 peak

1.924.925.8—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Jeff Hafley

22-26 • 2020-2023

Boston College
448222645.8%-4.7
0.9

2021 peak

4.523.229.3—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Lee Owens

40-61 • 1995-2003

Akron
9101406139.6%-13.2
-6.6

2000 peak

5.628.138.7#09
Offense-First

Offense-First

Mike London

27-46 • 2010-2015

Virginia
674274636.5%-3.3
5.1

2014 peak

4.926.626.1—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Geoff Collins

25-38 • 2017-2022

Georgia Tech, Temple
663253839.7%-3.7
3.7

2018 peak

4.823.627.8—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Bill Cubit

56-54 • 2005-2015

Illinois, Western Michigan
9110565450.9%-6.4
-1.0

2011 peak

4.423.830.3—0
Balanced

—

Bob Sutton

44-55-1 • 1991-1999

Army
9100445544.5%-8.1
9.0

1996 peak

8.323.532.3#250
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Nick Rolovich

33-33 • 2016-2021

Hawai'i, Washington State
666333350.0%-7.9
4.5

2021 peak

8.429.636.5—0
Offense-First

Volatile Builder

Jim Wacker

56-97-2 • 1983-1996

Minnesota, TCU
14155569736.8%-3.5
5.6

1987 peak

6.028.933.5—0
Offense-First

Longevity Coach

DeWayne King

10-20-1 • 1970-1972

San José State
331102033.9%-1.7
3.1

1971 peak

3.727.627.0—0
Balanced

—

Ron Vanderlinden

15-29 • 1997-2000

Maryland
444152934.1%-2.4
4.6

1999 peak

5.326.831.4—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Ricky Rahne

20-30 • 2020-2025

Old Dominion
650203040.0%-4.6
6.1

2025 peak

6.123.728.7—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

Ron Turner

52-91 • 1992-2016

Florida International, Illinois +1
13143529136.4%-7.0
14.3

1999 peak

12.025.934.3#120
Offense-First

Longevity Coach

Phil Sarboe

17-26-3 • 1945-1949

Washington State
546172640.2%-3.1
2.6

1945 peak

3.0———0
Balanced

—

George Huff

21-16-3 • 1895-1899

Illinois
540211656.3%-7.1
-4.6

1898 peak

1.9———0
Balanced

—

Charles Shira

16-45-2 • 1967-1972

Mississippi State
663164527.0%-0.6
4.7

1970 peak

3.525.423.0—0
Defense-First

Defense-First

John Gutekunst

28-37-2 • 1986-1991

Minnesota
667283743.3%-3.1
0.6

1986 peak

3.825.629.4—0
Balanced

—

Robert Bronzan

32-30-5 • 1950-1956

San José State
767323051.5%-6.4
-0.4

1950 peak

5.8———0
Balanced

—

Tim Beck

14-12 • 2023-2025

Coastal Carolina
326141253.8%-7.2
-0.9

2023 peak

4.625.532.5—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Al Kincaid

33-46-1 • 1981-1991

Arkansas State, Wyoming
780334641.9%-7.3
10.5

1981 peak

10.428.933.8—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Robert Davis

54-33-2 • 1947-1955

Colorado State
989543361.8%-10.2
-3.6

1955 peak

5.8———0
Balanced

—

Bert Clark

15-24-1 • 1964-1967

Washington State
440152438.8%-2.6
3.4

1965 peak

3.8———0
Balanced

—

Randy Edsall

98-129 • 2000-2021

Maryland, UConn
212279812943.2%-6.7
8.7

2009 peak

11.223.930.4—0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Paul Amen

11-26-3 • 1956-1959

Wake Forest
440112631.3%-1.1
4.2

1959 peak

4.3———0
Balanced

—

Showing 376-400 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.