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

31/51

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
Manny Diaz

30-19 • 2019-2025

Duke, Miami
549301961.2%2.7
5.2

2025 peak

1.630.622.8#220
Balanced

Program Stabilizer

Warren Giese

28-21-1 • 1956-1960

South Carolina
550282157.0%3.3
7.2

1958 peak

5.1——#150
Balanced

—

Walter Camp

68-2 • 1888-1892

Yale
57068297.1%—
—

— peak

————0
Balanced

—

James Halligan

15-8-2 • 1901-1903

Massachusetts
32515864.0%2.5
4.0

1901 peak

1.7———0
Balanced

—

Mike Stoops

41-50 • 2004-2011

Arizona
891415045.1%6.5
12.8

2010 peak

4.128.623.1—0
Defense-First

Consistent Winner

Joseph Maddock

21-9-4 • 1905-1924

Oregon, Utah
53421967.7%0.1
7.3

1908 peak

5.7———0
Balanced

Program Stabilizer

William Warner

12-9-4 • 1905-1907

Colgate, North Carolina
32512956.0%2.5
12.2

1906 peak

10.8———0
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Warren Woodson

147-82-11 • 1941-1967

Arizona, Hardin-Simmons +1
232401478263.5%-0.4
11.9

1960 peak

7.0——#170
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Deion Sanders

13-12 • 2023-2025

Colorado
325131252.0%3.8
12.7

2024 peak

6.428.529.1#250
Offense-First

Offense-First

Mark Stoops

77-73 • 2013-2025

Kentucky
13150777351.3%3.2
14.7

2018 peak

5.128.623.7#180
Defense-First

Program Stabilizer

Herm Edwards

26-20 • 2018-2022

Arizona State
546262056.5%3.7
8.6

2021 peak

4.631.527.7—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

Bill Barnes

31-34-3 • 1958-1964

UCLA
768313447.8%5.8
13.2

1960 peak

4.2——#160
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Jason Candle

73-40 • 2015-2025

Toledo
11113734064.6%0.3
10.2

2015 peak

6.829.426.3—0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Claude Gilbert

99-56-3 • 1973-1989

San Diego State, San José State
14158995663.6%0.2
11.7

1977 peak

8.429.326.8#160
Offense-First

Longevity Coach

Jeff Traylor

46-20 • 2020-2025

UTSA
666462069.7%0.6
6.4

2021 peak

3.632.230.5—0
Offense-First

Offense-First

DeWitt Weaver

49-51-5 • 1951-1960

Texas Tech
10105495149.0%3.4
18.5

1953 peak

7.7——#120
Balanced

Longevity Coach

BC Cubbage

30-12-6 • 1921-1925

Virginia Tech
548301268.8%-0.5
10.0

1922 peak

6.5———0
Balanced

—

Dave McClain

72-49-3 • 1975-1985

Ball State, Wisconsin
11124724959.3%2.8
9.2

1983 peak

3.227.924.0—0
Defense-First

Program Stabilizer

Paul Davis

31-34-3 • 1908-1966

Dickinson (PA), Mississippi State +1
768313447.8%5.2
15.4

1963 peak

6.2———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Maxie Lambright

29-13-2 • 1975-1978

Louisiana Tech
444291368.2%1.5
5.8

1975 peak

3.031.920.3—0
Balanced

—

Don Clark

13-16-1 • 1957-1959

USC
330131645.0%6.6
15.2

1959 peak

7.7——#140
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Bill OBrien

22-15 • 2012-2025

Boston College, Penn State
437221559.5%3.0
8.3

2012 peak

5.228.924.1—0
Balanced

Program Stabilizer

Bud Carson

27-27 • 1967-1971

Georgia Tech
554272750.0%5.4
14.0

1970 peak

5.526.913.2#130
Defense-First

Defense-First

Ryan Silverfield

42-20 • 2020-2025

Memphis
662422067.7%2.0
5.4

2022 peak

2.834.930.0#240
Offense-First

Offense-First

TC Trenchard

19-8-1 • 1913-1915

North Carolina
32819869.6%2.1
4.1

1915 peak

1.4———0
Balanced

—

Showing 751-775 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.