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

17/51

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

Frank Leahy

Volatility: 9.13 • Average SRS: 22.65

86.4% win rate • 38.3 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

Frank Leahy

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

BalancedPeak Dominator

Frank Leahy is currently highlighted in the success vs volatility view.

Volatility
9.13
Average SRS
22.65
Career Win %
86.4%
Peak SRS
38.3
View coach profile

Active chart outliers

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

4 markers

  1. Highest peak

    Red Blaik

    Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.

    44.1 peak SRS

  2. Most consistent elite coach

    Tom Osborne

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

    24.22 avg SRS • 4.49 volatility

  3. Steadiest floor

    Pete Reynolds

    Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.

    1.28 volatility

  4. Elite but volatile

    Chuck Fairbanks

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

    15.61 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 descending
Compare
Dale Hall

16-11-2 • 1959-1961

Army
329161158.6%7.5
10.3

1960 peak

2.0———0
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Grant Teaff

128-105-6 • 1972-1992

Baylor
2123912810554.8%7.0
15.9

1980 peak

5.828.321.9#120
Defense-First

Program Stabilizer

Bennie Owen

93-45-12 • 1905-1926

Oklahoma
17150934566.0%3.7
12.4

1915 peak

6.8———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Raymond Wolf

64-55-7 • 1936-1953

Florida, Georgia Pre-Flight +2
13126645553.6%4.8
24.5

1942 peak

9.1——#190
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Dave Wannstedt

42-31 • 2005-2010

Pittsburgh
673423157.5%6.6
13.2

2009 peak

4.028.818.4#150
Defense-First

Consistent Winner

Art Lewis

69-55-2 • 1946-1959

Washington and Lee, West Virginia
13126695555.6%-1.2
11.6

1955 peak

8.7——#101
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Mike Price

131-146 • 1989-2017

UTEP, Washington State
2427713114647.3%-1.1
16.8

2002 peak

11.331.931.7#93
Offense-First

Longevity Coach

Ray Morrison

142-99-33 • 1916-1948

SMU, Temple +1
292741429957.9%2.7
25.4

1927 peak

13.2———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Shane Beamer

29-22 • 2021-2025

South Carolina
551292256.9%5.7
15.8

2024 peak

5.429.422.2#190
Defense-First

Defense-First

Dave Doeren

110-69 • 2011-2025

NC State, Northern Illinois
151791106961.5%4.2
13.7

2017 peak

6.830.724.1#200
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Jules Sikes

35-25 • 1948-1953

Kansas
660352558.3%5.8
13.2

1952 peak

4.7———0
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Mike Donahue

122-54-8 • 1904-1927

Auburn, LSU
231841225468.5%1.5
15.6

1913 peak

8.8———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Bob Tyler

41-34-3 • 1973-1981

Mississippi State, North Texas
778413454.5%7.1
14.1

1974 peak

6.028.417.7#170
Defense-First

Program Stabilizer

William Spaulding

67-50-10 • 1922-1938

Minnesota, UCLA
14127675056.7%5.0
16.5

1935 peak

7.7———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

King Cole

25-8-3 • 1907-1910

Nebraska
43625873.6%2.4
9.8

1910 peak

5.2———0
Balanced

—

John Bridgers

49-53-1 • 1959-1968

Baylor
10103495348.1%8.1
19.2

1960 peak

6.7——#120
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Ike Armstrong

141-55-15 • 1925-1949

Utah
252111415570.4%-0.8
20.5

1930 peak

7.6———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Stuart Holcomb

35-42-4 • 1947-1955

Purdue
981354245.7%9.7
17.7

1954 peak

4.6——#180
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Chalmer Woodward

19-20-1 • 1953-1956

SMU
440192048.8%10.2
13.1

1954 peak

3.5———0
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Dan Hawkins

72-50 • 2001-2010

Boise State, Colorado
10122725059.0%3.9
15.3

2004 peak

6.832.227.4#120
Offense-First

Longevity Coach

Frank Bridges

35-18-6 • 1920-1925

Baylor
659351864.4%1.6
17.0

1922 peak

14.6———0
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Howard Schnellenberger

141-133-3 • 1979-2011

Florida Atlantic, Louisville +2
2427714113351.4%-4.7
20.9

1983 peak

14.123.628.3#12
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Dave Smith

22-20-2 • 1972-1975

Oklahoma State, SMU
444222052.3%7.0
15.3

1972 peak

5.128.524.5—0
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Morley Jennings

83-60-6 • 1926-1940

Baylor
15149836057.7%4.7
14.0

1937 peak

6.2———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Len Casanova

104-94-11 • 1946-1966

Oregon, Pittsburgh +1
212091049452.4%4.7
21.1

1949 peak

8.5——#150
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Showing 401-425 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.