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

2/51

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
Ara Parseghian

131-52-5 • 1956-1974

Northwestern, Notre Dame
191881315271.0%19.6
32.2

1970 peak

9.334.712.4#19
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Blair Cherry

32-10-1 • 1947-1950

Texas
443321075.6%21.9
30.7

1947 peak

5.5——#32
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Joe Paterno

409-136-3 • 1966-2011

Penn State
4654840913674.9%15.6
30.6

1994 peak

7.935.216.9#122
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Chris Petersen

147-38 • 2006-2019

Boise State, Washington
141851473879.5%15.1
27.3

2016 peak

6.535.718.3#45
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Red Blaik

166-48-14 • 1934-1958

Army, Dartmouth
252281664875.9%13.3
44.1

1945 peak

11.6——#19
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Dan Devine

172-57-9 • 1955-1980

Arizona State, Missouri +1
222381725774.2%14.7
31.3

1977 peak

7.333.712.7#17
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Howard Jones

194-64-21 • 1908-1940

Duke, Iowa +4
292791946473.3%16.1
35.3

1931 peak

11.8——#03
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Dan Lanning

35-6 • 2022-2025

Oregon
44135685.4%18.9
22.3

2023 peak

3.442.418.6#32
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Steve Spurrier

228-89-2 • 1987-2015

Duke, Florida +1
263192288971.8%14.9
31.2

1996 peak

8.838.921.3#113
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Jimbo Fisher

128-48 • 2010-2023

Florida State, Texas A&M
141761284872.7%14.8
31.3

2013 peak

5.937.116.4#15
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Jim Harbaugh

118-46 • 2007-2023

Michigan, Stanford
131641184672.0%15.2
30.2

2010 peak

9.834.717.5#15
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Bobby Dodd

165-64-8 • 1945-1966

Georgia Tech
222371656471.3%16.0
28.3

1956 peak

6.2——#27
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Bill Battle

59-22-2 • 1970-1976

Tennessee
783592272.3%16.4
28.3

1970 peak

7.029.814.0#43
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Vince Dooley

201-77-10 • 1964-1988

Georgia
252882017771.5%15.9
26.2

1981 peak

5.431.715.6#18
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Marcus Freeman

33-10 • 2021-2025

Notre Dame
543331076.7%18.2
24.1

2025 peak

4.936.317.5#22
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Lincoln Riley

81-24 • 2017-2025

Oklahoma, USC
9105812477.1%15.8
22.7

2017 peak

5.144.326.0#34
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Phillip Fulmer

151-52-1 • 1992-2008

Tennessee
172041515274.3%14.9
24.4

1993 peak

6.437.018.7#16
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Lloyd Carr

122-40 • 1995-2007

Michigan
131621224075.3%16.3
21.5

1997 peak

2.936.617.5#15
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Frank Broyles

149-62-6 • 1957-1976

Arkansas, Missouri
202171496270.0%15.2
26.1

1970 peak

7.730.517.4#29
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Mark Richt

171-64 • 2001-2018

Georgia, Miami
182351716472.8%15.0
23.7

2014 peak

4.536.516.0#27
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Curt Cignetti

30-6 • 2022-2025

Indiana, James Madison
43630683.3%14.5
27.3

2025 peak

8.835.418.4#101
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Bernie Bierman

144-56-9 • 1925-1950

Iowa Pre-Flight, Minnesota +2
242091445671.0%13.9
27.8

1934 peak

9.6——#16
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Jim Tatum

100-35-7 • 1942-1958

Maryland, North Carolina +1
141421003572.9%14.0
25.9

1951 peak

7.3——#14
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Charles McClendon

135-61-7 • 1962-1979

LSU
182031356168.2%16.2
26.1

1969 peak

5.729.614.9#75
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Mark Helfrich

37-16 • 2013-2016

Oregon
453371669.8%17.1
27.1

2014 peak

10.446.026.9#22
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Showing 26-50 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.