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

8/51

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
Tommy Tuberville

159-99 • 1995-2016

Auburn, Cincinnati +2
212581599961.6%5.0
22.7

2004 peak

8.331.822.3#22
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Rip Engle

132-68-8 • 1944-1965

Brown, Penn State
222081326865.4%6.2
17.7

1960 peak

8.2——#91
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Jim Owens

99-82-6 • 1957-1974

Washington
18187998254.5%8.5
23.4

1970 peak

8.232.528.3#62
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Rich Rodriguez

136-92 • 2001-2025

Arizona, Jacksonville State +2
192281369259.7%5.1
24.4

2007 peak

8.333.825.9#53
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Swede Larson

16-8-3 • 1939-1941

Navy
32716864.8%6.8
16.2

1941 peak

6.9——#101
Balanced

—

William Alexander

134-95-15 • 1920-1944

Georgia Tech
252441349558.0%7.5
21.9

1942 peak

7.3——#51
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Eli Drinkwitz

50-25 • 2019-2025

App State, Missouri
775502566.7%6.8
14.7

2023 peak

5.830.921.2#81
Defense-First

Program Stabilizer

Don Faurot

109-81-10 • 1935-1956

Iowa Pre-Flight, Missouri
202001098157.0%5.8
26.7

1943 peak

7.7——#23
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Tad Jones

66-24-6 • 1909-1927

Syracuse, Yale
1196662471.9%15.0
26.7

1916 peak

7.6———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Jess Neely

187-159-17 • 1931-1966

Clemson, Rice
3636318715953.9%7.4
23.8

1947 peak

9.4——#54
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Luke Fickell

76-38 • 2011-2025

Cincinnati, Ohio State +1
11114763866.7%4.7
16.9

2021 peak

6.926.319.3#42
Defense-First

Longevity Coach

Ron Meyer

34-32-1 • 1976-1981

SMU
667343251.5%10.3
23.7

1981 peak

9.333.023.0#51
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Paul Dietzel

109-95-5 • 1955-1974

Army, LSU +1
202091099553.3%7.4
25.6

1961 peak

8.628.627.4#13
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Frank Cavanaugh

86-29-9 • 1903-1932

Boston College, Dartmouth +2
14124862973.0%12.4
28.3

1914 peak

8.8———0
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Don Nehlen

202-128-8 • 1968-2000

Bowling Green, West Virginia
3033820212861.0%4.4
22.9

1988 peak

7.830.723.0#52
Balanced

Peak Dominator

Gary Pinkel

191-110-3 • 1991-2015

Missouri, Toledo
2530419111063.3%3.7
22.4

2013 peak

10.731.924.6#42
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

John Wilce

78-33-9 • 1913-1928

Ohio State
16120783368.8%13.8
33.6

1917 peak

10.4———0
Balanced

Volatile Builder

Everett Grandelius

20-11 • 1959-1961

Colorado
331201164.5%7.1
13.4

1961 peak

5.2——#71
Balanced

Consistent Winner

Bob Pruett

79-23 • 1997-2004

Marshall
8102792377.5%3.5
14.4

1999 peak

6.035.928.5#101
Offense-First

Program Stabilizer

Bill Hollenback

32-11-6 • 1909-1914

Missouri, Penn State
649321171.4%14.3
23.9

1912 peak

8.0———0
Balanced

—

Art Briles

99-65 • 2003-2015

Baylor, Houston
13164996560.4%5.1
22.8

2013 peak

10.936.529.5#71
Offense-First

Peak Dominator

Wayne Hardin

111-71-5 • 1959-1982

Navy, Temple
181871117160.7%5.2
19.6

1963 peak

7.529.623.7#22
Balanced

Longevity Coach

Mont McIntire

24-11-4 • 1916-1920

West Virginia
439241166.7%17.6
24.9

1917 peak

9.4———0
Balanced

—

Jerry Claiborne

179-122-8 • 1961-1989

Kentucky, Maryland +1
2830917912259.2%5.9
21.7

1974 peak

8.026.618.1#81
Defense-First

Peak Dominator

Walter Booth

46-8-1 • 1900-1905

Nebraska
65546884.5%11.1
21.5

1905 peak

6.3———0
Balanced

—

Showing 176-200 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.