Top 25
5-11-2
- Games
- 18
- Win rate
- 33.3%
Back to Coaches
Peak DominatorBalancedLong Career
Coach Profile
Madison Bell
1923-1949 • SMU, TCU, Texas A&M
3 schools coached, anchored by SMU.
Madison Bell's coaching record is 136-78-16, highlighted by seasons at SMU from 1923 to 1949.
Madison Bell coached 23 seasons, won 62.6%, and posted an average SRS of 8.5. Best season: 1935 SMU. The profile was balanced with a highly volatile profile. 4 stints shaped the career arc.
- Career record
- 136-78-16
- Career win rate
- 62.6%
- Average SRS
- 8.5
- Peak SRS
- 26.0
Career Dossier
One glance at the full arc.
The profile below keeps the headline numbers visible, then moves into tenure shape, school impact, and full season detail.
- Seasons coached
- 23
- Career span
- 27 years
- Best finish
- #3
- Consistency
- 28.1
Primary school anchor
SMU
Balanced profile with 3 program stops and a peak score of 93.6.
Quick Answers
Records fans search first
Headline records use countable season rows after completed-game fallback. Partial seasons and provisional placeholders are called out separately.
- Overall record
- 136-78-16
- SMU record
- 47-24-3
- Full-season record
- 136-78-16
- Vs AP Top 10
- 2-8-2
- Vs AP Top 5
- 0-3-1
- Vs TCU
- 5-4-3
- Postseason / bowl record
- 1-1-1
- CFP record
- 0-0
- National titles
- 0
230 countable games, 62.6% win rate.
7 countable seasons at SMU.
23 full season rows; partial and backfilled current rows are separated.
12 games using AP ranking at game time.
4 games using AP ranking at game time.
Battle for the Iron Skillet games in this dataset.
3 scored postseason games in this dataset.
0 College Football Playoff-labeled games since 2014.
Matched by coach team-season against the national championship dataset.
Record definition and data status
Career records use countable coach-season rows. Zero-game placeholders are excluded from aggregates until a completed-game fallback can verify the record.
Completed-game fallback uses scored games joined by coach, team, and season; advanced ratings are left blank when the season summary has not supplied them.
Latest completed coached game in this dataset: Dec 3, 1949. Current and future zero-game placeholders are kept visible but excluded from headline records.
Career Arc
Track how the coach's season-to-season performance changed over time, where the peak landed, and where each school stint appears.
Focus on where peaks separate, where floors hold, and how the shape of each career changed over time.
Madison Bell
EliteStrongAverageLean
Madison Bell: 1929 Texas A&MMadison Bell: 1935 SMU
1923Actual season year • SRS range -7.6 to 26.01949
Active comparison point
Madison Bell • 1935
1935 SMU
Best seasonBiggest improvementNew stop: SMU12-1 • SRS 26.0 • SP Overall —
Win %
92.3%
YoY SRS
+19.6
SP Off / Def
— / —
Finish
Unranked
Comparison context
Focus a point to inspect how it stacks up against the rest of the field.
Ranked opponent record
Track career record against ranked opponents with switchable poll source and ranking timing.
Using AP Top 25 rankings at the time of each game; week-one games use the week-one ranking release when available.
Top 10
2-8-2
- Games
- 12
- Win rate
- 25.0%
Top 5
0-3-1
- Games
- 4
- Win rate
- 12.5%
View ranked game results18
| 1949 Regular Week 7 | SMU | Kentucky | #11 | W20-7 |
| 1949 Regular Week 6 | SMU | Rice | #7 | L27-41 |
| 1949 Regular Week 4 | SMU | Missouri | #16 | W28-27 |
| 1948 Regular Week 5 | SMU | Missouri | #9 | L14-20 |
| 1948 Postseason Week 1 | SMU | Oregon | #9 | W21-13 |
| 1947 Regular Week 8 | SMU | Texas | #7 | W14-13 |
| 1947 Regular Week 7 | SMU | UCLA | #18 | W7-0 |
| 1947 Postseason Week 1 | SMU | Penn State | #4 | T13-13 |
| 1946 Regular Week 8 | SMU | Texas | #20 | L3-19 |
| 1946 Regular Week 6 | SMU | Rice | #14 | L7-21 |
| 1945 Regular Week 6 | SMU | Oklahoma State | #8 | L12-26 |
| 1941 Regular Week 7 | SMU | Texas | #10 | L0-34 |
| 1941 Regular Week 3 | SMU | Fordham | #3 | L10-16 |
| 1939 Regular Week 5 | SMU | Notre Dame | #9 | L19-20 |
| 1939 Regular Week 3 | SMU | Oklahoma | #6 | T7-7 |
| 1938 Regular Week 6 | SMU | Pittsburgh | #4 | L7-34 |
| 1937 Regular Week 5 | SMU | Vanderbilt | #18 | L0-6 |
| 1936 Regular Week 4 | SMU | Fordham | #3 | L0-7 |
Tenure map
Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.
Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint
SMU
1945-1949 • 5 seasons
Avg SRS 13.7 • Win % 65.1%
SMU
1935-1941 • 7 seasons
Avg SRS 11.9 • Win % 65.5%
Texas A&M
1929-1933 • 5 seasons
Avg SRS 6.7 • Win % 53.1%
TCU
1923-1928 • 6 seasons
Avg SRS 1.6 • Win % 64.5%
- Longest tenure
- SMU • 7 seasons
- Best tenure
- SMU • 13.7 SRS
- Best tenure win rate
- SMU • 65.5%
Style and Strength Profile
Compare strength, identity, steadiness, and ceiling through normalized bars with raw SP and SRS context underneath.
These bars are normalized against the full coach dataset. Raw SP and SRS values stay visible so the profile reads as evidence, not decoration.
Overall Strength
Start with total quality before splitting style and variance.
Not enough data to compare.
Overall Strength
Decisive edgeNot enough data to compare.
Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.
Madison Bell
Insufficient sample
- Raw avg SP Overall
- —
- Percentile
- —
Insufficient sample
Normalized against the full tracked coach pool.
Impact by school
See how each stint compared with what that program usually looked like outside that same span.
SMU
1945-1949 • 32-16-5
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 13.7Win % 65.1%
Avg wins
Higher is better
6.4 during vs 4.6 baseline
+1.8
Avg SRS
Higher is better
13.7 during vs 2.4 baseline
+11.4
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
— during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
40.0% during vs 20.0% baseline
+20.0%
SMU
1935-1941 • 47-24-3
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 11.9Win % 65.5%
Avg wins
Higher is better
6.7 during vs 6.0 baseline
+0.7
Avg SRS
Higher is better
11.9 during vs 9.0 baseline
+2.9
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
— during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
14.3% during vs 0.0% baseline
+14.3%
Texas A&M
1929-1933 • 24-21-3
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 6.7Win % 53.1%
Avg wins
Higher is better
4.8 during vs 6.4 baseline
-1.6
Avg SRS
Higher is better
6.7 during vs 9.2 baseline
-2.5
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
— during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
0.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+0.0%
TCU
1923-1928 • 33-17-5
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 1.6Win % 64.5%
Avg wins
Higher is better
5.5 during vs 4.4 baseline
+1.1
Avg SRS
Higher is better
1.6 during vs -11.9 baseline
+13.5
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
— during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
0.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+0.0%
Career highs and lows
High Points
Best Season
SMU 1935
12-1 • SRS 26.0
Biggest Improvement
SMU 1935
12-1 • 19.6 SRS
Best Offensive Season
Unavailable
Best Defensive Season
Unavailable
Setbacks
Lowest SRS Season
TCU 1924
4-5 • SRS -7.6
Biggest Drop
Texas A&M 1930
2-7 • -17.9 SRS
Season-by-season results
Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.
| SMU | 1949 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 55.0% | — | — | 13.2 | — | — | — | -7.8 | -31.4% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1948 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 86.4% | — | #10 | 21.0 | — | — | — | +0.6 | -4.5% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1947 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 90.9% | — | #3 | 20.4 | — | — | — | +14.4 | +45.9% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1946 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 45.0% | — | — | 6.0 | — | — | — | -2.1 | -0.4% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1945 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 45.5% | — | — | 8.1 | — | — | — | -2.7 | -4.5% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1941 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 50.0% | — | — | 10.8 | — | — | — | -4.0 | -35.0% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1940 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 85.0% | — | #16 | 14.8 | — | — | — | +2.2 | +20.0% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1939 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 65.0% | — | — | 12.6 | — | — | — | +10.4 | +5.0% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1938 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 60.0% | — | — | 2.2 | — | — | — | -5.3 | +14.5% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1937 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 45.5% | — | — | 7.5 | — | — | — | -2.0 | -9.6% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1936 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 55.0% | — | — | 9.5 | — | — | — | -16.5 | -37.3% | Season summary |
| SMU | 1935 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 92.3% | — | — | 26.0 | — | — | — | +19.6 | +27.3% | Season summary |
| Texas A&M | 1933 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 65.0% | — | — | 6.4 | — | — | — | +5.2 | +15.0% | Season summary |
| Texas A&M | 1932 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | — | — | 1.2 | — | — | — | -8.4 | -20.0% | Season summary |
| Texas A&M | 1931 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.0% | — | — | 9.6 | — | — | — | +10.4 | +47.8% | Season summary |
| Texas A&M | 1930 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 22.2% | — | — | -0.8 | — | — | — | -17.9 | -33.3% | Season summary |
| Texas A&M | 1929 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 55.6% | — | — | 17.1 | — | — | — | +13.0 | -24.4% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1928 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 80.0% | — | — | 4.1 | — | — | — | -9.7 | +24.4% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1927 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 55.6% | — | — | 13.8 | — | — | — | +7.2 | -22.2% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1926 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 77.8% | — | — | 6.6 | — | — | — | +12.2 | -5.6% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1925 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 83.3% | — | — | -5.6 | — | — | — | +2.0 | +38.9% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1924 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 44.4% | — | — | -7.6 | — | — | — | -5.6 | 0.0% | Season summary |
| TCU | 1923 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 44.4% | — | — | -2.0 | — | — | — | — | — | Season summary |
Similar coaches
Popular comparisons are fan-facing matchups. Statistical comps are matched by style, strength band, volatility band, peak range, and career length.
Statistical comps
Barry Alvarez
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.3
Avg SRS 8.8 • Peak SRS 21.7 • 18 seasons
Best finish #4 • Volatility 8.0
Open profile →Johnny Majors
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.2
Avg SRS 8.7 • Peak SRS 24.2 • 29 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 8.8
Open profile →James Phelan
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 1.2
Avg SRS 7.3 • Peak SRS 21.2 • 27 seasons
Best finish #5 • Volatility 8.0
Open profile →George Sanford
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 1.6
Avg SRS 6.9 • Peak SRS 24.0 • 12 seasons
Best finish Unranked • Volatility 8.3
Open profile →William Alexander
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.9
Avg SRS 7.5 • Peak SRS 21.9 • 25 seasons
Best finish #5 • Volatility 7.3
Open profile →Jeff Tedford
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.2
Avg SRS 8.3 • Peak SRS 26.4 • 16 seasons
Best finish #9 • Volatility 8.0
Open profile →