Back to Coaches
Longevity CoachDefense-First

Coach Profile

Hayden Fry

1962-1998 • Iowa, North Texas, SMU

3 schools coached, anchored by Iowa.

Hayden Fry coached 37 seasons, won 56.0%, and posted an average SRS of 6.1. Best season: 1985 Iowa. The profile was defense-first with a highly volatile profile. 3 stints shaped the career arc.

Compare this coachAll coach recordsRanked opponent recordJump to seasons
Career record
230-180-10
Career win rate
56.0%
Average SRS
6.1
Peak SRS
17.7

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
37
Career span
37 years
Best finish
#10
Consistency
28.1

Primary school anchor

Iowa

Defense-First profile with 3 program stops and a peak score of 79.6.

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.

Compare Hayden Fry
Overall record
230-180-10

420 countable games, 56.0% win rate.

Iowa record
143-89-6

20 countable seasons at Iowa.

Full-season record
230-180-10

37 full season rows; partial and backfilled current rows are separated.

Vs AP Top 25
17-73-3

93 games using AP ranking at game time.

Vs AP Top 10
7-50-1

58 games using AP ranking at game time.

Vs AP Top 5
2-26

28 games using AP ranking at game time.

Vs Minnesota
12-8

Iowa-Minnesota games in this dataset.

Postseason / bowl record
7-9-1

17 scored postseason games in this dataset.

CFP record
0-0

0 College Football Playoff-labeled games since 2014.

National titles
0

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: Nov 21, 1998. 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.

Hayden Fry
EliteStrongAverageLean
Hayden Fry: 1973 North TexasHayden Fry: 1979 Iowa
1962Actual season year • SRS range -17.1 to 17.71998

Active comparison point

Hayden Fry • 1985

Selected

1985 Iowa

Best season

10-2 • SRS 17.7 • SP Overall 22.7

Win %

83.3%

YoY SRS

+4.7

SP Off / Def

41.7 / 21.1

Finish

#10

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.

Poll source
Ranking timing

Top 25

17-73-3

Games
93
Win rate
19.9%

Top 10

7-50-1

Games
58
Win rate
12.9%

Top 5

2-26

Games
28
Win rate
7.1%
View ranked game results93
1998 Regular Week 12IowaOhio State#7L14-45
1998 Regular Week 9IowaWisconsin#9L0-31
1998 Regular Week 4IowaArizona#16L11-35
1997 Regular Week 11IowaPurdue#18W35-17
1997 Regular Week 9IowaMichigan#5L24-28
1997 Regular Week 7IowaOhio State#7L7-23
1997 Postseason Week 1IowaArizona State#14L7-17
1996 Regular Week 12IowaNorthwestern#18L13-40
1996 Regular Week 10IowaOhio State#2L26-38
1996 Regular Week 9IowaPenn State#10W21-20
1995 Regular Week 12IowaNorthwestern#5L20-31
1995 Regular Week 10IowaOhio State#4L35-56
1995 Regular Week 9IowaPenn State#19L27-41
1994 Regular Week 6IowaMichigan#7L14-29
1994 Regular Week 4IowaPenn State#6L21-61
1993 Regular Week 9IowaMichigan State#24L10-24
1993 Regular Week 6IowaMichigan#8L7-24
1993 Regular Week 4IowaPenn State#14L0-31
1993 Postseason Week 1IowaCalifornia#25L3-37
1992 Regular Week 6IowaMichigan#4L28-52
1992 Regular Week 5IowaColorado#10L12-28
1992 Regular Week 2IowaMiami#1L7-24
1991 Regular Week 11IowaIndiana#25W38-21
1991 Regular Week 10IowaOhio State#13W16-9
1991 Regular Week 8IowaIllinois#13W24-21
1991 Regular Week 6IowaMichigan#7L24-43
1991 Postseason Week 1IowaBYU#23T13-13
1990 Regular Week 12IowaOhio State#21L26-27
1990 Regular Week 11IowaIllinois#17W54-28
1990 Regular Week 9IowaMichigan#20W24-23
1990 Regular Week 6IowaMiami#9L21-48
1990 Postseason Week 1IowaWashington#5L34-46
1989 Regular Week 10IowaIllinois#8L7-31
1989 Regular Week 8IowaMichigan#5L12-26
1989 Regular Week 6IowaMichigan State#24L14-17
1988 Regular Week 8IowaMichigan#15T17-17
1987 Regular Week 10IowaIndiana#18W29-21
1987 Regular Week 8IowaMichigan#20L10-37
1986 Regular Week 10IowaOhio State#11L10-31
1986 Regular Week 8IowaMichigan#4L17-20
1985 Regular Week 10IowaOhio State#8L13-22
1985 Regular Week 8IowaMichigan#2W12-10
1985 Postseason Week 1IowaUCLA#7L28-45
1984 Regular Week 5IowaOhio State#3L26-45
1984 Regular Week 4IowaPenn State#7L17-20
1983 Regular Week 9IowaMichigan#8L13-16
1983 Regular Week 6IowaIllinois#19L0-33
1983 Regular Week 5IowaOhio State#8W20-14
1983 Postseason Week 1IowaFlorida#6L6-14
1982 Regular Week 2IowaNebraska#3L7-42
1981 Regular Week 7IowaMichigan#5W9-7
1981 Regular Week 4IowaUCLA#6W20-7
1981 Regular Week 2IowaNebraska#7W10-7
1981 Postseason Week 1IowaWashington#10L0-28
1980 Regular Week 12IowaOhio State#5L7-41
1980 Regular Week 11IowaPurdue#16L13-58
1980 Regular Week 4IowaNebraska#3L0-57
1979 Regular Week 11IowaOhio State#2L7-34
1979 Regular Week 10IowaPurdue#14L14-20
1979 Regular Week 4IowaNebraska#6L21-24
1979 Regular Week 3IowaOklahoma#3L6-21
1978 Regular Week 7North TexasTexas#8L16-26
1977 Regular Week 9North TexasFlorida State#15L14-35
1977 Regular Week 1North TexasMississippi State#16L15-17
1975 Regular Week 4North TexasOklahoma State#17L7-61
1974 Regular Week 9North TexasSan Diego State#20W14-9
1972 Regular Week 9SMUTexas#9L9-17
1971 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#17L13-18
1971 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#14L18-22
1971 Regular Week 2SMUOklahoma#10L0-30
1970 Regular Week 12SMUArkansas#5L3-36
1970 Regular Week 10SMUTexas#2L15-42
1970 Regular Week 3SMUOklahoma#14L11-28
1969 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#3L15-28
1969 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#2L14-45
1969 Regular Week 3SMUMichigan State#14L15-23
1968 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#10L29-35
1968 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#11L7-38
1968 Regular Week 7SMUTexas Tech#19W39-18
1968 Regular Week 3SMUOhio State#11L14-35
1968 Postseason Week 1SMUOklahoma#11W28-27
1966 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#6L0-22
1966 Postseason Week 1SMUGeorgia#4L9-24
1965 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#2L3-24
1965 Regular Week 4SMUPurdue#6T14-14
1964 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#3L0-44
1964 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#5L0-7
1964 Regular Week 3SMUOhio State#4L8-27
1963 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#1L12-17
1963 Regular Week 5SMUNavy#10W32-28
1962 Regular Week 10SMUArkansas#7L7-9
1962 Regular Week 8SMUTexas#5L0-6
1962 Regular Week 3SMUUSC#6L3-33

Tenure map

Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.

Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint

Iowa

1979-1998 • 20 seasons

Avg SRS 8.2 • Win % 61.3%

North Texas

1973-1978 • 6 seasons

Avg SRS -0.9 • Win % 59.9%

SMU

1962-1972 • 11 seasons

Avg SRS 6.2 • Win % 42.7%

Longest tenure
Iowa • 20 seasons
Best tenure
Iowa • 8.2 SRS
Best tenure win rate
Iowa • 61.3%

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.

Hayden Fry sets the reference point in overall strength.

Overall Strength

Decisive edge

Hayden Fry sets the reference point in overall strength.

Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.

Hayden Fry

Strong

Raw avg SP Overall
6.8
Percentile
77th pct

Strong

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.

Iowa

1979-1998 • 143-89-6

Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).

Avg SRS 8.2Win % 61.3%

Avg wins

Higher is better

7.2 during vs 3.4 baseline

+3.8

Avg SRS

Higher is better

8.2 during vs -1.8 baseline

+9.9

Avg SP Overall

Higher is better

8.6 during vs -6.4 baseline

+15.0

Ranked finish rate

Higher is better

50.0% during vs 0.0% baseline

+50.0%

North Texas

1973-1978 • 38-25-3

Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).

Avg SRS -0.9Win % 59.9%

Avg wins

Higher is better

6.3 during vs 4.4 baseline

+1.9

Avg SRS

Higher is better

-0.9 during vs -9.1 baseline

+8.2

Avg SP Overall

Higher is better

2.9 during vs -16.8 baseline

+19.7

Ranked finish rate

Higher is better

0.0% during vs 0.0% baseline

+0.0%

SMU

1962-1972 • 49-66-1

Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).

Avg SRS 6.2Win % 42.7%

Avg wins

Higher is better

4.5 during vs 3.4 baseline

+1.1

Avg SRS

Higher is better

6.2 during vs 6.0 baseline

+0.1

Avg SP Overall

Higher is better

2.0 during vs — baseline

—

Ranked finish rate

Higher is better

18.2% during vs 20.0% baseline

-1.8%

Career highs and lows

High Points

Best Season

Iowa 1985

10-2 • SRS 17.7

Biggest Improvement

SMU 1968

8-3 • 20.0 SRS

Best Offensive Season

Iowa 1990

8-4 • SP Off 42.5

Best Defensive Season

Iowa 1981

8-4 • SP Def 15.0

Setbacks

Lowest SRS Season

North Texas 1973

5-5-1 • SRS -17.1

Biggest Drop

North Texas 1973

5-5-1 • -31.0 SRS

Season-by-season results

Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.

Iowa19981138027.3%——-4.9-5.122.928.0-19.1-31.1%Season summary
Iowa19971275058.3%#21—14.214.334.221.0-0.3-16.7%Season summary
Iowa19961293075.0%#22#1814.517.437.421.5+0.2+8.3%Season summary
Iowa19951284066.7%—#2514.313.438.426.4+8.1+16.7%Season summary
Iowa19941155150.0%——6.27.538.432.6+9.10.0%Season summary
Iowa19931266050.0%——-2.9-7.722.229.4-5.4+8.3%Season summary
Iowa19921257041.7%#16—2.52.827.625.6-9.2-45.8%Season summary
Iowa199112101187.5%#18#1011.714.132.719.6-2.8+20.8%Season summary
Iowa19901284066.7%—#1814.515.742.530.1+19.2+21.2%Season summary
Iowa19891156045.5%#23—-4.7-4.024.428.4-12.4-12.2%Season summary
Iowa19881364357.7%#9—7.77.729.923.4-3.1-19.2%Season summary
Iowa198713103076.9%#16#1610.812.435.224.0+1.2+1.9%Season summary
Iowa19861293075.0%—#169.612.235.925.7-8.1-8.3%Season summary
Iowa198512102083.3%#4#1017.722.741.721.1+4.7+17.9%Season summary
Iowa19841384165.4%#12#1613.012.431.920.2-1.7-9.6%Season summary
Iowa19831293075.0%#16#1414.716.635.921.3+8.5+8.3%Season summary
Iowa19821284066.7%——6.26.125.520.2-4.40.0%Season summary
Iowa19811284066.7%—#1810.611.926.315.0+11.0+30.3%Season summary
Iowa19801147036.4%——-0.4-5.418.624.0-8.6-9.1%Season summary
Iowa19791156045.5%——8.27.428.422.10.0-36.4%Season summary
North Texas19781192081.8%——8.214.229.916.7-4.40.0%Season summary
North Texas19771192081.8%——12.619.135.918.8+8.3+27.3%Season summary
North Texas19761165054.5%——4.37.924.217.1+4.3-9.1%Season summary
North Texas19751174063.6%——0.03.923.620.2+13.6+36.4%Season summary
North Texas19741127227.3%——-13.6-14.414.227.4+3.5-22.7%Season summary
North Texas19731155150.0%——-17.1-13.515.127.7-31.0-13.6%Season summary
SMU19721174063.6%——13.912.228.817.4+16.4+27.3%Season summary
SMU19711147036.4%——-2.5-7.916.624.1-8.8-9.1%Season summary
SMU19701156045.5%——6.31.821.119.8+1.6+15.4%Season summary
SMU19691037030.0%——4.7———-12.4-42.7%Season summary
SMU19681183072.7%—#1417.1———+20.0+42.7%Season summary
SMU19671037030.0%——-2.9———-16.5-42.7%Season summary
SMU19661183072.7%—#1013.6———+5.6+27.7%Season summary
SMU19651045145.0%——8.0———+11.9+35.0%Season summary
SMU19641019010.0%——-3.9———-14.0-26.4%Season summary
SMU19631147036.4%——10.1———+6.6+16.4%Season summary
SMU19621028020.0%——3.5—————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

Jerry Claiborne

same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.2

Defense-First

Avg SRS 5.9 • Peak SRS 21.7 • 28 seasons

Best finish #8 • Volatility 8.0

Open profile →

Andy Gustafson

avg SRS within 1.2 • volatility within 0.7

Balanced

Avg SRS 4.9 • Peak SRS 16.7 • 20 seasons

Best finish #6 • Volatility 7.5

Open profile →

Rich Brooks

same defense-first identity • volatility within 1.4

Defense-First

Avg SRS 2.9 • Peak SRS 15.1 • 25 seasons

Best finish #11 • Volatility 6.9

Open profile →

Ben Schwartzwalder

same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.9

Defense-First

Avg SRS 7.0 • Peak SRS 27.0 • 25 seasons

Best finish #1 • Volatility 8.3

Open profile →

Jess Neely

avg SRS within 1.3 • volatility within 1.2

Balanced

Avg SRS 7.4 • Peak SRS 23.8 • 36 seasons

Best finish #5 • Volatility 9.4

Open profile →

Don Nehlen

avg SRS within 1.7 • volatility within 0.5

Balanced

Avg SRS 4.4 • Peak SRS 22.9 • 30 seasons

Best finish #5 • Volatility 7.8

Open profile →