Coach Leaderboard
College football coaches by national titles
National championship counts matched from coach team-seasons to the championship dataset.
Top coaches
Records exclude zero-game placeholders. Profile pages show source notes and current-season fallback status.
| Rank | Coach | Record | National titles | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Saban 1990-2023 • 28 seasons | 297-71-1 | 7 | Alabama, LSU, Michigan State, Toledo |
| 2 | Bear Bryant 1945-1982 • 38 seasons | 323-85-17 | 5 | Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Texas A&M |
| 3 | Frank Leahy 1939-1953 • 13 seasons | 107-13-9 | 4 | Boston College, Notre Dame |
| 4 | Barry Switzer 1973-1988 • 16 seasons | 157-29-4 | 3 | Oklahoma |
| 5 | Urban Meyer 2001-2018 • 17 seasons | 187-32 | 3 | Bowling Green, Florida, Ohio State, Utah |
| 6 | Bud Wilkinson 1947-1963 • 17 seasons | 145-29-4 | 3 | Oklahoma |
| 7 | John McKay 1960-1975 • 16 seasons | 127-40-8 | 3 | USC |
| 8 | Bernie Bierman 1925-1950 • 24 seasons | 144-56-9 | 3 | Iowa Pre-Flight, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Tulane |
| 9 | Tom Osborne 1973-1997 • 25 seasons | 255-49-3 | 2 | Nebraska |
| 10 | Pete Carroll 2001-2009 • 9 seasons | 97-19 | 2 | USC |
| 11 | Kirby Smart 2016-2025 • 10 seasons | 117-21 | 2 | Georgia |
| 12 | Woody Hayes 1951-1978 • 28 seasons | 205-61-10 | 2 | Ohio State |
| 13 | Darrell Royal 1954-1976 • 23 seasons | 184-60-5 | 2 | Mississippi State, Texas, Washington |
| 14 | Bob Devaney 1957-1972 • 16 seasons | 136-30-7 | 2 | Nebraska, Wyoming |
| 15 | Dabo Swinney 2008-2025 • 18 seasons | 187-53 | 2 | Clemson |
| 16 | Bobby Bowden 1970-2009 • 40 seasons | 357-124-4 | 2 | Florida State, West Virginia |
| 17 | Ara Parseghian 1956-1974 • 19 seasons | 131-52-5 | 2 | Northwestern, Notre Dame |
| 18 | Joe Paterno 1966-2011 • 46 seasons | 409-136-3 | 2 | Penn State |
| 19 | Red Blaik 1934-1958 • 25 seasons | 166-48-14 | 2 | Army, Dartmouth |
| 20 | Dennis Erickson 1986-2011 • 19 seasons | 147-81-1 | 2 | Arizona State, Idaho, Miami, Oregon State, Washington State, Wyoming |
| 21 | Ryan Day 2018-2025 • 8 seasons | 82-12 | 1 | Ohio State |
| 22 | Bob Stoops 1999-2021 • 19 seasons | 191-48 | 1 | Oklahoma |
| 23 | Jim Tressel 2001-2010 • 10 seasons | 106-22 | 1 | Ohio State |
| 24 | Bob Neyland 1926-1952 • 21 seasons | 173-31-12 | 1 | Tennessee |
| 25 | Jock Sutherland 1919-1938 • 20 seasons | 144-28-14 | 1 | Lafayette, Pittsburgh |
| 26 | Biggie Munn 1946-1953 • 8 seasons | 58-14-2 | 1 | Michigan State, Syracuse |
| 27 | Dan Devine 1955-1980 • 22 seasons | 172-57-9 | 1 | Arizona State, Missouri, Notre Dame |
| 28 | Steve Spurrier 1987-2015 • 26 seasons | 228-89-2 | 1 | Duke, Florida, South Carolina |
| 29 | Jimbo Fisher 2010-2023 • 14 seasons | 128-48 | 1 | Florida State, Texas A&M |
| 30 | Jim Harbaugh 2007-2023 • 13 seasons | 118-46 | 1 | Michigan, Stanford |
| 31 | Vince Dooley 1964-1988 • 25 seasons | 201-77-10 | 1 | Georgia |
| 32 | Curt Cignetti 2022-2025 • 4 seasons | 46-6 | 1 | Indiana, James Madison |
| 33 | Phillip Fulmer 1992-2008 • 17 seasons | 151-52-1 | 1 | Tennessee |
| 34 | Lloyd Carr 1995-2007 • 13 seasons | 122-40 | 1 | Michigan |
| 35 | Jim Tatum 1942-1958 • 14 seasons | 100-35-7 | 1 | Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma |
| 36 | Paul Brown 1941-1945 • 5 seasons | 33-14-3 | 1 | Great Lakes Navy, Ohio State |
| 37 | Jimmy Johnson 1979-1988 • 10 seasons | 81-34-3 | 1 | Miami, Oklahoma State |
| 38 | Don James 1971-1992 • 22 seasons | 175-79-3 | 1 | Kent State, Washington |
| 39 | Bennie Oosterbaan 1948-1958 • 11 seasons | 63-33-4 | 1 | Michigan |
| 40 | Les Miles 2001-2020 • 18 seasons | 145-73 | 1 | Kansas, LSU, Oklahoma State |
| 41 | Lou Holtz 1969-2004 • 33 seasons | 249-132-7 | 1 | Arkansas, Minnesota, NC State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, William & Mary |
| 42 | Danny Ford 1978-1997 • 17 seasons | 121-60-5 | 1 | Arkansas, Clemson |
| 43 | Mack Brown 1985-2024 • 35 seasons | 282-150-1 | 1 | North Carolina, Texas, Tulane |
| 44 | LaVell Edwards 1972-2000 • 29 seasons | 257-101-3 | 1 | BYU |
| 45 | Bill McCartney 1982-1994 • 13 seasons | 93-55-5 | 1 | Colorado |
| 46 | Homer Norton 1930-1947 • 18 seasons | 111-59-15 | 1 | Centenary (LA), Texas A&M |
| 47 | Larry Coker 2001-2015 • 10 seasons | 82-41 | 1 | Miami, UTSA |
| 48 | Ed Orgeron 2005-2021 • 10 seasons | 67-47 | 1 | LSU, Ole Miss, USC |
| 49 | Ben Schwartzwalder 1949-1973 • 25 seasons | 153-91-3 | 1 | Syracuse |
| 50 | Gene Stallings 1965-1996 • 14 seasons | 97-61-2 | 1 | Alabama, Texas A&M |