Coach Leaderboard
College football coaches vs AP-ranked teams
Game-time AP Top 25 opponent records for coaches with a meaningful ranked-game sample.
Top coaches
Records exclude zero-game placeholders. Profile pages show source notes and current-season fallback status.
| Rank | Coach | Record | Win % | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Jagodzinski 2007-2008 • 2 seasons | 5-1 | 83.3% (6 games) | Boston College |
| 2 | Pete Carroll 2001-2009 • 9 seasons | 34-8 | 81.0% (42 games) | USC |
| 3 | Oscar Hagberg 1944-1945 • 2 seasons | 4-1 | 80.0% (5 games) | Navy |
| 4 | Kalen DeBoer 2022-2025 • 4 seasons | 18-5 | 78.3% (23 games) | Fresno State, Washington, Alabama |
| 5 | Curt Cignetti 2022-2025 • 3 seasons | 7-2 | 77.8% (9 games) | James Madison, Indiana |
| 6 | Marcus Freeman 2022-2025 • 4 seasons | 15-5 | 75.0% (20 games) | Notre Dame |
| 7 | Jock Sutherland 1936-1938 • 3 seasons | 4-1-1 | 75.0% (6 games) | Lafayette, Pittsburgh |
| 8 | Urban Meyer 2003-2017 • 14 seasons | 38-16 | 70.4% (54 games) | Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State |
| 9 | Jim Tressel 2001-2010 • 10 seasons | 33-14 | 70.2% (47 games) | Ohio State |
| 10 | Kirby Smart 2016-2025 • 10 seasons | 39-18 | 68.4% (57 games) | Georgia |
| 11 | Ryan Day 2019-2025 • 7 seasons | 23-11 | 67.7% (34 games) | Ohio State |
| 12 | Nick Saban 1995-2023 • 26 seasons | 96-48 | 66.7% (144 games) | Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama |
| 13 | Dan Lanning 2022-2025 • 4 seasons | 14-7 | 66.7% (21 games) | Oregon |
| 14 | Bob Stoops 1999-2016 • 18 seasons | 58-30 | 65.9% (88 games) | Oklahoma |
| 15 | Frank Leahy 1939-1953 • 10 seasons | 11-6-2 | 63.2% (19 games) | Boston College, Notre Dame |
| 16 | Mark Helfrich 2013-2016 • 4 seasons | 10-6 | 62.5% (16 games) | Oregon |
| 17 | Mike Elko 2024-2025 • 2 seasons | 5-3 | 62.5% (8 games) | Duke, Texas A&M |
| 18 | Dabo Swinney 2009-2025 • 17 seasons | 41-25 | 62.1% (66 games) | Clemson |
| 19 | Barry Switzer 1973-1988 • 16 seasons | 37-23-4 | 60.9% (64 games) | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Biggie Munn 1946-1953 • 8 seasons | 8-5-1 | 60.7% (14 games) | Syracuse, Michigan State |
| 21 | Lloyd Carr 1995-2007 • 13 seasons | 41-27 | 60.3% (68 games) | Michigan |
| 22 | Dick Vermeil 1974-1975 • 2 seasons | 3-2 | 60.0% (5 games) | UCLA |
| 23 | Tom Amstutz 2001-2008 • 3 seasons | 3-2 | 60.0% (5 games) | Toledo |
| 24 | Tom Osborne 1973-1997 • 25 seasons | 59-41-2 | 58.8% (102 games) | Nebraska |
| 25 | Larry Coker 2001-2015 • 9 seasons | 19-14 | 57.6% (33 games) | Miami, UTSA |
| 26 | Bobby Williams 2000-2001 • 2 seasons | 4-3 | 57.1% (7 games) | Michigan State |
| 27 | Brent Venables 2022-2025 • 4 seasons | 9-7 | 56.3% (16 games) | Oklahoma |
| 28 | John McKay 1960-1975 • 16 seasons | 27-21-4 | 55.8% (52 games) | USC |
| 29 | Chip Kelly 2009-2023 • 10 seasons | 21-17 | 55.3% (38 games) | Oregon, UCLA |
| 30 | Jimbo Fisher 2010-2022 • 12 seasons | 26-22 | 54.2% (48 games) | Florida State, Texas A&M |
| 31 | Tom Herman 2015-2023 • 6 seasons | 13-11 | 54.2% (24 games) | Houston, Texas, Florida Atlantic |
| 32 | Mark Richt 2001-2018 • 17 seasons | 41-35 | 53.9% (76 games) | Georgia, Miami |
| 33 | Frank Kush 1960-1978 • 9 seasons | 7-6 | 53.8% (13 games) | Arizona State |
| 34 | Jim Harbaugh 2007-2023 • 13 seasons | 27-24 | 52.9% (51 games) | Stanford, Michigan |
| 35 | Steve Spurrier 1987-2014 • 25 seasons | 63-56-1 | 52.9% (120 games) | Duke, Florida, South Carolina |
| 36 | Gary Patterson 2001-2020 • 19 seasons | 27-25 | 51.9% (52 games) | TCU |
| 37 | Bobby Bowden 1970-2009 • 40 seasons | 75-71-1 | 51.4% (147 games) | West Virginia, Florida State |
| 38 | Lincoln Riley 2017-2025 • 8 seasons | 19-18 | 51.3% (37 games) | Oklahoma, USC |
| 39 | David Shaw 2011-2022 • 12 seasons | 29-28 | 50.9% (57 games) | Stanford |
| 40 | Les Miles 2001-2020 • 16 seasons | 41-41 | 50.0% (82 games) | Oklahoma State, LSU, Kansas |
| 41 | Dennis Erickson 1986-2011 • 18 seasons | 30-30 | 50.0% (60 games) | Wyoming, Washington State, Miami, Oregon State, Idaho, Arizona State |
| 42 | Red Blaik 1936-1958 • 17 seasons | 14-14-4 | 50.0% (32 games) | Dartmouth, Army |
| 43 | Frank Thomas 1936-1946 • 10 seasons | 8-8-1 | 50.0% (17 games) | Alabama |
| 44 | Mel Tucker 2019-2022 • 4 seasons | 8-8 | 50.0% (16 games) | Colorado, Michigan State |
| 45 | Herm Edwards 2018-2021 • 4 seasons | 6-6 | 50.0% (12 games) | Arizona State |
| 46 | Kenny Dillingham 2023-2025 • 3 seasons | 6-6 | 50.0% (12 games) | Arizona State |
| 47 | Jimmy Crowley 1936-1942 • 7 seasons | 5-5-1 | 50.0% (11 games) | Michigan State, Fordham, North Carolina Pre-Flight |
| 48 | Joe Paterno 1966-2010 • 45 seasons | 81-83-1 | 49.4% (165 games) | Penn State |
| 49 | Bear Bryant 1946-1982 • 37 seasons | 43-45-1 | 48.9% (89 games) | Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama |
| 50 | Bud Wilkinson 1947-1963 • 17 seasons | 19-20-2 | 48.8% (41 games) | Oklahoma |