Coaches Research Hub
Search any coach, jump to the record answer, then verify it with year-by-year rows, ranked-game splits, school impact, and comparisons.
Answer Pages
Fast answers, deeper profiles.
Current Research Window
Search coach records, career wins, win percentage, and rankings from the same filtered universe as the discovery visuals below. Start from the recommended sample, then tighten the field around identity, school, time span, or quality.
19
Coaches in view
1786 indexed coaches available
178
Coach-seasons
12392 total coach-season rows
1/1
Page position
19 coaches in the current filtered result set
Summary and Filtering
Coach search stays primary, then school, archetype, time span, and quality sharpen the rankings. The recommended starting point is 3+ seasons.
Primary Discovery
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.
Start with the simplest question: who paired real strength with a repeatable week-to-week shape?
Vince Di Francesca
Volatility: 2.46 • Average SRS: -11.07
23.2% win rate • -7.6 peak 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
This is the clearest first-pass view for peak versus stability. It is the best place to start browsing.
Vince Di Francesca coached 3 seasons, won 23.2%, and posted an average SRS of -11.1. Best season: 1954 Iowa State. The profile was balanced with a very steady week-to-week shape. One primary stint defined the run.
These callouts update with the active discovery mode and filtered coach set.
Highest peak
Earle Bruce
Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.
Steadiest floor
C Noel Workman
Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.
Elite but volatile
Gene Chizik
Big ceiling, but the weekly shape moved around more than the steady tier.
Keep the ceiling board in view, but as a support module for the active lens, not the main destination.
1. Earle Bruce
1979
2. Johnny Majors
1976
3. Gene Chizik
2010
4. Sam Willaman
1930
5. Matt Campbell
2017
Supporting Insights
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
The fastest path into peak and results leaders.
Single-season ceiling leaders.
1. Earle Bruce
1979 Ohio State (11-1)
2. Johnny Majors
1976 Pittsburgh (12-0)
3. Gene Chizik
2010 Auburn (14-0)
4. Sam Willaman
1930 Ohio State (5-2-1)
5. Matt Campbell
2017 Iowa State (8-5)
Who won the most across a meaningful sample.
1. Earle Bruce
1979 Ohio State (11-1)
2. Matt Campbell
2017 Iowa State (8-5)
3. Sam Willaman
1930 Ohio State (5-2-1)
4. Johnny Majors
1976 Pittsburgh (12-0)
5. Jim Yeager
1943 Colorado (5-2)
Coaches who stacked elite endings.
1. Sam Willaman
1930 Ohio State (5-2-1)
2. Johnny Majors
1976 Pittsburgh (12-0)
3. Earle Bruce
1979 Ohio State (11-1)
4. Matt Campbell
2017 Iowa State (8-5)
5. Gene Chizik
2010 Auburn (14-0)
Stability
Who stays in control year after year.
Low SRS volatility among winning coaches with a real sample.
1. Sam Willaman
1930 Ohio State (5-2-1)
2. Matt Campbell
2017 Iowa State (8-5)
3. Earle Bruce
1979 Ohio State (11-1)
Longevity
Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.
Big careers and long arcs.
1. Johnny Majors
1976 Pittsburgh (12-0)
2. Dan McCarney
2005 Iowa State (7-5)
3. Earle Bruce
1979 Ohio State (11-1)
4. Jim Walden
1981 Washington State (8-3-1)
5. Matt Campbell
2017 Iowa State (8-5)
Results Table
19 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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vince Di Francesca 6-21-1 • 1954-1956 | Iowa State | 3 | 28 | 6 | 21 | 23.2% | -11.1 | -7.6 1954 peak | 2.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
C Noel Workman 3-21-1 • 1928-1930 | Iowa State | 3 | 25 | 3 | 21 | 14.0% | -6.5 | -4.9 1930 peak | 1.6 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Jim Criner 16-24-2 • 1983-1986 | Iowa State | 4 | 42 | 16 | 24 | 40.5% | -8.2 | -3.8 1986 peak | 2.9 | 23.6 | 31.3 | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Abe Stuber 24-38-3 • 1947-1953 | Iowa State | 7 | 65 | 24 | 38 | 39.2% | -6.1 | -0.4 1949 peak | 3.8 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Mike Michalske 18-18-3 • 1942-1946 | Iowa State | 5 | 39 | 18 | 18 | 50.0% | -8.0 | 0.8 1944 peak | 7.2 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Dan McCarney 78-117 • 1995-2015 | Iowa State, North Texas | 17 | 195 | 78 | 117 | 40.0% | -5.1 | 11.5 2005 peak | 9.4 | 28.1 | 32.0 | #25 | 0 | Offense-First Longevity Coach | |
Jim Yeager 40-36-3 • 1937-1947 | Colorado, Iowa State | 9 | 79 | 40 | 36 | 52.5% | -6.9 | 6.7 1943 peak | 6.8 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
George Veenker 21-22-8 • 1931-1936 | Iowa State | 6 | 51 | 21 | 22 | 49.0% | -3.1 | 3.8 1934 peak | 4.6 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Paul Rhoads 32-54 • 2009-2015 | Iowa State | 7 | 87 | 32 | 54 | 36.8% | -0.6 | 6.8 2012 peak | 3.6 | 25.2 | 27.7 | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Jim Walden 69-112-7 • 1978-1994 | Iowa State, Washington State | 17 | 188 | 69 | 112 | 38.6% | -0.7 | 13.8 1981 peak | 6.4 | 28.7 | 30.5 | — | 0 | Offense-First Longevity Coach | |
Clay Stapleton 42-53-4 • 1958-1967 | Iowa State | 10 | 99 | 42 | 53 | 44.4% | -0.4 | 8.4 1959 peak | 6.4 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Donnie Duncan 18-24-2 • 1979-1982 | Iowa State | 4 | 44 | 18 | 24 | 43.2% | 1.9 | 8.3 1980 peak | 3.9 | 23.0 | 21.3 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Jim Myers 16-29-5 • 1957-1961 | Iowa State, Texas A&M | 5 | 50 | 16 | 29 | 37.0% | 3.8 | 13.7 1961 peak | 7.2 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Norman Paine 12-7-1 • 1917-1920 | Arkansas, Iowa State | 3 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 62.5% | 0.6 | 7.6 1920 peak | 7.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Gene Chizik 38-38 • 2007-2012 | Auburn, Iowa State | 6 | 76 | 38 | 38 | 50.0% | 3.0 | 23.9 2010 peak | 11.4 | 32.3 | 25.4 | #1 | 1 | Offense-First Peak Dominator | |
Matt Campbell 107-70 • 2011-2025 | Iowa State, Toledo | 15 | 177 | 107 | 70 | 60.5% | 7.3 | 14.3 2017 peak | 6.1 | 31.2 | 24.5 | #9 | 1 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Sam Willaman 40-25-8 • 1922-1933 | Iowa State, Ohio State | 9 | 73 | 40 | 25 | 60.3% | 9.0 | 15.8 1930 peak | 5.6 | — | — | #0 | 5 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Johnny Majors 185-137-10 • 1968-1996 | Iowa State, Pittsburgh +1 | 29 | 332 | 185 | 137 | 57.2% | 8.7 | 24.2 1976 peak | 8.8 | 32.5 | 22.7 | #1 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Earle Bruce 139-82-2 • 1973-1992 | Colorado State, Iowa State +1 | 19 | 223 | 139 | 82 | 62.8% | 10.1 | 24.9 1979 peak | 8.6 | 32.9 | 22.6 | #4 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator |
Showing 1-19 of 19