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
218
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?
Bob Davie
Volatility: 11.66 • Average SRS: -4.94
44.0% win rate • 12.3 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.
Bob Davie coached 13 seasons, won 44.0%, and posted an average SRS of -4.9. Best season: 2000 Notre Dame. The profile was offense-first with a highly volatile profile. 2 stints shaped the career arc.
These callouts update with the active discovery mode and filtered coach set.
Highest peak
Frank Leahy
Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.
Most consistent elite coach
Jesse Harper
High average strength without the season-to-season swing.
Steadiest floor
Patrick ODea
Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.
Elite but volatile
Lou Holtz
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. Frank Leahy
1946
2. Jesse Harper
1913
3. Ara Parseghian
1970
4. Dan Devine
1977
5. Knute Rockne
1924
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. Frank Leahy
1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)
2. Jesse Harper
1913 Notre Dame (7-0)
3. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
4. Dan Devine
1977 Notre Dame (11-1)
5. Knute Rockne
1924 Notre Dame (10-0)
Who won the most across a meaningful sample.
1. Knute Rockne
1924 Notre Dame (10-0)
2. Frank Leahy
1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)
3. Jesse Harper
1913 Notre Dame (7-0)
4. Marcus Freeman
2025 Notre Dame (10-2)
5. Elmer Layden
1938 Notre Dame (8-1)
Coaches who stacked elite endings.
1. Frank Leahy
1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)
2. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
3. Lou Holtz
1988 Notre Dame (12-0)
4. Dan Devine
1977 Notre Dame (11-1)
5. Brian Kelly
2017 Notre Dame (10-3)
Stability
Who stays in control year after year.
Low SRS volatility among winning coaches with a real sample.
1. Elmer Layden
1938 Notre Dame (8-1)
2. Marcus Freeman
2025 Notre Dame (10-2)
3. Knute Rockne
1924 Notre Dame (10-0)
4. Dan Devine
1977 Notre Dame (11-1)
5. Terry Brennan
1954 Notre Dame (9-1)
Longevity
Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.
Big careers and long arcs.
1. Lou Holtz
1988 Notre Dame (12-0)
2. Dan Devine
1977 Notre Dame (11-1)
3. Bob Davie
2000 Notre Dame (9-3)
4. Brian Kelly
2017 Notre Dame (10-3)
5. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bob Davie 70-89 • 1997-2019 | New Mexico, Notre Dame | 13 | 159 | 70 | 89 | 44.0% | -4.9 | 12.3 2000 peak | 11.7 | 29.3 | 32.8 | #15 | 0 | Offense-First Longevity Coach | |
Gerry Faust 66-75-4 • 1981-1994 | Akron, Notre Dame | 13 | 145 | 66 | 75 | 46.9% | -5.0 | 13.6 1981 peak | 15.1 | 24.9 | 26.9 | — | 0 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Hugh Devore 13-26-3 • 1945-1963 | New York University, Notre Dame | 5 | 42 | 13 | 26 | 34.5% | -11.6 | 23.5 1945 peak | 22.5 | — | — | #9 | 1 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Patrick ODea 19-7-2 • 1900-1902 | Missouri, Notre Dame | 3 | 28 | 19 | 7 | 71.4% | -3.9 | -2.7 1902 peak | 0.9 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Tyrone Willingham 76-88-1 • 1995-2008 | Notre Dame, Stanford +1 | 14 | 165 | 76 | 88 | 46.4% | 3.8 | 11.7 2002 peak | 6.7 | 32.6 | 27.9 | #16 | 0 | Offense-First Longevity Coach | |
Hunk Anderson 27-26-3 • 1931-1936 | NC State, Notre Dame | 6 | 56 | 27 | 26 | 50.9% | 6.7 | 23.8 1931 peak | 12.6 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Charlie Weis 41-49 • 2005-2014 | Kansas, Notre Dame | 8 | 90 | 41 | 49 | 45.6% | 0.9 | 20.8 2005 peak | 10.6 | 27.1 | 25.1 | #9 | 1 | Defense-First Peak Dominator | |
Joe Kuharich 42-37 • 1948-1962 | Notre Dame, San Francisco | 8 | 79 | 42 | 37 | 53.2% | 8.7 | 21.0 1951 peak | 8.7 | — | — | #14 | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder | |
Knute Rockne 105-12-5 • 1918-1930 | Notre Dame | 13 | 122 | 105 | 12 | 88.1% | 22.3 | 29.3 1924 peak | 5.6 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Jesse Harper 34-5-1 • 1913-1917 | Notre Dame | 5 | 40 | 34 | 5 | 86.3% | 23.7 | 32.5 1913 peak | 6.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Terry Brennan 32-18 • 1954-1958 | Notre Dame | 5 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 64.0% | 14.0 | 21.7 1954 peak | 8.5 | — | — | #4 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Brian Kelly 202-79 • 2004-2025 | Central Michigan, Cincinnati +2 | 23 | 281 | 202 | 79 | 71.9% | 10.3 | 22.0 2017 peak | 9.5 | 33.6 | 21.4 | #4 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Ed McKeever 20-8-1 • 1944-1947 | Cornell, Notre Dame +1 | 3 | 29 | 20 | 8 | 70.7% | 13.0 | 24.2 1944 peak | 8.0 | — | — | #9 | 1 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Lou Holtz 249-132-7 • 1969-2004 | Arkansas, Minnesota +4 | 33 | 388 | 249 | 132 | 65.1% | 11.0 | 27.5 1988 peak | 12.8 | 34.1 | 20.5 | #1 | 8 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Elmer Layden 47-13-3 • 1934-1940 | Notre Dame | 7 | 63 | 47 | 13 | 77.0% | 13.4 | 19.9 1938 peak | 3.5 | — | — | #5 | 3 | Balanced Consistent Winner | |
Marcus Freeman 43-12 • 2021-2025 | Notre Dame | 5 | 55 | 43 | 12 | 78.2% | 18.2 | 24.1 2025 peak | 4.9 | 36.3 | 17.5 | #2 | 2 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Dan Devine 172-57-9 • 1955-1980 | Arizona State, Missouri +1 | 22 | 238 | 172 | 57 | 74.2% | 14.7 | 31.3 1977 peak | 7.3 | 33.7 | 12.7 | #1 | 7 | Defense-First Peak Dominator | |
Ara Parseghian 131-52-5 • 1956-1974 | Northwestern, Notre Dame | 19 | 188 | 131 | 52 | 71.0% | 19.6 | 32.2 1970 peak | 9.3 | 34.7 | 12.4 | #1 | 9 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Frank Leahy 107-13-9 • 1939-1953 | Boston College, Notre Dame | 13 | 129 | 107 | 13 | 86.4% | 22.6 | 38.3 1946 peak | 9.1 | — | — | #1 | 10 | Balanced Peak Dominator |
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