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.
23
Coaches in view
1786 indexed coaches available
221
Coach-seasons
12392 total coach-season rows
1/1
Page position
23 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?
John Coatta
Volatility: 2.53 • Average SRS: -7.87
11.7% win rate • -4.7 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.
John Coatta coached 3 seasons, won 11.7%, and posted an average SRS of -7.9. Best season: 1969 Wisconsin. 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
Phil King
Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.
Steadiest floor
Parke Davis
Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.
Elite but volatile
William Juneau
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. Phil King
1905
2. William Juneau
1912
3. JR Richards
1921
4. Milt Bruhn
1962
5. Paul Chryst
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. Phil King
1905 Wisconsin (8-2)
2. William Juneau
1912 Wisconsin (7-0)
3. JR Richards
1921 Wisconsin (5-1-1)
4. Milt Bruhn
1962 Wisconsin (8-2)
5. Paul Chryst
2017 Wisconsin (13-1)
Who won the most across a meaningful sample.
1. Phil King
1905 Wisconsin (8-2)
2. Parke Davis
1897 Lafayette (9-2-1)
3. JR Richards
1921 Wisconsin (5-1-1)
4. Ivy Williamson
1954 Wisconsin (7-2)
5. William Juneau
1912 Wisconsin (7-0)
Coaches who stacked elite endings.
1. Bret Bielema
2011 Wisconsin (11-3)
2. Barry Alvarez
1999 Wisconsin (10-2)
3. Milt Bruhn
1962 Wisconsin (8-2)
4. Ivy Williamson
1954 Wisconsin (7-2)
5. Paul Chryst
2017 Wisconsin (13-1)
Stability
Who stays in control year after year.
Low SRS volatility among winning coaches with a real sample.
1. Parke Davis
1897 Lafayette (9-2-1)
2. Ivy Williamson
1954 Wisconsin (7-2)
3. Paul Chryst
2017 Wisconsin (13-1)
4. Luke Fickell
2021 Cincinnati (13-1)
5. Bret Bielema
2011 Wisconsin (11-3)
Longevity
Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.
Big careers and long arcs.
1. Barry Alvarez
1999 Wisconsin (10-2)
2. Clarence Spears
1924 West Virginia (8-1)
3. Bret Bielema
2011 Wisconsin (11-3)
4. Glenn Thistlethwaite
1926 Northwestern (7-1)
5. William Juneau
1912 Wisconsin (7-0)
Results Table
23 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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Coatta 3-26-1 • 1967-1969 | Wisconsin | 3 | 30 | 3 | 26 | 11.7% | -7.9 | -4.7 1969 peak | 2.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Don Morton 19-36 • 1985-1989 | Tulsa, Wisconsin | 5 | 55 | 19 | 36 | 34.5% | -7.5 | 3.3 1986 peak | 6.6 | 24.6 | 31.1 | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Gary Andersen 59-63 • 2009-2020 | Oregon State, Utah State +1 | 11 | 122 | 59 | 63 | 48.4% | -2.5 | 18.5 2013 peak | 12.5 | 28.3 | 30.1 | #13 | 0 | Offense-First Longevity Coach | |
Guy Lowman 19-18-2 • 1910-1918 | Alabama, Kansas State +1 | 5 | 39 | 19 | 18 | 51.3% | -9.6 | 6.9 1912 peak | 10.0 | — | — | #0 | 1 | Balanced — | |
John Jardine 37-47-3 • 1970-1977 | Wisconsin | 8 | 87 | 37 | 47 | 44.3% | 4.8 | 16.4 1974 peak | 7.0 | 24.2 | 26.4 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Dave McClain 72-49-3 • 1975-1985 | Ball State, Wisconsin | 11 | 124 | 72 | 49 | 59.3% | 2.8 | 9.2 1983 peak | 3.2 | 27.9 | 24.0 | — | 0 | Defense-First Program Stabilizer | |
Glenn Thistlethwaite 88-59-13 • 1922-1941 | Northwestern, Richmond +1 | 18 | 160 | 88 | 59 | 59.1% | -0.6 | 21.7 1926 peak | 13.7 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Arthur Curtis 17-10-1 • 1902-1904 | Kansas, Wisconsin | 3 | 28 | 17 | 10 | 62.5% | 4.3 | 8.6 1903 peak | 4.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Charles Hutchins 19-12-1 • 1902-1907 | Dickinson (PA), Wisconsin | 4 | 32 | 19 | 12 | 60.9% | 4.5 | 9.4 1906 peak | 3.1 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Tom Barry 9-4-3 • 1908-1910 | Wisconsin | 3 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 65.6% | 6.6 | 17.8 1908 peak | 8.1 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Clarence Spears 89-48-11 • 1921-1944 | Maryland, Minnesota +3 | 17 | 147 | 89 | 48 | 64.3% | 7.7 | 20.8 1924 peak | 12.8 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Harry Stuhldreher 78-80-11 • 1930-1948 | Villanova, Wisconsin | 19 | 169 | 78 | 80 | 49.4% | 5.0 | 18.8 1942 peak | 7.3 | — | — | #3 | 1 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
William Juneau 56-28-5 • 1904-1922 | Colorado College, Kentucky +2 | 11 | 89 | 56 | 28 | 65.7% | 6.3 | 37.5 1912 peak | 16.3 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder | |
Parke Davis 37-11-3 • 1893-1897 | Amherst, Lafayette +1 | 5 | 51 | 37 | 11 | 75.5% | 12.4 | 12.4 1897 peak | 0.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Consistent Winner | |
George Little 17-5-2 • 1924-1926 | Michigan, Wisconsin | 3 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 75.0% | 12.9 | 16.4 1924 peak | 4.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Consistent Winner | |
JR Richards 52-18-8 • 1905-1922 | Colorado College, Wisconsin | 11 | 78 | 52 | 18 | 71.8% | 9.6 | 32.5 1921 peak | 15.2 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder | |
Luke Fickell 80-46 • 2011-2025 | Cincinnati, Ohio State +1 | 11 | 126 | 80 | 46 | 63.5% | 4.7 | 16.9 2021 peak | 6.9 | 26.3 | 19.3 | #4 | 2 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Milt Bruhn 52-45-6 • 1956-1966 | Wisconsin | 11 | 103 | 52 | 45 | 53.4% | 9.9 | 29.6 1962 peak | 10.9 | — | — | #2 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Phil King 72-14-1 • 1896-1905 | Georgetown, Wisconsin | 9 | 87 | 72 | 14 | 83.3% | 17.6 | 38.3 1905 peak | 8.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Barry Alvarez 118-75-4 • 1990-2014 | Wisconsin | 18 | 197 | 118 | 75 | 60.9% | 8.8 | 21.7 1999 peak | 8.0 | 31.9 | 22.3 | #4 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Bret Bielema 134-84 • 2006-2025 | Arkansas, Illinois +1 | 17 | 218 | 134 | 84 | 61.5% | 8.7 | 23.1 2011 peak | 7.8 | 32.8 | 21.7 | #7 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Paul Chryst 86-45 • 2012-2022 | Pittsburgh, Wisconsin | 11 | 131 | 86 | 45 | 65.6% | 11.2 | 24.7 2017 peak | 6.8 | 33.1 | 16.9 | #7 | 2 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Ivy Williamson 41-19-4 • 1949-1955 | Wisconsin | 7 | 64 | 41 | 19 | 67.2% | 17.0 | 21.7 1954 peak | 4.3 | — | — | #8 | 2 | Balanced Peak Dominator |
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