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.
1271
Coaches in view
1786 indexed coaches available
11694
Coach-seasons
12392 total coach-season rows
20/51
Page position
1271 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?
Frank Leahy
Volatility: 9.13 • Average SRS: 22.65
86.4% win rate • 38.3 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.
Frank Leahy is currently highlighted in the success vs volatility view.
These callouts update with the active discovery mode and filtered coach set.
Highest peak
Red Blaik
Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.
Most consistent elite coach
Tom Osborne
High average strength without the season-to-season swing.
Steadiest floor
Pete Reynolds
Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.
Elite but volatile
Chuck Fairbanks
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. Harry Hughes
1916
2. Red Blaik
1945
3. Nelson Norgren
1916
4. Henry Williams
1905
5. Amos Alonzo Stagg
1905
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. Harry Hughes
1916 Colorado State (6-0-1)
2. Red Blaik
1945 Army (9-0)
3. Nelson Norgren
1916 Utah (3-2)
4. Henry Williams
1905 Minnesota (10-1)
5. Amos Alonzo Stagg
1905 Chicago (11-0)
Who won the most across a meaningful sample.
1. Walter Camp
5 seasons
2. Curt Cignetti
2025 Indiana (16-0)
3. Knute Rockne
1924 Notre Dame (10-0)
4. Ryan Day
2019 Ohio State (13-1)
5. Frank Leahy
1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)
Coaches who stacked elite endings.
1. Bear Bryant
1971 Alabama (11-1)
2. Joe Paterno
1994 Penn State (12-0)
3. Tom Osborne
1995 Nebraska (12-0)
4. Nick Saban
2016 Alabama (14-1)
5. Bo Schembechler
1973 Michigan (10-0-1)
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. Manny Diaz
2025 Duke (9-5)
3. Ryan Silverfield
2022 Memphis (7-6)
4. Lloyd Carr
1997 Michigan (12-0)
5. Elmer Layden
1938 Notre Dame (8-1)
Longevity
Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.
Big careers and long arcs.
1. John Anderson
1976 Brown (8-1)
2. Paul Davis
1963 Mississippi State (7-2-2)
3. Amos Alonzo Stagg
1905 Chicago (11-0)
4. George Barclay
1951 Washington and Lee (6-4)
5. Joe Paterno
1994 Penn State (12-0)
Results Table
1271 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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Mallory 167-130-4 • 1969-1996 | Colorado, Indiana +2 | 27 | 301 | 167 | 130 | 56.1% | 2.2 | 17.7 1976 peak | 8.7 | 27.2 | 23.1 | #15 | 0 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Lou Tepper 25-30-2 • 1992-1996 | Illinois | 5 | 57 | 25 | 30 | 45.6% | 5.8 | 19.5 1994 peak | 8.3 | 27.0 | 21.5 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Vic Hurt 15-9-5 • 1936-1938 | Tulsa | 3 | 29 | 15 | 9 | 60.3% | 3.0 | 9.8 1937 peak | 6.6 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Fred Thomsen 56-61-10 • 1929-1941 | Arkansas | 13 | 127 | 56 | 61 | 48.0% | 5.7 | 16.8 1937 peak | 7.4 | — | — | #14 | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Dallas Ward 63-41-6 • 1948-1958 | Colorado | 11 | 110 | 63 | 41 | 60.0% | 2.9 | 10.5 1956 peak | 6.9 | — | — | #20 | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Pete Cawthon 67-23-6 • 1932-1940 | Texas Tech | 9 | 96 | 67 | 23 | 72.9% | 0.6 | 6.9 1933 peak | 4.0 | — | — | #11 | 0 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Floyd Gass 13-18-1 • 1969-1971 | Oklahoma State | 3 | 32 | 13 | 18 | 42.2% | 8.2 | 16.5 1969 peak | 6.2 | 29.9 | 29.1 | — | 0 | Offense-First Offense-First | |
Ossie Solem 99-83-12 • 1921-1945 | Drake, Iowa +1 | 24 | 194 | 99 | 83 | 54.1% | 2.4 | 19.1 1933 peak | 8.8 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Scott Satterfield 87-62 • 2014-2025 | App State, Cincinnati +1 | 12 | 149 | 87 | 62 | 58.4% | 3.1 | 10.7 2018 peak | 5.5 | 29.3 | 25.5 | — | 0 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Jerry Burns 16-27-2 • 1961-1965 | Iowa | 5 | 45 | 16 | 27 | 37.8% | 9.7 | 16.2 1961 peak | 5.7 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Roy Kramer 25-7-1 • 1975-1977 | Central Michigan | 3 | 33 | 25 | 7 | 77.3% | -0.6 | 8.1 1975 peak | 8.0 | 26.8 | 22.1 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
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 | |
Jeff Bower 118-84-1 • 1990-2007 | Southern Miss | 18 | 203 | 118 | 84 | 58.4% | 2.5 | 13.0 1999 peak | 5.7 | 28.5 | 24.2 | #14 | 0 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Clyde Lee 32-26-2 • 1949-1954 | Houston | 6 | 60 | 32 | 26 | 55.0% | 3.8 | 12.5 1952 peak | 5.2 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Bill Davidson 37-17 • 1974-1978 | Arkansas State | 5 | 54 | 37 | 17 | 68.5% | -2.0 | 15.7 1975 peak | 10.0 | 23.7 | 20.5 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Mike Gottfried 53-45-3 • 1981-1989 | Cincinnati, Kansas +1 | 9 | 101 | 53 | 45 | 54.0% | 4.1 | 13.0 1988 peak | 5.4 | 29.1 | 23.2 | #17 | 0 | Defense-First Program Stabilizer | |
Bob Evans 11-10-1 • 1916-1919 | Colorado, Stanford | 3 | 22 | 11 | 10 | 52.3% | 1.7 | 23.8 1916 peak | 22.9 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
William Fetzer 61-28-7 • 1915-1925 | Davidson, NC State +1 | 11 | 96 | 61 | 28 | 67.2% | 0.1 | 11.2 1917 peak | 6.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Greasy Neale 56-41-10 • 1921-1933 | Virginia, Washington & Jefferson +1 | 11 | 107 | 56 | 41 | 57.0% | -0.7 | 25.1 1921 peak | 9.5 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Longevity Coach | |
Ed Walker 28-21-6 • 1933-1937 | Ole Miss | 5 | 55 | 28 | 21 | 56.4% | 4.3 | 9.0 1936 peak | 3.4 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Tony Mason 41-37-1 • 1973-1979 | Arizona, Cincinnati | 7 | 79 | 41 | 37 | 52.5% | 5.1 | 11.3 1978 peak | 3.9 | 25.3 | 18.1 | — | 0 | Defense-First Consistent Winner | |
TC Trenchard 19-8-1 • 1913-1915 | North Carolina | 3 | 28 | 19 | 8 | 69.6% | 2.1 | 4.1 1915 peak | 1.4 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Bud Carson 27-27 • 1967-1971 | Georgia Tech | 5 | 54 | 27 | 27 | 50.0% | 5.4 | 14.0 1970 peak | 5.5 | 26.9 | 13.2 | #13 | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Jedd Fisch 32-33 • 2017-2025 | Arizona, UCLA +1 | 6 | 65 | 32 | 33 | 49.2% | 4.2 | 17.4 2025 peak | 9.0 | 32.5 | 28.1 | #11 | 0 | Offense-First Volatile Builder | |
Don Clark 13-16-1 • 1957-1959 | USC | 3 | 30 | 13 | 16 | 45.0% | 6.6 | 15.2 1959 peak | 7.7 | — | — | #14 | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder |