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
3/51
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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Brown 33-14-3 • 1941-1945 | Great Lakes Navy, Ohio State | 5 | 50 | 33 | 14 | 69.0% | 18.8 | 26.0 1944 peak | 7.1 | — | — | #0 | 2 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Jimmy Johnson 81-34-3 • 1979-1988 | Miami, Oklahoma State | 10 | 118 | 81 | 34 | 69.9% | 13.8 | 27.7 1987 peak | 10.6 | 34.0 | 18.4 | #1 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Red Sanders 102-41-3 • 1940-1957 | UCLA, Vanderbilt | 15 | 146 | 102 | 41 | 70.9% | 14.4 | 24.7 1955 peak | 6.7 | — | — | #2 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Don James 175-79-3 • 1971-1992 | Kent State, Washington | 22 | 257 | 175 | 79 | 68.7% | 12.3 | 33.4 1991 peak | 10.5 | 32.5 | 18.3 | #2 | 6 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Wallace Wade 171-49-10 • 1923-1950 | Alabama, Duke | 24 | 230 | 171 | 49 | 76.5% | 12.0 | 25.0 1930 peak | 6.6 | — | — | #2 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Jess Hill 45-17-1 • 1951-1956 | USC | 6 | 63 | 45 | 17 | 72.2% | 15.3 | 27.0 1952 peak | 6.0 | — | — | #5 | 1 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Forest Evashevski 63-33-6 • 1950-1960 | Iowa, Washington State | 11 | 102 | 63 | 33 | 64.7% | 15.1 | 28.9 1960 peak | 9.7 | — | — | #2 | 5 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Bennie Oosterbaan 63-33-4 • 1948-1958 | Michigan | 11 | 100 | 63 | 33 | 65.0% | 15.1 | 28.3 1948 peak | 6.6 | — | — | #1 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
James Franklin 132-63 • 2011-2025 | Penn State, Vanderbilt | 15 | 195 | 132 | 63 | 67.7% | 13.6 | 25.6 2017 peak | 7.0 | 32.5 | 16.4 | #5 | 5 | Defense-First Peak Dominator | |
Ralph Jordan 175-83-7 • 1951-1975 | Auburn | 25 | 265 | 175 | 83 | 67.4% | 14.0 | 24.0 1970 peak | 7.3 | 31.9 | 14.0 | #1 | 7 | Defense-First 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 | |
Les Miles 145-73 • 2001-2020 | Kansas, LSU +1 | 18 | 218 | 145 | 73 | 66.5% | 12.4 | 29.9 2011 peak | 10.6 | 35.5 | 19.7 | #1 | 5 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Duffy Daugherty 109-69-5 • 1954-1972 | Michigan State | 19 | 183 | 109 | 69 | 60.9% | 17.1 | 30.7 1965 peak | 7.2 | 24.4 | 16.9 | #2 | 7 | Defense-First Peak Dominator | |
Jack Mollenkopf 84-39-9 • 1956-1969 | Purdue | 14 | 132 | 84 | 39 | 67.0% | 17.1 | 21.3 1958 peak | 3.8 | — | — | #7 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
RC Slocum 123-47-2 • 1989-2002 | Texas A&M | 14 | 172 | 123 | 47 | 72.1% | 13.1 | 21.4 1993 peak | 4.8 | 35.2 | 19.9 | #7 | 3 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Chip Kelly 81-41 • 2009-2023 | Oregon, UCLA | 10 | 122 | 81 | 41 | 66.4% | 13.2 | 29.6 2010 peak | 11.7 | 38.3 | 23.3 | #2 | 3 | Offense-First Peak Dominator | |
Frank Kush 176-54-1 • 1958-1979 | Arizona State | 22 | 231 | 176 | 54 | 76.4% | 9.7 | 24.9 1973 peak | 8.7 | 35.8 | 23.8 | #2 | 4 | Offense-First 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 | |
Terry Donahue 151-74-8 • 1976-1995 | UCLA | 20 | 233 | 151 | 74 | 66.5% | 14.1 | 22.6 1982 peak | 7.1 | 35.8 | 20.3 | #5 | 5 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Pat Dye 153-62-5 • 1974-1992 | Auburn, East Carolina +1 | 19 | 220 | 153 | 62 | 70.7% | 11.0 | 22.0 1983 peak | 7.7 | 30.7 | 17.4 | #3 | 5 | Defense-First Peak Dominator | |
Josh Heupel 73-28 • 2018-2025 | Tennessee, UCF | 8 | 101 | 73 | 28 | 72.3% | 13.0 | 19.9 2022 peak | 3.7 | 38.8 | 21.1 | #6 | 2 | Offense-First Consistent Winner | |
Gary Patterson 181-79 • 2000-2021 | TCU | 22 | 260 | 181 | 79 | 69.6% | 9.8 | 26.8 2014 peak | 8.1 | 32.2 | 21.4 | #2 | 6 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Tommy Prothro 104-55-5 • 1955-1970 | Oregon State, UCLA | 16 | 164 | 104 | 55 | 64.9% | 11.6 | 27.9 1969 peak | 7.9 | 37.4 | 19.1 | #4 | 4 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Allyn McKeen 65-19-3 • 1939-1948 | Mississippi State | 9 | 87 | 65 | 19 | 76.4% | 13.5 | 19.7 1940 peak | 5.0 | — | — | #9 | 1 | Balanced Consistent Winner | |
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 |