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.
20
Coaches in view
1786 indexed coaches available
233
Coach-seasons
12392 total coach-season rows
1/1
Page position
20 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?
Ara Parseghian
Volatility: 9.27 • Average SRS: 19.63
71.0% win rate • 32.2 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.
Ara Parseghian coached 19 seasons, won 71.0%, and posted an average SRS of 19.6. Best season: 1970 Notre Dame. The profile was balanced 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
Ara Parseghian
Single-season ceiling leader in the current filtered set.
Steadiest floor
Rick Venturi
Lowest volatility in the view. Lower is more stable.
Keep the ceiling board in view, but as a support module for the active lens, not the main destination.
1. Ara Parseghian
1970
2. Pappy Waldorf
1949
3. Dick Hanley
1930
4. Charlie Bachman
1935
5. Glenn Thistlethwaite
1926
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. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
2. Pappy Waldorf
1949 California (10-1)
3. Dick Hanley
1930 Northwestern (7-1)
4. Charlie Bachman
1935 Michigan State (6-2)
5. Glenn Thistlethwaite
1926 Northwestern (7-1)
Who won the most across a meaningful sample.
1. Walter McCornack
1905 Northwestern (8-2-1)
2. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
3. Pappy Waldorf
1949 California (10-1)
4. Charles Hollister
1900 Northwestern (7-2-3)
5. Charlie Bachman
1935 Michigan State (6-2)
Coaches who stacked elite endings.
1. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
2. Pappy Waldorf
1949 California (10-1)
3. Gary Barnett
1995 Northwestern (10-2)
4. Robert Voigts
1948 Northwestern (8-2)
5. Pat Fitzgerald
2017 Northwestern (10-3)
Stability
Who stays in control year after year.
Low SRS volatility among winning coaches with a real sample.
1. Charlie Bachman
1935 Michigan State (6-2)
2. Walter McCornack
1905 Northwestern (8-2-1)
3. Pappy Waldorf
1949 California (10-1)
4. Ara Parseghian
1970 Notre Dame (10-1)
Longevity
Long arcs, big samples, and durable careers.
Big careers and long arcs.
1. Pappy Waldorf
1949 California (10-1)
2. Charlie Bachman
1935 Michigan State (6-2)
3. Fred Murphy
1917 Northwestern (5-2)
4. Lou Saban
1978 Miami (6-5)
5. Glenn Thistlethwaite
1926 Northwestern (7-1)
Results Table
20 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 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | |
Pappy Waldorf 157-89-19 • 1929-1956 | California, Kansas State +2 | 28 | 265 | 157 | 89 | 62.8% | 11.1 | 26.9 1949 peak | 7.6 | — | — | #3 | 6 | Balanced Peak Dominator | |
Walter McCornack 42-8-5 • 1901-1905 | Dartmouth, Northwestern | 5 | 55 | 42 | 8 | 80.9% | 11.5 | 19.5 1905 peak | 6.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Gary Barnett 84-83-1 • 1992-2005 | Colorado, Northwestern | 14 | 168 | 84 | 83 | 50.3% | 4.2 | 20.7 1995 peak | 7.9 | 33.1 | 27.2 | #8 | 2 | Offense-First Peak Dominator | |
Robert Voigts 33-39-1 • 1947-1954 | Northwestern | 8 | 73 | 33 | 39 | 45.9% | 8.0 | 17.5 1948 peak | 4.5 | — | — | #7 | 1 | Balanced Consistent Winner | |
Dick Hanley 36-26-4 • 1927-1934 | Northwestern | 8 | 66 | 36 | 26 | 57.6% | 10.7 | 26.8 1930 peak | 8.4 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Charlie Bachman 132-80-22 • 1919-1946 | Florida, Kansas State +2 | 27 | 234 | 132 | 80 | 61.1% | 5.9 | 23.9 1935 peak | 6.0 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Program Stabilizer | |
Pat Fitzgerald 110-101 • 2006-2022 | Northwestern | 17 | 211 | 110 | 101 | 52.1% | 1.3 | 13.1 2017 peak | 6.7 | 25.1 | 24.0 | #10 | 1 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
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 | |
John Pont 63-101-3 • 1962-1977 | Indiana, Miami (OH) +2 | 16 | 167 | 63 | 101 | 38.6% | -2.7 | 7.0 1968 peak | 6.1 | 18.3 | 32.4 | #4 | 1 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Alex Agase 50-83-2 • 1964-1976 | Northwestern, Purdue | 13 | 135 | 50 | 83 | 37.8% | 2.3 | 17.7 1970 peak | 7.0 | 23.5 | 22.2 | — | 0 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Charles Hollister 27-16-4 • 1899-1902 | Northwestern | 4 | 47 | 27 | 16 | 61.7% | -2.2 | 2.2 1900 peak | 2.7 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced — | |
Charles Hammett 6-10-2 • 1910-1912 | Northwestern | 3 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 38.9% | 1.9 | 12.8 1912 peak | 7.7 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder | |
Randy Walker 95-82-5 • 1990-2005 | Miami (OH), Northwestern | 16 | 182 | 95 | 82 | 53.6% | -2.8 | 9.8 1997 peak | 9.1 | 29.6 | 28.8 | — | 0 | Offense-First Volatile Builder | |
David Braun 19-19 • 2023-2025 | Northwestern | 3 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 50.0% | 0.3 | 4.4 2025 peak | 3.2 | 20.1 | 20.9 | — | 0 | Defense-First Defense-First | |
Fred Murphy 42-43-5 • 1901-1926 | Denver, Kentucky +2 | 12 | 90 | 42 | 43 | 49.4% | -4.5 | 11.9 1917 peak | 9.3 | — | — | — | 0 | Balanced Volatile Builder | |
Lou Saban 15-35-2 • 1955-1979 | Army, Maryland +2 | 5 | 52 | 15 | 35 | 30.8% | -2.1 | 6.8 1978 peak | 7.0 | 19.8 | 22.2 | — | 0 | Defense-First Longevity Coach | |
Dennis Green 26-63 • 1981-1991 | Northwestern, Stanford | 8 | 89 | 26 | 63 | 29.2% | -6.8 | 16.5 1991 peak | 12.8 | 25.2 | 32.3 | #22 | 0 | Offense-First Volatile Builder | |
Francis Peay 13-51-2 • 1986-1991 | Northwestern | 6 | 66 | 13 | 51 | 21.2% | -10.9 | -6.8 1986 peak | 3.5 | 23.9 | 36.4 | — | 0 | Offense-First Offense-First | |
Rick Venturi 1-31-1 • 1978-1980 | Northwestern | 3 | 33 | 1 | 31 | 4.5% | -17.1 | -14.6 1979 peak | 2.4 | 18.7 | 39.7 | — | 0 | Balanced — |
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