Coaching History
Northwestern Football Coaches
Season-by-season coaching records, tenure arcs, and linked CFBTrack profiles for Northwestern.
Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium • Evanston • IL
Big TenLanny and Sharon Martin Stadium
Coaches
30
Indexed Record
566-708-40
Best Win %
Walter McCornack 80.0%
All-time coaching ledger
Records use fallback-adjusted coach-season rows. Zero-game placeholders are not included in the table totals.
| Coach | Years | Record | Win % | Best SRS | Best Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Braun | 2023-2025 • 3 seasons | 19-19 | 50.0% | 4.4 | — |
| Pat Fitzgerald | 2006-2022 • 17 seasons | 110-101 | 52.1% | 13.1 | #10 |
| Randy Walker | 1999-2005 • 7 seasons | 37-46 | 44.6% | 9.7 | — |
| Gary Barnett | 1992-1998 • 7 seasons | 35-45-1 | 43.8% | 20.7 | #8 |
| Francis Peay | 1986-1991 • 6 seasons | 13-51-2 | 21.2% | -6.8 | — |
| Dennis Green | 1981-1985 • 5 seasons | 10-45 | 18.2% | -10.7 | — |
| Rick Venturi | 1978-1980 • 3 seasons | 1-31-1 | 4.5% | -14.6 | — |
| John Pont | 1973-1977 • 5 seasons | 12-43 | 21.8% | 2.4 | — |
| Alex Agase | 1964-1972 • 9 seasons | 32-58-1 | 35.7% | 17.7 | — |
| Ara Parseghian | 1956-1963 • 8 seasons | 36-35-1 | 50.7% | 24.1 | — |
| Lou Saban | 1955-1955 • 1 seasons | 0-8-1 | 5.6% | -8.3 | — |
| Robert Voigts | 1947-1954 • 8 seasons | 33-39-1 | 45.9% | 17.5 | #7 |
| Pappy Waldorf | 1935-1946 • 12 seasons | 49-45-7 | 52.0% | 23.0 | #7 |
| Dick Hanley | 1927-1934 • 8 seasons | 36-26-4 | 57.6% | 26.8 | — |
| Glenn Thistlethwaite | 1922-1926 • 5 seasons | 21-17-1 | 55.1% | 21.7 | — |
| Elmer McDevitt | 1920-1921 • 2 seasons | 4-10 | 28.6% | 6.3 | — |
| Charlie Bachman | 1919-1919 • 1 seasons | 2-5 | 28.6% | 1.9 | — |
| Fred Murphy | 1914-1918 • 5 seasons | 16-16-1 | 50.0% | 11.9 | — |
| Dennis Grady | 1913-1913 • 1 seasons | 1-6 | 14.3% | -20.0 | — |
| Charles Hammett | 1910-1912 • 3 seasons | 6-10-2 | 38.9% | 12.8 | — |
| Bill Horr | 1909-1909 • 1 seasons | 1-3-1 | 30.0% | -16.4 | — |
| Alton Johnson | 1908-1908 • 1 seasons | 2-2 | 50.0% | -12.5 | — |
| Walter McCornack | 1903-1905 • 3 seasons | 26-5-4 | 80.0% | 19.5 | — |
| Charles Hollister | 1899-1902 • 4 seasons | 27-16-4 | 61.7% | 2.2 | — |
| WH Bannard | 1898-1898 • 1 seasons | 9-4-1 | 67.9% | -10.1 | — |
| Jesse Van Doozer | 1897-1897 • 1 seasons | 5-3 | 62.5% | -15.7 | — |
| Alvin Culver | 1895-1896 • 2 seasons | 12-6-2 | 65.0% | — | — |
| AA Ewing | 1894-1894 • 1 seasons | 4-5 | 44.4% | — | — |
| Paul Noyes | 1893-1893 • 1 seasons | 2-5-3 | 35.0% | — | — |
| Knowlton Ames | 1892-1892 • 1 seasons | 5-3-2 | 60.0% | — | — |
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