All fall I have been doing the coaching perspective series. Basically I looked at coaches’ on-field resumes and picked which were the three best from all fourteen Big Ten schools. That is 42 coaches that have advanced to this stage, the ultimate rankings. I will narrow it down to a top 15 of Big Ten coaches. It is important to note that these are purely their resume at current Big Ten schools. So no Bear Bryant (career), no Alozno Stagg (no longer Big Ten school) and newcomer resumes qualify for consideration (The Tom Osborne Rule). Last but not least, a coach can’t jump someone at their same school. For instance a silver medal coach in the top 15 has to remain behind his institution’s gold medal winner.
Not In Consideration (Bronze, Silver, Gold order)
- Arthur R. Hall: 1904, 1907-1912, 36-12-4 (20-10-3)
A league title in 1910 and a 15-3-1 run put the Illini on the map as a competitive program in the Big Ten.
- Ray Eliot: 1942-1959, 83-73-11 (54-55-7)
3 league wins, 2 Rose Bowls and a national title…not too shabby. His sub .500 overall league mark keeps him out of the top-15 though.
- Lee Corso: 1973-1982, 41-68-2 (27-53-2)
Before becoming one of the all time great mouthpieces of the game, Corso won a few games. His upset win over undefeated BYU in a classic Holiday Bowl was the high point of his tenure in Bloomington.
- Bill Mallory: 1994-1996, 69-77-3 (39-65-1)
Mallory guided the Hoosier program to six bowls, the most in program history. He is also the all time leader in wins.
- Bo McMillin: 1934-1947, 63-48-11 (34-34-6)
Bo’s 1945 team is the only outright champ in Indiana history and finished 4th in the final polls, also an Indiana best. He is one of just five coaches to coach multiple seasons and be over .500 for his career. Of those five, he is the only one not having a losing league mark.
- Kirk Ferentz: 1999-present, 125-85 (74-60)*
*This includes the 10-0 (6-0) start to the 2015 season
Ferentz has several top-10 finishes, two league titles and two Orange Bowl appearances with one victory. Detractors would point out the up and down nature of football under his watch but 100+ wins is always solid.
- Curley Byrd: 1911-1934, 119-82-15 (37-38-7)
Admittedly, Byrd was a bit of a compiler. His teams were seldom great but he got that many wins by longevity and grinding. Only five times in 23 years was he under .500.
- Jerry Claiborne: 1972-1981, 77-37-3 (46-11-1)
One of the more underrated coaches nationally had three ACC titles in the mid 1970s and 5 trips to the final polls. His ’76 club had an outside shot at the national title…at Maryland…wow.
- Jim Tatum: 1947-1955, 73-15-4 (31-5-3)
Tatum has the only national title in UM history in 1953 and a claimed crown in 1951. He also got Maryland in the final polls six times in his short but incredibly successful career in College Park.
- Fritz Crisler: 1938-1947, 71-16-3 (42-11-3)
In one of the most dominant eras of the Big Ten, Crisler’s teams contributed to that golden age with a national title and a Rose Bowl. Amazingly, Crisler’s teams were never worse than third place. He edged out Lloyd Carr for third all time.
- Mark Dantonio: X-present, 84-32 (50-20)*
*This counts his 9-1 (5-1) start in 2015
Four 11 win seasons and a Rose Bowl championship makes him the third best Spartan coach of all time. He is one of the best active coaches in the entire nation and produces one of the most consistent winners.
- Murray Warmath: 1954-1971, 87-78-7 (65-57-4)
In an era with Mollenkopf, Evy, Duffy, and Hayes, Warmath held his own with two league titles and a national title in 1960. His 65 league wins are still tops for the Gopher program. The combo of a national title, Rose Bowl win and multiple league crowns during one of the hardest eras in league history made him one of the toughest decisions to leave out of the ultimate top 15.
- Dana X. Bible: 1929-1936, 50-15-7 (33-3-4)
DXB oversaw an early Lincoln dynasty with six league titles in eight years. The Big Six lacked some of the national prestige in that era so his teams were never considered for national titles but I doubt anyone from that era would have wanted to take on a Bible-coached team.
- Gary Barnett: 1992-1998, 35-45-1 (23-33)
NU owned one of the worst stretches in college football history before Barnett’s arrival. His stunning back-to-back title runs in 1995 and ’96 make him a legend in Evanston. Unfortunately for this ranking, the sub .500 record overall as well as league play will keep him from cracking the top 15.
- Dick Hanley: 1927-1934, 36-26-4 (22-19-4)
The NU silver medalist laid the foundation for Northwester’s best coach thanks to a 14-2-1 stretch in the early 1930s.
- Pappy Waldorf: 1935-1946, 49-45-7 (34-31-7)
The gold standard at NU is the coach Fitz was chasing to start this year for most league wins. In a stacked era of Big Ten ball, NU held their own. For instance, in 1936 Minnesota won the national title but lost to the Wildcats. Pappy was a helluva coach, but just missed out on the top-15 all time.
- Earle Bruce: 1979-1987, 81-26-1 (57-17)
Bruce won the Big Ten four times and had a winning record in nine bowl games but his teams never competed for national titles. As good as he was, the program did take a small step back under his watch compared to the Woody Hayes era.
- Bob Higgins: 1930-1948, 91-57-11
Higgins help lay the foundation as he guided PSU from regional power to national program. His 1947 team finished 4th in the nation, went 9-0 and would make it to the prestigious Cotton Bowl where the game ended in a tie.
- Rip Engle: 1950-1965, 104-48-4
100 wins is always an eyebrow raiser. He also went 3-1 in bowls, never had a losing season and one stretch saw his team go 33-10. He would also hire Joe Pa when he became athletic director, so that was kind of smart. He barely missed the prestigious top 15 due to a lack of national title and just one consensus top ten finish. Great coach, just not quite great enough for these rankings.
- Jim Young: 1977-1981, 38-19-1 (26-14-1)
In a short tenure Young tied PU history in most nine-win seasons and coached the only double-digit winner in school history.
- Joe Tiller: 1997-2008, 87-62 (54-43)
Tiller won the silver medal by having three nine win seasons and going to 10 bowls. His offenses were always feared by he couldn’t quite get over the hump, never finishing better than 6-2 in league play.
- Jack Mollenkopf: 1956-1969, 84-39-9 (58-32-5)
The all-time wins leader at PU won a Rose Bowl in ’66 and a league title in 1967. His teams were almost always ranked, including grabbing a #1 rank in 1968. He also coached the legendary Bob Griese. His record looks even better when stacked up with the era he was in. Outstanding coach.
- Greg Schiano: 2001-2011, 68-67 (28-48)
Schiano boasts a 5-1 bowl mark, which is outstanding at a school like RU. He also guided one of the best teams in school history, the 2006 Knights.
- John F. Bateman: 1960-1972, 73-51 (8-0)
Rutgers history before Bateman kind of a grab-bag of consistently okay but never good (or great) coaches. Bateman helped change that, highlighted by the 9-0 squad from 1961.
- Frank R. Burns: 1973-1983, 78-43-1
Overseeing an independent RU program, Burns went 45-11 in the late 70s. In 1976 his team went 11-0 with a top 20 finish. He is the all time leader in wins for the Knights program and was a no brainier to be the RU gold medalist.
- Phillip King: 1896-1902, 1905, 66-11-1 (17-8-1)
King boasts three league championships, no small feat. Unfortunately coaching well over a century ago does not bode well in rankings like these, unless you have a mammoth win total or something bonkers.
- Bret Bielema: 2006-2012, 68-24 (37-19)
Scoff if you want but Bielema has three league titles which puts him in great standing. A three year run of 32 wins is insanely good in an era of great parody nationally.
THE FIFTEEN:
15 – Henry L. Williams, Minnesota: 1900-1921, 136-33-11 (50-25-5)
For a coach to be this old, you know he was special. The winningest coach in Minnesota history won 8 league titles and a national title in 1904 – one of the greatest teams of the old days of football.
14 – Hayden Fry, Iowa: 1979-1998, 143-89-6 (96-61-5)
All Iowans love Fry but for this post I can’t wear my Black and Gold blinders. Fry resurrected a program in shambles, won three league titles and had some all time great wins but he was 0-3 in Pasadena and never competed for a national title.
13 – Bo Schembechler, Michigan: 1969-1989, 194-48-5 (143-24-3)
Too low? Maybe. This was the coach I had the hardest time finalizing their ranking. It is insanely difficult to handicap Bo’s legacy. 13 league titles is undeniably great but zero national titles (everyone else on this list but Fry and Alvarez has at least one) and a 5-12 bowl mark is dreadful. I think even die-hard Michigan fans would agree with that. His 11 Rose Bowls is outstanding but then you realize he only won 2 of them. Two Rose Bowls is less than Alvarez and the same number as Evy who coached a fraction of the time and only coached in two Rose Bowls. At some point national titles and bowls have to count for something. Lastly, a 4-5-1 mark against Woody Hayes, his arch rival, needs to impact his prestige a little bit. If I’m going to boost Jim Tressell for routinely defeating Michigan, it has to cut both ways. The bottom line is for every argument to put Bo in the top-10, there is an argument to leave him out of the top-10. It comes down to how much you weigh the big zero in Bo’s national title pedigree.
12 – Robert Zuppke, Illinois: 1913-1941, 131-81-12 (76-66-8)
7 league titles, 4 national titles and coached Red Grange. Not just significant in the league but historically significant. Fantastic coach regardless of the age of his tenure.
11 – Fielding H. Yost, Michigan: 1901-1923, 1925-1926, 165-29-10 (42-10-2)
10 league titles and six national titles out weigh the ancient era of Yost. It is the old Honus Wagner argument. If you think Honus would be a great player in today’s game, then you leave him as an all timer. If you don’t think history travels as well, then you leave him out. Personally, I think numbers are numbers and when you have some of the accomplishments like Yost, you have to honor that and include that figure somewhere in the standings. If anything, I have Yost too low.
10 – Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin: 1990-2005, 2012, 2014, 119-74-4 (65-60-3)
Barry took over after the dark days in Madison (something that I factor in since it is always easier to win at a OSU than it is an ISU) and guided them to three league titles and 3 Rose Bowl wins. He is the all time leader in wins at the school and his power game was always a threat, highlighted by Ron Dayne’s brilliant collegiate career and Heisman win.
9 – Forest Evashevski, Iowa: 1952-1960, 52-27-4 (33-21-2)
1958 national champions, arguably the best team in 1956, 2-0 in Rose Bowls and countless All Americans as Iowa was a machine in the mid to late 50s with 4 top ten finishes during his time. Oh yeah, Iowa also hadn’t won a league title in 34 years until Evy’s ’56 club. Not only great but bonus points as a program savior.
8 – Duffy Daugherty, MSU: 1954-1972, 109-69-5 (72-50-3)
Two national titles, a Rose Bowl, 8 straight wins over Notre Dame. Yeah…he was pretty damn good.
7 – Clarence Munn, MSU: 1947-1953, 54-9-2 (5-1)
Munn took a small cow college (by reputation) from independent to national power that the Big Ten had to invite. He won a national title in 1952 and the Rose in 1953, MSU’s first year in the Big Ten. Now that is a league debut.
6 – Bernie Bierman, Minnesota: 1932-1941, 93-35-6 (57-28-6)
7 league titles, is useful but I’ll rest my case with 5 national titles. Drop mic, walk out. The best of his bunch was the 1940 crew which took down both Michigan and Ohio State on their championship march.
5 – Jim Tressel, OSU: 2001-2010, 94-22 (59-14)
7 league titles, six straight outright or co titles at one point, a national title and brought OSU back to prominence after a lull post Hayes. He also had a knack at beating Michigan which folks in Columbus enjoy.
4 – Bob Devaney, Nebraska: 1962-1972, 101-20-2 (62-14-1)
The back-to-back national titles make Devaney a legend. The 1971 team is up there with the all time greats. They started #2 in the nation and by the second week were #1, a ranking they wouldn’t relinquish. They shut out 3 teams and 12 of their 13 wins were by 24 or more. Along the way they beat #2 Oklahoma in one of several games labeled “the game of the century.”
3 – Tom Osborne, Nebraska: 1973-1997, 255-49-3 (160-23-2)
The consistent one with 9+ wins every year, a bowl every year, a ranking every year, 13 league titles and 3 national titles. The 1995 unit is one of the best teams of that decade, smoking three ten-win league foes along the way to a national title.
2 – Woody Hayes, Ohio State: 1951-1978, 205-61-10 (152-37-7)
5 National titles, 4 Rose Bowl wins, 13 co or outright league championships. Need I say more about the Buckeye legend?
1 – Joe Paterno, Penn State: 1966-2011, 409-136-3 (95-54)
Two undefeated national title teams, 3 league titles, additional undefeated seasons in ’94, ’73,’69, and ’68. Hell, his 95 league wins puts him ahead of several coaches total wins and PSU was in the Big Ten for just 17 of Joe Pa’s legendary 45-year career.
Big Ten and Counting 