List of Famous Football Coaches
- Gerald Arthur Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is an American retired college football coach who was convicted of rape and child sexual abuse. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe Paterno, from 1969 to 1999. He received "Assistant Coach of the Year" awards in 1986 and 1999. Sandusky authored several books related to his football coaching experiences. In 1977, Sandusky founded The Second Mile, a non-profit charity serving Pennsylvania's underprivileged and at-risk youth. After Sandusky's 1999 retirement as assistant coach at Penn State, he continued working with The Second Mile at Penn State, maintaining an office at the university until 2011. In 2011, following a two-year grand jury investigation, Sandusky was arrested and charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys over a 15-year period from 1994 to 2009. He met his molestation victims through The Second Mile; they were participating in the organization. Several of them testified against Sandusky in his sexual abuse trial. Four of the charges were subsequently dropped. On June 22, 2012, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of the 48 remaining charges. Sandusky was sentenced on October 9, 2012, to 30 to 60 years in prison—at his age, effectively a life sentence. On October 18, 2012, Sandusky's lawyers appealed his conviction in Centre County Court in Pennsylvania. They claim that they did not have enough time to prepare for their client's case. On October 31, 2012, Sandusky was moved to Pennsylvania's SCI Greene "supermax" prison to serve his sentence. On January 30, 2013, Pennsylvania Judge John Cleland denied Sandusky's request for a new trial.
- James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head football coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines and is a former quarterback. He played college football at Michigan for coach Bo Schembechler from 1983 to 1986 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons from 1987 to 2000. He then served as the head coach of the San Diego Toreros (2004–2006), the Stanford Cardinal (2007–2010), and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers (2011–2014). In 2015, Harbaugh returned to his alma mater, Michigan.Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio. His father, Jack Harbaugh, was a football coach, and the family lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Michigan, and California. He attended high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Palo Alto, California, when his father was an assistant coach at Michigan and Stanford, respectively. After graduation from high school in Palo Alto in 1982, Harbaugh returned to Ann Arbor and enrolled at the University of Michigan and played quarterback for the Wolverines, starting for three seasons. As a fifth-year senior in 1986, he led Michigan to the 1987 Rose Bowl and was a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing third. The Chicago Bears selected Harbaugh in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft. He played 14 years as a quarterback in the NFL, with Chicago from 1987 to 1993, the Indianapolis Colts from 1994 to 1997, the Baltimore Ravens in 1998, and the San Diego Chargers in 1999 to 2000. He first became a regular starting quarterback in 1990 with Chicago. In 1995 with Indianapolis, he led the Colts to the AFC Championship Game, was selected to the Pro Bowl and was honored as NFL Comeback Player of the Year. From 1994 to 2001, while still playing in the NFL, Harbaugh was an unpaid assistant coach at Western Kentucky University, where his father Jack was head coach. In 2002, he returned to the NFL as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders. Harbaugh returned to the college ranks in 2004 as the head coach at the University of San Diego. After leading San Diego to consecutive Pioneer League championships in 2005 and 2006, he moved to Stanford in 2007, where he led the Cardinal to two bowl berths in four seasons, including a win in the 2011 Orange Bowl. Immediately afterward, Harbaugh signed a five-year deal as head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, where he led the team to the NFC Championship game in each of his first three seasons after the franchise missed the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons beforehand. He and his older brother, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, became the first pair of brothers to serve as head coaches in NFL history. Their teams played in a Thanksgiving Classic game in 2011 and in Super Bowl XLVII on February 3, 2013.
- Michael Keller Ditka (born October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College Football (1986) and Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988), he was the 1961 UPI NFL Rookie of Year, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro tight end with the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was an NFL champion with the 1963 Bears, and is a three-time Super Bowl champion, playing on the Cowboys Super Bowl VI team as well as winning as an assistant coach for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII, and coaching the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX. He was named to both the NFL's 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. As a coach for the Bears for 11 years he was twice both the AP and UPI NFL Coach of Year (1985 and 1988). He also coached the New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to win an NFL title as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka, Flores, Gary Kubiak, and Doug Pederson are also the only people in modern NFL history to win a championship as head coach of a team he played for previously. Ditka is the only person to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' league championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985. He is known by the nickname "Iron Mike", which he has said comes from his being born and raised in a steel town in Pennsylvania.
- Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brown University, where he played football both ways as the quarterback and a cornerback. He had originally planned on going to law school, but he was instead hired in 1950 as an assistant football coach at Penn State. He was persuaded to do this by his college coach Rip Engle, who had taken over as Penn State's head coach. In 1966, Paterno was named as Engle's successor. He soon coached the team to two undefeated regular seasons in 1968 and 1969. The team won two national championships—in 1982 and 1986. Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games, and in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. During his career, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl appearances with 24 wins while turning down offers to coach National Football League (NFL) teams that included the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. After the child sex abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky broke in full in November 2011, Paterno announced that he would retire at the end of the season. However, on November 9, the Penn State Board of Trustees rejected his decision and immediately terminated his contract via a telephone call. An investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh concluded in July 2012 that Paterno concealed information relating to Sandusky's sexual abuse of young boys. The investigation also uncovered information that Paterno may have persuaded university officials to refrain from reporting Sandusky to authorities in 2001. A critique of the Freeh report composed by the law firm King & Spalding, which was commissioned by the Paterno family and included expert opinion from former U.S. attorney general and Pennsylvania governor Dick Thornburgh, among others, disputed the findings of the Freeh report concerning Paterno's involvement in the alleged cover-up and accused Freeh of making unsupported conclusions. Freeh called the critique a "self-serving report" that "does not change the facts."On July 23, 2012, the NCAA vacated all of Penn State's wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of its punishment for the child sex abuse scandal. The association eliminated 111 of the games Paterno had won, which dropped him from first to 12th on the list of winningest NCAA football coaches. In January 2013, State senator Jake Corman and state treasurer Rob McCord launched a lawsuit against the NCAA to overturn the sanctions on Penn State on the basis that Freeh had been actively collaborating with the NCAA and that due process had not been followed. As part of the settlement, the NCAA reversed its decision on January 16, 2015, and restored the 111 wins to Paterno's record.
- Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, a position he held from 1999 to 2012. From 2001 to 2012, he was also the Eagles' executive vice president of football operations, effectively making him the team's general manager. He led the Eagles to five National Football Conference (NFC) championship games, including four consecutive appearances from 2001–2004, and one Super Bowl appearance in 2005. Reid ranks seventh in NFL head coaching wins at 207, which are the most of an NFL head coach not to win a championship.
- Marvin Daniel Levy (born August 3, 1925) is a former American and Canadian football coach, front office executive, and author. He served as head coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Alouettes (1973–1977) and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs (1978–1982) and the Buffalo Bills (1986–1997), coaching the Bills to four consecutive American Football Conference championships. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Robert Cleckler Bowden (born November 8, 1929) is a retired American football coach. Bowden is best known for coaching the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons. During his time at Florida State, Bowden led FSU to an Associated Press and Coaches Poll National Title in 1993 and a BCS National Championship in 1999, as well as twelve Atlantic Coast Conference championships since FSU joined the conference in 1991. After a difficult 2009 season and amid questioning fans, Bowden was fired by President T.K. Wetherell, just weeks after his 80th birthday. He was allowed to make his final coaching appearance in the 2010 Gator Bowl game on January 1, 2010, with a 33–21 victory over his former program, West Virginia. On March 6, 2009, NCAA ruling required Florida State to "vacate wins for any games in which an ineligible player participated", threatening to remove as many as fourteen of Bowden's wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons in relation to an academic scandal. Florida State appealed the ruling, but the NCAA upheld it on January 5, 2010. Upon final investigation by Florida State University it was determined that Bowden was to vacate 12 wins, bringing his final career record to 377–129–4.
- Anthony Kevin Dungy was born on October 6, 1955, in Jackson, Michigan, the son of Wilbur (a science professor and a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen) and Cleomae, who taught at the local high school. After graduation, Dungy played quarterback at the University of Minnesota. Though not picked in the NFL draft, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1977, remaining with the team in 1978 when they won the Super Bowl. He was traded to San Francisco in 1979, and ended his playing career at the Giants training camp in 1980. That same year he was invited to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach, but a year later he returned to the NFL as an assistant coach for his former team, the Steelers. In 1996 he attained his dream of becoming a head coach when he was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, remaining with the team until 2002, when he took the head coaching position for the Indianapolis Colts. He became the first African-American head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in 2007. Dungy retired from coaching in 2009 and took a job with NBC Sports, offering color analysis for the Sunday football pregame show, "Football Night in America" (NBC, 2006- ). In 2007, Dungy was appointed to President George W. Bush's President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Dungy has written several books, including "Quiet Strength: A Memoir," "Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance," and "The Mentor Leader," as well as a children's book titled "You Can Do It! " With his wife, Lauren, he wrote another children's book, titled "You Can Be a Friend." Dungy and his wife have seven children.
- Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is an American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during their Oakland tenure from 1998 to 2001, where he won two division titles and made an AFC Championship Game appearance. Gruden was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, whom he led to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII the same season. At age 39, he was the then-youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl. He served as Tampa Bay's head coach through 2008, setting the franchise record for wins, but made only two further playoff runs. After his firing from the Buccaneers, Gruden was featured as an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts from the 2009 season to the 2017 season.
- Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951–1978), compiling a career college football record of 238 wins, 72 losses, and 10 ties. During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, Hayes' teams won five national championships (1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970), captured 13 Big Ten Conference titles, and amassed a record of 205–61–10. Over the last decade of his coaching tenure at Ohio State, Hayes's Buckeye squads faced off in a fierce rivalry against the Michigan Wolverines coached by Bo Schembechler, a former player under and assistant coach to Hayes. During that stretch in the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, dubbed "The Ten Year War", Hayes and Schembechler's teams won or shared the Big Ten Conference crown every season and usually each placed in the national rankings. Despite his great achievements at Ohio State, Hayes's coaching career ended ignominiously when he was dismissed from his position as head coach after punching Clemson nose guard Charlie Bauman for intercepting an Ohio State pass with two minutes left on the clock in the 1978 Gator Bowl. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1983.
- Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020)) was an American former professional football coach and player who is best known as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, with whom he won the 1968 NFL Championship.Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. He led his teams to six Super Bowls. The Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl champions the following season, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24–7. He currently holds the NFL record for most career wins as a head coach, with 347. Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
- Stephen Douglas "Mongo" McMichael (born October 17, 1957) is a former American college and professional football player as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), a former commentator and professional wrestler for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and former head coach of the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). McMichael played college football for the University of Texas and was an All-American. He played for the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers, winning Super Bowl XX with the Bears in January 1986. During his pro wrestling career, McMichael became a member of the legendary The Four Horsemen stable, and held the WCW United States Title. In 2013, he finished second in his campaign for mayor of Romeoville, Illinois. McMichael has been a regular presence on Chicago sports radio for several years, and is currently the namesake of a restaurant in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
- Born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953, Bill Belichick had football in his blood. His father, Steve Belichick, played professionally for the Detroit Lions for one season before heading off to WWII, then a career as an assistant coach at a number of colleges, most notably the United States Naval Academy, where he was an assistant for 34 years. The younger Belichick played college football and lacrosse at Wesleyan University and upon graduating, aggressively pursued a career as an NFL coach. His first NFL position was as special assistant to Baltimore Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda in 1975. In 1976, Belichick moved to the Detroit Lions and in 1978 to the Denver Broncos. In 1979, Coach Belichick began a long and fruitful partnership with the New York Giants. With the Giants, he served under two head coaches, first Ray Perkins, then, beginning in 1983, Bill Parcells. In 1985, Belichick was promoted to defensive coordinator, and in this position he was part of two Super Bowl victories, Super Bowl XXI (after the 1986 season), and Super Bowl XXV (1990). After the 1990 season, Belichick accepted his first head coach position, with the Cleveland Browns. With the Browns from 1991 to 1995, Belichick managed to lead the team to the playoffs only once, and was let go after the 1995 season; just before owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore. From 1996 to 1999, Belichick returned to a familiar role as Parcells' right hand man, first with the New England Patriots, then, from 1997 to 1999, with the New York Jets. In 2000, Belichick was hired in his signature role as head coach of the New England Patriots. Although the Patriots missed the playoffs after his first season, the team turned around and won their first Super Bowl in 2001 (Super Bowl XXXVI). Under Belichick, the Patriots also won Super Bowls after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In 2007, after being harshly punished for filming the signals during a game against the New York Jets, Belichick led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular season since 1972, although the team lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. The Giants again prevailed against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, after the 2011 regular season. After the 2014 season, the Patriots and Belichick won their fourth Super Bowl, tying Chuck Knoll for most Super Bowl wins by a head coach.
- Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997. After being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, Osborne was elected to Congress in 2000 from Nebraska's third district as a Republican. He served three terms (2001–2007), returned to the University of Nebraska as athletic director in 2007, and retired in 2013. Osborne played college football as a quarterback and wide receiver at Hastings College, and soon after finishing his brief NFL career he was hired by Nebraska head coach Bob Devaney as an assistant. Osborne was named Devaney's successor in 1973, and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history with his trademark I-form offense and revolutionary strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs. He retired with a career record of 255–49–3 (.836), 13 conference titles, and three national championships. He coached 53 All-Americans, including 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier. Osborne's 1995 national championship team is considered by many to be the best in college football history.
- Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Florida Atlantic University. Kiffin formerly served as the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football team from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the National Football League's Oakland Raiders from 2007 to 2008, head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers college football team in 2009, and head coach of the Trojans from 2010 to 2013. He was the youngest head coach in modern NFL history at the time when he joined the Raiders (until in 2017 when Sean McVay joined the Rams), and, for a time, was the youngest head coach of a BCS Conference team in college football. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama from 2014 until 2016, when he was hired at Florida Atlantic. Kiffin is the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.
- Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and the USC Trojans of the University of Southern California (USC). Carroll is one of only three football coaches who have won both a Super Bowl and a college football national championship. One of Carroll's greatest accomplishments was masterminding the defense known as the Legion of Boom who led the NFL in scoring defense four years straight becoming the first team to do so since the 1950's Cleveland Browns. Carroll is the oldest head coach currently working in the NFL.
- Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( SHEM-bek-lər; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8. Only Nick Saban, Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne have recorded 200 victories in fewer games as a coach in major college football. In his 21 seasons as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Schembechler's teams amassed a record of 194–48–5 and won or shared 13 Big Ten Conference titles. Though his Michigan teams never won a national championship, in all but one season they finished ranked, and 16 times they placed in the final top ten of both major polls. Schembechler played college football as a tackle at Miami University, where in 1949 and 1950 he was coached by Woody Hayes, for whom he served as an assistant coach at Ohio State University in 1952 and from 1958 to 1962. In his first ten years at Michigan, Schembechler's teams squared off in a fierce rivalry against Hayes's Buckeyes squads. During that stretch in the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, dubbed the "Ten-Year War," Hayes and Schembechler's teams won or shared the Big Ten Conference crown every season and usually each placed in the national rankings. In 1988, Schembechler assumed the role of athletic director at Michigan, succeeding Don Canham, the man who hired him as football coach in 1969. Schembechler retired as head football coach after the 1989 season. His longtime assistants, Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, helmed the team for the next 18 years. Schembechler left the University of Michigan in 1990 to take a job as president of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers, which he held until 1992. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1993. During his later years, Schembechler remained in Southeast Michigan and hosted a sports radio show. He died in 2006 at the age of 77 on the eve of that year's Michigan–Ohio State football game, a historic No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown.
- Knute Kenneth Rockne ( kə-NOOT; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was a Norwegian-American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Rockne is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history. His biography at the College Football Hall of Fame identifies him as "without question, American football's most-renowned coach". Rockne helped to popularize the forward pass and made the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a major factor in college football.
- Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York Jets (1976), the University of Arkansas (1977–1983), the University of Minnesota (1984–1985), the University of Notre Dame (1986–1996), and the University of South Carolina (1999–2004), compiling a career record of 249–132–7. Holtz's 1988 Notre Dame team went 12–0 with a victory in the Fiesta Bowl and was the consensus national champion. Holtz is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. In 2005, Holtz joined ESPN as a college football analyst. On May 1, 2008, Holtz was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Mike MacIntyre
George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach. He is the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. MacIntyre played college football at Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech and began his coaching career in 1990 as a graduate assistant at Georgia. From 1992 to 2002, MacIntyre held various assistant coaching positions at Davidson, UT Martin, Temple, and Ole Miss. From 2003 to 2007, MacIntyre was an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL), first as defensive backs coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006 and then in the same position with the New York Jets in 2007. MacIntyre returned to college football as defensive coordinator for Duke from 2008 to 2009. Hired by San Jose State in 2010, MacIntyre became a head coach for the first time in his career. As San Jose State head coach from 2010 to 2012, MacIntyre coached a program that improved from a one-win season in 2010 to a 10–2 record in 2012. San Jose State also earned its first-ever BCS Top 25 ranking and first bowl invitation since 2006. After the 2012 regular season but before the 2012 Military Bowl, MacIntyre resigned from San Jose State to accept the head coach position at Colorado.- Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is a retired American football coach, NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner, and former NHRA team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins (1981–1992, 2004–2007). Known for his work ethic, Gibbs constructed what Steve Sabol has called, "The most diverse dynasty in NFL history", building championship teams from players who had mediocre to average performance while playing for other NFL teams. During his first stint in the National Football League, he led the Redskins to eight playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl titles over 12 seasons. Gibbs is the only head coach to have won Super Bowls with three different starting quarterbacks. After retiring at the end of the 1992 season, he switched focus to NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing, which has won four NASCAR Cup Series championships under his ownership. On January 7, 2004, Gibbs came out of retirement to rejoin the Redskins as head coach and team president, signing a five-year, $28.5 million contract. On January 8, 2008, Gibbs announced his final retirement from coaching. He remained with the Redskins organization as "Special Advisor" to the team owner Daniel Snyder.
- Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his 14 seasons with the Broncos, he led the team to consecutive Super Bowl victories in XXXII and XXXIII, as well as the franchise's first NFL title in the former. His head coaching career spanned a total of 20 seasons and also included stints with the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins.
- Major Lee Applewhite (born July 26, 1978) is an American football coach and former player who is currently an analyst at the University of Alabama. He served as head coach at the University of Houston from 2016 to 2018, where he previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2013, he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Texas under his head coach as a player, Mack Brown. Prior to Texas, Applewhite served as offensive coordinator at Rice University under Todd Graham in 2006 and at Alabama under Nick Saban in 2007. He was the youngest offensive coordinator among Division I-A schools at that time. Applewhite was previously the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse University in 2005. Prior to coaching, he was a college football quarterback for the Texas Longhorns from 1998 to 2001 and set 8 school records. Many of these still stand, including the longest pass play (97 yards), and most yards passing in a game (473). He previously held the record for career yards (8,353) and consecutive passes without an interception (156).
- Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958) is an American football coach and former professional football player. After playing college football for Baylor University, Singletary was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2nd round of the 1981 NFL Draft and was known as "The Heart of the Defense" for the Chicago Bears' Monsters of the Midway in the mid-1980s. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, the same year he coached Kirk Cousins in youth flag football. Singletary later pursued a career as a coach, first as a linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, then as the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2008, the 49ers promoted Singletary to the head coaching position after previous head coach Mike Nolan was fired during the season, and he remained in that position until he was fired after the 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention with one game remaining in the 2010 season.
- John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, where he led to eight playoff appearances, seven division titles, seven AFL/AFC Championship Game appearances, and the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XI. Madden, who never had a losing season, holds the highest winning percentage among NFL head coaches who have coached at least 100 games.
- Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development the University of Arkansas, a position he assumed in 2019. Gill served as the head football head coach at the University at Buffalo from 2006 to 2009, the University of Kansas from 2010 to 2011, and Liberty University from 2012 to 2018, compiling a career college football coaching record of 72–84. He was one of 11 black head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.
- Rubin Carter (born December 12, 1952) is a former American football player and coach. He most recently served as defensive line coach for Purdue University. Carter played professionally as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) with the Denver Broncos from 1975 to 1986 Carter was the head coach of the Florida A&M Rattlers football team from 2005 to 2007. Carter has been the defensive line coach at the University of New Mexico under head coach Mike Locksley. Carter graduated from Fort Lauderdale's Stranahan High School in 1971. Carter was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Carter is African-American. He is the father of Andre Carter.
- Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American football player and coach. He was the original head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. During his coaching career, he created many new formations and methods, such as the now popular 4–3 defense, and the "flex defense" system made famous by the Doomsday Defense squads he created during his tenure with the Cowboys. His 29 consecutive years from 1960 to 1988 as the coach of one team are an NFL record, along with his 20 consecutive winning seasons, which is considered to be his most impressive professional accomplishment. In addition to his record 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, Landry won two Super Bowl titles in VI and XII, five NFC titles, and 13 Divisional titles. He compiled a 270–178–6 record, the fourth-most wins all-time for an NFL coach, and his 20 career playoff victories are the second most of any coach in NFL history. Landry was also named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975. From 1966 to 1982, Dallas played in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games, a span of 17 years. Furthermore, the Cowboys appeared in 10 NFC Championship games in the 13-year span from 1970 to 1982. Leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in four years between 1975 and 1978, and five in nine years between 1970 and 1978, along with being on television more than any other NFL team, resulted in the Cowboys receiving the label of "America's Team", a title Landry did not appreciate because he felt it would bring on extra motivation from the rest of the league to compete with the Cowboys. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
- William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He currently is the head coach at the University of South Carolina. He was the head coach at the University of Florida from 2011 to 2014.In his second season as defensive coordinator at Auburn, Muschamp was a finalist for the 2007 Broyles Award for the most outstanding assistant coach in college football. Prior to accepting the job at Florida, the University of Texas had announced that Muschamp would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head coach of the Longhorns and designated him the "head coach in waiting."
- Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941), also known as "The Big Tuna", is an American former football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles. Parcells later served as the head coach of the New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys. Throughout his career, he coached teams that were in a period of decline and turned them into postseason contenders. He is the only coach in NFL history to lead four teams to the playoffs and three teams to a conference championship game. When Parcells became the head coach of the Giants in 1983, he took over a franchise that had qualified for the postseason only once (1981) in the past decade and had only one winning record in their last 10 seasons. Parcells brought new success to the team and within four years, guided them to their first Super Bowl win. His tenure with the Giants spanned eight seasons and concluded with a second championship victory in Super Bowl XXV. After the Super Bowl win, Parcells retired as a coach in 1991. In 1993, Parcells came out of retirement to become the head coach of the Patriots, another struggling franchise at the time. Once again, Parcells changed the fortunes for the team and led them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI during his fourth season as their coach, although the game ended in defeat for the Patriots. Amid conflicts with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, he left the franchise after their Super Bowl loss and became the head coach of the Jets for the next season. Under Parcells, the Jets went from having only one victory in the previous season to obtaining a winning record, and they reached the 1998 AFC Championship Game in his second year with the team. After three seasons as the Jets' head coach, Parcells retired for a second time in 1999, but came back to football in 2003 to become the head coach of the Cowboys. He coached the Cowboys for four seasons and helped them qualify for the playoffs twice, although the team was eliminated in the first round each time. Following the team's loss in a 2006 NFC Wild Card game, Parcells retired from coaching for good in 2007. Since his final retirement from coaching, Parcells currently serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN and since 2014, has been an unofficial consultant for the Cleveland Browns. He was also the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins, a position he held from 2008 to 2010. In 2013, Parcells was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.His life story, "Parcells: A Football Life" was co-authored by Bill Parcells and writer Nunyo Demasio, a former Washington Post reporter. The collaboration was released by Penguin Random House in late 2014, and soon became a New York Times bestseller.
- José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix, GOIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ moˈɾiɲu]; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football coach and former player who currently works at Sky Sports as a pundit. He most recently served as manager of English club Manchester United. As a manager, Mourinho has won 25 major honours, making him one of the most successful managers of all time. He was named Portuguese Coach of the Century by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in 2015, and was the first coach to spend more than £1 billion on transfers. Due to his tactical knowledge, charismatic and controversial personality, and what his opponents regard as an emphasis on getting results over playing beautiful football, he has drawn comparisons, by both admirers and critics, with Argentine manager Helenio Herrera. He regards himself as one of the greatest managers of all time.Following an uneventful career as a player across Portugal's football pyramid, he initially worked as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto, before gaining success as an assistant at Barcelona under both Robson and his successor, Louis van Gaal. Mourinho then impressed with brief managerial periods at Benfica and União de Leiria, taking the latter to their highest ever league finish. He returned to Porto as head coach in 2002, winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and UEFA Cup in his first season, followed by the UEFA Champions League the season after, the club's first European Cup title since 1987, as well as retaining the Primeira Liga title. That success earned him a move to England with Chelsea, where he won the Premier League title in each of his first two seasons, as well as the FA Cup once and the League Cup twice, before departing amid reports of a rift with club owner Roman Abramovich.In 2008, Mourinho joined Italian club Inter Milan, where he won the Serie A title in his first season, before leading the club to become the first Italian side to win the Treble (Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League) in 2010, the latter making him one of five coaches to have won the European Cup with two different teams. He was also the recipient of the first ever FIFA World Coach of the Year award in 2010. He then signed with Real Madrid, where he won the Copa del Rey in his first season and La Liga with a record points total in his second, making him the fifth coach to have won league titles in four different countries. He left Madrid in 2013, however, after winning only the Supercopa de España in his final season there. He then returned to Chelsea, where he won another league title and League Cup, but was dismissed in 2015 after a poor run of results. He was appointed at Manchester United in 2016, where he won the UEFA Europa League and EFL Cup in his first season. Although he led the club to second place in the Premier League the following year, the club's highest league finish since 2013, he did not win any trophies, and was dismissed in December 2018, midway through his third season at the club.
- Charles Joseph Weis (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in the National Football League for the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. He also guested with Michael Landsberg on Super Bowl Radio Row in Atlanta in 2019.
- Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and at three other universities: Louisiana State University (LSU), Michigan State University, and the University of Toledo. Saban's career record as a college head coach is 232–63–1.Saban led the LSU Tigers to the BCS National Championship in 2003 and the Alabama Crimson Tide to BCS and AP national championships in 2009, 2011, 2012, and College Football Playoff championships in 2015 and 2017. He became the first coach in college football history to win a national championship with two different Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. Saban and Bear Bryant are the only coaches to win an SEC championship at two different schools.In 2013, Saban was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Saban is considered by many to be the greatest coach in college football history. He is tied with Bryant for most major college football national championships for a coach in the modern era.
- Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American football coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 2006 to 2018, leading them to a win in Super Bowl XLV over his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was previously the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
- George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, and owner involved with professional American football. He was the founder, owner, and head coach of the National Football League's Chicago Bears. He was also lesser known as a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Halas was one of the co-founders of the National Football League (NFL) in 1920, and in 1963 became one of the first 17 inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following that, he coached LSU from 2005 to 2016. Miles is nicknamed "The Hat" for his signature white cap, as well as "The Mad Hatter" for his eccentricities and play-calling habits. Prior to being a head coach, he was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State as well as at the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Miles led the 2007 LSU Tigers football team to a win in the BCS National Championship Game, defeating Ohio State.
- Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American football player and coach and motion picture actor and producer. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Rams in 1952. Born in Elmira, New York, Waterfield moved to Los Angeles as an infant. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins in 1941, 1942, and 1944. In 1942, he led UCLA to a Pacific Coast Conference championship and was selected as the quarterback on the All-Pacific Coast team. From 1945 to 1952, he played quarterback for the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He led the Rams to NFL championships in 1945 and 1951 and was selected as the NFL's most valuable player in 1945. He was the first-team All-Pro quarterback in 1945, 1946, and 1949. Known as one of the best passers, punters, and place-kickers in the NFL, he set NFL career place-kicking records with 315 extra points and 60 field goals, as well as a single-season record with 54 extra points in 1950, and a single-game record with five field goals in a game. Waterfield was married to movie actress Jane Russell from 1943 to 1968. During the 1950s, Waterfield also worked in the motion picture business, initially as an actor and later as a producer. He remained involved in football as an assistant coach during the 1950s and served as the head coach of the Rams from 1960 to 1962.
- James Hubert Pierce (August 8, 1900 – December 11, 1983) was the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film. He appeared in films from 1924 to 1951.
- Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships (tied for the most in modern college football history) and thirteen conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for the most wins (323) as a head coach in collegiate football history. The Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Hall, Paul W. Bryant Drive, and Bryant–Denny Stadium are all named in his honor at the University of Alabama. He was also known for his trademark black and white houndstooth fedora, deep voice, casually leaning up against the goal post during pre-game warmups, and holding his rolled-up game plan while on the sidelines. Before arriving at Alabama, Bryant was head football coach at the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University.
- Edward William O'Neil (born September 8, 1952) is an American football coach and former professional linebacker, who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Todd Berry
Todd Berry (born November 12, 1960) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a position he held from the 2010 season until his firing during the 2015 season. Berry served as the head football coach at the Illinois State from 1996 to 1999 and at the United States Military Academy from 2000 to 2003. He is the son of former Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Reuben Berry.- Henry Louis "Hank" Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Stram won three AFL championships, more than any other coach in the league's history. He then won Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs, thus earning the 1969 World Championship of Professional Football. He also coached the most victories (87), had the most post-season games (7) and the best post-season record in the AFL (5–2). Stram is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy. Stram never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his career with the Texans and Chiefs.
- George Herbert Allen (April 29, 1918 – December 31, 1990) was an American football coach in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the father of the Republican politician George Allen who served as Governor and U.S. Senator from Virginia.
- Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an individual. He served as a head coach for 23 seasons from 1981 to 2003, primarily with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons. As a player, he spent the entirety of his eight-season career with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1965. He was inducted to the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2014. Reeves made his first two Super Bowl appearances during his playing career, winning one in Super Bowl VI. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Cowboys, where he made three more championship appearances and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XII.
- William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal football team, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense. After retiring from the 49ers, Walsh worked as a sports broadcaster for several years and then returned as head coach at Stanford for three seasons. Walsh went 102–63–1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles, three NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowls. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984. In 1993, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the head coach of the Youngstown State Penguins and later the Ohio State Buckeyes in a career that spanned from 1986 until 2010. Tressel's teams earned several national championships during the course of his career, earning him numerous accolades. Tressel was born in Mentor, Ohio and attended Baldwin–Wallace College, where he played football as quarterback under his father, Lee Tressel. Tressel succeeded Bill Narduzzi as Youngstown State's fourth head football coach in 1986 and would remain there until 2000. In 2001, he was named John Cooper's successor as the head coach of Ohio State. During his tenure as Ohio State's 22nd head football coach, Tressel's teams competed in three BCS National Championship Games, and his 2002 squad won a national title, achieving the first 14–0 season record in major college football since 1897 Penn Quakers.Tressel's tenure would, however, come to an abrupt end with his resignation in May 2011 amidst an NCAA investigation into improper benefits violations involving OSU football players during the 2010 season. The investigation resulted in OSU self-vacating victories from the 2010 season including the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Tressel finished his career at Ohio State with an official overall record of 94–22 (.810), including six Big Ten Conference championships, a 5–4 bowl record, a 4–3 mark in BCS bowl games, and an 8–1 record against the arch-rival Michigan Wolverines. Tressel's eight wins against the University of Michigan place him second in school history to Woody Hayes, who had 16, and he is tied with Urban Meyer as the only Ohio State head coaches to win seven consecutive games against the Wolverines. Tressel's success as a head coach led to him being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015. From September 2011 until February 2012, Tressel was a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). From 2012 to 2014 Tressel served as Vice President of Strategic Engagement for the University of Akron, before being named as Youngstown State University President on May 9, 2014.
- Brian Keith Kelly (born October 25, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, a position he has held since December 2009. Kelly was previously head coach at Grand Valley State University (1991–2003), Central Michigan University (2004–2006), and University of Cincinnati (2006–2009). He led the Grand Valley State Lakers to consecutive NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2002 and 2003. Kelly's 2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team reached the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.
- Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football coach and former player. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1993–1996), Boise State University (1997), the University of Arkansas (1998–2007), and University of Mississippi (2008–2011). Nutt's all-time career winning percentage is just under 59 percent. In 2010 and 2011, Nutt cheated by allowing ineligible students to play in Ole Miss games, an NCAA investigation found. In 2019, the NCAA punished Ole Miss by stripping the team of six wins in those two seasons, leaving them officially winless.[14]
- William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is a former professional American football coach and player in the National Football League (NFL). In Cowher's 15 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team won eight division titles and made 10 playoff appearances. Cowher led the Steelers to the Super Bowl twice, winning one. He is the second coach in NFL history to reach the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, a feat previously accomplished only by Paul Brown. Cowher resigned as head coach of the Steelers on January 5, 2007, 11 months after winning Super Bowl XL in 2006 over the Seattle Seahawks. Cowher was replaced by current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Before being hired by the Steelers in 1992, Cowher served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. He is currently a studio analyst for The NFL Today.
- Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is a former American football player and coach often referred to by his nickname, the "Head Ball Coach". Steve Spurrier was born in Miami Beach, Florida and grew up in Tennessee, where he was a multi-sport all-state athlete at Science Hill High School in Johnson City. He attended the University of Florida, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as a college football quarterback with the Florida Gators. The San Francisco 49ers picked him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing professionally in the National Football League (NFL), mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986. After retiring as a player, Spurrier went into coaching and spent several years as an assistant at several college programs, including at Duke University, where he began to develop his innovative offensive system while serving as the Blue Devils' offensive coordinator in the early 1980s. He was hired to his first head coaching job by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983. The USFL folded after three seasons, and Spurrier returned to the college ranks, serving as the head football coach at Duke (3 seasons), Florida (12 seasons), and South Carolina (10.5 seasons). Between his stints at Florida and South Carolina, he led the National Football League's Washington Redskins for two seasons. Spurrier retired from coaching in 2015 and became an ambassador and consultant for the University of Florida's athletic department, though he briefly returned to the sideline as the head coach of the Orlando Apollos of the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2017, making him one of four members to be inducted as both a player and a coach.Spurrier's teams were known for winning with aggressive and high-scoring offenses, and he became known for teasing and "needling" rivals both before and after beating them on the field. He is the winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina program history, and his last Duke squad won the program's only Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship over the last half-century in 1989. Florida's four consecutive Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships in the mid-1990s is the second-longest streak in conference history behind Bear Bryant's 1970s Alabama teams, and Spurrier and Bryant are the only coaches to hold the record for most conference wins at two different SEC schools. Spurrier is second to Bryant in total wins while leading an SEC program. When Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel won the Heisman Trophy during the Gators' 1996 national championship season, Spurrier became the only Heisman Trophy winner to coach another Heisman Trophy winner. In September 2016, the University of Florida officially renamed the Gators' home field to Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
- Eddie Gay Robinson Sr. (February 13, 1919 – April 3, 2007) was an American football coach. For 56 years, from 1941 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1997, he was the head coach at Grambling State University, a historically black university (HBCU) in Grambling, Louisiana. Robinson is recognized by many college football experts as one of the greatest coaches in history. During a period in college football history when black players were not allowed to play for southern college programs, Robinson built Grambling State into a "small" college football powerhouse. He retired in 1997 with a record of 408–165–15. Robinson coached every single game from the field and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Robinson is arguably the most successful college football coach in FCS history and third most victories in college football history.
- Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and 4 years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He won three national championships at Oklahoma, and led the Cowboys to win Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is one of only three head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, the others being Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll.
- Danny Clarence Hawkins (born November 10, 1960) is an American former football player, coach, and sportscaster. He served as the head football coach at Willamette University (1993–1997), Boise State University (2001–2005), and the University of Colorado (2006–2010), compiling a career college football record of 112–61–1. Hawkins was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for five games in 2013 before he was fired mid-season. Between 2011 and 2016, he served as a college football analyst for ESPN. He has served as head coach for UC Davis since the beginning of the 2017 season.
Bill Yoast
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The school has an enrollment of about 3,800 students. It is named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. The high school is located near the geographic center of the city, at 3330 King Street and is referred to informally as "T.C." (rather than "Williams") by students, faculty and locals. Approximately 3,000 students, primarily from grades 10–12, are enrolled at T.C's main campus. About 1400 ninth graders have most or all of their classes at the branch Minnie Howard campus (0.6 miles (1.0 km) distant) and participate in T.C. Williams sports and extracurricular activities as well as some classes. The school offers numerous Advanced Placement courses for its students. Every year, dozens of graduates go on to elite colleges, and T.C. Williams has won statewide academic and scientific competitions.T.C. has an Army Junior ROTC program which participated in President Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade. The T.C. Williams Marching Band travels to competitions up and down the East Coast.The school's football team was the subject of the 2000 film Remember the Titans.- Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Gailey has served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and Buffalo Bills. Gailey previously served as offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and 2001, when the Dolphins posted consecutive 11–5 records. He was on the Pittsburgh Steelers staff from 1994 to 1997 when the Steelers won four straight AFC Central titles and coached in one Super Bowl (XXX). He was offensive coordinator in 1997 when Pittsburgh ranked sixth in the NFL in total offense and seventh in scoring. Gailey served as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008 and three games of the 2009 preseason. His most recent job was as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
- Derek Dooley (born June 10, 1968) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Missouri. In his first season as coordinator, Dooley's offense scored the second most points in Mizzou history in a 13-game season (fifth most overall).He served as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee from 2010 to 2012 and Louisiana Tech University from 2007 to 2009. From 2008 to 2009 Dooley was the only head football coach in the country who also served as the university's athletics director. In 2008, Dooley led Louisiana Tech to its first postseason victory in 30 years and was named the Louisiana Sports Writers’ Association Coach of the Year. Prior to becoming a head coach, he was an assistant coach for Nick Saban for seven years, which included a BCS National Championship at LSU in 2003.Before embarking on his coaching career, Dooley practiced law at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of former University of Georgia head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley.
- James William Johnson (born July 16, 1943) is an American football broadcaster and former player, coach, and executive. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1979 to 1983 and the University of Miami from 1984 to 1988. Johnson then moved to the National Football League (NFL), serving as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 1993, winning two Super Bowls with the team (both against the Buffalo Bills), and finally serving as head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1996 to 1999. As of 2016, he is an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show for the NFL games. Johnson was the first and one of only three football coaches to lead teams to both a major college football championship and a Super Bowl victory, the others being Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll. Johnson's coaching tree includes a number of future head coaches such as Butch Davis, Norv Turner, Tommy Tuberville, Dave Campo, and Dave Wannstedt. In 1993, Johnson wrote Turning the Thing Around: My Life in Football, ghostwritten by Ed Hinton. Johnson attended Thomas Jefferson High School, later renamed Memorial High School, where two of his classmates were future rock icon Janis Joplin and actor G. W. Bailey.Johnson attended college at the University of Arkansas and played on the Arkansas Razorbacks football team, where he was an all-Southwest Conference defensive lineman for coach Frank Broyles and a teammate of future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Other teammates included Ken Hatfield, Jim Lindsey, Ronnie Caveness, and Loyd Phillips. Several future head coaches were assistant coaches for Broyles and the Razorbacks during Johnson's career in Fayetteville: Hayden Fry, Johnny Majors, and Barry Switzer. The 1964 Razorbacks squad went undefeated and was recognized as a national champion by the Football Writers Association of America. Johnson was nicknamed "Jimmy Jumpup" because he never stayed down on the ground for long during football practices or games.
- Dana Carl Holgorsen (born June 21, 1971) is the head football coach at the University of Houston. He was the head coach at West Virginia University from 2011 to 2018. During his coaching career he has served under coaches such as Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Kevin Sumlin, and Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State.
- Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine, where he had a record of 12-21. He has also served as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Ferentz played college football as a linebacker at the University of Connecticut from 1974 to 1976. He is currently the longest tenured FBS coach with one program, and as of September 2018, is the all-time wins leader at Iowa.
- Edward James Orgeron Jr. (born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was last the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he has held from 2016-2021. Orgeron previously served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 2005 to 2007 and was the interim head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2013. He led the 2019 LSU Tigers football team to a national championship, beating the defending champions Clemson in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship. Orgeron played college football as a defensive lineman at LSU and Northwestern State University.Orgeron previously served as the head football coach at University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 2005 to 2007 and was the interim head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2013.
- James Arthur Zorn (born May 10, 1953) is a former American football player and coach who currently serves as head coach and general manager of the Seattle Dragons. Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks for their first eight seasons. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2001 until the 2007 season, before being hired by the Washington Redskins to be their head coach starting in the 2008 season. Shortly after being fired following the 2009 season, Zorn was hired as quarterbacks coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Zorn was released as quarterbacks coach of the Ravens on January 27, 2011, and then joined the Kansas City Chiefs as their new quarterbacks coach for the 2011 season.
- Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach who serves as head coach and general manager of the Dallas Renegades. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 until he announced his retirement June 7, 2017. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship. Prior to coaching at Oklahoma, Stoops held various coordinator and position-coach positions at Iowa, Kansas State and Florida. Stoops was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award in 2000 and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award in 2000 and 2003. Stoops has been nicknamed "Big Game Bob" by both supporters and detractors.
- Abraham "Abe" Gibron (September 22, 1925 – September 23, 1997) was a professional American football player and coach. Gibron played 11 seasons as a guard in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s, mostly with the Cleveland Browns. He was then hired as an assistant coach for the NFL's Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears before becoming head coach of the Bears between 1972 and 1974. Gibron grew up in Indiana, where he was a standout athlete in high school. After graduating, he spent two years in the U.S. military during World War II, enrolling at Valparaiso University upon his discharge. He later transferred to Purdue University, where he played football for two years and was named an All-Big Ten Conference guard. Gibron's professional career began in 1949 with the Buffalo Bills of the AAFC. The league dissolved after that season, however, and he moved to the Browns in the NFL. While he was initially a substitute, Gibron developed into a strong lineman on Cleveland teams that won NFL championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955 behind an offensive attack that featured quarterback Otto Graham, end Dante Lavelli and tackle Lou Groza. He was named to the Pro Bowl, the NFL's all-star game, each year between 1952 and 1955. After short stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Bears, Gibron ended his playing career and got into coaching. He served first as a line coach for the Redskins for five years, and then in a similar role for the Bears beginning in 1965. He rose to become Bears' defensive coordinator in the early 1970s, and was named head coach in 1972, replacing Jim Dooley. Gibron's three years leading the Bears were unsuccessful, however. His teams posted a combined win–loss–tie record of 11–30–1 over three seasons. Gibron was fired in 1974, and spent the following year as coach of the Chicago Winds, a team in the short-lived World Football League. Gibron, who was known for his colorful personality and large size – he ballooned to more than 300 pounds as a coach – spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring from coaching. He stayed close to the game, however, by serving as a scout for the Seattle Seahawks in the late 1980s and as an advisor to the Buccaneers in the early 1990s. He died after suffering a series of strokes in 1997.
- Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a defensive back and punter. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952. After his playing career, he served as a coach for Hardin–Simmons University, the New York Titans and the Houston Oilers. Baugh led the Washington Redskins to winning the NFL Championship in 1937 and 1942 and was named NFL Player of the Year by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club in 1947 and 1948 for his play. In both of his Player of the Year seasons, he led the league in completions, attempts, completion percentage, and yards. In 1947, he also led the league in passing touchdowns, interception percentage and passer rating.Primarily known for his passing prowess, Baugh led the league in completion percentage seven times, passing yards four times, and an NFL record six times in passer rating, among other statistics. However, he was also known for his versatility—having the ability to play at a high level as a punter as well as a defensive back. Throughout his career, he led the league in yards per punt five times, as well as yardage in 1943, a year in which he also led the league in defensive interceptions, with 11. His yards per punt of 51.4 during the 1940 season still stands as an NFL record as of 2018.Baugh was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 17-member charter class of 1963 and was also selected to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994.
- Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is the American football head coach for the Youngstown State Penguins football team at Youngstown State University. He served as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from December 2007 until November 2014. Prior to leading the football program at Nebraska, he was the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
- Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian and scholar. His three-volume history of American letters, Main Currents in American Thought, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one of the most influential books for American historians of its time.
- Eugene T. Chizik (born December 28, 1961) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator at North Carolina from 2015–2016. He served as the head coach of the Auburn football team from 2009 until the end of the 2012 season. Chizik's 2010 Auburn Tigers football team completed a 14–0 season with a victory over Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game. Chizik played college football at the University of Florida in 1981 for head coach Charley Pell.
- Richard Gerald Neuheisel, Jr. (; born February 7, 1961) is an American football analyst, coach, former player, and attorney. He served as the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1995 to 1999, at the University of Washington from 1999 to 2002, and at his alma mater, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), from 2008 to 2011, compiling a career college football coaching record of 87–59. From 2005 to 2007, Neuheisel was an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL), as quarterbacks coach for two seasons and offensive coordinator for one. He formerly served as head coach for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) before the collapse of the league. before coaching, Neuheisel played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins from 1980 to 1983, then spent two seasons with the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League (USFL) before splitting the 1987 NFL season between the San Diego Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Luke Andrew Johnsos Sr. (December 9, 1905 – December 10, 1984) was an American football player, assistant coach, and head coach for the National Football League's Chicago Bears franchise. He started with the Bears in 1929 at the age of 23 as an end. He played eight NFL seasons in Chicago finishing his playing career in 1936. He then spent 32 years as a Bears coach, including three as co-head coach during World War II.
- Urban Meyer is an American actor who appeared in "Coach Prime."
- Stephen Marcus is an actor who appeared in "Fast & Furious 6," "My Beautiful Laundrette," and "Iris."
- Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips (September 29, 1923 – October 18, 2013) was an American football coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980 and the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1985. He was the father of NFL coach Wade Phillips.
Gary Barnett
Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), compiling a career college football record of 92–94–2. His 1995 Northwestern team won the Big Ten Conference title, the first for the program since 1936, and played in the school's first Rose Bowl since 1949. At Colorado, Barnett was suspended briefly in the 2004 offseason due to events stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct by several members of the football team.- William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (born November 20, 1969) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach for the Clemson Tigers midway through the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. Swinney led the Tigers to national championships in 2016 and 2018. He trails only Frank Howard for the most wins of a head coach in Clemson history. As of April, 2019, Swinney is the highest paid coach in the history of college athletics.
- Bill Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005, and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the position from 2006 to 2008, before being rehired. Snyder retired for the second time on December 2, 2018, and is serving as a special ambassador for the athletics department. Snyder was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015, and won several conference and national coach of the year awards. He was the head coach at Kansas State for the program's 300th, 400th, and 500th all-time wins. In recognition of his contributions to the program, the football stadium at Kansas State, Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, is named in honor of him and his family.
- Beau Riffenburgh (born 1955) is an author and historian specializing in polar exploration. He is also an American Football coach and author of books on football history.
- Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach and offensive advisor for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and of the Denver Broncos in 2015 and 2016 before stepping down from the position on January 1, 2017, citing health reasons. Earlier in his coaching career, he served as an assistant coach for the Broncos, Texas A&M University and San Francisco 49ers. He was also the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. Kubiak played quarterback in college at Texas A&M. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft as the 197th overall pick by the Broncos where he played from 1983 to 1991 as the backup to John Elway. Kubiak has participated in seven Super Bowls, losing three as a player with the Broncos, winning three as an assistant coach with the Broncos and the 49ers and winning Super Bowl 50 as the head coach of the Broncos.
- Norman Yew Heen Chow (born May 3, 1946) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a position he assumed in December 2011 until November 1, 2015. Chow previously held the offensive coordinator position for the Utah Utes, UCLA Bruins, the NFL's Tennessee Titans, USC Trojans, NC State Wolfpack, and BYU Cougars.Chow won the 2002 Broyles Award as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach. He also was named the 2002 NCAA Division I-A Offensive Coordinator of the Year by American Football Monthly and was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999 by the American Football Foundation. He is well known for developing quarterbacks. During his time as an assistant football coach, Chow has helped coach 8 of the top 14 career passing-efficiency leaders and 13 quarterbacks who rank among the top 30 in NCAA history for single-season passing yardage. The list of players he coached includes Jim McMahon, Steve Young, and Philip Rivers, as well as Heisman Trophy winners Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer, and Matt Leinart.
- Charles Franklin Long Jr. (born February 18, 1963) is a former American football player and coach. He played quarterback in college at Iowa for Hayden Fry and professionally with the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. After his professional career, Long was an assistant coach at Iowa and Oklahoma before serving as the head football coach at San Diego State. Long also held a position as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks under head coach Turner Gill. Long is the CEO and Executive Director of the Iowa Sports Foundation, the organization that runs the Iowa Games, the Senior Games and the Live Healthy Iowa challenge, as well as an analyst for the Big Ten Network.
- Steven Jon Kragthorpe (born April 28, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently an administrative assistant for the Louisiana State University football program after previously serving as quarterbacks coach for the Tigers football team. He served as head coach at Louisville from 2007 to 2009, and for Tulsa from 2003 through 2006.
- Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' America's Team Radio Network since the 2011 season. He played college football at Arizona State University.
- Michael Joseph Riley (born July 6, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. Riley previously served as the football coach at Nebraska from 2015 to 2017. Riley has also coached in several professional leagues, serving as head coach of the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1999 to 2001 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1987 to 1990. Riley is the oldest son of Bud Riley (1925–2012), a head coach in the CFL and college football assistant at the University of Idaho and Oregon State.
- Alex "Allie" Sherman (February 10, 1923 – January 3, 2015) was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and of the New York Giants of the NFL. He later worked as a cable television and sports marketing executive and media personality.
- Alfred James Golden Jr. (born July 4, 1969) is an American football coach who is currently the linebackers coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former head coach at Temple from 2006 to 2010. He has also served for five years as defensive coordinator at Virginia (2001–2005) and five years as the head coach at University of Miami (2011–2015). He is also a former tight end for the New England Patriots of the NFL. He was fired from Miami on October 25, 2015.
- Dave Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team from 2005 to 2010. He also was a long-time assistant to Jimmy Johnson with the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Hurricanes, and Oklahoma State Cowboys as well as an associate of Johnson when both were assistants at the University of Pittsburgh.
- Christopher Scott Petersen (born October 13, 1964) is an American football coach, currently head coach at the University of Washington. Previously the head coach for eight seasons at Boise State University, Petersen guided the Broncos to two BCS bowl wins: the 2007 and 2010 Fiesta Bowls. He is the first two-time winner of the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, which he won in 2006 and 2009. Petersen also won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award in 2010. At Washington, Petersen led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff in 2016, but fell to Alabama in the Peach Bowl.
- Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach, currently with Mount Vernon High School (Texas). Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2002 to 2007 and the Baylor Bears from 2008 to 2015. His college career ended with his dismissal from the team in 2015 as a result of the Baylor University sexual assault scandal. He is the author of Beating Goliath: My Story of Football and Faith (2014). He is the subject of a biography written by Nick Eatman entitled Looking Up: My Journey from Tragedy to Triumph (2013).
Randy Shannon
Randy Leonard Shannon (born February 24, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Previously, Shannon was the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010, and has served as an assistant coach or defensive coordinator for the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and for several college teams, including at the University of Miami, where he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach in 2001.Shannon was born and raised in Miami, Florida. As a football player, he was a linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes from 1985 to 1988 and played two seasons professionally for the Dallas Cowboys, all under head coach Jimmy Johnson.- William Alexander Curry (born October 21, 1942) is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology (1980–1986), the University of Alabama (1987–1989), and the University of Kentucky (1990–1996). Between coaching jobs at Kentucky and Georgia State, Curry was a football analyst for ESPN. He played football at Georgia Tech (1962–1964) and then played for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with four teams: the Green Bay Packers (1965–1966), the Baltimore Colts (1967–1972), the Houston Oilers (1973), and the Los Angeles Rams (1974).
- William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina, where he coached from 1988 until departing in 1997 to become coach at the University of Texas. He was recently a college football commentator for ESPN. In January 2018, Brown was selected to enter the College Football Hall of Fame. In November 2018, Brown took the vacant job at North Carolina, replacing Larry Fedora.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs. The Longhorns beat the University of Southern California in the 2006 Rose Bowl, Ohio State at The Horseshoe in September 2005, and conference rival Oklahoma in 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2013. The 2005 season was capped off by victories over Colorado and USC to win the Big 12 Conference and national championships, respectively. In 2006, he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". Brown achieved his 200th career win during the 2008 season, making him the first Texas coach to reach that mark. He resigned after the 2013 Alamo Bowl.
- Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is an American football coach who is currently with the New England Patriots as a defensive line coach. Previously, he was the head football coach of the University of Arkansas, ending with a 29–34 record. Bielema also served as head football coach at University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012, achieving a 68–24 record.
- Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall (born February 21, 1966) is the former head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football team at the University of Virginia. Previously he was a highly successful head coach of the BYU Cougars football team, leaving with the second-most wins in school history, eleven consecutive bowl invitations, five 10-win seasons, and regular national Top 25 rankings. He won a total of 99 games in his eleven years there.
- Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( KUT-ər; born February 5, 1959) is an American football coach who is the current offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) where he previously served as the offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2014 under then head coach, Mike Smith. He was previously the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2016 to 2018. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1998 to 2000 and at Arizona State University from 2001 to 2006, compiling a career college football record of 66–44 (.600). Koetter was also the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Falcons, and Buccaneers.
- Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of Minnesota from 1997 to 2006, compiling a career college football record of 123–121–1.
- Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. (born September 27, 1969) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Liberty University. A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeze coached Michael Oher and Greg Hardy. He subsequently served as the head football coach at Lambuth University from 2008 to 2009, Arkansas State University in 2011, and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 2012 to 2016. Under Freeze, the Ole Miss football program committed various recruiting and academic violations that figured in the NCAA's decision to expunge 33 of the team's victories and ban it from post-season play for two years. He resigned from Ole Miss after officials discovered that he had used a university cellphone to call escort services multiple times over the course of five years.
- Daniel Mullen (born April 27, 1972) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Florida. Mullen previously was the head coach at Mississippi State University.
- Chris Palmer (born September 23, 1949) is an American college athletics administrator and former football coach. He is the athletic director at the University of New Haven. Palmer served as the head coach for Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1999 to 2000 and in the same capacity with the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League (UFL) in 2010. He was the head football coach at the University of New Haven from 1986 to 1987 and at Boston University from 1988 to 1989. Palmer has also served as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.
- Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University and played professionally in 1987 and 1988. He began his coaching career as offensive assistant for San Diego State University and had several assistant coaching positions on college and NFL teams before being named as the tenth full-time coach in Saints history in 2006. Payton has always been known for his offensive prowess, having scored more points (2,804) and gained more yards (40,158) than any other team in a coach's first 100 games in NFL history. Payton is currently the second-longest active head coach in the NFL, behind New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has coached them since the 2000 season. Under Payton's leadership, the Saints made the 2006 NFL playoffs after a disappointing 3–13 season in 2005 and advanced to their first NFC Championship appearance in franchise history. Because of this effort, Payton won the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award. Following the 2009 season, the Saints won their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history. Since joining the Saints as head coach, he has helped guide the team to 3 NFC Championship games (2006, 2009, and 2018), an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV, and 7 total playoff births with 5 division titles, making him the most successful coach in Saints franchise history. On March 21, 2012, Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season, originally set to take effect April 1, 2012, as a result of his alleged involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, under which "bounties" were allegedly paid for contact that would "knock out" targeted players on opposing teams. Payton has denied that any program encouraging Saints players to injure opposing players ever existed, even though the NFL claims their evidence proves otherwise. Assistant coach Joe Vitt stated "We had a pay to perform program, just like many NFL teams do, but there was never a bounty program, we didn't ever encourage a pay-to-injure program. That's just not true. We never crossed the line." Payton filed an appeal of his suspension with the league the Friday before it was set to take effect. On April 9, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (who handed down the suspension) denied his appeal; his suspension began on April 16. Goodell reinstated Payton on January 22, 2013.Payton is under contract with the Saints at least until the end of the 2020 season. A previously agreed-upon extension of his contract through 2015 was voided by the NFL. This left his status after the 2012 season unclear until December of that year, when he agreed to a five-year contract that made him the highest-paid coach in the history of the NFL. In March 2016, Payton signed a five-year extension with the Saints.
- Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is an American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State University, and resumed from 2011 to 2015. Franchione has also served as the head football coach at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas (1981–1982), Pittsburg State University (1985–1989), the University of New Mexico (1992–1997), Texas Christian University (1998–2000), the University of Alabama (2001–2002), and Texas A&M University (2003–2007). In his 27 seasons as a head coach in college football, Franchione has won eight conference championships and one divisional crown.
- Patrick Joseph Sullivan (born January 18, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. An All-American quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach at Samford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. Sullivan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.
- Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive in the National Football League (NFL) and former coach. Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2013 to 2017 and the Buccaneers from 2019 to 2021. He was also the interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2012 season. Arians is known for his slogan "No risk-it, no biscuit," which encourages aggressive playcalling. After initially retiring in 2017, Arians returned in 2019 to coach the Buccaneers. He led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2007 and first playoff win since 2002 during the 2020 season, culminating with a Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl LV. At age 68, he was the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl. Arians retired from coaching a second time after the 2021 season and became a consultant with Tampa Bay.
- Richard Charles Nolan (March 26, 1932 – November 11, 2007) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL), and served as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
- Daniel John Devine (December 22, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of 173–56–9. Devine was also the head coach of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers from 1971 to 1974, tallying a mark of 25–27–4. His 1977 Notre Dame team won a national championship after beating Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Devine was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1985.
- Terry Wilson Bowden (born February 24, 1956) is a football college coach, currently an assistant at Clemson University. Bowden was previously head coach at Salem University (1983–1985), Samford University (1987–1992), Auburn University (1993–1998), the University of North Alabama (2009–2011), and the University of Akron (2012–2018). He is a son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden and a brother of Tommy Bowden, former head football coach at Clemson University, and Jeff Bowden, the former offensive coordinator at Florida State who served as Terry's special teams coordinator at Akron.
- Charles Henry Noll (January 5, 1932 – June 13, 2014) was an American professional football player, assistant coach and head coach. His sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team.After a seven-year playing career that included two NFL Championships as a member of his hometown Cleveland Browns and several years as an assistant coach with various teams, in 1969 Noll took the helm of the then moribund Steelers (which had played in only one post-season game in its previous 36 years, a 21–0 loss), and turned it into a perennial contender. As a head coach, Noll won four Super Bowls, four AFC titles and nine Central Division championships, compiled a 209–156–1 overall record, a 16–8 playoff record and had winning records in 15 of his final 20 seasons. His four Super Bowl victories rank second behind Bill Belichick for the most of any head coach in NFL history. Between his playing and head coaching tenures, Noll won a total of six NFL Championships as well as one AFL Championship and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility. Noll built the team through astute drafting and meticulous tutoring. During his career, he was notable for the opportunities he gave African Americans, starting the first black quarterback in franchise history and hiring one of the first black assistant coaches in league history. He was often credited with maintaining the morale of the Western Pennsylvania region despite its steep economic decline by creating a team of champions in the image of its blue collar fan base.
- Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Cleveland Browns, a team named after him, and later played a role in founding the Cincinnati Bengals. His teams won seven league championships in a professional coaching career spanning 25 seasons. Brown began his coaching career at Severn School in 1931 before becoming the head football coach at Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio, where he grew up. His high school teams lost only 10 games in 11 seasons. He was then hired at Ohio State University and coached the school to its first national football championship in 1942. After World War II, he became head coach of the Browns, who won all four AAFC championships before joining the NFL in 1950. Brown coached the Browns to three NFL championships – in 1950, 1954 and 1955 – but was fired in January 1963 amid a power struggle with team owner Art Modell. Brown in 1968 co-founded and was the first coach of the Bengals. He retired from coaching in 1975 but remained the Bengals' team president until his death in 1991. The Bengals named their home stadium Paul Brown Stadium in honor of Brown. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967. Brown is credited with a number of American football innovations. He was the first coach to use game film to scout opponents, hire a full-time staff of assistants, and test players on their knowledge of a playbook. He invented the modern face mask, the practice squad and the draw play. He also played a role in breaking professional football's color barrier, bringing the first African-Americans to play pro football in the modern era onto his teams. Despite these accomplishments, Brown was not universally liked. He was strict and controlling, which often brought him into conflict with players who wanted a greater say in play-calling. These disputes, combined with Brown's failure to consult Modell on major personnel decisions, led to his firing as the Browns' coach in 1963.
- John Franklin Broyles (December 26, 1924 – August 14, 2017) was an American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach at the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976. Broyles also was Arkansas' athletic director from 1974 until his retirement on December 31, 2007.As a head football coach, Broyles compiled a record of 149–62–6. His mark of 144–58–5 in 19 seasons is the most wins and the most games of any head coach in Arkansas Razorbacks football history. With Arkansas, Broyles won seven Southwest Conference titles and his 1964 team was named a national champion by a number of selectors including the Football Writers Association of America. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
- Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record of 191–110–3 . Pinkel is the winningest head coach in the history of the Toledo Rockets football program and led his 1995 team to a Mid-American Conference championship. He is also the winningest head coach in the history of the Missouri Tigers football program. Before becoming a head coach, Pinkel served as an assistant at the University of Washington, under Don James, from 1979 through 1990, the last six of those years as an offensive coordinator.
- Vincent Joseph Dooley (born September 4, 1932) was the head football coach (seasons 1964 through 1988) and athletic director (1979 to 2004) at the University of Georgia. During his 25-year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship. After the 1980 season, Dooley was recognized as college football's "Coach of the Year" by several organizations, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, whose annual award has since been renamed as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. Dooley's teams were known for their hard nosed defense and conservative yet fundamentally sound offenses. From 1964 to 1980, Dooley was assisted by his defensive coordinator, Erskine "Erk" Russell.
- Gary Allen Patterson (born February 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He was the former head football coach at Texas Christian University and the winningest coach in Horned Frogs' history. Patterson has led the TCU Horned Frogs to six conference championships—one Conference USA title in 2002; four Mountain West Conference titles in 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011; —and nine bowl game victories—including victories in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2014 Peach Bowl. His 2010 squad finished the season undefeated at 13–0 after a 21–19 Rose Bowl victory over the Wisconsin Badgers on New Year's Day 2011, and ranked second in the final tallying of both major polls.
- Scott Andrew Frost (born January 4, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 2018 to 2022. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Frost played college football as a quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the latter of which he led to a shared national championship in 1997. He played six years in the NFL, mostly on special teams.
Terry Hoeppner
Terry Lee Hoeppner (August 19, 1947 – June 19, 2007) was an American college football coach who served as head coach of the Miami RedHawks from 1999 to 2004 and the Indiana Hoosiers from 2005 to 2006. Shortly after announcing that he would be on medical leave for the 2007 season, he died of brain cancer.Hoeppner was a 1969 graduate of Franklin College, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta international fraternity. He owned a 57–39 overall record as a collegiate head coach. He is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.- James Donald Haslett (born December 9, 1955) is an American football coach and former linebacker. He was the last linebackers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. Previously, he was head coach for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, and the New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams in the National Football League.
- Michael Ray Gundy (born August 12, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Oklahoma State University. Gundy played college football at Oklahoma State, where he played quarterback from 1986 to 1989. He became Oklahoma State's coach on January 3, 2005. In 2007, he received national media attention for his heated criticism of a newspaper article on one of his players.
Emory Bellard
Emory Dilworth Bellard (December 17, 1927 – February 10, 2011) was a college football coach. He was head coach at Texas A&M University from 1972 to 1978 and at Mississippi State University from 1979 until 1985. Bellard died on February 10, 2011 after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) since the fall of 2010.Bellard is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He was considered to have had one of the most innovative offensive minds in football and is credited for inventing the wishbone formation.- Brady Patrick Hoke (born November 3, 1958) is an American football coach for San Diego State. He was the head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines from 2011 to 2014. He grew up in Ohio and attended Ball State University where he played linebacker from 1977 to 1980. He began his coaching career in 1982 and held assistant coaching positions at Grand Valley State (1983), Western Michigan (1984–1986), Toledo (1987–1989), Oregon State (1989–1994) and Michigan (1995–2002). Hoke left his assistant coaching position at Michigan in December 2002 to become the head football coach at his alma mater, Ball State. In six years at Ball State, Hoke was credited with turning around the football program. In 2008, he led the Ball State football team to a 12–1 record and the first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 (peaking at No. 12) in school history. In December 2008, Hoke was hired as the head football coach at San Diego State University. He led the 2010 San Diego State Aztecs football team to the school's first season with at least nine wins since 1977 and a victory over Navy in the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl. He returned to Michigan after he was hired to be the program's 19th head football coach on January 11, 2011. In his inaugural season with the Wolverines he led them to an 11–2, taking Michigan to their first BCS Bowl game since the 2006 football season, where Michigan defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2012 Sugar Bowl. On December 2, 2014, Michigan fired Hoke after four seasons. He was also the interim head coach at the University of Tennessee at the end of the 2017 season.
Randy Walker
Randy J. Walker (May 29, 1954 – June 29, 2006) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1990 to 1998 and at Northwestern University from 1999 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 96–81–5. Walker won 59 games at Miami, more than noted coaches who preceded him such as Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Bill Mallory, and Ara Parseghian.- Phillip Dale Lindsey (born January 18, 1943) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of San Diego. Lindsey has also worked as a coach in the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the United States Football League (USFL).
- Steven Craig Morrison (born December 28, 1971) is a retired professional American football linebacker who played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 1998. He last served as the linebackers coach at Syracuse University. He previously served as the linebackers coach for the Eastern Michigan Eagles football team and on the coaching staff at Western Michigan. Prior to these professional experiences, he had excelled in college football as an All-Big Ten Conference inside linebacker from 1990 to 1994 for the Michigan Wolverines, whom he served as captain. In high school, he had been a Detroit Free Press first-team All-State (Michigan) and second-team All-Midwest selection in football and an All-American in lacrosse. After retiring from professional football as a player, he gained his first two years of coaching experience as the defensive coordinator for Michigan High School Athletic Association football champion Brother Rice High School (his high school alma mater). He then served as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan for three years. He then assumed a role as an assistant at Western Michigan University. At Western Michigan, he has served as the linebacker coach after spending a year as the defensive line coach. The 2009 Western Michigan Broncos season marked Morrison's fifth season on the team's staff, his fourth as linebacker coach and his second as defensive coordinator. Morrison was fired at the conclusion of the season.
- Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive lineman who is the offensive line coach at the University of Alabama. He was previously the head coach at Syracuse from 2009 to 2012, where he played college football. In addition to his collegiate coaching, he served in the National Football League (NFL) as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2014 and the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2016 to 2020.
