ESPN recently released their 150 Greatest College Football Coaches of all time. Check out the full list.
Where do the ACC coaches, and coaches of current ACC programs land?
8. Bobby Bowden, 377-129-4
Howard College (1959-62; 31-6), West Virginia (1970-75; 42-26) and Florida State (1976-2009; 304-97-4)
When Bowden arrived at Florida State, it was a midsize independent, not above taking a paycheck game to keep the athletics department’s doors open. When he left 43 years later, the Seminoles had established themselves as a national power. From 1987-2000, Bowden’s Seminoles finished in the top five every season, including two national titles (1993, 1999). After joining the ACC in 1992, Florida State won 12 of the next 14 ACC titles. Bowden loved fireworks on offense and fast, physical play on defense. He developed two Heisman winners (Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke) and a generation of goodwill for Florida State.
10. Frank Leahy, 107-13-9
Boston College (1939-40; 20-2) and Notre Dame (1941-43, 1946-53; 87-11-9)
He spoke in courtly language, referring to his players as “lads,” but no one mistook that gentlemanly demeanor as anything other than good manners. Leahy would do anything to win and rarely did anything but win. His postwar teams at Notre Dame were so good — the freshmen who enrolled in 1946 never lost a game — that backups enjoyed long NFL careers. The Irish won four national titles in seven years. Leahy drove his players no harder than he drove himself. The stress became so great that he nearly died during the 1953 season. He retired at age 45 and never coached again.
11. Glenn (Pop) Warner, 336-114-32
Georgia (1895-96; 7-4), Iowa State (1895-99; 18-8), Cornell (1897-98, 1904-06; 36-13-3), Carlisle (1899-1903, 1907-14; 113-42-8), Pittsburgh (1915-23; 60-12-4), Stanford (1924-32; 71-17-8) and Temple (1933-38; 31-18-9)
It’s rare that any coach has a once-in-a-generation back. Warner won so long that he had two. Under Warner, Carlisle Indian Industrial School rose to national prominence on the athletic prowess of Jim Thorpe. In the 1920s, using the single-wing offense that Warner created at Carlisle, Ernie Nevers led Stanford to the Rose Bowl. Warner is credited with three national titles, two at Pittsburgh and one at Stanford. He is also credited with creating the double-wing formation, three-point stance, the hidden-ball trick and many other innovations. Warner retired at age 67 from Temple and returned to Palo Alto. The next season, Warner accepted an offer to help a young head coach at San Jose State. The Spartans went 13-0.
21. Bobby Dodd, 165-64-8
Georgia Tech (1945-66)
This is how good Dodd was on the Flats: His Yellow Jackets won two SEC titles. They enjoyed a 31-game unbeaten streak over four seasons (1950-53). And they won eight consecutive bowl games over an 11-year span in an era when there weren’t that many bowls. In an era when more was more, Dodd preached less. His players rarely scrimmaged. Yet Bear Bryant labeled Dodd as a coach he hated to see on the opposing sideline. Dodd had an almost supernatural feel for the game. He always thought of something, and his players always executed it. His touch was such that it became known as Dodd Luck: maddening for opponents, but delightful for the Ramblin’ Wreck.
23. Lou Holtz, 249-132-7
William & Mary (1969-71; 13-20), NC State (1972-75; 33-12-3), Arkansas (1977-83; 60-21-2), Minnesota (1984-85; 10-12), Notre Dame (1986-1996; 100-30-2) and South Carolina (1999-2004; 33-37)
Holtz always said he believed in “faith, family and football.” The stats (10 top-10 teams, seven 10-win seasons) don’t measure the great work he performed in rebuilding the foundation over six seasons at South Carolina. Nor do they illustrate how he tamed the tiger that is coaching at Notre Dame. He took a floundering Irish program and three seasons later won the 1988 national title. He still thinks he should have won the 1993 title, when the Irish defeated eventual champion Florida State. His record in South Bend stands as tall as anyone’s not named Rockne or Leahy. Holtz left after 11 seasons; he said he didn’t want to coach as long as Rockne (13). Lovely.
27. Steve Spurrier, 228-89-2
Duke (1987-89; 20-13-1), Florida (1990-2001; 122-27-1) and South Carolina (2005-15; 86-49)
Few coaches have transformed the sport as much as Spurrier did at Florida in the 1990s. In the black-and-blue SEC, Spurrier’s pass-happy, Fun ‘n’ Gun offense revolutionized the way football was played in the Deep South. He guided the Gators to their first national title in 1996 and six SEC championships. Just as impressively, he had winning records at Duke and South Carolina, schools that had rarely won before.
30. John Heisman, 186-70-18
Oberlin (1892, 1894; 11-3-1), Buchtel (now Akron) (1893-94; 6-2), Auburn (1895-99; 12-4-2), Clemson (1900-03; 19-3-2), Georgia Tech (1904-19; 102-29-7), Pennsylvania (1920-22; 16-10-2), Washington & Jefferson (1923; 6-1-1) and Rice (1924-27; 14-18-3)
The namesake of college football’s most revered individual award won 186 games in 37 seasons at eight different schools. His best work was at Georgia Tech from 1915 to ’17, when his teams had three straight unbeaten seasons. His 1917 team went 9-0 and outscored opponents 491-17.
31. Dabo Swinney, 129-30
Clemson (2008-present)
Swinney was Clemson’s wide receivers coach when he was named interim head coach after Tommy Bowden resigned six games into the 2008 season. He was a surprising pick to replace Bowden after that season, and then he awakened a once-dormant program not long after. The Tigers won national championships in 2016 and ’18 and don’t seem ready to slow down anytime soon.
32. Jock Sutherland, 144-28-14
Lafayette (1919-23; 33-8-2) and Pittsburgh (1924-38; 111-20-12)
In 1924, Sutherland replaced Glenn “Pop” Warner as Pitt’s coach. Sutherland guided his alma mater to seven Eastern football titles and four appearances in the Rose Bowl. His 111 wins at Pitt included a whopping 79 shutouts. His 1937 team went 9-0-1 and was recognized as national champion.
41. Ben Schwartzwalder, 178-96-3
Muhlenberg (1946-48; 25-5) and Syracuse (1949-73; 153-91-3)
When Syracuse hired Schwartzwalder to revive its struggling program in 1949, he joked, “The alumni wanted a big-name coach. They got a long-name coach.” No coach won more games at Syracuse, and perhaps no coach in the sport’s history assembled a greater collection of running backs. A decorated World War II paratrooper, Schwartzwalder coached College Football Hall of Fame backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. His 1959 team went 11-0 and won the school’s only national title.
45. Frank Beamer, 280-144-4
Murray State (1981-86; 42-23-2) and Virginia Tech (1987-2015; 238-121-2)
After a 2-8-1 finish in 1992, Beamer feared Virginia Tech, his alma mater, might fire him. In 2015, he retired as the winningest active coach in the FBS after guiding the Hokies to four ACC titles, three Big East championships and 13 10-win seasons. Virginia Tech’s aggressive style of play on special teams became known as “Beamer Ball.” During the 1990s, no team in the country blocked more kicks than the Hokies, who had 66 in the decade.
47. Clarence (Biggie) Munn, 71-16-3
Albright (1935-36; 13-2-1), Syracuse (1946; 4-5) and Michigan State (1947-53; 54-9-2)
Munn coached at Michigan State for only seven seasons but left an indelible mark. From 1950-53, the Spartans went 35-2 and won the 1952 national championship. After going 9-1 in 1953, Munn retired in the prime of his career, turned over his program to assistant Duffy Daugherty and became MSU’s athletic director. Munn once said his “secret dream” was to have just one more seat than the 101,001 claimed by rival Michigan at the time.
49. Jimmy Johnson, 81-34-3
Oklahoma State (1979-83; 29-25-3) and Miami (1984-88; 52-9)
When Miami hired Johnson to replace Howard Schnellenberger in 1984, many Hurricanes fans asked, “Jimmy who?” In his first season, Miami blew a 31-0 halftime lead in a loss to Maryland, the biggest in NCAA history at the time, and fell to Boston College on Doug Flutie’s memorable Hail Mary pass. The Hurricanes went 8-5 in Johnson’s first season, but they rarely lost after that. Miami went 44-4 over the next four seasons and won the 1987 national title. Along the way, Johnson embraced Miami’s reputation as the bad boys of college football.
56. Wallace Wade, 171-49-10
Alabama (1923-30; 61-13-3) and Duke (1931-40 and 1946-50; 110-36-7)
The most stunning decision of Wade’s life wasn’t that he left Alabama for Duke, after directing the Crimson Tide to national titles in 1925, ’26 and ’30. It came at age 49, after 10 seasons at Duke, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and led battalions at the Battle of Normandy, Battle of the Bulge and the Ninth Army’s drive through Germany. He returned to Duke in 1946 and coached five more seasons. His teams played in five Rose Bowls. Wade’s 1926 Alabama squad was the first from the South to play in the game, defeating Washington 20-19.
59. Mack Brown, 250-128-1
Appalachian State (1983; 6-5), Tulane (1985-87; 11-23), North Carolina (1988-97 and 2019-current; 75-52-1) and Texas (1998-2013; 158-48)
With his folksy, Southern charm, Brown united Texas’ divided fan base and returned the Longhorns to national prominence. From 2001-09, the Longhorns won at least 10 games every season. During a six-year stretch from 2004-09, UT went 69-9 behind quarterbacks Vince Young and Colt McCoy. In 2005, Young led Texas to its first undisputed national title in 36 years, capped off with a memorable 41-38 win over USC in the Rose Bowl. Brown’s 158 victories at Texas ranks No. 2 in school history, behind Darrell Royal, who won 167 in 20 seasons.
61. George Welsh, 189-132-4
Navy (1973-81; 55-46-1) and Virginia (1982-2000; 134-86-3)
Welsh turned around not one but two woebegone programs in his 28-year career. In the five seasons before Navy hired Welsh in 1973, the Midshipmen went a combined 12-41. They went 7-4 in his third season and 31-15-1 in his last four. When Virginia lured Welsh away in 1982, the Cavaliers had posted only two winning seasons in the previous 29. They went 8-2-2 in his third season and endured only two losing campaigns in his 29 years at the school. Welsh guided Virginia to its first bowl game in 1984, first 10-win season and ACC title in 1989, and its first No. 1 ranking — for four weeks — in 1990.
62. Johnny Majors, 185-137-10
Iowa State (1968-72; 24-30-1), Pittsburgh (1973-76 and 1993-96; 45-45-1) and Tennessee (1977-92; 116-62-8)
After Majors guided Pittsburgh to a 12-0 record and a national championship in 1976, Tennessee lured its former star player back to Knoxville, where he had the longest uninterrupted tenure in school history until he was out in 1992. Majors’ teams won SEC titles in 1985, ’89 and ’90. He had 12 winning campaigns in 16 seasons at UT and his teams played in 11 bowl games.
73. Danny Ford, 122-59-5
Clemson (1978-89; 96-29-4 and Arkansas 1993-97; 26-30-1)
Clemson promoted Ford to head coach in December 1978, two days after Charley Pell left for Florida. The Tigers beat Ohio State — and coach Woody Hayes — in Ford’s first game, 17-15 in the Gator Bowl. Three years later, he became the youngest coach to win a national title at age 33. The Tigers went 12-0 in 1981 and defeated Nebraska 22-15 in the Orange Bowl to win the school’s first national title. Ford guided the Tigers to five ACC titles, including three in a row from 1986-88, and his teams went 6-3 in bowl games.
75. Gil Dobie, 182-45-15
North Dakota State (1906-07; 7-0), Washington (1908-16; 60-0-3), Navy (1917-19; 17-3), Cornell (1920-35; 82-36-7) and Boston College (1936-38; 16-6-5)
Remarkably, Dobie didn’t lose a game until the 12th season of his coaching career. He went 7-0 in two seasons at North Dakota State, and then his teams went 60-0-3 in nine seasons at Washington. Under Dobie, the Huskies won 39 consecutive games and went 61 games without a loss. His teams later won 26 straight games at Cornell.
80. Howard Jones, 194-64-21
Syracuse (1908; 6-3-1), Yale (1909 and 1913; 15-2-3), Ohio State (1910; 6-1-3), Iowa (1916-23; 42-17-1), Duke (1924; 4-5) and USC (1925-40; 121-36-13)
Jones coached one of Yale’s greatest teams in 1909 (10-0), and he led Iowa to 20 consecutive wins (1920-23), but he had his greatest success at USC. Jones’ Trojans had three undefeated seasons and went 5-0 in Rose Bowls. He and his good friend Knute Rockne started the USC-Notre Dame rivalry, the longest annual intersectional rivalry in the game.
82. Jim Tatum 100-35-7
North Carolina (1942 and 1956-58; 19-17-3), Oklahoma (1946; 8-3) and Maryland (1947-55; 73-15-4)
Tatum took the Terrapins to their only national championship in 1953. He recruited Doc Blanchard to North Carolina in 1942; both of them left Chapel Hill because of the war. Tatum coached one year at Oklahoma, then was succeeded by Bud Wilkinson, who led the Sooners to three national titles. Tatum’s second tenure at North Carolina was cut short by his death at age 46 of a rare infection.
83. Dennis Erickson, 179-96-1
Idaho (1982-85 and 2006; 36-23), Wyoming (1986; 6-6), Washington State (1987-88; 12-10-1), Miami (1989-94; 63-9), Oregon State (1999-2002; 31-17) and Arizona State (2007-11; 31-31)
Erickson is best known for his six seasons at Miami, where his Canes won two national titles (1989 and 1991) and played for a third. His best accomplishment may have been at Oregon State, where Erickson led the Beavers from mediocrity to an 11-1 record and a No. 4 ranking in 2000.
93. Howard Schnellenberger, 158-151-3
Miami (1979-83; 41-16), Louisville (1985-94; 54-56-2) Oklahoma (1995; 5-5-1) and FAU (2001-11; 58-74)
No one in the history of the game proved to be as consistent a turnaround artist as Schnellenberger. He took Miami from mediocrity to a national championship in 1983 with a thrilling win over No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl; he took Louisville from doormat to a major bowl; and he built the FAU program from scratch, taking the Owls to the Division I-AA semifinals.
101. Frank Cavanaugh, 148-50-18
Cincinnati (1898; 5-1-3), Holy Cross (1903-05; 16-10-2), Dartmouth (1911-16; 42-9-3), Omaha (1919; 3-2-1), Boston College (1919-26; 48-14-5) and Fordham (1927-32; 34-14-4)
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, Cavanaugh’s coaching career sandwiched service in the Army, where he rose to the rank of major and served in World War I. His life was memorialized in the 1943 movie “The Iron Major.”
102. Paul Johnson, 189-99
Georgia Southern (1997-2001; 62-10), Navy (2002-07; 45-29), Georgia Tech (2008-18; 82-60)
Johnson guided Georgia Southern to a pair of I-AA national titles in five years before taking his triple-option offense to Navy and Georgia Tech. At Navy, he helped end the program’s 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame and won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy five times. Johnson was named ACC Coach of the Year three times at Georgia Tech.
110. Jimbo Fisher, 101-32
Florida State (2010-17; 85-23) and Texas A&M (2018-present; 16-9)
In eight seasons at Florida State, Fisher won three conference titles and the BCS national championship in 2013. He also coached quarterback Jameis Winston to the Heisman Trophy in 2013. In 10 full seasons, Fisher has failed to win nine games just twice, including his final year in Tallahassee before leaving for a 10-year, $75 million contract at Texas A&M.
114. Darrell Mudra, 200-81-4
Adams State (1959-62; 32-4-1), North Dakota State (1963-65; 24-6), Arizona (1967-68; 11-9-1), Western Illinois (1969-73; 39-13), Florida State (1974-75; 4-18), Eastern Illinois (1978-82; 47-15-1) and Northern Iowa (1983-87; 43-16-1)
Mudra won Division II national titles at both North Dakota State (1965) and Eastern Illinois (1978). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
124. Frank Howard, 165-118-12
Clemson (1940-69)
In 30 years at Clemson, Howard’s teams finished ranked in the final AP poll six times and won or shared six ACC conference titles. In 1948 and ’50, Clemson finished unbeaten. Howard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
128. Clark Shaughnessy, 150-117-17
Tulane (1915-20 and 1922-26; 59-28-7), Loyola (Louisiana) (1927-32; 37-19-5), Chicago (1933-39; 17-34-4), Stanford (1940-41; 16-3), Maryland (1942 and 1946; 10-8), Pittsburgh (1943-45; 10-17) and Hawaii (1965; 1-8-1)
Shaughnessy was such a forward thinker that he’s credited as the founder of the T-formation and one of the men who revolutionized the forward pass. And he won a lot, 150 games in all, while he was at it. He took over a 1-7-1 Stanford team in 1940 and promptly finished 10-0, winning the Pacific Coast Conference and beating Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Shaughnessy was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
136. Mark Richt, 171-64
Georgia (2001-15; 145-51), Miami (2016-18; 26-13)
Longevity in the SEC is hard to come by, but Richt earned a long run at Georgia by going 145-52 in 15 seasons. In that span, he won two conference championships, made five SEC title game appearances, posted nine 10-win seasons and developed 14 first-round picks.
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