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The 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history
ESPN ^ | 10 Dec 2019 | ESPN

Posted on 12/10/2019 5:05:15 PM PST by Rummyfan

The lifespan of a game is measured in hours. A team comes and goes in a season. A player lasts no more than four years; these days, if he's good and stays healthy, three.

But a coach? A coach is different. Coaches define eras. In a sport in which we root for laundry, a coach humanizes those colors, becomes as much a symbol as the mascot.

The first four men selected among the 150 Greatest Coaches, as selected by our blue-ribbon panel of 150 media members, administrators and former players and coaches, span more than a century of the sport. No. 3 Knute Rockne debuted in 1918. No. 2 Nick Saban just concluded the 2019 regular season. Between those two, No. 1 Paul "Bear" Bryant and No. 4 Tom Osborne together coached from the end of World War II to nearly the end of the 20th century. The only decade not covered by these four coaches is the 1930s.

(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chat; sports; top10
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Plenty of room for debate here.....

1 posted on 12/10/2019 5:05:15 PM PST by Rummyfan
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To: Rummyfan

Bryant was a great one.

There were so many that it is hard to guess. I personally would say Bobby Bowden.


2 posted on 12/10/2019 5:10:44 PM PST by yarddog ( For I am persuaded.)
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To: Rummyfan

Only if you want to debate Saban vs Bryant. There’s no other debate. They both have 6, but Bryant had all 6 at Bama. Advantage Bear Bryant. Roll Tide.


3 posted on 12/10/2019 5:12:36 PM PST by numberonepal (WWG1WGA)
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To: Rummyfan

4 posted on 12/10/2019 5:14:48 PM PST by TADSLOS (You know why you can enjoy a day at the Zoo? Because walls work.)
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To: yarddog
I personally would say Bobby Bowden.

Coach Bowden was a great man. I had awesome conversations with him 2 or 3 times a week just before he left Florida State. He walked the golf course early mornings in Tally. I practiced chipping and putting and he'd drive up in his big Garnet Escalade say hello, chat for a bit, then take his walk. We never talked football. He liked to talk golf.

5 posted on 12/10/2019 5:16:17 PM PST by numberonepal (WWG1WGA)
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To: Rummyfan

Coach Eddie Robinson of Grambling came in 5th. IIRC, Grambling is a real small college.


6 posted on 12/10/2019 5:18:25 PM PST by White MAGA Man
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To: Rummyfan

In basketball, it is John Wooden.


7 posted on 12/10/2019 5:18:25 PM PST by Fungi
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To: Rummyfan

8 posted on 12/10/2019 5:20:48 PM PST by angmo
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To: Rummyfan

Howard Jones should be ranked higher than #80. However, I’m glad John McKay made it into the Top 20.


9 posted on 12/10/2019 5:23:35 PM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: Rummyfan

General Robert Neyland should be in the top ten...Not 36th....


10 posted on 12/10/2019 5:26:03 PM PST by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: Rummyfan

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.

My father-in-law played for the mentioned Stanford 10-0 team. aka WOW boys. My wife used to babysit for Bill Walsh who might be included in this group.


11 posted on 12/10/2019 5:29:12 PM PST by sasquatch
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To: Rummyfan

Nice to see Erk Russell on the list. He was a neighbor of mine in the ‘Boro. I often saw him and his wife out walking.


12 posted on 12/10/2019 5:33:03 PM PST by real saxophonist (Never let Sean Connery teach your dog to Sit!)
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To: White MAGA Man

Eddie Robinson was a good man but there is no way he should be ahead of Parseghian, Spurrier, or Bobby Dodd.


13 posted on 12/10/2019 5:33:17 PM PST by yarddog ( For I am persuaded.)
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To: Rummyfan
Coach #151:


14 posted on 12/10/2019 5:36:21 PM PST by Yo-Yo ( is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: Rummyfan

I thought Spurrier should have been rated higher too. But the way he walked out on USC-East was shameful. That was Terry Bowden Auburn shit. Left them high and dry. Piss poor recruiting at the end of his tenure and walked out. Spurrier sucks. Go down to Florida and soak up your 1990’s accolades. The Game has left you.


15 posted on 12/10/2019 5:37:16 PM PST by gatorhead
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To: Rummyfan
- Roll Tide -
16 posted on 12/10/2019 5:38:18 PM PST by blam
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To: Rummyfan

Wallace Wade PLAYED on Brown’s Rose Bowl team! either 1916 or ‘17. Brown lost to Washington.


17 posted on 12/10/2019 5:39:27 PM PST by BatGuano (Ya don't think I'd go into combat with loose change in my pocket, do Ya?)
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To: blam

I have Bear Bryant’s book. In one place he says that he thought he was a good coach but his real talent was inspiring young men.

I have Charles Thompson’s book too. It is titled “Down And Dirty’. Oklahoma under Switzer was about as corrupt as it is possible to be. He certainly was a competent coach and I think the players liked him but he was really crooked.


18 posted on 12/10/2019 5:42:49 PM PST by yarddog ( For I am persuaded.)
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To: Rummyfan
9. Woody Hayes, 238-72-10
20. Bo Schembechler, 234-65-8

Well, that's all that matters.

19 posted on 12/10/2019 5:43:40 PM PST by KarlInOhio (Cutest internet video: Charlie bit my finger. Creepiest internet video: Joe Biden bit my finger.)
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To: yarddog

Eddie Robinson is in the top 4 or 5 in all time wins, if I recall correctly.

Of course , he also coached Grambling for over 50 years. He had greater longevity than many others.

These discussions can be fun, and this is an interesting thread.


20 posted on 12/10/2019 5:45:48 PM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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