Preview
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30. Dean
Smith
Career Coaching Record: 879-254 (.776 Winning Percentage)
I was absolutely ready to put Dean Smith in the Top 10 of my coaching list when this started, but then came more research. Smith has 2 NCAA Championships in 30+ years of coaching. Those two championships are incredible, but look at the fact that Duke has won four under Coach K while Smith has won two at UNC. The amount of talent that has come through North Carolina makes you think that he has won more than two, but he has not. What puts Smith ahead of several other basketball coaches with 2 titles is that he had 11 Final Four appearances. Being the one of the best 4 teams in basketball 11 times and winning twice is impressive, but not as impressive as those coaches who are about to follow.
29. Sparky Anderson
Career Coaching Record: 2194-1835 (.545 Winning Percentage)
I remember Sparky Anderson as the longtime manager of the Detroit Tigers. That is where he was for the majority of his career. From 1979-1995, Anderson managed those Tigers. It is Detroit where he picked up his 3rd MLB Championship in 1984. He was not as successful later in his career with the Tigers, but it was quite a feat to win the World Series in both leagues. Actually, Anderson was the first manager ever to win the World Series in both leagues. Of course, just by looking at the picture you could figure out that he coached the Cincinnati Reds as well. The Reds were his other coaching job and that job lasted 9 seasons. He won his first two titles managing the Big Red Machine. Anderson was fired after the 1978 season in a move still disputed by Reds fans. The Reds would lose in the playoffs to Pittsburgh the year after Anderson was fired and would not make the playoffs again until 1990. There is no telling how much success the Big Red Machine could have had if they stuck with Sparky Anderson.
28. Tom Osborne
Career Coaching Record: 255-49-3 (.836 Winning Percentage)
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were fantastic under Tom Osborne. This team was a contender under Osborne for each of his 20+ seasons. We are just left to wonder how good they would have been if he had coached them longer. He retired after the dominating performance of the 1997 team. Before he retired though, Tom Osborne won 3 National Championships at Nebraska. He also won over 83% of his games. The most impressive stat to me though is that Nebraska never had more than 3 losses under Tom Osborne. These guys were pretty impressive for the legend.
27. Joe Gibbs
Career Coaching Record: 154-94 (.621 Winning Percentage)
Joe Gibbs has three Super Bowl Championships in Washington which is a really big deal. His first tenure with the Redskins was spectacular and much more successful than his second stint as coach. During those 11 years, Gibbs had only one losing season at 7-9 and he won 3 Super Bowls. All 3 of those Super Bowl Championships in Redskins history were won by Gibbs. His winning percentage and spot on this list slipped a tad when he returned for the second time. Many thought the game had passed him by when he came back, but he was not a complete failure. Gibbs still had two playoff appearances when he came back to coach the Skins. The game hadn't passed him by, but he only had one of those 10 win seasons in his second stint, while he had 9 of them in his first stint.
Career Coaching Record: 876-190 (.822 Winning Percentage)
Adolph Rupp had the college basketball program of the 1940s and 1950s, winning 4 championships in that timeframe. His success would carry all the way into his retirement in 1972 although his last NCAA Championship was in 1958. Rupp is the famous coach who was upset in the Glory Road story where Texas Western wins the National Championship over Kentucky. That game changed the way African-American basketball players were viewed. Even Rupp would eventually put blacks on his basketball teams. He would come around to more popular thinking. This thinking took him a while, but he won 82% of the basketball games he coached and he won 4 NCAA Championships. His undefeated 1953 team declined an NCAA tournament bid in an incredibly bizarre move. They did this after having to cancel the season the year before because some former players were caught in a point shaving scandal. The players were caught, but Kentucky suffered and somehow the year after coming back, Rupp led them to an undefeated record. This "death penalty" had nowhere near the same effect as the "death penalty" that SMU suffered for its football issues. Kentucky also had 6 Final Four appearances and a non-NCAA national title under Rupp. His teams were always quite successful.
25. Woody Hayes
Career Coaching Record: 238-72-10 (.768 Winning Percentage)
It is hard to put Woody Hayes any higher on this list despite his 5 NCAA Championships. The guy went crazy at the end of his career and actually punched a Clemson player during a game. That being said, he had 1 losing season (his first) that was in 1946 and he coached until 1978. His accomplishments are numerous as he did win those 5 National Championships for Ohio State. Hayes also won 13 Big 10 championships. It is hard to ignore his record on the field or that he actually assaulted an opposing player. His record is better than those below him (closer to 100) and worst than those above him (closer to 1) as well.
24. Earl Lambeau
Career Coaching Record: 226-132 (.631 Winning Percentage)
It says a lot about Earl "Curly" Lambeau that the Packers field is named after him and not Vince Lombardi. Also important is that Lambeau's 6 NFL Championships are tied with George Halas for the most ever. However Halas won 5% more of his games and has almost 100 more wins in his career than Lambeau so he must be higher than Lambeau. Both are Top 25 guys all-time though even if their NFL Championships came before the Super Bowl. Most years during this time there were 18 teams in the NFL with the most teams during Lambeau's tenure being 20. Therefore, these wins cannot hold the same weight as Super Bowl wins with 30 teams. His winning percentage is also not as good as some other greats. However, as a 6 time NFL Champion which is the most in history, he has to be top 25. This guy has more titles than anyone in this league beside Halas. Lambeau Field is named after him and he helped move the NFL to more of a passing league. He used the forward pass much more than his peers. While it is difficult to rank the coaches from the different eras for reasons I have outlined, it is pretty obvious that Lambeau is a great fit here at 24. Lambeau was a terrific NFL Head Coach.
23. Pat Riley
Career Coaching Record: 1210-694 (.636 Winning Percentage)
Pat Riley certainly belongs on this list with 5 rings. 4 of those rings came while coaching Magic Johnson and the stacked Los Angeles Lakers, but he still deserves the recognition. Don't forget though that they had to compete with Bird's Celtics, a 76ers team that included Moses Malone and Dr. J, a young Michael Jordan's Bulls team, and the Bad Boy Pistons. Those Lakers also had a very good Portland Trailblazers team led by Clyde Drexler and the Houston Rockets led by big men Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. There were several really high profile teams in the 80s and many of the greatest players of all-time competed during that period.
After Los Angeles, Riley left for a few forgettable years in New York. That time in New York was led by an inability to get past the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Finally, in the 1994 Finals the Knicks won the East, but Jordan was playing baseball at that time. The Houston Rockets would beat the Knicks in those Finals.
Riley then left the Knicks for the Miami Heat, taking his talents to South Beach. He coached them from 1995-2003 having a few forgettable years before hanging it up due to fatigue and focusing on being an executive. After a few years on the sidelines though, he would bring himself out of retirement to coach from 2005-2008. He would win the 2006 NBA Championship with Dwayne Wade and an aging Shaq bringing his total to 5. However, after 2008, he would hang it up again focusing solely on being an executive for the Miami Heat. He has his hands all over that Heat franchise though.
22. Robert NeylandI was absolutely ready to put Dean Smith in the Top 10 of my coaching list when this started, but then came more research. Smith has 2 NCAA Championships in 30+ years of coaching. Those two championships are incredible, but look at the fact that Duke has won four under Coach K while Smith has won two at UNC. The amount of talent that has come through North Carolina makes you think that he has won more than two, but he has not. What puts Smith ahead of several other basketball coaches with 2 titles is that he had 11 Final Four appearances. Being the one of the best 4 teams in basketball 11 times and winning twice is impressive, but not as impressive as those coaches who are about to follow.
29. Sparky Anderson
I remember Sparky Anderson as the longtime manager of the Detroit Tigers. That is where he was for the majority of his career. From 1979-1995, Anderson managed those Tigers. It is Detroit where he picked up his 3rd MLB Championship in 1984. He was not as successful later in his career with the Tigers, but it was quite a feat to win the World Series in both leagues. Actually, Anderson was the first manager ever to win the World Series in both leagues. Of course, just by looking at the picture you could figure out that he coached the Cincinnati Reds as well. The Reds were his other coaching job and that job lasted 9 seasons. He won his first two titles managing the Big Red Machine. Anderson was fired after the 1978 season in a move still disputed by Reds fans. The Reds would lose in the playoffs to Pittsburgh the year after Anderson was fired and would not make the playoffs again until 1990. There is no telling how much success the Big Red Machine could have had if they stuck with Sparky Anderson.
28. Tom Osborne
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were fantastic under Tom Osborne. This team was a contender under Osborne for each of his 20+ seasons. We are just left to wonder how good they would have been if he had coached them longer. He retired after the dominating performance of the 1997 team. Before he retired though, Tom Osborne won 3 National Championships at Nebraska. He also won over 83% of his games. The most impressive stat to me though is that Nebraska never had more than 3 losses under Tom Osborne. These guys were pretty impressive for the legend.
27. Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs has three Super Bowl Championships in Washington which is a really big deal. His first tenure with the Redskins was spectacular and much more successful than his second stint as coach. During those 11 years, Gibbs had only one losing season at 7-9 and he won 3 Super Bowls. All 3 of those Super Bowl Championships in Redskins history were won by Gibbs. His winning percentage and spot on this list slipped a tad when he returned for the second time. Many thought the game had passed him by when he came back, but he was not a complete failure. Gibbs still had two playoff appearances when he came back to coach the Skins. The game hadn't passed him by, but he only had one of those 10 win seasons in his second stint, while he had 9 of them in his first stint.
26. Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp had the college basketball program of the 1940s and 1950s, winning 4 championships in that timeframe. His success would carry all the way into his retirement in 1972 although his last NCAA Championship was in 1958. Rupp is the famous coach who was upset in the Glory Road story where Texas Western wins the National Championship over Kentucky. That game changed the way African-American basketball players were viewed. Even Rupp would eventually put blacks on his basketball teams. He would come around to more popular thinking. This thinking took him a while, but he won 82% of the basketball games he coached and he won 4 NCAA Championships. His undefeated 1953 team declined an NCAA tournament bid in an incredibly bizarre move. They did this after having to cancel the season the year before because some former players were caught in a point shaving scandal. The players were caught, but Kentucky suffered and somehow the year after coming back, Rupp led them to an undefeated record. This "death penalty" had nowhere near the same effect as the "death penalty" that SMU suffered for its football issues. Kentucky also had 6 Final Four appearances and a non-NCAA national title under Rupp. His teams were always quite successful.
25. Woody Hayes
It is hard to put Woody Hayes any higher on this list despite his 5 NCAA Championships. The guy went crazy at the end of his career and actually punched a Clemson player during a game. That being said, he had 1 losing season (his first) that was in 1946 and he coached until 1978. His accomplishments are numerous as he did win those 5 National Championships for Ohio State. Hayes also won 13 Big 10 championships. It is hard to ignore his record on the field or that he actually assaulted an opposing player. His record is better than those below him (closer to 100) and worst than those above him (closer to 1) as well.
24. Earl Lambeau
It says a lot about Earl "Curly" Lambeau that the Packers field is named after him and not Vince Lombardi. Also important is that Lambeau's 6 NFL Championships are tied with George Halas for the most ever. However Halas won 5% more of his games and has almost 100 more wins in his career than Lambeau so he must be higher than Lambeau. Both are Top 25 guys all-time though even if their NFL Championships came before the Super Bowl. Most years during this time there were 18 teams in the NFL with the most teams during Lambeau's tenure being 20. Therefore, these wins cannot hold the same weight as Super Bowl wins with 30 teams. His winning percentage is also not as good as some other greats. However, as a 6 time NFL Champion which is the most in history, he has to be top 25. This guy has more titles than anyone in this league beside Halas. Lambeau Field is named after him and he helped move the NFL to more of a passing league. He used the forward pass much more than his peers. While it is difficult to rank the coaches from the different eras for reasons I have outlined, it is pretty obvious that Lambeau is a great fit here at 24. Lambeau was a terrific NFL Head Coach.
23. Pat Riley
Pat Riley certainly belongs on this list with 5 rings. 4 of those rings came while coaching Magic Johnson and the stacked Los Angeles Lakers, but he still deserves the recognition. Don't forget though that they had to compete with Bird's Celtics, a 76ers team that included Moses Malone and Dr. J, a young Michael Jordan's Bulls team, and the Bad Boy Pistons. Those Lakers also had a very good Portland Trailblazers team led by Clyde Drexler and the Houston Rockets led by big men Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. There were several really high profile teams in the 80s and many of the greatest players of all-time competed during that period.
After Los Angeles, Riley left for a few forgettable years in New York. That time in New York was led by an inability to get past the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Finally, in the 1994 Finals the Knicks won the East, but Jordan was playing baseball at that time. The Houston Rockets would beat the Knicks in those Finals.
Riley then left the Knicks for the Miami Heat, taking his talents to South Beach. He coached them from 1995-2003 having a few forgettable years before hanging it up due to fatigue and focusing on being an executive. After a few years on the sidelines though, he would bring himself out of retirement to coach from 2005-2008. He would win the 2006 NBA Championship with Dwayne Wade and an aging Shaq bringing his total to 5. However, after 2008, he would hang it up again focusing solely on being an executive for the Miami Heat. He has his hands all over that Heat franchise though.
Robert Neyland has a statue which pretty much certifies coaching greatness. The guy also has one of the largest stadiums in America named after him FWIW. Additionally, he was an Army General which makes me want to put him higher. However, trying to be fair, I will rank him on his coaching record only. Neyland was the coach for the Tennessee Volunteers football program which bears his name for his entire career. During that career, Neyland won 4 National Championships with the Vols. He also led the Vols to 6 undefeated seasons, only one of which was a championship season. He had 12 seasons in which the Vols had one loss or less. This included his first 7 seasons with the Volunteers. His worst team in those first seven years was his first team in 1926 that went 8-1. There is no telling what Neyland would have done if he hadn't left coaching to serve his country in WW2. From 1940-1946 and fresh off a National Championship, Neyland served his country. He then came back and many said he lost his touch. His two worst seasons (two .500 seasons) were after he came back. However, he also won two National Championships after he came back, so there is that.
Beyond his record coaching the Vols, Neyland was an innovator. Neyland is credited as the first coach to use telephones during a game and as being the first coach to study game film. Those two advancements should advance him up the list, but how far is a difficult question. Him starting those two practices and being arguably the greatest defensive coach ever should have him close to the top 20. That is why I have him right outside as number 22. He is right behind another SEC coaching legend.
21. Skip Bertman
Skip Bertman is one of the greatest coaches in college baseball history, if not the greatest. He is another legend that has the field named after him. Bertman coached LSU for 18 wonderful seasons winning 5 championships during those 18 years. They would also advance to 11 College World Series under Skip Bertman. 11 College World Series Appearances in 18 years is truly legendary stuff. He was in the even more than he was not and that really says something. It is really hard to keep him out of the Top 20, but there are coaches with better profiles amazingly. However, I could easily argue Bertman for the Top 10.
-Noland
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