Preview
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11
10.
Career Coaching Record: 938-479 (.662 Winning Percentage)
Red Auerbach would appear to be a lock for the Top 5 because he has the 4th most titles on this list and 2nd most titles in NBA history, but not so fast my friend. People say Phil Jackson had talent, then what do you call what Auerbach had?
Red Auerbach had the greatest champion in professional sports history on his team. He had Bill Russell. Auerbach was an average coach before Russell arrived winning more than 60% of his games 3 times in 10 years and winning 0 titles. All of a sudden Russell arrives and they win 9 out of 10 championships and 65% of their games every year. Now, Auerbach deserves some credit for the titles and that is why he is number 10, but he can't get too much credit which is why he isn't top 5. It was Russell that anchored the Celtics dynasty. Bill Russell was an incredible mismatch and one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. He won 11 championships in the NBA and 2 in college. The guy just won. 13 years in the league and 11 championships, chew on that for a while. Yes, Auerbach was fantastic and helped him, but Bill Russell was amazing and is often overlooked. Russell was so much better than other players at that time that I could argue Auerbach outside the Top 10. I won't because he had 9 titles, but I could.
9. Frank Leahy
Career Coaching Record: 107-13-9 (.892 Winning Percentage)
Frank Leahy has the highest winning percentage of any coach on this list winning nearly 90% of his games as head coach. That alone is worthy of Top 10 consideration. Add in his 5 National Championships and you can see why he is a Top 10 coach all-time. Actually, his winning percentage is .864 when you include ties and he is slightly behind Rockne. However, I have not calculated ties in winning percentage and kept that stat separate because ties are not as prevalent anymore and I don't think they should hurt the older coaches. That being said it is clear that either Leahy or Rockne is the best coach in Notre Dame history, and I go with Leahy.
Frank Leahy was the Boston College coach before Notre Dame though and he went 20-2. He would win his first National Championship with the Eagles. Following that, Leahy had 6 seasons where his team went undefeated at Notre Dame and won 4 National Championships for the Irish. In 13 years as a head coach, Leahy never had a losing season. He would win 5 National Championships in 13 years as a Head Coach. Those championships average out to waiting less than 3 years for a championship with Leahy as a head coach. What fun times those must have been.
8. Joe McCarthy
Career Coaching Record: 2125-1333 (.615 Winning Percentage)
Joe McCarthy is ranked as the highest MLB manager on my list. His 9 league pennants and 7 MLB championships helped him there along with his .615 winning percentage. Additionally, McCarthy became the first manager in MLB history to win pennants in both leagues. He would win a NL pennant with the Chicago Cubs before moving to New York where he enjoyed most of his success. Also helping McCarthy is the fact that his .615 Winning Percentage is the highest in league history. During the World Series, McCarthy's winning percentage is .698 which is also highest in league history. Everyone's managerial numbers do get inflated with the Yankees, but McCarthy has the most wins of any Yankee manager. The brilliant manager also had winning tenures with the Cubs and Red Sox, so it wasn't just a New York thing. In fact, McCarthy won 60.6% of his games with the Red Sox. Joe McCarthy was also the first ever manager of the year in 1936 and won the award three times. His record and talent was very similar to Stengal who was ranked ten spots below, but he won 17% more games, had success outside of New York and won league pennants. The fact that McCarthy accomplished all of that is why he is Top 10 and Stengal is not.
7. Paul Brown
Career College Coaching Record: 33-13-3 (.717 Winning Percentage)
Career Pro Coaching Record: 213-104-9 (.672 Winning Percentage)
Paul Brown did not coach college football long, but his winning percentage is better than most college coaches on this list. Winning nearly 72% of your games in major college football is a huge accomplishment. In addition to that record, he won a National Championship at Ohio State as well. The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship and Brown led them to it. His 1943 team was one of the only losing teams he would ever coach and they were only bad because Brown lost the majority of his roster to the military draft and World War 2. He was forced to play 17 yr old recruits during that time. After that season in 1944, Brown was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy and classified as 1-A. The Navy instead of calling him to active duty wanted him to serve as the head football coach at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside of Chicago for two years. The plan was to put him on active duty, but since the war was winding down, they asked Brown to coach this team instead. This station was in between training and active duty for Navy recruits and they saw winning as a prideful thing obviously. Therefore Brown was a great choice and he led the team to a 15-5-2 record against the other service academies.
Brown is best known though for his work with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and even before that in the now defunct AAFC. The team is in fact named after him and that alone gives him bonus points as he has an entire franchise named after him. Paul Brown would also later form the Cincinatti Bengals franchise. Additionally, Paul Brown is the first coach to hire a full-time staff of assistants. This guy is also credited by many as a major influence on breaking football's color barrier. However, he was not liked by everyone and had quite a few disputes with his players that led to his firing from the Browns in `1963. The fact that so many of his players disliked him is a big reason that Brown lands outside the top 5. His innovations and record clearly make him a top 5 coach. He won 7 professional championships and one in college. All 7 professional championships were with the Cleveland Browns! That's right not only did Brown win in Cleveland, he won several times. That combined with the innovations makes it clear he is a top 10 coach. If he wasn't disliked by his players, he would most likely be top 5. There is no doubt that Paul Brown is the greatest coach in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Brown was an NFL pioneer and one of the most important figures in sports history.
6. Bobby Bowden
Career Coaching Record: 377-129-4 (.745 Winning Percentage)
Bobby Bowden is the greatest coach in the history of college football. He is the winningest coach in major college football history. His 377 wins rank #1 all-time on the NCAA record book for FBS wins. Every year from 1987-2000 he led the Seminoles to a major bowl and a Top 5 finish. This is a feet that has since and most believe never will be duplicated. Florida State Football was named the team of the 90s by ESPN for this accomplishment. Bowden even beat another legend and another top 90s team in Nebraska and Tom Osborne for the 1993 National Championship (his first official). They did all of this despite having to play National Powerhouse Miami during those seasons. Think of how much better he would have looked if they didn't have those close calls with the Hurricanes. Those close calls that included 4 kicks sailing just outside the uprights. Each of which could have and should have ended in a Seminole victory. Bowden developed this team out of nowhere and helped lead it to the 10th highest winning percentage in FBS history. That's right the Seminoles are one of the 10 most winning programs ever despite where they started. FSU only acknowledges two National Championship wins which is the argument against Bowden, but looking at that is not looking at the whole picture. Besides if we use the Auburn method of counting championships which allows us to count any National Championship from any major source (a method that gives Auburn 5 championships instead of 2), then you see that FSU won 7 National Championships under Coach Bowden. That certainly would have helped boost him up much higher even into the Top 5 of just about any ranking. I still think he has a strong case and would like to discuss it further.
Bowden's legacy goes beyond what he did at his own school. He was the coach at West Virginia while another West Virginia school fell victim to a plane crash. After that plane crash, Bowden actually petitioned the NCAA to let WVU wear green jerseys against Ohio and play Marshall's final game of the 1970 season, but was denied. He was one of the first coaches to remember a fallen hero on his team's uniform when his players wore green crosses and MU for those Marshall victims. He is credited with helping bring the Marshall program back and helping to teach their offense to them while granting Marshall full access to their facility and game film. To this day, Marshall coach Jack Lengyel credits Bobby Bowden with helping the program recover. He is not as well known for his Mountaineer days, but that Marshall story is a great one. Additionally, all the winning the Mountaineers did in the 1970s was under Bowden. Bobby Bowden was able to win 9 games in his last season at WVU before ultimately leaving for Florida State.
To give you an idea of what Bowden did at Florida State, let's start with the field being named after him. Then let's talk about the fact that he has a statue of his likeness outside the stadium. Next let's talk about Florida State having no losing seasons since 1976 which was Bowden's first with the team. Then, you must realize that Florida State has a 30+ year active bowl game streak. This streak absolutely crushes every school. The Seminoles have been bowling every year since 1982. The next closest team last year was the Florida Gators who were bowling every year since 1990 until they went 4-8. FSU's bowl streak is one of the most dominant streaks in college football, nobody is even close to them. You also must realize that Florida State started as a woman's college and was not known for football. The two coaches before Bowden went 15-19 and 4-18. In fact, out of 7 head coaches before Bowden, 4 of them had losing records, including FSU's first coach who went 0-5. Before Bobby Bowden, FSU never had a 10 win season and only had 2 nine win seasons, but Bowden had 18 of those 10 win seasons at Florida State. He made FSU a monster powerhouse in the NCAA. Having all those winning seasons and that bowl record where the program was when he inherited it was quite impressive. Bowden would play anyone, anywhere, anytime and the Seminoles would win the majority of those matchups. He is a coaching legend that is well deserving of the 6th spot on this countdown and could be higher.
5. Mike Krzyzewski
Career Coaching Record: 983-306 (.763 Winning Percentage)
Krzyzewski is the Head Coach of Duke University and the Head Coach of Team USA. It speaks volumes about Coach K that he was the man chosen to lead USA basketball after a few down years. He was able to lead Team USA back to its top spot in basketball. However, it is what he has done at Duke that makes him the nation's best active coach. At Duke, Krzyzewski has won 4 National Championships, 11 Regional Championships (Final Four Appearances), 13 ACC Tournament Championships, and 12 ACC Regular Season Championships. Those wins are with Dean Smith and Roy Williams (both members of this countdown) coaching North Carolina. UNC also had some Michael Jordan guy. Additionally, Coach K has been to 8 Championship Games, and 13 Elite Eights. Since going to Duke, he has made them one of the best teams in America winning nearly 79% of his games. He was able to do this despite Duke having some of the harshest academic requirements around. Duke's 19 consecutive NCAA appearances are second to only Kansas for the longest active streak. People somehow have some illusion that Duke is not that relevant anymore in college basketball, but they won in 2010, and Coach K has a .767 winning percentage in postseason play. Krzyzewski also of course is the winningest coach in NCAA history. There also may be a court named after him in front of what I consider the craziest basketball fanbase in America. Good luck finding out much about Duke basketball before Coach K. They had one good season in 1964. Other than '64, there is no history and it is clear that Coach K made Duke basketball. Coach K built this empire that is still a force to be reckoned with.
-Noland
Red Auerbach would appear to be a lock for the Top 5 because he has the 4th most titles on this list and 2nd most titles in NBA history, but not so fast my friend. People say Phil Jackson had talent, then what do you call what Auerbach had?
Red Auerbach had the greatest champion in professional sports history on his team. He had Bill Russell. Auerbach was an average coach before Russell arrived winning more than 60% of his games 3 times in 10 years and winning 0 titles. All of a sudden Russell arrives and they win 9 out of 10 championships and 65% of their games every year. Now, Auerbach deserves some credit for the titles and that is why he is number 10, but he can't get too much credit which is why he isn't top 5. It was Russell that anchored the Celtics dynasty. Bill Russell was an incredible mismatch and one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. He won 11 championships in the NBA and 2 in college. The guy just won. 13 years in the league and 11 championships, chew on that for a while. Yes, Auerbach was fantastic and helped him, but Bill Russell was amazing and is often overlooked. Russell was so much better than other players at that time that I could argue Auerbach outside the Top 10. I won't because he had 9 titles, but I could.
9. Frank Leahy
Frank Leahy has the highest winning percentage of any coach on this list winning nearly 90% of his games as head coach. That alone is worthy of Top 10 consideration. Add in his 5 National Championships and you can see why he is a Top 10 coach all-time. Actually, his winning percentage is .864 when you include ties and he is slightly behind Rockne. However, I have not calculated ties in winning percentage and kept that stat separate because ties are not as prevalent anymore and I don't think they should hurt the older coaches. That being said it is clear that either Leahy or Rockne is the best coach in Notre Dame history, and I go with Leahy.
Frank Leahy was the Boston College coach before Notre Dame though and he went 20-2. He would win his first National Championship with the Eagles. Following that, Leahy had 6 seasons where his team went undefeated at Notre Dame and won 4 National Championships for the Irish. In 13 years as a head coach, Leahy never had a losing season. He would win 5 National Championships in 13 years as a Head Coach. Those championships average out to waiting less than 3 years for a championship with Leahy as a head coach. What fun times those must have been.
8. Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy is ranked as the highest MLB manager on my list. His 9 league pennants and 7 MLB championships helped him there along with his .615 winning percentage. Additionally, McCarthy became the first manager in MLB history to win pennants in both leagues. He would win a NL pennant with the Chicago Cubs before moving to New York where he enjoyed most of his success. Also helping McCarthy is the fact that his .615 Winning Percentage is the highest in league history. During the World Series, McCarthy's winning percentage is .698 which is also highest in league history. Everyone's managerial numbers do get inflated with the Yankees, but McCarthy has the most wins of any Yankee manager. The brilliant manager also had winning tenures with the Cubs and Red Sox, so it wasn't just a New York thing. In fact, McCarthy won 60.6% of his games with the Red Sox. Joe McCarthy was also the first ever manager of the year in 1936 and won the award three times. His record and talent was very similar to Stengal who was ranked ten spots below, but he won 17% more games, had success outside of New York and won league pennants. The fact that McCarthy accomplished all of that is why he is Top 10 and Stengal is not.
7. Paul Brown
Career Pro Coaching Record: 213-104-9 (.672 Winning Percentage)
Paul Brown did not coach college football long, but his winning percentage is better than most college coaches on this list. Winning nearly 72% of your games in major college football is a huge accomplishment. In addition to that record, he won a National Championship at Ohio State as well. The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship and Brown led them to it. His 1943 team was one of the only losing teams he would ever coach and they were only bad because Brown lost the majority of his roster to the military draft and World War 2. He was forced to play 17 yr old recruits during that time. After that season in 1944, Brown was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy and classified as 1-A. The Navy instead of calling him to active duty wanted him to serve as the head football coach at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside of Chicago for two years. The plan was to put him on active duty, but since the war was winding down, they asked Brown to coach this team instead. This station was in between training and active duty for Navy recruits and they saw winning as a prideful thing obviously. Therefore Brown was a great choice and he led the team to a 15-5-2 record against the other service academies.
Brown is best known though for his work with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and even before that in the now defunct AAFC. The team is in fact named after him and that alone gives him bonus points as he has an entire franchise named after him. Paul Brown would also later form the Cincinatti Bengals franchise. Additionally, Paul Brown is the first coach to hire a full-time staff of assistants. This guy is also credited by many as a major influence on breaking football's color barrier. However, he was not liked by everyone and had quite a few disputes with his players that led to his firing from the Browns in `1963. The fact that so many of his players disliked him is a big reason that Brown lands outside the top 5. His innovations and record clearly make him a top 5 coach. He won 7 professional championships and one in college. All 7 professional championships were with the Cleveland Browns! That's right not only did Brown win in Cleveland, he won several times. That combined with the innovations makes it clear he is a top 10 coach. If he wasn't disliked by his players, he would most likely be top 5. There is no doubt that Paul Brown is the greatest coach in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Brown was an NFL pioneer and one of the most important figures in sports history.
6. Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden is the greatest coach in the history of college football. He is the winningest coach in major college football history. His 377 wins rank #1 all-time on the NCAA record book for FBS wins. Every year from 1987-2000 he led the Seminoles to a major bowl and a Top 5 finish. This is a feet that has since and most believe never will be duplicated. Florida State Football was named the team of the 90s by ESPN for this accomplishment. Bowden even beat another legend and another top 90s team in Nebraska and Tom Osborne for the 1993 National Championship (his first official). They did all of this despite having to play National Powerhouse Miami during those seasons. Think of how much better he would have looked if they didn't have those close calls with the Hurricanes. Those close calls that included 4 kicks sailing just outside the uprights. Each of which could have and should have ended in a Seminole victory. Bowden developed this team out of nowhere and helped lead it to the 10th highest winning percentage in FBS history. That's right the Seminoles are one of the 10 most winning programs ever despite where they started. FSU only acknowledges two National Championship wins which is the argument against Bowden, but looking at that is not looking at the whole picture. Besides if we use the Auburn method of counting championships which allows us to count any National Championship from any major source (a method that gives Auburn 5 championships instead of 2), then you see that FSU won 7 National Championships under Coach Bowden. That certainly would have helped boost him up much higher even into the Top 5 of just about any ranking. I still think he has a strong case and would like to discuss it further.
Bowden's legacy goes beyond what he did at his own school. He was the coach at West Virginia while another West Virginia school fell victim to a plane crash. After that plane crash, Bowden actually petitioned the NCAA to let WVU wear green jerseys against Ohio and play Marshall's final game of the 1970 season, but was denied. He was one of the first coaches to remember a fallen hero on his team's uniform when his players wore green crosses and MU for those Marshall victims. He is credited with helping bring the Marshall program back and helping to teach their offense to them while granting Marshall full access to their facility and game film. To this day, Marshall coach Jack Lengyel credits Bobby Bowden with helping the program recover. He is not as well known for his Mountaineer days, but that Marshall story is a great one. Additionally, all the winning the Mountaineers did in the 1970s was under Bowden. Bobby Bowden was able to win 9 games in his last season at WVU before ultimately leaving for Florida State.
To give you an idea of what Bowden did at Florida State, let's start with the field being named after him. Then let's talk about the fact that he has a statue of his likeness outside the stadium. Next let's talk about Florida State having no losing seasons since 1976 which was Bowden's first with the team. Then, you must realize that Florida State has a 30+ year active bowl game streak. This streak absolutely crushes every school. The Seminoles have been bowling every year since 1982. The next closest team last year was the Florida Gators who were bowling every year since 1990 until they went 4-8. FSU's bowl streak is one of the most dominant streaks in college football, nobody is even close to them. You also must realize that Florida State started as a woman's college and was not known for football. The two coaches before Bowden went 15-19 and 4-18. In fact, out of 7 head coaches before Bowden, 4 of them had losing records, including FSU's first coach who went 0-5. Before Bobby Bowden, FSU never had a 10 win season and only had 2 nine win seasons, but Bowden had 18 of those 10 win seasons at Florida State. He made FSU a monster powerhouse in the NCAA. Having all those winning seasons and that bowl record where the program was when he inherited it was quite impressive. Bowden would play anyone, anywhere, anytime and the Seminoles would win the majority of those matchups. He is a coaching legend that is well deserving of the 6th spot on this countdown and could be higher.
5. Mike Krzyzewski
Krzyzewski is the Head Coach of Duke University and the Head Coach of Team USA. It speaks volumes about Coach K that he was the man chosen to lead USA basketball after a few down years. He was able to lead Team USA back to its top spot in basketball. However, it is what he has done at Duke that makes him the nation's best active coach. At Duke, Krzyzewski has won 4 National Championships, 11 Regional Championships (Final Four Appearances), 13 ACC Tournament Championships, and 12 ACC Regular Season Championships. Those wins are with Dean Smith and Roy Williams (both members of this countdown) coaching North Carolina. UNC also had some Michael Jordan guy. Additionally, Coach K has been to 8 Championship Games, and 13 Elite Eights. Since going to Duke, he has made them one of the best teams in America winning nearly 79% of his games. He was able to do this despite Duke having some of the harshest academic requirements around. Duke's 19 consecutive NCAA appearances are second to only Kansas for the longest active streak. People somehow have some illusion that Duke is not that relevant anymore in college basketball, but they won in 2010, and Coach K has a .767 winning percentage in postseason play. Krzyzewski also of course is the winningest coach in NCAA history. There also may be a court named after him in front of what I consider the craziest basketball fanbase in America. Good luck finding out much about Duke basketball before Coach K. They had one good season in 1964. Other than '64, there is no history and it is clear that Coach K made Duke basketball. Coach K built this empire that is still a force to be reckoned with.
4. Vince Lombardi
Career Coaching Record: 96-34-6 (.738 Winning Percentage)
Vince Lombardi is the greatest coach in NFL history and not many people would argue it. After all, the Super Bowl Trophy is named the Lombardi Trophy. Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls and won 3 championships before that for a total of 5. He only coached in the NFL for 10 years too, so he won the league championship in half the seasons he coached. Those championships included the first two in a merged league. The legend unfortunately died way too soon before he even got a second season with the Washington Redskins. He had the Redskins on the right track and likely would have won quite a few more titles if not for his tragic death. The year before Lombardi took over the Packers, they went 1-10, Lombardi would never have a losing record with them or the Redskins. That 1-10 finish had the Packers fans quite upset, but hiring Lombardi and his success that first season led to the Packers fans being hopeful. As a result, the Packers were able to sell out every game of Lombardi's 2nd season. That hopefulness actually led to a sell out of every game since in Packer history. The streak of sellouts continues this day for arguably the NFL's most passionate fanbase. Lombardi would also create the Lombardi sweep and lead his team to win one of the most famous games in history, The Ice Bowl. The season after Lombardi left the Packers for Washington, the team had a losing record. Lombardi's excellence with the Packers came after a dreadful season and was followed by a losing season. In between that though, with Lombardi as coach, they won 5 Championships in 9 seasons. His legacy goes beyond that as he died with a then NFL record 9 game postseason winning streak which was just recently broken by Bill Belichick. Who knows what that record could have become had Lombardi stayed alive to see it through?
Hope you enjoyed this countdown and you see why the coaches were ranked as they were. Until next time, have a great one.Vince Lombardi is the greatest coach in NFL history and not many people would argue it. After all, the Super Bowl Trophy is named the Lombardi Trophy. Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls and won 3 championships before that for a total of 5. He only coached in the NFL for 10 years too, so he won the league championship in half the seasons he coached. Those championships included the first two in a merged league. The legend unfortunately died way too soon before he even got a second season with the Washington Redskins. He had the Redskins on the right track and likely would have won quite a few more titles if not for his tragic death. The year before Lombardi took over the Packers, they went 1-10, Lombardi would never have a losing record with them or the Redskins. That 1-10 finish had the Packers fans quite upset, but hiring Lombardi and his success that first season led to the Packers fans being hopeful. As a result, the Packers were able to sell out every game of Lombardi's 2nd season. That hopefulness actually led to a sell out of every game since in Packer history. The streak of sellouts continues this day for arguably the NFL's most passionate fanbase. Lombardi would also create the Lombardi sweep and lead his team to win one of the most famous games in history, The Ice Bowl. The season after Lombardi left the Packers for Washington, the team had a losing record. Lombardi's excellence with the Packers came after a dreadful season and was followed by a losing season. In between that though, with Lombardi as coach, they won 5 Championships in 9 seasons. His legacy goes beyond that as he died with a then NFL record 9 game postseason winning streak which was just recently broken by Bill Belichick. Who knows what that record could have become had Lombardi stayed alive to see it through?
3. Phil Jackson
Career Coaching Record: 1155-485 (.704 Winning Percentage)
Jackson has the most titles of any coach in NBA history and the highest winning percentage. His 11 championships are 2 more than Auerbach and with different players. Sure, he did have a lot of talent, but the guy is a winner. Also unlike Auerbach, his stars have not won championships without Phil. Well, Shaq won 1 title on the backend of his career with Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley, but the others have not won without Phil. In fact, Kobe has won 5 NBA Championships with Phil and 0 without. Additionally, the other head coaches have been major flops. Rudy T suddenly resigned, Mike Brown was a disaster, and Mike D'Antoni was not much better. The Lakers have absolutely flopped in the playoffs with Kobe Bryant and non Phil Jackson. However, when Jackson was added to the mix, they made the playoffs each season and became an instant contender. He did coach Michael Jordan in Chicago and that is a big reason he won those 6 championships, but Jackson had a lot to do with those championships as well. It was not all Jordan. Don't forget that Jordan has not won without Phil either. He would help the Bulls get past the Pistons road block and break through to win some championships. The Chicago Bulls would defeat the Bad Boys and win the NBA Championship in only Phil's second season. Those Bad Boys were really good, but Jackson and Jordan's Bulls were better. The Chicago Bulls were so good under Phil Jackson that they still advanced to the 2nd round of the NBa playoffs while Jordan was off playing baseball. When Jackson and Jordan left the Bulls together, that's when the Bulls weren't so good. They were still pretty good with no Jordan and only Jackson. No matter how you look at Phil Jackson, you have to look at him as a winner. He has 11 NBA Championships. Jackson also won 6 consecutive NBA Championships in seasons he coached with two different franchises. He three-peated with two different championships. Most coaches dream of a couple championships and Jackson won 6 NBA Championships with Chicago and 5 with LA. Absolutely incredible coach is Phil Jackson. Don't sell him short because of the talent, the guy was amazing.
Jackson has the most titles of any coach in NBA history and the highest winning percentage. His 11 championships are 2 more than Auerbach and with different players. Sure, he did have a lot of talent, but the guy is a winner. Also unlike Auerbach, his stars have not won championships without Phil. Well, Shaq won 1 title on the backend of his career with Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley, but the others have not won without Phil. In fact, Kobe has won 5 NBA Championships with Phil and 0 without. Additionally, the other head coaches have been major flops. Rudy T suddenly resigned, Mike Brown was a disaster, and Mike D'Antoni was not much better. The Lakers have absolutely flopped in the playoffs with Kobe Bryant and non Phil Jackson. However, when Jackson was added to the mix, they made the playoffs each season and became an instant contender. He did coach Michael Jordan in Chicago and that is a big reason he won those 6 championships, but Jackson had a lot to do with those championships as well. It was not all Jordan. Don't forget that Jordan has not won without Phil either. He would help the Bulls get past the Pistons road block and break through to win some championships. The Chicago Bulls would defeat the Bad Boys and win the NBA Championship in only Phil's second season. Those Bad Boys were really good, but Jackson and Jordan's Bulls were better. The Chicago Bulls were so good under Phil Jackson that they still advanced to the 2nd round of the NBa playoffs while Jordan was off playing baseball. When Jackson and Jordan left the Bulls together, that's when the Bulls weren't so good. They were still pretty good with no Jordan and only Jackson. No matter how you look at Phil Jackson, you have to look at him as a winner. He has 11 NBA Championships. Jackson also won 6 consecutive NBA Championships in seasons he coached with two different franchises. He three-peated with two different championships. Most coaches dream of a couple championships and Jackson won 6 NBA Championships with Chicago and 5 with LA. Absolutely incredible coach is Phil Jackson. Don't sell him short because of the talent, the guy was amazing.
2. Rod Dedeaux
Career Coaching Record: 1332-571-11 (.700 Winning Percentage)
Dedeaux is probably the least known legend on this list by the general population and that is a shame. He was absolutely brilliant in managing the USC Trojans. This guy led the Trojans to ten championships as head coach and an 11th as co-coach. Rod Dedeaux became the co-coach in 1946, when the Trojans old coach, Sam Barry, returned from the Navy in World War 2. It was Barry that originally recommended Dedeaux for the position in 1942. After Barry's death in 1950 it was solely Dedeaux's job. He would go on to win ten more championships, including 5 straight from 1970-1974. 5 titles in a row in a college sport is unbelievable with the changing rosters. This guy somehow managed to do it. Since the turn of the century this year there have been 11 different champions, but Dedeaux won 5 straight in the 70s with several other coaching legends around. He won 70% of his games which is also incredible given the level of competition he played. Dedeaux's 11 titles are more than double every other school in NCAA besides Texas and LSU. Not just coach, more than double every other school. 11 Championships is just an incredible feat from the longtime Trojan coach and undervalued all-time legend.
Another fun fact is that all the ballplayers in the film, Field of Dreams were prepped for the film by Dedeaux.
1. John Wooden
Career Coaching Record: 664-162 (.804 Winning Percentage)
If you do not agree with John Wooden being #1 than you do not know coaching. Every successful coach since John Wooden has seen and used his pyramid of success. They have tried to take every bit of knowledge from Wooden that they can and that includes myself. He won ten championships for the UCLA Bruins and won more than 80% of the games he coached in. You have to remember that Wooden only coached UCLA for 16 years and he won 10 championships. That is an incredible success rate. All the championships were won over a 12 year period and the wins included an outstanding 7 NCAA Championships in a row! During that time, his team won an amazing 88 games in a row! 88 games in a row! That kind of streak is unimaginable in this day and age. We freak out when a team gets to 20 wins thinking it is all-time good. This guy led his team to 88 consecutive victories. He is a coaching pioneer, a legend, and the only possible coach for #1. He is the first member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. His short, simple inspirational messages are the stuff of legend. UCLA was nothing before John Wooden, absolutely nothing and he made it the national powerhouse. This program is arguably the biggest in the country still and it is 100% due to John Wooden. If you disagree with him at #1 you are just wrong. I could go on and on about Wooden, but I don't think I need to. The guy is clear cut, head and shoulders above the rest. Influential, spectacular, and the greatest coach to ever live.
Dedeaux is probably the least known legend on this list by the general population and that is a shame. He was absolutely brilliant in managing the USC Trojans. This guy led the Trojans to ten championships as head coach and an 11th as co-coach. Rod Dedeaux became the co-coach in 1946, when the Trojans old coach, Sam Barry, returned from the Navy in World War 2. It was Barry that originally recommended Dedeaux for the position in 1942. After Barry's death in 1950 it was solely Dedeaux's job. He would go on to win ten more championships, including 5 straight from 1970-1974. 5 titles in a row in a college sport is unbelievable with the changing rosters. This guy somehow managed to do it. Since the turn of the century this year there have been 11 different champions, but Dedeaux won 5 straight in the 70s with several other coaching legends around. He won 70% of his games which is also incredible given the level of competition he played. Dedeaux's 11 titles are more than double every other school in NCAA besides Texas and LSU. Not just coach, more than double every other school. 11 Championships is just an incredible feat from the longtime Trojan coach and undervalued all-time legend.
Another fun fact is that all the ballplayers in the film, Field of Dreams were prepped for the film by Dedeaux.
1. John Wooden
If you do not agree with John Wooden being #1 than you do not know coaching. Every successful coach since John Wooden has seen and used his pyramid of success. They have tried to take every bit of knowledge from Wooden that they can and that includes myself. He won ten championships for the UCLA Bruins and won more than 80% of the games he coached in. You have to remember that Wooden only coached UCLA for 16 years and he won 10 championships. That is an incredible success rate. All the championships were won over a 12 year period and the wins included an outstanding 7 NCAA Championships in a row! During that time, his team won an amazing 88 games in a row! 88 games in a row! That kind of streak is unimaginable in this day and age. We freak out when a team gets to 20 wins thinking it is all-time good. This guy led his team to 88 consecutive victories. He is a coaching pioneer, a legend, and the only possible coach for #1. He is the first member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. His short, simple inspirational messages are the stuff of legend. UCLA was nothing before John Wooden, absolutely nothing and he made it the national powerhouse. This program is arguably the biggest in the country still and it is 100% due to John Wooden. If you disagree with him at #1 you are just wrong. I could go on and on about Wooden, but I don't think I need to. The guy is clear cut, head and shoulders above the rest. Influential, spectacular, and the greatest coach to ever live.
-Noland
