Top 10 College Sports Coaches Ever: Where does Mike Krzyzewski Stand?
10. Woody Hayes, Miami Redskins (Red Hawks Now) & Ohio State Buckeyes, 1949-1978, College Football
Record: 238-72
5 National Championships
14 Conference Championships (13 Big Ten, 1 MAC)
It was a tough call to put Woody Hayes on the list because he came in over plenty of other coaches who were good but left off. That last spot is always tough.
But Hayes’s five national championships in 28 years at Ohio State is remarkable, and with 13 Big Ten titles during that time, he nearly won the conference every other year. That borders on dynasty when you speak of that. Ohio State was the face of college football, and Hayes was without question the face of the program.
He even won at Miami (Ohio) before that for two years.
Hayes only had one losing season his whole career, and unlike many coaches, he gets to remain on this list for the fact that he never lost it. Even in his final years of coaching, he was great.
Perhaps what was most impressive about Hayes was that he was a hands-on coach until the end. And that, of course, was to a fault. After all, the controversy superseded his success, and he was forced out early as a result. Hitting an opposing team’s player had to be the final straw in 1978.
But despite his character questions, his coaching ability never faltered.
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