30 Best College Football Coaches of All-Time
By Hayden Hyde
5. Tom Osborne
- Career Record: 255-49-3
- Record at Each School:Â 255-49-3 at Nebraska.
- Bowl Record: 12-13
- Honors and Awards: Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. 3 National Championships, 12 Big 8 Championships, 1 Big 12 Championship.
Tom Osborne lived and breathed football. He played at a small college in his hometown of Hastings, Nebraska as a quarterback and wide receiver.
In 1959, he joined the San Francisco 49ers and then played for the Washington Redskins the next two seasons. His playing career didnât exactly take off, so he decided to join the Nebraska coaching staff as an unpaid assistant in 1964. He would hold that job for the next four years before taking over as the offensive coordinator.
Osborne coached under another coach on this list, the legendary Bob Devaney. Nebraska won the national championship in 1970 after Devaney promoted Osborne to offensive coordinator. Osborne made big changes in the program, completely changing the offensive identity, but it worked.
When Devaney decided to step down in 1972 it was clear who would take over for him.
Osborne took off where Devaney left off, winning three national championships, 12 Big 8 championships, and never won fewer than nine games in a season. Did I mention Osborne never failed to appear in a bowl game, either? Nebraskaâs program was a model of consistency from 1973-1997.
After losing a Hall of Fame coach, Nebraskaâs winning tradition only got better under Osborne.