Ranking the 25 best head coaches in college football history
By Zach Bigalke
25. Red Blaik
Earl “Red” Blaik’s legend hovers over service academy football. But it is important to remember that the longtime Army head coach actually got his start at Dartmouth. While at Dartmouth, he led the team to seven straight records of .500 or better between 1934 and 1940. Convinced to take the job at West Point after Army had eased the restrictions on both size requirements and hiring only graduates as coaches, Blaik soon built his legend at the U.S. Military Academy.
Between 1944 and 1946, Army went 27-0-1 and won three straight national titles. “Mr. Inside” Doc Blanchard and “Mr. Outside” Glenn Davis won the Heisman Trophy in 1945 and 1946 respectively. Blaik’s teams dominated college football, with 13 shutouts in those 28 games (including the 0-0 tie with No. 2 Notre Dame in 1946 that forced Army to split the national title with the Fighting Irish).
Blaik also boasted a coaching tree that included legendary head coaches such as Vince Lombardi, Sid Gillman, Paul Dietzel, and Murray Warmath. His teams also finished with unbeaten records in 1948, 1949, and his final season before retirement in 1958.