Ranking the 25 best head coaches in college football history
By Zach Bigalke
1. Bear Bryant
As of now, Paul “Bear” Bryant remains atop the list of college football’s greatest head coaches. With nearly four decades in the coaching ranks, Bryant managed to find success at four different schools. His greatest work took place at his alma mater, Alabama, but even before coming home to Tuscaloosa it was apparent that Bryant would have found success wherever he landed.
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In 1945, Bryant got his first head coaching job at Maryland. He went 6-2-1 before jumping ship for Kentucky. While in charge of the Wildcats, Bryant led Kentucky to what remains its only outright SEC football title when they went 11-1 in 1950.
From Lexington, Bryant went to Texas A&M in 1954 and turned the team from a 1-9 outfit into 9-0-1 Southwest Conference champions in the span of three years. His work in College Station earned the offer from Alabama to come revive a program that had just posted four straight losing seasons under Harold Drew and Jennings Whitworth.
The first national title came in Bryant’s fourth year in Tuscaloosa, as Alabama went 11-0 and won the Sugar Bowl in 1961. They won back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965, and could have had a third straight crown in 1966 after finishing behind several other undefeated teams that went on to lose their bowl games.
Bryant would have to wait until 1973 to capture his fourth national title, and the last two came in 1978 and 1979 as Alabama went on a 28-game winning streak. He retired after his last game on December 29, 1982, a win over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl, and died less than a month later.