Ranking the 25 best head coaches in college football history

20. Walter Camp

The man heralded as the “Father of American Football” wore many hats in the course of his long career in the sport. Camp was credited with innovations such as introducing the line of scrimmage and downs to the game. He wrote prolifically about the sport. But Camp also had a short but incredibly successful career as a college coach. He spent only eight seasons as a coach, but in that time he posted five undefeated seasons and three national championships.

Camp began coaching in 1888 at his alma mater, Yale, where he had played as a halfback in the 1870s. In five seasons with the Bulldogs, Camp lost only two out of 69 contests. The 1888 season saw Yale go 13-0 to win the Intercollegiate Football Association and the national title. Yale’s 10-0 loss to Princeton on November 28, 1889 ruined the chance of a second straight perfect season, and the Bulldogs lost to Harvard the following November to ruin another undefeated campaign.

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But Yale would get the last laugh, winning Camp’s last 27 games at the school and taking the 1891 and 1892 national championships. Then, curiously, Camp bolted for the west coast and took over at Stanford for their 1892 season. He posted two unbeaten seasons and a 12-3-3 record during his time on the Farm, demonstrating an ability to win on either side of the country.