The Top 10 Winningest College Football Coaches of All Time
Ranking the college football coaches with the most wins.
College football coaches used to be given more time to turn a program into a winner. Now, they might have three to four years — if that long.
This list is of the ten winningest college football coaches of all time.
#10 — Lou Holtz (249 Wins).
Lou Holtz coached for 33 years and finished with a record of 249–132–7 (.651 Win%). Here are the college football programs Lou Holtz was the head coach of:
- William & Mary (1969–1971).
- North Carolina State (1972–1975).
- Arkansas (1977–1983).
- Minnesota (1984–1985).
- Notre Dame (1986–1996).
- South Carolina (1999–2004).
Holtz won one National Championship in 1988 at Notre Dame.
#9 — Tom Osborne (255 Wins).
Tom Osborne coached his entire career at Nebraska from 1973 through 1997. In his 25 year career, he won ten or more games fifteen times. His career record is 255–49–3 (.836 Win%).
Osborne never won less than nine games in a single season throughout his entire 25 seasons at Nebraska.
Nebraska won three National Championships under Osborne in 1994, 1995, and 1997.
#8 — LaVell Edwards (257 Wins).
LaVell Edwards is another coach who spent his entire head coaching career with a single school. Edwards coached for 29 years from 1972 through 2000 with Brigham Young University (BYU).
Edwards’ career record at BYU is 257–101–3 (.716 Win%).
BYU won one National Championship in 1984 with Edwards as the head coach.
#7 — Mack Brown (276 Wins).
Mack Brown is the only active head coach on this list in 2024. Brown has coached for 34 years and has a record of 276–144–1 (.657 Win%). Brown has been the head coach of the following schools:
- Tulane (1985–1987).
- North Carolina (1988–1997, 2019–2023).
- Texas (1998–2013).
Brown has won one National Championship with Texas in 2005.
#6 — Amos Alonzo Stagg (282 Wins).
Amos Alonzo Stagg coached for 43 years from 1891 through 1932 and then one additional year in 1943. Stagg has a career record of 282–123–29 (.683 Win%). Stagg was the head coach at the following schools:
- Springfield (1891).
- Chicago (1892–1932).
- Pacific (1943).
Stagg won one National Championship in 1905 with Chicago.
#5 — Nick Saban (297 Wins).
Nick Saban coached for 28 years as a head coach. His career record is 297–71–1 (.806 Win%). Saban was the head coach for the following teams:
- Toledo (1990).
- Michigan State (1995–1999).
- LSU (2000–2004).
- Alabama (2007–2023).
Nick Saban won one National Championship with LSU in 2003 and six National Championships with Alabama in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020.
#4 — Pop Warner (314 Wins).
Pop Warner coached for 43 years as a college football head coach. He finished with a record of 314–107–32 (.728 Win%). Warner coached for the following schools:
- Iowa State (1895).
- Cornell (1897–1898, 1904–1906).
- Carlisle (1899–1903, 1907–1914).
- Pittsburgh (1915–1923).
- Stanford (1924–1932).
- Temple (1933–1938).
Warner won two National Championships with Pittsburgh in 1916 and 1918 and one National Championship with Stanford in 1926.
#3 — Bear Bryant (323 Wins).
Bear Bryant coached for 38 years and finished with a record of 323–85–17 (.780 Win%). Bryant coached for the following schools:
- Maryland (1945).
- Kentucky (1946–1953).
- Texas A&M (1954–1957).
- Alabama (1958–1982).
Bryant won six National Championships at Alabama in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979.
#2 — Bobby Bowden (357 Wins).
Bobby Bowden coached for 40 years and finished with a career record of 357–124–4 (.740 Win%). Bowden was the head coach of only two schools:
- West Virginia (1970–1975).
- Florida State (1976–2009).
Bowden had a stretch where he won ten or more games every season for 14 straight years from 1987 through 2000.
Bowden won two National Championships with Florida State in 1993 and 1999.
#1 — Joe Paterno (409 Wins).
Joe Paterno coached for 46 years and spent his entire head coaching career at Penn State. He finished with a career record of 409–136–3 (.749 Win%).
His heading coaching career started in 1966 and ended in 2011.
Paterno won two National Championships with Penn State in 1982 and 1986.
It was interesting to notice that of the ten coaches on this list, only three of them coached for less than 30 years (Osborne, Edwards, and Saban).
Which one of these coaches would you consider the greatest of all time?
List and stats from Sports Reference.
