As media and fans begin their tearing apart of Alabama's head coach, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the most notable programs and their results after legendary coaches over the last 25 years. These are programs that many would say have all the resources you need to be successful as a head football coach. Not to give too much credit to Tom Herman but indeed, winning is hard.
USC - Pete Carrol - Pete Carrol went (97-19) during his tenure at USC with a win percentage of .836. Since his departure before the 2010 season USC has gone (114-62). A winning percentage of .647 and current head coach Lincoln Riley has its highest win percentage since Pete (not counting Ed O's fill in role) of .704 at (19-8). Trajectory - Down. Lincoln Riley is having his worst year at USC this season. Without an all-world transfer at QB USC has been well off pace of traditional Riley offenses and he still can't seem to hire a quality defensive coordinator.
Florda - Urban Meyer - Urban went (65-15) during his tenure at Florida with a win percentage of .813. Since his departure after the 2010 season Florida has gone (98-65) with a winning % of .601. Current head coach Billy Napier is (11-14) with a win percentage of .440. Trajectory - Flat - Nothing Napier is going suggests Florida is going to return to glory the way they lived under Urban Meyer. He has a QB and some talent but if his coaching abilities haven't indicated anything positive over the last couple of seasons. Florida will likely remain consistently inconsistent.
Texas - Mack Brown - Mack went (158-48) here at Texas with a win percentage of .767. Since his departure after the 2013 season Texas has gone (83-54) with a win percentage of .606. Current head coach Steve Sarkisian has a record of (35-15) with a win percentage of .700. Trajectory - Up. With the A&M game, potential SEC championship game, a playoff run looming, and a Manning at QB in waiting, the trajectory for the Texas program is way up.
Oklahoma - Bob Stoops/Lincoln Riley - I put these two together as I believe Stoops properly handed over the keys to a well-oiled machine in a way that, at the time, we wished Mack Brown did post 2009. Bob and Lincoln combined to go (145-58) with a win percentage of .714. Since Lincoln left for USC and under Brent Venables, OU is (17-10) with a win percentage of .630. Trajectory - Down - Lincoln Riley leaving a program like Oklahoma for USC followed by Venables return and subsequent poor seasons has really put a negative light on the OU program. Can they recover? Sure. Could they be more like Florida in the long run? Norman is a dump. A streak of stink on the football field will diminish all the good will built by Stoops over a very good career at Oklahoma.
Florida State - Bobby Bowden/Jimbo Fisher - Another successful head coach in waiting situation for Florida State. Bowden and Fisher combined to go (398-121) with a win percentage of .766. Since Fisher's departure after the 2017 season FSU head coaches have combined to go (46-40) with a winning percentage of .534. Current head coach Mike Norvell is (33-26) with a win percentage of .559. Trajectory - Down.
Alabama - Nick Saban - The GOAT amassed a record of (206-29) with a win percentage of .876. Kalen DeBoer is (8-3) with a win percentage of .727. Trajectory - Down and only because he's following the greatest college football coach to ever stand on the sidelines. I'm not sure how Alabama will handle someone not meeting the expectation level that Nick Saban set. History says they are due for setback. Nick did not hand off the keys to a protégé the way Bowden and Stoops did. Would people be more forgiving if he did? I'm not sure but we do know Kalen is a damn good coach. While he's inherited a couple of very good QB's in his career, he's also won at every stop that he's been at. Saban retiring was a gift that made Alabama human. Did they make the right choice? I'm not sure there is one when you are following an icon like Coach Saban. We do know that Alabama muddled a long after Stallings for 11 years with a win % of .481 before hiring Saban away from the NFL.
Honorable Mention: Michigan from Lloyd Carr to Harbaugh. Notre Dame from Holtz to Kelly (not in the 25 year mark).
If there's any program to point to as the model for head coaching hires, it's Ohio State. Outside of Luke Fickell, Ohio State hasn't had a head coach below a .700 win % since 1950. See below.
1951-1978 - Woody Hayes - (205-61) .761
1979-1987 - Earl Bruce - (81-26) .755
1988-2000 - John Cooper - (111-43) .716
2001-2010 - Jim Tressel - (94-22) .810
2011 - Luke Fickell - (6-7) .462
2012-2018 - Urban Meyer - (83-9) .902
2019 - Present - Ryan Day - (56-8) .875
No wonder their fans are so arrogant. A 74-year-old Ohio State fan would never know what it's like to go through a decade of depression.
USC - Pete Carrol - Pete Carrol went (97-19) during his tenure at USC with a win percentage of .836. Since his departure before the 2010 season USC has gone (114-62). A winning percentage of .647 and current head coach Lincoln Riley has its highest win percentage since Pete (not counting Ed O's fill in role) of .704 at (19-8). Trajectory - Down. Lincoln Riley is having his worst year at USC this season. Without an all-world transfer at QB USC has been well off pace of traditional Riley offenses and he still can't seem to hire a quality defensive coordinator.
Florda - Urban Meyer - Urban went (65-15) during his tenure at Florida with a win percentage of .813. Since his departure after the 2010 season Florida has gone (98-65) with a winning % of .601. Current head coach Billy Napier is (11-14) with a win percentage of .440. Trajectory - Flat - Nothing Napier is going suggests Florida is going to return to glory the way they lived under Urban Meyer. He has a QB and some talent but if his coaching abilities haven't indicated anything positive over the last couple of seasons. Florida will likely remain consistently inconsistent.
Texas - Mack Brown - Mack went (158-48) here at Texas with a win percentage of .767. Since his departure after the 2013 season Texas has gone (83-54) with a win percentage of .606. Current head coach Steve Sarkisian has a record of (35-15) with a win percentage of .700. Trajectory - Up. With the A&M game, potential SEC championship game, a playoff run looming, and a Manning at QB in waiting, the trajectory for the Texas program is way up.
Oklahoma - Bob Stoops/Lincoln Riley - I put these two together as I believe Stoops properly handed over the keys to a well-oiled machine in a way that, at the time, we wished Mack Brown did post 2009. Bob and Lincoln combined to go (145-58) with a win percentage of .714. Since Lincoln left for USC and under Brent Venables, OU is (17-10) with a win percentage of .630. Trajectory - Down - Lincoln Riley leaving a program like Oklahoma for USC followed by Venables return and subsequent poor seasons has really put a negative light on the OU program. Can they recover? Sure. Could they be more like Florida in the long run? Norman is a dump. A streak of stink on the football field will diminish all the good will built by Stoops over a very good career at Oklahoma.
Florida State - Bobby Bowden/Jimbo Fisher - Another successful head coach in waiting situation for Florida State. Bowden and Fisher combined to go (398-121) with a win percentage of .766. Since Fisher's departure after the 2017 season FSU head coaches have combined to go (46-40) with a winning percentage of .534. Current head coach Mike Norvell is (33-26) with a win percentage of .559. Trajectory - Down.
Alabama - Nick Saban - The GOAT amassed a record of (206-29) with a win percentage of .876. Kalen DeBoer is (8-3) with a win percentage of .727. Trajectory - Down and only because he's following the greatest college football coach to ever stand on the sidelines. I'm not sure how Alabama will handle someone not meeting the expectation level that Nick Saban set. History says they are due for setback. Nick did not hand off the keys to a protégé the way Bowden and Stoops did. Would people be more forgiving if he did? I'm not sure but we do know Kalen is a damn good coach. While he's inherited a couple of very good QB's in his career, he's also won at every stop that he's been at. Saban retiring was a gift that made Alabama human. Did they make the right choice? I'm not sure there is one when you are following an icon like Coach Saban. We do know that Alabama muddled a long after Stallings for 11 years with a win % of .481 before hiring Saban away from the NFL.
Honorable Mention: Michigan from Lloyd Carr to Harbaugh. Notre Dame from Holtz to Kelly (not in the 25 year mark).
If there's any program to point to as the model for head coaching hires, it's Ohio State. Outside of Luke Fickell, Ohio State hasn't had a head coach below a .700 win % since 1950. See below.
1951-1978 - Woody Hayes - (205-61) .761
1979-1987 - Earl Bruce - (81-26) .755
1988-2000 - John Cooper - (111-43) .716
2001-2010 - Jim Tressel - (94-22) .810
2011 - Luke Fickell - (6-7) .462
2012-2018 - Urban Meyer - (83-9) .902
2019 - Present - Ryan Day - (56-8) .875
No wonder their fans are so arrogant. A 74-year-old Ohio State fan would never know what it's like to go through a decade of depression.
