# The 20 Greatest College Football Coaches of All Time

> From dynasty-building champions to trailblazing pioneers of the early game, this lineup spans over a century of sideline legends who redefined how the sport is won. Who tops your list?

*By YPB Team · Published September 19, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-20-greatest-college-football-coaches-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Bear Bryant** — score 1000/1000
   Alabama's legendary coach who won six national titles and was long considered the sport's all-time greatest.
2. **Nick Saban** — score 758/1000
   Won a record seven national championships across LSU and Alabama, dominating the sport for two decades.
3. **Eddie Robinson** — score 684/1000
   Grambling State's coach for 56 years, winning over 400 games and mentoring generations of NFL talent.
4. **Tom Osborne** — score 592/1000
   Nebraska's coach for 25 years, retiring with three national championships and 13 conference titles.
5. **LaVell Edwards** — score 579/1000
   BYU's coach for 29 years, winning the 1984 national championship with an innovative passing attack.
6. **Bud Wilkinson** — score 579/1000
   Oklahoma's coach who led a record 47-game winning streak in the 1950s.
7. **Frank Beamer** — score 529/1000
   Virginia Tech's coach for 29 years, building the program into a perennial national contender.
8. **Woody Hayes** — score 473/1000
   Ohio State's fiery coach for 28 years, winning five national championships.
9. **Barry Switzer** — score 473/1000
   Oklahoma's coach who won three national championships with a dominant wishbone offense.
10. **Bo Schembechler** — score 473/1000
   Michigan's coach for 21 years, defining the Ten Year War rivalry against Ohio State.
11. **Vince Dooley** — score 410/1000
   Georgia's coach for 25 years, winning the 1980 national championship behind Herschel Walker.
12. **Knute Rockne** — score 338/1000
   Notre Dame's early 20th-century coach who revolutionized the forward pass and built the program's legend.
13. **Gil Dobie** — score 338/1000
   An early-1900s coach who went undefeated for nine straight seasons across two programs.
14. **Joe Paterno** — score 338/1000
   Penn State's coach for 46 years, finishing with 409 wins and two national championships.
15. **Amos Alonzo Stagg** — score 255/1000
   A pioneering early coach credited with inventing the huddle and the tackling dummy.
16. **John Gagliardi** — score 158/1000
   Division III coach at Saint John's who won the most games in college football history.
17. **Fielding Yost** — score 158/1000
   Michigan's dominant early-1900s coach known for the unbeaten 'Point-a-Minute' teams.
18. **Dabo Swinney** — score 158/1000
   Clemson's coach who built the program into a modern powerhouse with two national titles.
19. **Urban Meyer** — score 0/1000
   Won three national championships across Florida and Ohio State with an aggressive spread offense.
20. **Bobby Bowden** — score 0/1000
   Florida State's coach for 34 years, winning two national titles and 12 ACC championships.

Tags: sports, coaches, college football, ncaa