History UsefulNotes / CollegiateAmericanFootballNonPlayerFigures

* '''Willie Fritz''': Current HC at Tulane with a career stretching back over 40 years. A two-time NJCAA champion at Blinn Junior College in the '90s, he moved through head coaching positions at Central Missouri (1997–2009), Sam Houston (2010–13), and Georgia Southern (2015–16) before arriving at Tulane. After nearly getting fired following a 2-10 season in 2021, he oversaw the largest single-season turnaround in major college football history as the team went 12-2 in 2022, culminating in a Cotton Bowl berth where they upset USC after a 4th quarter MiracleRally.

* '''Bobby Petrino''': The current OC at Texas A&M, whose [[LongRunner 35+ year]] career has spanned over a dozen different college and pro programs. Petrino originally ''had'' a reputation as an outstanding offensive mind, but to most fans developed a bigger reputation of being an opportunist who would abandon programs at the first sign of trouble or a better contract somewhere else, including abandoning his first head coaching job at Louisville for a job in the NFL right after signing a long-term contract. That turned out to be a disaster in more ways than one (more on that on his entry on [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeagueNotoriousFigures the NFL's Notorious page]]), and he returned to college football as the HC of Arkansas. After his fourth year, Petrino got into a motorcycle accident. After giving a press conference in a neck brace and with his face still red from scrapes [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial insisting he was the only one on the motorcycle]], it came out that he did have a passenger: a mistress half his age whom he had given a job in the program, breaking school protocol. Petrino was fired and spent a year away from coaching while on an apology tour, got a job at Western Kentucky for one year, and [[EasilyForgiven returned to Louisville]], where he again saw success with QB Lamar Jackson... only for the program to slump after Jackson's departure, with Petrino losing the locker room and getting fired again. He later moved to FCS Missouri State in 2020, bringing the Bears to the FCS playoffs (which they hadn't made since 1990) twice before returning to FBS as a coordinator after the 2022 season. Echoing his itinerant history, he was first announced as the new OC at UNLV, but left within weeks when the A&M position opened up.

* '''Brett Yormark''': Current Big 12 commissioner, who took over from the aforementioned Bob Bowlsby in 2022. Like an increasing number of conference admins in recent years, Yormark didn't come from a college athletics background—but so far has proven far more successful than most such admins (Larry Scott and George Kliavkoff, anyone?). Instead, he came from a sports marketing environment, with past stints with the Detroit Pistons, NASCAR, the Brooklyn Nets, and Music/JayZ's entertainment agency Roc Nation. In Yormark's introductory press conference, he said that the Big 12 was "open for business" and immediately entered into negotiations for a new conference media deal, jumping past the Pac-12, who was next due for renewal. He got a solid media deal from ESPN and Fox, putting the Big 12 as a strong #3 behind the Big Ten and SEC and making it the only power conference with football games on both ESPN and Fox. He also led the Big 12 side of the buyout negotiations with Oklahoma and Texas, letting them leave a year before the then-current Big 12 media deal expired in exchange for a [[MoneyDearBoy healthy payment]]. Yormark then took advantage of the new media deal and the subsequent troubles that the Pac-12 had reaching its own to poach several Pac-12 schools: Colorado (a founding Big 12 member) and its "Four Corners" compatriots of Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah.

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] That was also the year in which his original 10-year deal at A&M was replaced by a new 10-year deal for $95 million ''fully guaranteed''. However, Fisher would come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting never translated to similar excellence on the field. He was fired late in the 2023 season, with A&M swallowing a buyout of about ''$77 million''—nearly three times the highest previous known buyout of a coaching contract at a public school.[[note]]A&M will be on the hook for more—many if not all of his assistants have their own (lesser) buyouts, and any established coach the Aggies may go after will almost certainly have his own buyout.[[/note]] He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wasn't the first time the system board was accused of this, and was far from the last. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* '''Bill Clark''': The coach who helped bring UAB football back from the dead. One of the few FBS coaches who didn't play college football, thanks to a severe back injury he suffered during high school, he started his coaching career in the high school ranks, mostly in his home state of Alabama with an interlude in Georgia. After winning two state titles as a HC in Alabama's largest high school enrollment class, he became the first DC of South Alabama's program before getting his first college HC gig at his alma mater, FCS Jacksonville State. After an 11-win season and FCS playoff berth in 2013, he was hired by UAB, only to see the program shut down after his first season (see UAB's entry in the "Collegiate Football Conferences" page for more details). After a firestorm of criticism and a very successful fundraising drive, UAB football was reinstated a few months later, with Clark still under contract, and resumed play in 2017. Cue five straight bowl berths (though one wasn't played due to COVID-19), two Conference USA titles, a new stadium, and a 2023 move to the American Athletic Conference. However, the Blazers made that move without Clark. He retired from UAB shortly before the 2022 season because his back had deteriorated to the point where he needed a spinal fusion, [[https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34388616/why-bill-clark-walking-away-uab-football-program-helped-revive also feeling that he had done all he could at UAB]]. Clark hasn't ruled out a return to the sidelines at a different school.

* '''Kevin Donley''': The winningest coach in NAIA history and the winningest active coach at any level in college football (342 wins as of the end of the 2022 season, good for fifth all-time). He's coached his entire career at the NAIA and D-II levels, starting [[WiseBeyondTheirYears at age 26]] in [[LongRunner 1978]], with stops at his alma mater Anderson College (now University) in Indiana, Georgetown College in Kentucky (winning an NAIA D-II championship in 1991) and California University in Pennsylvania. Then he was hired as the first HC at the University of St. Francis, a Catholic university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1998, and has been the HC for the Cougars' entire football history. He immediately made them a power and won consecutive national championships in 2016-17, making him the only coach to win NAIA titles at two different schools.

* Glenn '''"Bo" Schembechler''': The coach of [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Michigan]] during the '70s and '80s, putting the program back on the map after the AudienceAlienatingEra of the '50s and '60s. He played and later was an assistant coach under Woody Hayes (see above) at Miami (OH), before the two ended up at hated rival schools. Schembechler's first 10 years at Michigan coincided with Hayes' final 10 at Ohio State; in head-to-head meetings during this "Ten-Year War", Schembechler narrowly won out, compiling a 5-4-1 record against Hayes' Buckeyes. However, [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut he was never able to win a national championship and struggled in bowl games in general]] (compiling a 5-12 bowl record, including 2-8 in the coveted Rose Bowl.) In 2021, 15 years after his passing, his legacy fell into [[https://sports.yahoo.com/bo-schembechlers-son-others-detail-how-much-iconic-coach-knew-about-sexual-abuse-190114255.html serious]] [[https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2021/05/11/robert-anderson-sexual-assaults-university-michigan/5038960001/ question]] when hundreds of former patients of Michigan's team doctor, including many UM athletes as well as ''Schembechler's own stepson'', came forward with allegations that the doctor had sexually abused them, with Schembechler accused of either ignoring reports or actively covering the abuse up.[[note]]Said stepson recounted that when he told his stepfather about the doctor abusing him, he was hit so hard that he was knocked across the family kitchen. Additionally, one of Michigan's student trainers under said doctor was one Larry Nassar, who is currently serving effective life imprisonment for sexually abusing hundreds of female athletes while working for Michigan State and the US national gymnastics program. The number of individuals who came forward eventually exceeded ''1,000'', and UM ended up [[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33099240/university-michigan-reaches-490-million-settlement-robert-anderson-abuse-case settling with the survivors for nearly $500 million]].[[/note]]

* Glenn '''"Bo" Schembechler''': The coach of [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences Michigan]] during the '70s and '80s, putting the program back on the map after the AudienceAlienatingEra of the '50s and '60s. He played and later was an assistant coach under Woody Hayes (see above) at Miami (OH), before the two ended up at hated rival schools. Schembechler's first 10 years at Michigan coincided with Hayes' final 10 at Ohio State; in head-to-head meetings during this "Ten-Year War", Schembechler narrowly won out, compiling a 5-4-1 record against Hayes' Buckeyes. However, [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut he was never able to win a national championship and struggled in bowl games in general]] (compiling a 5-12 bowl record, including 2-8 in the coveted Rose Bowl.) In 2021, 15 years after his passing, his legacy fell into [[https://sports.yahoo.com/bo-schembechlers-son-others-detail-how-much-iconic-coach-knew-about-sexual-abuse-190114255.html serious]] [[https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2021/05/11/robert-anderson-sexual-assaults-university-michigan/5038960001/ question]] when hundreds of former patients of Michigan's team doctor, including many UM athletes as well as ''Schembechler's own stepson'', came forward with allegations that the doctor had sexually abused them, with Schembechler accused of either ignoring reports or actively covering the abuse up.[[note]]Said stepson recounted that when he told his stepfather about the doctor abusing him, he was hit so hard that he was knocked across the family kitchen. Additionally, one of Michigan's student trainers under said doctor was one Larry Nassar, who is currently serving effective life imprisonment for sexually abusing hundreds of female athletes while working for Michigan State and the US national gymnastics program. The number of individuals who came forward eventually exceeded ''1,000'', and UM ended up [[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33099240/university-michigan-reaches-490-million-settlement-robert-anderson-abuse-case settling with the survivors for nearly $500 million]].[[/note]]

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] That was also the year in which his original 10-year deal at A&M was replaced by a new 10-year deal for $95 million ''fully guaranteed''. However, Fisher would come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting performance never translated to similar excellence on the field. He was fired late in the 2023 season, with A&M swallowing a buyout of about ''$77 million''—nearly three times the highest previous known buyout of a coaching contract at a public school.[[note]]A&M will be on the hook for more—many if not all of his assistants have their own (lesser) buyouts, and any established coach the Aggies may go after will almost certainly have his own buyout.[[/note]] He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wasn't the first time the system board was accused of this, and was far from the last. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* Glenn '''"Bo" Schembechler''': The coach of [[UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan Michigan]] during the '70s and '80s, putting the program back on the map after the AudienceAlienatingEra of the '50s and '60s. He played and later was an assistant coach under Woody Hayes (see above) at Miami (OH), before the two ended up at hated rival schools. Schembechler's first 10 years at Michigan coincided with Hayes' final 10 at Ohio State; in head-to-head meetings during this "Ten-Year War", Schembechler narrowly won out, compiling a 5-4-1 record against Hayes' Buckeyes. However, [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut he was never able to win a national championship and struggled in bowl games in general]] (compiling a 5-12 bowl record, including 2-8 in the coveted Rose Bowl.) In 2021, 15 years after his passing, his legacy fell into [[https://sports.yahoo.com/bo-schembechlers-son-others-detail-how-much-iconic-coach-knew-about-sexual-abuse-190114255.html serious]] [[https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2021/05/11/robert-anderson-sexual-assaults-university-michigan/5038960001/ question]] when hundreds of former patients of Michigan's team doctor, including many UM athletes as well as ''Schembechler's own stepson'', came forward with allegations that the doctor had sexually abused them, with Schembechler accused of either ignoring reports or actively covering the abuse up.[[note]]Said stepson recounted that when he told his stepfather about the doctor abusing him, he was hit so hard that he was knocked across the family kitchen. Additionally, one of Michigan's student trainers under said doctor was one Larry Nassar, who is currently serving effective life imprisonment for sexually abusing hundreds of female athletes while working for Michigan State and the US national gymnastics program. The number of individuals who came forward eventually exceeded ''1,000'', and UM ended up [[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33099240/university-michigan-reaches-490-million-settlement-robert-anderson-abuse-case settling with the survivors for nearly $500 million]].[[/note]]

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] That was also the year in which his original 10-year deal at A&M was replaced by a new 10-year deal for $95 million ''fully guaranteed''. However, Fisher would come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting performance never translated to similar excellence on the field. He was fired late in the 2023 season, with A&M swallowing a buyout of about ''$77 million''—nearly three times the highest previous known buyout of a coaching contract at a public school. He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wasn't the first time the system board was accused of this, and was far from the last. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] In 2021, his original 10-year deal at A&M was replaced by a new 10-year deal for $95 million ''fully guaranteed''. However, Fisher would come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting performance never translated to similar excellence on the field. He was fired late in the 2023 season, with A&M swallowing a buyout of about ''$77 million''—nearly three times the highest previous known buyout of a coaching contract at a public school. He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wasn't the first time the system board was accused of this, and was far from the last. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] However, Fisher has since come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting performance has yet to translate to similar excellence on the field. He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wasn't the first time the system board was accused of this, and was far from the last. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* '''Jim Harbaugh''': Current HC at Michigan, where he was first a successful QB before a pretty solid journeyman NFL career.[[note]]He notably is enshrined in the Indianapolis Colts' Ring of Honor for leading them to an unexpected AFC Championship appearance that was the peak of the franchise's success in Indy before Peyton Manning's arrival.[[/note]] He then entered the college coaching ranks, first with FCS San Diego and then with Stanford, which he built up from Pac-12 bottom-feeder into a legitimate title contender. He next experienced great success as an NFL coach with the San Francisco 49ers, making it to the playoffs in three of his four seasons and to the Super Bowl where he lost to his brother John's Ravens. However, conflicts with management and the opportunity to coach his alma mater led him to return to the college ranks in 2015. The start of his tenure in Ann Arbor was relatively successful but had a mixed fan reception due to his early struggles against hated rival Ohio State and a [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut disappointing 1-6 bowl game record]]. After a losing season in 2020 left him on the brink of being fired, Harbaugh overhauled his coaching staff, accepted a massive pay cut, and immediately beat Ohio State and led the Wolverines to their first two CFP berths in back-to-back years. However, Harbaugh's tenure became mired in controversy in 2023 due to credible accusations of Michigan having an extensive sign-stealing program under his watch, leaving his future in college football in question.

* '''Jim Harbaugh''': Current HC at Michigan, where he was successful QB before a pretty solid journeyman NFL career.[[note]]He notably is enshrined in the Indianapolis Colts' Ring of Honor for leading them to an unexpected AFC Championship appearance that was the peak of the franchise's success in Indy before Peyton Manning's arrival.[[/note]] He then entered the college coaching ranks, first with FCS San Diego and then with Stanford, which he built up from Pac-12 bottom-feeder into a legitimate title contender. He next experienced great success as an NFL coach with the San Francisco 49ers, making it to the playoffs in three of his four seasons and to the Super Bowl where he lost to his brother John's Ravens. However, conflicts with management and an opportunity to coach his alma mater led him to return to the college ranks in 2015. The start of his tenure in Ann Arbor was relatively successful but had a mixed fan reception due to his early struggles against hated rival Ohio State and a [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut disappointing 1-6 bowl game record]]. After a losing season in 2020 left him on the brink of being fired, Harbaugh overhauled his coaching staff, accepted a massive pay cut, and immediately beat Ohio State and led the Wolverines to their first CFP berths in back-to-back years. His teams tend to play more of a "smashmouth", older-school style that wouldn't have looked out of place in Harbaugh's playing days 20-30 years ago.

* William '''"Dabo" Swinney'''[[note]]Got his nickname as an infant when his older brother mispronounced "that boy".[[/note]]: The current HC of Clemson which, under his leadership, was one of the few programs to regularly compete with Alabama under Nick Saban during their 2010s peak. (Swinney played WR at Alabama in the early '90s.) Made the somewhat unprecedented leap from Clemson wide receivers coach straight to HC in 2008 after the previous coach resigned, then kept the job after salvaging Clemson's season. To say this promotion worked out would be an understatement; he led the program to national championships in 2016 and 2018, beating Alabama in both instances. Clemson has taken a step back in early 2020s, with Swinney particularly criticized for his stubborn refusal to utilize the transfer portal, and mass attrition of assistant coaches getting head coaching jobs elsewhere, most prominently long-time DC Brent Venables.

* '''Nick Saban''': The colossus of college coaching in the 21st century, with [[TheAce the most national titles in college football history]] at seven and the most wins of any active D-I coach. After several decades as an assistant at the college and pro levels, Saban turned around Toledo's program in his first and only year as its head coach in 1990. After serving as DC under [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeagueNonPlayerFigures Bill Belichick]] with the Cleveland Browns, Saban had a successful run at Michigan State (1995-99) before being hired by LSU, which he led to a national title in 2003. After [[AudienceAlienatingEra two middling seasons with the Miami Dolphins]] from 2005-06, where he insisted he was not going to become coach at Alabama up to two weeks before he [[BlatantLies returned to college coaching at Alabama]]. Once there, he asserted himself as one of the greatest coaches in college history by returning the school to its past dominance and leading the Tide to six national titles ('09, '11, '12, '15, '17, '20) and runner-up in three more seasons ('16, '18, '21). As another testament to his coaching and recruiting acumen, his Alabama teams have featured four Heisman winners, the most of any coach at a single program since Frank Leahy. Fun fact: During Saban's ''first 14 seasons'' at Alabama, none of his former assistants had [[AlwaysSecondBest won a game against him]] as the opposing head coach. This streak reached 24 games before ending in 2021 with two such losses, including the national title game.

* William '''"Dabo" Swinney'''[[note]]Got his nickname as an infant when his older brother mispronounced "that boy".[[/note]]: The current HC of Clemson which, under his leadership, has been one of the few programs to regularly compete with Alabama under Nick Saban. (Swinney played WR at Alabama in the early '90s.) Made the somewhat unprecedented leap from Clemson wide receivers coach straight to HC in 2008 after the previous coach resigned, then kept the job after salvaging Clemson's season. To say this promotion worked out would be an understatement; he led the program to national championships in 2016 and 2018, beating Alabama in both instances, and holds the best career winning percentage of any active HC as of the 2021 season.

* '''Kirk Ferentz''': The winningest coach in Iowa history and currently the [[LongRunner longest-tenured]] active coach with a single FBS program, having coached the Hawkeyes since succeeding Hayden Fry (see below) in 1999 after years as an assistant in college and the pros and an unsuccessful HC stint with Maine (1990-92). Ferentz quickly rebuilt Iowa back to its old form and became renowned as one of the [[StoneWall best defensive coaches]] in the nation... at the cost of Iowa regularly having some of the worst ''offenses'' in the nation, likely contributing to the program's inability to take the next step and become a real threat to win Big Ten championships (having last won one in 2004). His UltimateJobSecurity has also come under scrutiny due to numerous scandals, legal troubles, and the extreme degrees of {{Nepotism}} that have followed his tenure. Most notably, his son Brian has served as his OC since 2017 despite the unit's persistent trouble, but the 2023 season will now be his last in that position.[[note]]This would normally be an NCAA violation, but Iowa skirted the issue by claiming that he reports to the ''AD'' rather than the rest of the coaching staff. Brian signed a contract for the 2023 season calling for him to be let go if the Hawkeyes failed to average 24 points per game that season. With Iowa well under that pace, the AD announced after Week 8 that he wouldn't be brought back for 2024.[[/note]]

* '''Kirk Ferentz''': The winningest coach in Iowa history and currently the [[LongRunner longest-tenured]] active coach with a single FBS program, having coached the Hawkeyes since succeeding Hayden Fry (see below) in 1999 after years as an assistant in college and the pros and an unsuccessful HC stint with Maine (1990-92). Ferentz quickly rebuilt Iowa back to its old form and became renowned as one of the [[StoneWall best defensive coaches]] in the nation... at the cost of Iowa regularly having some of the worst ''offenses'' in the nation, likely contributing to the program's inability to take the next step and become a real threat to win Big Ten championships (having last won one in 2004). His UltimateJobSecurity has also come under scrutiny due to numerous scandals, legal troubles, and the extreme degrees of {{Nepotism}} that have followed his tenure. Most notably, his son Brian has served as his OC since 2017 despite the unit's persistent trouble.[[note]]This would normally be an NCAA violation, but Iowa has skirted the issue by claiming that he reports to the ''AD'' rather than the rest of the coaching staff.[[/note]]

* '''Kirk Ferentz''': The winningest coach in Iowa history and currently the [[LongRunner longest-tenured]] active coach with a single FBS program, having coached the Hawkeyes since succeeding Hayden Fry (see below) in 1999 after years as an assistant in college and the pros and an unsuccessful HC stint with Maine (1990-92). Ferentz quickly rebuilt Iowa back to its old form and became renowned as one of the [[StoneWall best defensive coaches]] in the nation... at the cost of Iowa regularly having some of the worst ''offenses'' in the nation, likely contributing to the program's inability to take the next step and become a real threat to win Big Ten championships (having last won one in 2004). His UltimateJobSecurity has also come under scrutiny due to numerous scandals, legal troubles, and the extreme degrees of {{Nepotism}} that have followed his tenure. Most notably, his son Brian has served as his OC since 2017 despite the unit's persistant trouble.[[note]]This would normally be an NCAA violation, but Iowa has skirted the issue by claiming that he reports to the ''AD'' rather than the rest of the coaching staff.[[/note]]

* '''Jimbo Fisher''': A protégé of Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, Fisher was chosen as Bowden's successor at Florida State, continuing the program's success from 2010-16, including a national title in 2013. Fisher attracted some criticism for his lax attitude towards players' academic performance and retired with one game left in 2017 to take the HC job at Texas A&M; FSU fell to its first losing records in four decades immediately after his departure. In 2021, he led A&M to a stunning road upset of top-ranked Alabama, ending two remarkable streaks: 100 straight Bama wins over unranked teams and 24 straight wins for Nick Saban at Alabama when the opposing HC was one of his former assistants.[[labelnote:*]]Fisher had served under Saban at LSU.[[/labelnote]] However, Fisher has since come under increased scrutiny for the Aggies' overall underperformance, as his impressive recruiting performance has yet to translate to similar excellence on the field. He's also at the center of one of the craziest WhatCouldHaveBeen scenarios in recent history: UAB was set to hire him as HC after the 2006 season, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees stepped in and nullified the contract offer, a move widely seen as the Tuscaloosa campus deliberately kneecapping the Birmingham campus' football program.[[note]]It wouldn't be the last time the system board was accused of this. See UAB's description in the "Conferences" page for ''many'' more examples.[[/note]]

* '''Bob Stoops''': The HC of Oklahoma from 1998-2016 who helped the program escape the stigma of the sanctions placed on it at the end of the Barry Switzer era and middling play under the previous regimes. He won the 2000 National Championship at OU and was also the only HC in the BCS era to ever win the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar Bowls. He retired from Oklahoma in 2017 but quickly returned to coaching in the XFL for the Dallas Renegades. After that league folded mid-season due to COVID, he hopped over to broadcasting, returned to the sidelines in 2021 to coach Oklahoma's bowl game after Lincoln Riley's departure, and returned the XFL after its revival, leading the now-Arlington Renegades to the league's first championship. His brothers, '''Mark Stoops''' and '''Mike Stoops''', also became head coaches; while Mike had a pretty mediocre run coaching Arizona from 2004-11, Mark has seen great success at Kentucky since 2013, building the long-struggling program back to consistent contention for the first time in decades, becoming that program's winningest HC by 2022 (though his critics point out that almost all of those wins came against teams that finished with losing records in the SEC).

* '''Bob Stoops''': The HC of Oklahoma from 1998-2016 who helped the program escape the stigma of the sanctions placed on it at the end of the Barry Switzer era and middling play under the previous regimes. He won the 2000 National Championship at OU and was also the only HC in the BCS era to ever win the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar Bowls. He retired from Oklahoma in 2017 but quickly returned to coaching in the XFL for the Dallas Renegades. After that league folded mid-season due to COVID, he hopped over to broadcasting, returned to the sidelines in 2021 to coach Oklahoma's bowl game after Lincoln Riley's departure, and returned the XFL after its revival, leading the now-Arlington Renegades to the league's first championship. His brothers, '''Mark Stoops''' and '''Mike Stoops''', also became head coaches; while Mike had a pretty mediocre run coaching Arizona from 2004-11, Mark has seen great success at Kentucky since 2013, building the long-struggling program back to consistent contention for the first time in decades, becoming that program's winningest HC by 2022.

* '''Bobby Dodd''': The winningest coach in Georgia Tech history, one of a handful of figures enshrined in the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, and the namesake of one of the most prestigious Coach of the Year awards. After a successful tenure as Tennessee's QB in the late '20s, he served as an assistant to William Alexander for 13 years at Tech before succeeding him and leading the program for 22 seasons (1945-66) and becoming the school's AD in 1950. Dodd was unique in the annals of college sports for his laid-back and student-focused approach; he prioritized academic over athletic performance, never recruited more students than could make the final team, and coached each game from a seated position at a card table he posted on the sidelines. This approach brought the team great success, including a national title in 1952. However, it also led to Tech leaving the SEC when Dodd grew frustrated with other programs and coaches (particularly Bear Bryant) who did not follow suit. After he retired as HC in 1966, he spent another ten years as AD, overseeing the program's racial integration. Passed away in 1988.

* '''Mel Tucker''': HC at Michigan State notable for his unlikely rise to the position and record-shattering contract. Originally a DB at Wisconsin in the early '90s, he moved into a career as an assistant coach, bouncing around power college programs like Ohio State (where he won the 2002 national title), Alabama, and Georgia, and throughout the NFL, including a stint as interim HC of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011. His success landed him the Colorado HC position in 2019. After a tepid 5-7 season with the Buffaloes, the sudden and controversial resignation of long-time HC Mark Dantonio from Michigan State very late in the "coaching carousel" process (see his entry above) left Tucker one of the few available candidates for the position. He went just 2-5 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the Spartans but exploded to 11-2 in his second season, tying the (then) largest win total turnaround in FBS history (now second). With rumors swirling that LSU was considering Tucker for their vacant HC position, Michigan State acted quickly and offered him a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed extention, the then-largest for a HC in NCAA history. Though this contract was quickly surpassed by a few other prominent coaches, this total was shocking for someone with just 20 games at the school to that point and by far the most for a black head coach in NCAA history. He was suspended after two games in the 2023 season pending the results of a sexual harassment investigation, after which MSU announced that it had started the process of firing him for cause (potentially voiding his guarantees).

* '''Buddy Teevens''': HC most famous for his time at Dartmouth, where he played in the late '70s as a QB, winning Ivy League Player of the Year and an Ivy League championship in 1978. He is the winningest coach in Big Green history (117-101-2) and won five Ivy League championships during his two tenures ('87-'91 and '05-'23). He began his HC career at age 29 at Maine in 1985 (one of the youngest head coaches in modern D-I history), then had much less successful stops on the FBS level at Tulane and Stanford after his first Dartmouth stint, though he was widely regarded for his professionalism and class--he even appeared at the Stanford press conference announcing his firing! He was a notable leader in the push for player safety at all levels of football, becoming the first major college head coach to ban tackling in practice in 2011, then helping to develop safer robotic tackling dummies that have since become widespread. He has also been a pioneer in hiring female coaches, two of whom ultimately went on to the NFL. Sadly, he was badly injured in a bicycle accident in March 2023 and passed away in September that year.

* '''Buddy Teevens''': HC most famous for his time at Dartmouth, where he played in the late '70s as a QB, winning Ivy League Player of the Year and an Ivy League championship in 1978. He is the winningest coach in Big Green history (117-101-2) and won five Ivy League championships during his two tenures ('87-'91 and '05-'23), with other, less successful HC stops at Maine, Tulane, and Stanford around them. He was a notable leader in the push for player safety at all levels of football, becoming the first major college head coach to ban tackling in practice in 2011, then helping to develop safer robotic tackling dummies that have since become widespread. He has also been a pioneer in hiring female coaches, two of whom ultimately went on to the NFL. Sadly, he was badly injured in a bicycle accident in March 2023 and passed away in September that year.

* '''Mel Tucker''': HC at Michigan State notable for his unlikely rise to the position and record-shattering contract. Originally a DB at Wisconsin in the early '90s, he moved into a career as an assistant coach, bouncing around power college programs like Ohio State (where he won the 2002 national title), Alabama, and Georgia, and throughout the NFL, including a stint as interim HC of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011. His success landed him the Colorado HC position in 2019. After a tepid 5-7 season with the Buffaloes, the sudden and controversial resignation of long-time HC Mark Dantonio from Michigan State very late in the "coaching carousel" process (see his entry above) left Tucker one of the few available candidates for the position. He went just 2-5 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the Spartans but exploded to 11-2 in his second season, tying the (then) largest win total turnaround in FBS history (now second). With rumors swirling that LSU was considering Tucker for their vacant HC position, Michigan State acted quickly and offered him a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed extention, the then-largest for a HC in NCAA history. Though this contract was quickly surpassed by a few other prominent coaches, this total was shocking for someone with just 20 games at the school to that point. He was suspended after two games in the 2023 season pending the results of a sexual harassment investigation, after which MSU announced that it had started the process of firing him for cause.

* '''Mel Tucker''': HC at Michigan State notable for his unlikely rise to the position and record-shattering contract. Originally a DB at Wisconsin in the early '90s, he moved into a career as an assistant coach, bouncing around power college programs like Ohio State (where he won the 2002 national title), Alabama, and Georgia, and throughout the NFL, including a stint as interim HC of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011. His success landed him the Colorado HC position in 2019. After a tepid 5-7 season with the Buffaloes, the sudden and controversial resignation of long-time HC Mark Dantonio from Michigan State very late in the "coaching carousel" process (see his entry above) left Tucker one of the few available candidates for the position. He went just 2-5 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the Spartans but exploded to 11-2 in his second season, tying the (then) largest win total turnaround in FBS history (now second). With rumors swirling that LSU was considering Tucker for their vacant HC position, Michigan State acted quickly and offered him a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed extention, the then-largest for a HC in NCAA history. Though this contract was quickly surpassed by a few other prominent coaches, this total was shocking for someone with just 20 games at the school to that point. He was suspended after two games in the 2023 season pending the results of a sexual harassment investigation.

* '''Eddie Robinson''': Started up the football program at Grambling State, a historically black school in Louisiana, in 1941, and stayed for the next ''[[LongRunner 57 seasons]]'' (not counting two years without a team during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII). He won 17 conference titles and nine black college national titles and ended his career with 408 wins, at the time the most in college history at any level (now third behind Gagliardi and Paterno).[[note]]The NCAA recognizes him as the winningest FCS coach, but most of his wins predated FCS (or I-AA) itself. See the note in Jimmye Laycock's entry above for more details.[[/note]] Two of the many national coach of the year awards bear his name—one for FBS and the other for Grambling's current level of FCS. He retired in 1997 and passed away in 2007.