25 best college football coaches never to win a national title
- Head Coaching Record: 234-65-8 at Miami University 1963-68, and Michigan 1969-89
- Closest He Came to a National Championship: 1985; 10-1-1, Fiesta Bowl Champions, No. 2 final ranking
- Notable: 15 conference championships (1965 and 1966 MAC Champions, 13 Big Ten Championships), seven conference Coach of the Year awards (1972, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1989), and four National Coach of the Year awards (1969, 1977, 1985, 1989), College Football Hall of Fame (1993)
One of the greatest college head coaches never to win a national title is Bo Schembechler, who compiled an impressive 234-65-8 record at Miami University and Michigan. Schembechler won 40 games in six seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, and captured the 1965 and 1966 MAC titles, before moving on to become one of the most beloved figures in Wolverine football history.
Over the course of 21 seasons in Ann Arbor, Schembechler’s teams won 194 games and 13 Big Ten championships. He never had a losing season as a head coach and finished .500 just once (in 1984 when Michigan finished 6-6). The Wolverines won 10 or more games eleven times, finished ranked in the top ten of the final AP Poll 16 times, and made 17 appearances in bowl games – including 15 straight – under Schembechler’s direction until he retired following the 1989 season. The 1985 squad came the closest to a national championship after finishing the season 10-1-1 and earning a No. 2 final ranking.
Schembechler may have had more success on the field than any other head coach to never win a national championship, but he comes up just one spot shy of the top spot on our list because of the greater impact one coach had in turning one of history’s worst programs into an annual contender: Bill Snyder.
Next: Bill Snyder