25 best college football coaches never to win a national title
- Head Coaching Record: 137-80-2 at Chico State 1984-88 and Oregon 1995-2008
- Closest He Came to Winning a National Championship: 2001; 11-1 Fiesta Bowl Champions, No. 2 final ranking
- Notable: 2000 and 2001 Pac-10 Championship, College Football Hall of Fame (2014)
Former head coach Chip Kelly and Nike founder Phil Knight get a lot of credit for helping Oregon rise from mediocre Pac-10 football program to national championship contender, but it’s important not to overlook the contributions of College Football Hall of Famer Mike Bellotti, who was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach following the 1994 season and led the Ducks to a 116-55 record in 14 seasons before stepping into the role of athletic director.
Before joining Rich Brooks’ staff in Eugene in 1989, Bellotti was the head coach at Chico State for five seasons, where he compiled a record of 21-25-2. Once Brooks left for the NFL, Bellotti led Oregon to five winning seasons in his first five years before the Ducks exploded for ten wins and a share of the Pac-10 championship in 2000. The following year, Oregon went 11-1, won the Pac-10 outright, and finished No. 2 in the final AP Top 25.
Bellotti led Oregon to double-digit wins in 2005 and 2008 before giving way to Kelly, whom he hired as offensive coordinator in 2007. He served as AD for less than a year before resigning and joining ESPN as a college football analyst. Bellotti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
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