Best college football coach in history from each state
Taking a look at the best college football coach of all time from all 50 states.
With nearly 50 million fans attending games across the country each season, college football is one of the most popular sports in the United States.
As every state outside of Alaska has a program at some level of the sport, just about every region of the country has a strong interest in the collegiate game. From the pageantry of the SEC and Big 12 to an FCS powerhouse in North Dakota, fans across the country can find a local team to root for.
College football fans have established some of the best traditions in American sports, helping keep the history of the game alive. Legendary head coaches across the nation have become some of the most beloved figures in college football, with statues and stadium namesakes throughout the country.
Each member of the United States has been the coaching home of at least one such legend, no matter how steeped in college football tradition it is. With current legends Nick Saban and Urban Meyer catching up to beloved figures such as Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes, here are the top coaches in each state’s history.
Alabama: Bear Bryant
Right off the bat, Alabama provides one of the most hotly-contested debates of any state in America between Bryant and Saban.
A native of rural Moro Bottom in Arkansas, Bryant landed his first major job as an Alabama assistant in 1936 before making stops at Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M as a head coach. The Crimson Tide hired Bryant prior to the 1958 season in an attempt to turn around a team that had gone a combined 4-24-2 over the prior three years under head coach Jennings Whitworth.
After a 5-4-1 season in his initial campaign, Bryant went on one of the greatest sustained runs of success in college football history. The Crimson Tide claimed their first national title in two decades in 1961 with a perfect 11-0 record, allowing a minuscule 2.3 points per game in the process.
Alabama would finish in the AP top 10 with two losses or fewer in each of the next six years, and added a second championship in 1964. Bryant would win additional titles in 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979 to bring his total to an all-time record six over a 25-year stint with the Crimson Tide, and his 323 career wins still rank eighth all-time.
Saban is right behind Bryant with five national titles, including four at Alabama, and what he’s accomplished in an era with more parity should not be discounted. Still, Bryant’s consistency and longevity help him old on to the top spot in Alabama history, even if only for another year or two.