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Best college football coach in history from each state

By Nathaniel Reeves

TUSCALOOSA, AL - CIRCA 1958-1982: Paul Bryant, head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team observes the play during a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Alabama) (Photo by University of Alabama/Collegiate Images/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - CIRCA 1958-1982: Paul Bryant, head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team observes the play during a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Alabama) (Photo by University of Alabama/Collegiate Images/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 26: A detailed view of the helmet of a Maryland Terrapins player on the bench on November 26, 2016, at Capital One Field in College Park, MD. The Maryland Terrapins defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 31-13 to become bowl eligible. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 26: A detailed view of the helmet of a Maryland Terrapins player on the bench on November 26, 2016, at Capital One Field in College Park, MD. The Maryland Terrapins defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 31-13 to become bowl eligible. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Maryland: Jim Tatum 

Maryland has been home to a few legendary coaches for brief stints, but Tatum’s more sustained success gives him the nod.

Tatum enjoyed a solid playing career as an offensive lineman at North Carolina, earning All-American honors in 1935. Like so many other coaching stars of the era, Tatum excelled in multiple sports and took his first assistant job with Cornell in 1937 while also managing the Big Red baseball team.

Following a one-year stint at North Carolina, Tatum served in the military before taking the Oklahoma job in 1946. Tatum resigned one year later amid allegations that he paid Sooners players, but managed to catch on at Maryland, which was still looking for a worthy replacement for Bryant.

The decision paid off for the Terrapins, as Maryland went 9-1 in Tatum’s first season and won fewer than seven games just once during his tenure. Following a perfect 10-0 campaign in 1951, Maryland moved to the ACC and won its only claimed national title in school history two years later despite a loss to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Tatum put together another double-digit win campaign in 1955 to finish with a record of 73-15-4 at Maryland before heading to North Carolina for a second stint and dying of an illness just three years later. Lou Saban, Bryant and Jerry Claiborne are among the other coaches to make stops at College Park, but none can match Tatum’s record with the Terrapins.

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