25 worst college football coaching hires in history

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 1: Head coach Mike Price of the Washington State University Cougars manages the game from the sidelines during the 89th Rose Bowl game against University of Oklahoma Sooners at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2003 in Pasadena, California. Oklahoma defeated Washington St. 34-14. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

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ST PETERSBURG, FL – DECEMBER 26: Head coach George O’Leary of the UCF Knights looks on from the sidelines during the NCAA Bitcoin St Petersburg bowl between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the UCF Knights at Tropicana Field on December 26, 2014 in St. Petersburg, Florida. North Carolina State won the game 34-27. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

2. George O’Leary, Notre Dame

Hired: December 2001
Resigned: December 2001
Record at Notre Dame: 0-0 (.000)
Career head coaching record: 133-101 (.568)

Honesty is the best policy, unless perhaps, you’re trying to get a job coaching college football. In that case, lying on a résumé can help. The only issue is, if someone bothers to check up on those claims, it can lead to an unflattering scandal, and potentially cost a coach his dream job.

As was the case with George O’Leary. A New York City native, O’Leary graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1968 (more on that later), and began a high school coaching career in his home state later that year.

After 12 years as a prep coach, including five as a head coach, O’Leary was hired to coach the defensive line at Syracuse. He spent seven years with the Orangemen, coached for Bobby Ross at Georgia Tech and with the San Diego Chargers, and returned to Atlanta as an assistant in 1994 before becoming interim head coach later that season, and eventually stepped into the full-time job with the Yellow Jackets.

O’Leary was a successful head coach at Georgia Tech. He posted a 52-33 record, including a 10-win season in 1998 and led the squad to five straight finishes in the AP Top 25. O’Leary twice won ACC Coach of the Year honors. In December 2001, Notre Dame hired O’Leary to replace Bob Davie as head football coach.

All the while, O’Leary’s published bio stated two major inaccuracies: that he was a three-time letter winner as a member of the UNH football team, and that he earned a master’s degree from “NYU-Stony Brook,” which does not exist. A newspaper reporter accidentally uncovered the first lie while researching O’Leary’s playing days (he had actually never played a game for the Wildcats), and O’Leary fessed up to the second when discussing the matter with Notre Dame decision makers.

He was forced to resign, and never coached a game for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame then hired Tyrone Willingham, and later Charlie Weis.

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