20 best college football coaches without a national championship
By Brad Weiss
Charles McClendon
, LSU
When people think about LSU football, they probably first think of Les Miles, who most recently led the Tigers to a national championship. However, the best coach to ever do it at the school coached his last game for the program back in 1979, and that man is Charles McClendon. McClendon led the Tigers program from 1962-1979, picking up over 135 wins along the way.
During his time with LSU, McClendon had only one losing season. Incredibly, he won five major bowl games, including the Cotton and Sugar Bowl twice, and the Peach Bowl one time. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, McClendon had only one losing season during his time at LSU, which is a remarkable achievement.
His closest shot at a national title came back in 1969, when the LSU Tigers went 9-1 in the regular season. The team figured they would get a shot at unbeaten Texas in the Cotton Bowl, but was never extended an invitation. Instead of playing in a lesser bowl, the Tigers just went home after the regular season, ending what could have been a national title season.
By the time McClendon was done at LSU, he had racked up the most wins in school history. He also had the record for the longest tenured coach, as his 18 seasons put him at the top of the list. He was the AFCA Coach of the Year in 1970, was SEC Coach of the Year twice, and finished in the top-10 of the AP Poll four times. Pretty nice career for a guy who never got a chance to win the big one.