20 best college football coaches without a national championship
By Brad Weiss
Pat Dye
, East Carolina, Wyoming, Auburn
Beginning in 1974, as head coach of East Carolina, Pat Dye went on a coaching journey that made him one of the best to ever do it. He left East Carolina for Wyoming, where he spent one season, before making his final stop at Auburn. It would be with the Tigers that he nearly won a national title, though he never did quite reach the top of the college football mountain.
Dye spent 12 seasons with the Auburn Tigers, and in that span, established the program as a powerhouse in college football. He led the team to four SEC titles, including a string of three straight, as the Tigers dominated SEC football in the late 1980s. While he never won a national title, some believe the 1983 team was his best ever, and the New York Times even ranked them as the No. 1 team in the country at year end.
That season, the Tigers finished with an 11-1 record, including a perfect 6-0 record in SEC play. They capped off their season with a win in the Sugar Bowl, but it was not enough for his Tigers to be named national champions.
A 1959 All-American during his playing days at Georgia, Dye went an incredible 7-2-1 in bowl games as a head coach. He led the Tigers to four double-digit win seasons during his time with the school, while being named SEC Coach of the Year three times. In 2005, Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and is certainly one of the best college football coaches to never win a national title.