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20 best college football coaches without a national championship

By Brad Weiss

MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Bill Snyder (C) of the Kansas State Wildcats gets carried off the field, after winning his 200th career game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Bill Snyder (C) of the Kansas State Wildcats gets carried off the field, after winning his 200th career game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /
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SYRACUSE, NY – SEPTEMBER 12: Former Syracuse orange running back Floyd Little and coach Dick MacPherson shake hands as MacPherson is honored during the game between the Syracuse Orange and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on September 12, 2015 at The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse defeats Wake Forest 30-17. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY – SEPTEMBER 12: Former Syracuse orange running back Floyd Little and coach Dick MacPherson shake hands as MacPherson is honored during the game between the Syracuse Orange and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on September 12, 2015 at The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse defeats Wake Forest 30-17. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
16

Dick MacPherson

, UMass, Syracuse

For Dick MacPherson, his run at Syracuse University lasted nine seasons, and his overall record is nothing to write home about. In fact, over his coaching career with the Orange, MacPherson only won 66 games. In that span, he also lost 46 games, and tied four, so you may be wondering why he is ranked on our top-20 college football coaches to never win a national championship.

The reason he is ranked is pretty clear, as he certainly had the opportunity to do just that back in 1987. During that incredible season at Syracuse, MacPherson led his team to an undefeated season, finishing the year with a record of 11-0-1. The team’s only non-win was a tie in the Sugar Bowl against the Auburn Tigers, which cost the Orange a chance at a national title.

MacPherson brought home the hardware after that 1987 season, winning the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, as his team finished as the No. 4 team in the country. Only a couple of seasons later, MacPherson would leave the Orange to become the head coach of the New England Patriots. However, he will always be most-known as being an incredible head coach at Syracuse, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

After his coaching career, MacPherson stayed around the Syracuse football program, as he would do radio during the games for many years. He passed away this summer at the age of 86, leaving behind an incredible legacy in upstate New York, and it certainly would have been nice to see his Syracuse team win that title back in 1987.

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