30 best college football coaches of all time, ranked

22. Robert Neyland, Tennessee 1926-1934, 1936-1940, 1946-1952

Robert Neyland had a very strange tenure with the Tennessee Volunteers. He was the coach, then he wasn’t, then he was the coach again, then he wasn’t again, then he came back again. Neyland only took one year of assistant coaching before he was named head coach of the Volunteers. He was the head coach for nine years, but then the Army called him back to active duty. In those nine years, Neyland led the Volunteers to five undefeated seasons.

Neyland returned from the Army and went immediately back to coaching. In 1939, he likely had his best accomplishment. He not only won every game, but he also held every single opponent scoreless. Shutting out every opponent is a feat that hasn’t been mimicked since Neyland did it. Between November 1938 and December 1939, the Volunteers went 71 straight quarters without allowing one single point. That’s a record that’s never even been entertained let alone threatened.

Neyland was required to leave Tennessee again and he coached a team for the Army to make money for some war fund. He was back six years later, and he led the Volunteers to their first AP National Championship (if you’re wondering, shutting out every opponent wasn’t enough to win the championship back then apparently). He eventually left the sidelines to become Tennessee’s athletic director. Neyland took a Tennessee team that barely thought about and turned it into a national powerhouse. He had four stints with the team so he could serve his country. Every time, he had teams that were great and national title contenders.