The Greatest Coach in Every BCS Team's History

While the debate over who is the greatest coach of all time will almost always rage without end, there is at least one coach for each BCS team that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Some schools have more than one excellent coach, but there is still one who is the cream of the crop. As we go through each BCS team, you may notice that some coaches appear under more than one team.

Few coaches are that good, but the ones who are deserve recognition. While some schools have many coaches that were in consideration, each slide will offer the selected coach's "Crowning Achievement" that set him apart from the rest.

Presented in alphabetical order of team coached, here is every BCS team's greatest head coach.

*BCS conferences are: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. The four Division I-A Independent schools are included in this article as well.

*Information from collegefootball.org and ESPN.com was used in this article.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Coach: Paul "Bear" Bryant (1958-1982)

Crowning Achievement: Bryant revived a fallen program to six national championships and three undefeated seasons in less than 25 years.

Arizona Wildcats

Coach: Jim Young (1973-1976)

Crowning Achievement: Young resurrected a fallen program to a co-championship in the Western Athletic Conference in his first year at Arizona. His record was 31-13 at Arizona in a four-year stint. (Arizona had three straight losing seasons immediately before his arrival.)

Arizona State Sun Devils

Coach: Frank Kush (1958-1979)

Crowning Achievement: Kush had 20 winning seasons out of 22 years coached. His overall record was 176-54-1 for a percentage of .764. He was 13-1 vs. Arizona in his last 14 years.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Coach: Frank Broyles (1958-1976)

Crowning Achievement: Broyles won 10 bowl games and seven Southwest Conference championships during his tenure. Arkansas was a non-factor in the Southwest Conference prior to his arrival on the scene.

Army Black Knights

Coach: Jim Young (1983-1990)

Crowning Achievement: Young resurrected his third program by snapping a three-year losing-season streak and taking the Black Knights to a 51-39-1 record. Young won two of his three bowl appearances in that span of time.

Auburn Tigers

Coach: Shug Jordan (1951-1975)

Crowning Achievement: Auburn's only national championship of the 20th century was won by Jordan's squad. Jordan took a program that went 0-10 in the season immediately before his arrival and turned it into a national champion a scant six years later.

Baylor Bears

Coach: Morley "Jopsey" Jennings (1926-1940)

Crowning Achievement: Jennings rebuilt a shattered team following a horrific bus accident that killed "The Immortal 10," which included the football team's captain. Jennings rebuilt the team that went 2-7-0 in 1927 to an 8-2-0 performance in 1928.

Boston College Eagles

Coach: Frank "The Iron Major" Cavanaugh (1919-1926)

Crowning Achievement: Cavanaugh's .716 winning percentage is Boston College's best among coaches who stayed longer than two years. He was also a major in the Army during World War I, which assisted him in earning the nickname "The Iron Major."

BYU Cougars

Coach: LaVell Edwards (1972-2000)

Crowning Achievement: Edwards won 20 WAC titles in his 29-year career.

California Golden Bears

Coach: Andy Smith (1916-1925)

Crowning Achievement: Smith went on a five-year undefeated run which saw 44 victories and only two ties.

Cincinnati Bearcats

Coach: Sid Gillman (1949-1954)

Crowning Achievement: Gillman amassed a 50-13-1 record for the Cincinnati Bearcats over a period of six years.

Clemson Tigers

Coach: Frank Howard (1940-1969)

Crowning Achievement: Howard led Clemson to eight conference championships during his tenure. (Two in the Southern Conference and six in the ACC.)

Colorado Buffaloes

Coach: Fred Folsom (1895-1915 minus five years of breaks.)

Crowning Achievement: Folsom has the highest winning percentage of any Colorado coach who stayed longer than one year at .765.

Connecticut Huskies

Coach: J.O. Christian (1934-1949)

Crowning Achievement: Christian's .562 winning percentage is the highest of any coach that remained at UConn for more than five years.

Duke Blue Devils

Coach: Wallace Wade (1931-1950 minus time spent in World War II)

Crowning Achievement: He amassed 110 wins at Duke and earned six Southern Conference titles with the Blue Devils. (Duke plays in Wallace Wade Stadium as a result of his influence on its football history.)

Florida Gators

Coach: Steve Spurrier (1990-2001)

Crowning Achievement: Spurrier amassed six SEC titles during his tenure at Florida. One of those championships led to a national title (in 1996). (Urban Meyer's success deserves mention, but he built on the reputation that Spurrier created.)

Florida State Seminoles

Coach: Bobby Bowden (1976-2009)

Crowning Achievement: Bowden took Florida State from being a team that had won only four games in three years before he arrived to a team that finished in the top five for 14 straight years at one point in his tenure.

Georgia Bulldogs

Coach: Vince Dooley (1964-1988)

Crowning Achievement: Dooley won eight different Coach of the Year awards at Georgia. He's the only coach in Bulldogs history to earn over 200 wins.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Coach: Bobby "In Dodd We Trust" Dodd (1945-1966)

Crowning Achievement: Between the years of 1946 and 1956, Dodd went to eight bowl games and was undefeated in the postseason.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Coach: Bob "The Little Dutchman" Zuppke (1913-1941)

Crowning Achievement: Zuppke coached Illinois to seven conference titles during his tenure. His overall record stood at 131-81-13 when he stopped coaching.

Indiana Hoosiers Football

Coach: Bo McMillin (1934-1947)

Crowning Achievement: McMillin's 63-48-11 record earns him the Hoosiers' best winning percentage at .561.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Coach: Forest "Evy" Evashevski (1952-1960)

Crowning Achievement: In 1956, Evashevski led Iowa to its first Big Ten title since 1921. He followed that up with a national championship in 1958 and another conference title in 1960.

Iowa State Cyclones

Coach: A.W. Ristine (1902-1906)

Crowning Achievement: Ristine's .777 win percentage is by far the best of any coach that stayed longer than a year at Iowa State. (That includes Pop Warner.) Ristine went 36-10-1 in his Cyclone career.

Kansas Jayhawks

Coach: Fielding Yost (1899)

Crowning Achievement: Though Yost only coached one year, he took the Jayhawks to a 10-0 performance in that season. To this day, Kansas still doesn't have many of those. Yost is in the Hall of Fame and will appear later in this list for another team.

Kansas State Wildcats

Coach: Bill Snyder (1989-present)

Crowning Achievement: Snyder has brought Kansas State to life in the new millennium. Kansas State went to the Cotton Bowl last year, and was cruising to a national championship appearance in 2012 before Baylor took that opportunity away. Snyder has finished in the top 10 a total of six times in his career.

Kentucky Wildcats

Coach: Jerry Claiborne (1982-1989)

Crowning Achievement: Claiborne brought Kentucky out of the cellar and into bowl games in just his second and third years at the helm.

Louisville Cardinalls

Coach: Frank Camp (1946-1968)

Crowning Achievement: Camp's 118 victories at the helm are the most of any head coach in the history of the program. He is also the first coach to lead Louisville to a bowl, and when he got there, he won the 1957 Sun Bowl.

LSU Tigers

Coach: Les Miles (2005-present)

Crowning Achievement: Miles coached LSU to a national championship in 2007, and he returned to the national championship in 2011. Under his guidance, LSU has consistently been a major player on both the conference and national levels.

Maryland Terrapins

Coach: Jim "Big Jim" Tatum (1947-1958)

Crowning Achievement: Maryland compiled a 73-15-4 record under Tatum. In 1952, Tatum's Terrapins took down the top-dog Tennessee Volunteers in the Sugar Bowl.

Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Coach: Andy Gustafson (1948-1963)

Crowning Achievement: Gustafson led Miami to four bowl games in his tenure and upset the likes of Alabama, Penn State, Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Michigan Wolverines

Coach: Fielding "Hurry Up" Yost (1901-1926)

Crowning Achievement: Yost coached one of the greatest teams in the history of college football in 1901. Michigan went 11-0-0 and did not allow any opponent to score any points against it in the process. (That wasn't all he did, by any means, but it is a potentially unbreakable record in the world of college football.)

Michigan State Spartans

Coach: Clarence "Biggie" Munn (1947-1953)

Crowning Achievement: During his time at Michigan State, the Spartans went 54-9-2. That's an average of less than 1.5 losses per season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Coach: Henry Williams (1900-1921)

Crowning Achievement: In his first 16 years at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers won eight conference titles. His record with the Gophers was 136-33-11.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Coach: Allyn McKeen (1939-1948)

Crowning Achievement: McKeen was the leader of the Bulldogs for their only SEC championship back in 1941.

Missouri Tigers

Coach: Don Faurot (1935-1942, 1946-1956)

Crowning Achievement: Faurot won back-to-back Big Six championships with his own "split T" formation on offense. (If you see a tailback running through a gap these days, that gap was his idea.)

Navy Midshipmen

Coach: George Welsh (1973-1981)

Crowning Achievement: Welsh holds the record for number of wins at Navy with 55.

NC State Wolfpack

Coach: Lou Holtz (1972-1975)

Crowning Achievement: Holtz took NC State to a 33-12-3 record during his time at the Wolfpack helm. His .719 winning percentage is the best in Wolfpack history.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Coach: Tom Osborne (1973-1997)

Crowning Achievement: Osborne's 255 wins are more than double the number of wins of any other coach in Nebraska history. Osborne also managed to post a .836 winning percentage, which is also the highest among coaches who were at Nebraska for more than six years.

Northwestern Wildcats

Coach: Gary Barnett (1995-1998)

Crowning Achievement: Barnett took Northwestern to its first conference championship since 1936 during the 1996 season. Through that season, the Wildcats earned the nickname "Cardiac Cats," due to their penchant for delivering a hearty combination of fourth-quarter and overtime wins over teams that should have destroyed them. That nickname still hangs around to this day.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Coach: Knute Rockne (1918-1930)

Crowning Achievement: Rockne is one of the greatest coaches ever to walk a sideline, and that's not just at Notre Dame. In his 13-year career, he went 105-12-5 and saw five undefeated seasons. No coach at Notre Dame has seen more success than Rockne. (If you see a reference to "Knotre Dame," that's respect given to Rockne.)

Ohio State Buckeyes

Coach: Woody Hayes (1951-1978)

Crowning Achievement: Hayes won 13 conference championships and three national championships at Ohio State. You probably can't talk football for 10 minutes with an Ohio State fan without his name coming up.

Oklahoma Sooners

Coach: Barry Switzer (1973-1988)

Crowning Achievement: Switzer started his tenure at Oklahoma with a 30-game winning streak. That took Oklahoma's seven-game streak that started in 1972 to 37 games. He led the Sooners to three national championships.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Coach: Mike Gundy (2005-present)

Crowning Achievement: Gundy led Oklahoma State to its first-ever BCS bowl appearance in school history, and defeated Stanford for the Fiesta Bowl win. Gundy was one win away from playing against the LSU Tigers for the 2011 season's national title.

Ole Miss Rebels

Coach: Johnny Vaught (1947-1973)

Crowning Achievement: Vaught is responsible for all three of the Ole Miss national championships in 1959, 1960 and 1962. Before his arrival, football at Ole Miss was nothing compared to the success he brought.

Oregon Ducks

Coach: Chip Kelly (2007-present)

Crowning Achievement: Kelly has taken Oregon to heights that it could have only dreamed of prior to his control of the football program. Kelly has already been to the Rose Bowl twice and one national championship. Kelly has made the postseason in every year he's been at Oregon.

Oregon State Beavers

Coach: Tommy Prothro (1955-1964)

Crowning Achievement: Prothro spent a decade at Oregon State and amassed a 63-37-2 record. During his time with the Beavers, they only had one losing season.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Coach: Joe Paterno (1966-2011)

Crowning Achievement: Paterno coached Penn State to two national championships (1982 and 1986). Paterno coached five undefeated teams, though, and many feel that more than just the two should have been recognized as national champions.

Pittsburgh Panthers

Coach: Jock Sutherland (1924-1938)

Crowning Achievement: Sutherland coached Pitt's 1937 national championship team. Jock also declined an invitation to the Rose Bowl. Apparently, his upperclassmen wanted Christmas instead of the Rose Bowl.

Purdue Boilermakers

Coach: Jim Young (1977-1981)

Crowning Achievement: Purdue was Young's second program resurrection. He took Purdue to three bowl games and posted a postseason record of 3-0.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Coach: George "Sandy" Sanford (1913-1923)

Crowning Achievement: Sanford ran Rutgers up to a 56-32-5 record during his time at the helm. That's the best record of any coach in Rutgers history. Kyle Flood is off to a great start, but one season isn't going to be enough to knock down a guy like Sanford.

South Carolina Gamecocks

Coach: Steve Spurrier

Crowning Achievement: Spurrier coached South Carolina to an SEC championship and an 11-win season; both achievements were "firsts" for the Gamecocks.

Stanford Cardinal

Coach: Walter "The Father of Football" Camp (1892, 1894-1895)

Crowning Achievement: His nickname says it all. Camp was the man responsible for making rugby into American football. The phenomenon we refer to as "a set of downs" is his doing.

Syracuse Orange

Coach: Ben Schwartzwalder (1949-1973)

Crowning Achievement: Schwartzwalder earned a 153-91-3 record and a national championship (1959) while at Syracuse.

TCU Horned Frogs

Coach: Dutch "The Saturday Fox" Meyer (1934-1952)

Crowning Achievement: Meyer coached the 1938 national championship team at TCU and was responsible for the success of both Sammy Baugh and Davey O'Brien. (Yes, the Davey O'Brien that the award is named after.)

Temple Owls

Coach: Pop Warner (1934-1938)

Crowning Achievement: A 31-18-2 record in six years at Temple. His Owls played in the invitation-only inaugural Sugar Bowl in 1935.

Tennessee Volunteers

Coach: Bob "The General" Neyland (1926-1952)

Crowning Achievement: Neyland's 173-31-12 record is the best in Tennessee history. He also coached Tennessee's 1951 national championship team.

Texas A&M Aggies

Coach: Homer Norton (1934-1947)

Crowning Achievement: Texas A&M's 1939 national championship team was Norton's. They allowed 18 points through 10 games on the way to that title.

Texas Longhorns

Coach: Darrell Royal (1957-1976)

Crowning Achievement: Royal brought the wishbone to Texas and proceeded to guide the Longhorns to 16 bowls out of that formation and finished in the top 10 in 11 of his seasons.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Coach: Pete Cawthon (1930-1940)

Crowning Achievement: Cawthon has the highest winning percentage of anyone in Texas Tech's history, and he led the Red Raiders to their first-ever conference championship as well.

UCLA Bruins

Coach: Terry Donahue (1976-1995)

Crowning Achievement: Donahue had eight consecutive bowl wins from 1982-1990. He led the Bruins to five Pac-10 championships and five top-10 finishes nationally.

UNC Tar Heels

Coach: Dick Crum (1978-1987)

Crowning Achievement: Crum's 72 victories at UNC are the most in school history, and his .634 winning percentage is also school-best among coaches who spent longer than three years with the Tar Heels.

USC Trojans

Coach: Howard Jones (192501940)

Crowning Achievement: Jones led seven conference championship teams and four national championship teams. He went an astonishing 5-0 in Rose Bowls during his time at USC as well.

Utah Utes

Coach: Ike Armstrong (1925-1949)

Crowning Achievement: Armstrong took the Utes to five unbeaten seasons and their first bowl appearance in history. The Utes won that 1939 Sun Bowl in a shutout.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Coach: Dan McGugin (1904-1934)

Crowning Achievement: Over his 30-year career at Vanderbilt, McGugin's teams outscored their opponents 6673-1668. He was coaching at Vanderbilt when the Commodores built the first football stadium in the south.

Virginia Cavaliers

Coach: George Welsh (1982-2000)

Crowning Achievement: Welsh led Virginia to its first bowl appearance in the 1984 Peach Bowl. His 15 winning seasons are also a benchmark at Virginia.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Coach: Frank Beamer (1987-present)

Crowning Achievement: Beamer has been at the helm of the Hokies through seven conference titles and two additional divisional titles. In 1999, Beamer led the Hokies to their most successful season in history, which ended on a second-place finish in the AP Poll.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Coach: Jim Grobe (2001-present)

Crowning Achievement: Grobe has more eight-win seasons, bowl appearances and bowl wins than any other Demon Deacons coach in history.

Washington Huskies

Coach: Don "The Dawgfather" James (1975-1992)

Crowning Achievement: In 14 of his last 16 seasons at Washington, James took the Huskies to the postseason. He also amassed six Pac-10 titles during his run with the Huskies.

Washington State Cougars

Coach: Orin "Babe" Hollingbery (1926-1942)

Crowning Achievement: Hollingbery was in charge of the greatest stretch of seasons in Washington State history. His 93 wins still stand as the record for the Cougars as well.

West Virginia Mountaineers

Coach: Don Nehlen (1980-2000)

Crowning Achievement: Nehlen had 17 winning seasons in his 21-year tenure and earned a Big East conference championship in 1993.

Wisconsin Badgers

Coach: Barry Alvarez (1990-2005)

Crowning Achievement: Alvarez earned three conference titles while at Wisconsin, and he's the only coach in conference history to win the Rose Bowl twice in a row.