Texas A&M Football: Power Ranking All the Coaches In School History

Kyle Field is hallowed ground. 

The Texas A&M Aggies are one of the most storied colleges teams in all of college football history, and in their over a hundred year history have had some of the best coaches as well as some of the worst and most colorful in the league. 

Now it is time to see which coach is the best, and who is the worst.

Honorable Mentions

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SAN ANTONIO - DECEMBER 29: Interim Head Coach Gary Darnell of the Texas A&M Aggies calls a play from the sideline against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the Valero Alamo Bowl on December 29, 2007 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Penn State w

When you coach ten games or under, there just isn't enough of a story to deserve a full slide, so enjoy the honourable mentions!

28. Gary Darnell (2007)

27. C. W. Taylor (1897)

26. F. D. Perkins (1894)

25. A. M. Soule & H.W. South (1896)

24. H. W. Williams (1898)

23. N. A. Merriam (1908-1909)

22. L. L. Larson (1907)

21. D. V. Graves (1918)

20. Henry Foldberg (1962-1964)

Games Coached: 30

Won: 6

Lost: 23

Tied: 1

Conference Championships: 0 

Before coming to Texas A&M, Henry Foldberg had coached Wichita for two seasons, and attained the conference championship in both seasons. Unfortunately, Foldberg never attained that same level of success with the Aggies.

In fact, he basically did the opposite. In his first season with the Aggies, the team was ranked fourth in the conference. Next season, they slipped to eighth. After only coaching 30 games, Foldberg produced a win/loss record that is so bad, it is almost impressive. 

19. Robert Stiteler (1948-1950)

Games Coached: 31

Won: 8

Lost: 21

Tied: 2

Conference Championships: 0

Robert Stiteler has one of the worst records in A&M coaching history, though apparently he was a stand up guy despite leaving the team in controversy after getting beaten up as the result of a romantic rendezvous. 

Apparently, despite his poor record, Stiteler was considered a really good guy and still managed to attract top talent to the Aggies. In the 1950 season, his final as coach, the team had the best record of any Texas A&M team in the decade following World War II.

18. W.A. Murray (1899-1901)

Games Coached: 16

Won: 7

Lost: 8

Tied: 1

Conference Championships: 0

W.A. Murray is not the worst coach on this list by any means; he even has a decent win/loss record, though it is a losing record.

The reason why he is so low on this list is that even though he coached the Aggies for a few seasons, he only coached 16 games.

17. James Myers (1958-1961)

Games Coached: 40

Won: 12

Lost: 24

Tied: 4

Conference Championships: 0

Apart from being head coach of the Aggies for four seasons, Myers was also associate head coach with the Dallas Cowboys under the legendary Tom Landry.

As head coach of Texas A&M, Myers was known for using the single wing formation that had been popularised by Tennessee head coach Robert Neyland.

Obviously he didn't have too much success, as highlighted by his poor win/loss record.

16. Raymond George (1951-1953)

Games Coached: 30

Won: 12

Lost:14

Tied: 4

Conference Championships: 0 

Raymond George isn't quite as bad as Henry Foldberg, though he didn't really define himself as one of the great coaches in A&M history.

George, who was also assistant coach at the University of Southern California, is ranked 15th in total wins and 20th in win percentage in all of Aggies football history.

15. E.H. Harlan (1915-1916)

Games Coached: 18

Won: 13

Lost: 5

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 0

E.H. Harlan was the coach of the Aggies during World War I, and he amassed quite a good win/loss record for a man who only coached 18 games.

Texas A&M were third in the Southwest conference for both of the seasons which Harlan was head coach.

14. Walter Bachman (1905-1906)

Games Coached: 16

Won: 13

Lost: 3

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 0

Walter Bachman made his name as a player, developing the roving center position and is generally considered one of the best offensive linemen in Lafayette college history.

Walter Bachman didn't spend very long coaching at Texas A&M, though he left with one of the best winning percentages in Aggies history (.813).

It is a shame Bachman didn't get more of a chance to prove himself as a coach, as he obviously had a knack for it. After leaving the Aggies he became yardmaster for a railroad until his retirement. 

13. Mike Sherman

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ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 07: Head coach Mike Sherman of the Texas A&M Aggies during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on January 7, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Games Coached: 25

Won: 10

Lost: 15

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 0

Mike Sherman will hopefully make his way further up this list in the upcoming season, but his current losing record means that he can't be rated any higher at this stage.

Sherman has rebuilt the Aggies, making them abandon their zone-read offense run by previous coach Dennis Franchione, to adopt a system closer to what is used in the NFL.

Sherman, former Green Bay Packers coach, did not have a good first two seasons with the Aggies—both being losing seasons. But he has managed to turn the team around and the Aggies were the first in the South, though they lost the Cotton Bowl. 

12. J.E. Platt (1902-1904)

Games Coached: 26

Won: 18

Lost: 5

Tied: 3

Conference Championships: 0

J.E. Platt was the sixth ever head coach for the Aggies, and during his three seasons with Texas A&M, he managed to string together a phenomenal win loss record.

Unfortunately the team was not ranked during his .750 winning record, as it would have been interesting to see how they matched up against some of the other best teams of the time.

11. Matty Bell (1929-1933)

Games Coached: 48

Won: 24

Lost: 21

Tied: 3

Conference Championships: 0 

Matty Bell is in the College Football Hall of Fame, but he didn't make it there just on the strength of his time with the Aggies.

He won a National Championship and two Conference Titles with the SMU Mustangs after leaving Texas A&M.

He was still a very good coach during his five seasons with A&M though, and left the team with a solid winning record, though unfortunately could not lead the Aggies to win either a conference or national championship.

10. Dennis Franchione (2003-2007)

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COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Dennis Franchione of the Texas A&M Aggies before a game with the Texas Longhorns at Kyle Field on November 23, 2007 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Games Coached: 60

Won: 32

Lost: 28

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 0

This may be the most controversial entry on this list.

Franchione was embroiled in controversy after his paid insider's newsletter was discovered by athletic director Bill Byrne, who was given it by a journalist.

This aside, Franchione has a pretty good regular season record with the Aggies and in 2004, had a winning season, even advancing to the Cotton Bowl Classic despite the team being in a rebuilding period.

On top of his decent coaching record, Franchione donated $1 million to the A&M athletic department to construct an indoor practice facility.  

9. Tom Wilson (1978-1981)

Games Coached: 34

Won: 17

Lost: 17

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 0

The coach before Tom Wilson was legend Emory Bellard, and he was replaced by another legend in Jackie Sherrill. 

During his time at A&M, Wilson only managed to accumulate a .500 winning percentage, so why is he so high on this list?

Simply because while he couldn't string together any great seasons, Wilson lead his team to postseason glory twice, winning the Hall of Fame Classic in 1978 during his first year, and the Independence Bowl in 1981 during Wilson's final year. 

8. Charles Moran (1909-1914)

Games Coached: 48

Won: 37

Lost: 8

Tied 3

Conference Championships: 0

Through most of Charles Moran's coaching career at Texas A&M the team were independent, so we cannot see how highly they were ranked against other teams, which is a disappointment. 

He has one of the best winning percentages in Aggies history (.802), and more importantly he lead the Aggies to victory over the Longhorns twice in the same season. The Longhorns hated Moran so much, they refused to play A&M until he was replaced.

When asked what he was teaching his team about losing, Moran replied "I didn't come here to lose!" And he had the statistics to back himself up.

7. Gene Stallings (1965-1971)

Games Coached:73

Won: 27

Lost: 45

Tied: 1

Conference Championships: 1

Gene Stallings has a terrible winning percentage (.377%), and only one winning season, so why is he on this list ahead of some very important coaches in A&M history?

It is quite simple: In his only winning season with A&M, he brought the Aggies a Conference Championship, and that has to mean something.

There are too many teams that have brilliant seasons, but can't get it together in the off-season.

6. Paul 'Bear' Bryant (1954-1957)

Games Coached: 41

Won: 25

Lost: 14

Tied: 2

Conference Championships: 1

Bear Bryant is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, and though it was more likely his quality of coaching at the Alabama Crimson Tides, as he is possibly their best coach of all time, he did bring a lot of class to A&M.

He turned around a terrible A&M team, ended his time at A&M with a .634 winning percentage in the regular season, and a .604 winning percentage in the Conference Finals, where he bought Texas a Conference Championship.

He also demanded racial integration in a time when the idea was strongly opposed.

5. Emory Bellard (1972-1978)

Games Coached: 81

Won: 52

Lost: 28

Tied:1

Conference Championships: 1

In his seven years as Aggies coach, Bellard distinguished himself as a top-tier coach. Bellard's career may not be as storied as some of the previous entries on this list, Bellard did lead a team to become Conference Champions.

Bellard took over a struggling A&M team and turned them around, and in his seven year tenure, finished with a winning record and three top-15 finishes. He also won the Sun Bowl in 1976.

4. Jackie Sherrill (1982-1988)

Games Coached: 81

Won: 52

Lost: 29

Tied: 0

Conference Championships: 3

If you consider yourself part of the Texas A&M 12th Man Kickoff Team, you have Jacke Sherill to thank for it, as he began the tradition during his time as coach.

In addition to that nice little piece of college history, Sherrill has three College Championships to his name and also, more importantly, has a winning record against the Longhorns.

Sure, Sherrill, ended up being from fired from Texas A&M in ignominy, but that doesn't take away from his awesome achievements as Aggies coach.

3. Homer H. Norton (1934-1947)

Games Coached: 144

Won: 82

Lost: 53

Tied: 9

Conference Championships: 3

He may not have the best winning percentage of all the coaches, but Norton has one thing that puts him above almost all the rest: In 1939, he brought the Aggies their one and only official National Championship.

The College Football Hall of Famer has also the second most wins of any coach in Texas A&M history and brought a respectable three Conference Championships to the team during his run as coach.

He may have a slightly less respectable record than the previous slide, particularly as he was fired for his inability to get his team over Texas for eight straight years, but a National Championship means something—particularly when it is the only one to your teams name.

2. Dana X. Bible (1917,1919-1928)

Games Coached: 100

Won: 72

Lost: 19

Tied: 9

Conference Championships: 5

What was Dana Bible doing during his notable one year hiatus in 1918? He was flying a plane in World War I. That is right, he isn't only the second best coach in A&M history and a College Basketball Hall of Famer, but also a certified national hero.

The man won five conference Championships and coached the greatest team in Aggies history. The 1919 A&M team had a magical season—the team went undefeated and untied 275-0. The team was retroactively named the National Conference Champions by the National Championship Foundation. 

On top of all that he also lead the Aggies to victory in the 1922 Dixie Classic, in the team's only appearance in the bowl.

1. R.C. Slocum (1989-2002)

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COLLEGE STATION, TX - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach R.C. Slocum of the Texas A&M Aggies holds his hands over his eyes during the NCAA football game against the Virginia Tech Hokies on September 21, 2002 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The Hokies won

Games Coached: 172

Won: 123

Lost: 47

Tied: 2

Conference Championships: 4

Was there ever any doubt?

During his 14 year run as head coach, Slocum never had a losing season and cemented himself in Aggies history as the winningest coach in the school's history. On top of that, Slocum won four conference championships, two divisional championships, and helped the Aggies become the first school in Southwest history to have three consecutive perfect conference seasons.

Finally, Slocum was also awarded the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year Award for three consecutive years, 1991-1993. Quite a resume.

On top of the above, and having the best winning percentage of any coach in Southwest history, Slocum was famous for being an all-round good guy. He brought a lot of good ol' boy decency and a follow-the-rules mentality to a Texas team who had become notoriously dirty. He had also gained the respect of players for stepping up and comforting players in times of tragedy.

Slocum will no doubt enter the College Football Hall of Fame soon.