List of Nebraska Cornhuskers head football coaches
The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. The team is currently coached by Scott Frost.
Six past Nebraska head coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: Eddie N. Robinson, Fielding H. Yost, Dana X. Bible, Biff Jones, Bob Devaney, and Tom Osborne. Osborne is the program's all-time leader in most major categories; his .836 career winning percentage is fourth-highest in major college football history.[1] Thirteen Nebraska coaches have won a conference championship at the school, and Devaney and Osborne combined to win five national titles.
The program's first extended period of success came under the leadership of W.C. Cole and Ewald O. Stiehm. Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of 34 consecutive games without a loss, still a program record.[2] Despite a span of 21 conference championships in 33 seasons, the Cornhuskers didn't experience major national success until Devaney was hired in 1962. In eleven seasons as head coach, Devaney won two national championships, eight conference titles, and coached 22 All-Americans, but perhaps his most lasting achievement was the hiring of Osborne as offensive coordinator in 1969.[3] Osborne was named Devaney's successor in 1973, and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history with his trademark I-form offense and revolutionary strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs.[4][5][6] Following Osborne's retirement in 1997, Nebraska cycled through four head coaches before hiring state native Scott Frost in 2017.[7]
Coaching history
No. | Coach[A 1] | Tenure | Overall | Conference | Accomplishments‡ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Langdon Frothingham | 1890 | 2–0 (1.000) | – | ||
Theron Lyman | 1891 | 0–1 (.000) | – | ||
J. S. Williams | 1892 | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | ||
1 | Frank Crawford | 1893–94 | 9–4–1 (.679) | 3–3 (.500) | WIUFA champion (1894) |
2 | Charles Thomas | 1895 | 6–3 (.667) | 2–1 (.667) | WIUFA champion (1895) |
3 | Eddie N. Robinson | 1896–97 | 11–4–1 (.719) | 4–1–1 (.750) | WIUFA champion (1897) College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1955)[9] |
4 | Fielding H. Yost | 1898 | 8–3–0 (.727) | – | College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1951)[10] |
5 | Alonzo Edwin Branch | 1899 | 1–7–1 (.167) | – | |
6 | Walter C. Booth | 1900–05 | 46–8–1 (.845) | – | |
7 | Amos Foster | 1906 | 6–4 (.600) | – | |
8 | William C. Cole | 1907–10 | 25–8–3 (.736) | 5–2–1 (.688) | MVIAA champion (1907,1910) |
9 | Ewald O. Stiehm | 1911–15 | 35–2–3 (.913) | 14–0–1 (.967) | National champion (1915) MVIAA champion (1911–15) |
10 | E. J. Stewart | 1916–17 | 11–4 (.733) | 5–1 (.833) | MVIAA champion (1916,1917) |
11 | William G. Kline | 1918 | 2–3–1 (.417) | – | |
12 | Henry Schulte | 1919–20 | 8–6–3 (.559) | – | |
13 | Fred Dawson | 1921–24 | 23–7–2 (.750) | 14–1–2 (.882) | National champion (1921) MVIAA champion (1921–23) |
14 | Ernest Bearg | 1925–28 | 23–7–3 (.742) | 16–4–1 (.786) | Big Six champion (1928) |
15 | Dana X. Bible | 1929–36 | 50–15–7 (.743) | 33–3–4 (.875) | Big Six champion (1929,1931–33,1935,1936) College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1951)[11] |
16 | Biff Jones | 1937–41 | 28–14–4 (.652) | 17–6–2 (.720) | Big Six champion (1937,1940) College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1954)[12] |
17 | Glenn Presnell | 1942 | 3–7 (.300) | 3–2 (.600) | |
18 | Adolph Lewandowski | 1943–44 | 4–12 (.250) | 4–6 (.400) | |
19 | George Clark | 1945, 1948 | 6–13 (.316) | 4–7 (.364) | |
20 | Bernie Masterson | 1946–47 | 5–13 (.278) | 5–5 (.500) | |
21 | Bill Glassford | 1949–55 | 31–35–3 (.471) | 23–18–1 (.560) | |
22 | Pete Elliott | 1956 | 4–6 (.400) | 3–3 (.500) | |
23 | Bill Jennings | 1957–61 | 15–34–1 (.310) | 6–19 (.240) | |
24 | Bob Devaney | 1962–72 | 101–20–2 (.829) | 62–14–1 (.812) | National champion (1970,1971) Big Eight champion (1963–66,1969–72) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1971)[13] Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1971)[14] College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1981)[15] |
25 | Tom Osborne[A 2] | 1973–97 | 255–49–3 (.836) | 153–22–1 (.872) | National champion (1980–84,1993,1994,1995,1997) Big Eight champion (1975,1978,1981–84,1988,1991–95); Big 12 champion (1997) Big 12 North champion (1996,1997) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (1978)[17] AFCA Coach of the Year (1994)[18] College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1998)[19] |
26 | Frank Solich | 1998–2003 | 58–19 (.753) | 33–15 (.688) | National champion (1999) Big 12 champion (1999) Big 12 North champion (1999–2001) |
27 | Bill Callahan | 2004–07 | 27–22 (.551) | 15–17 (.469) | Big 12 North champion (2006) |
28 | Bo Pelini[A 3] | 2003†, 2008–14 | 67–27 (.713) | 38–17 (.691) | Big 12 North champion (2008–10); Big Ten Legends champion (2012) |
Barney Cotton[A 4] | 2014† | 0–1 (.000) | – | ||
29 | Mike Riley[A 5] | 2015–17 | 19–19 (.500) | 12–14 (.462) | |
30 | Scott Frost | 2018– | 12–20 (.375) | 9–17 (.346) |
† Interim head coach
‡ Claimed national titles in bold
Notes
- Nebraska's earliest coaching history is unclear. Many were nominal in their roles and likely only coached single games, if any. Nebraska played with no official coach until Frank Crawford was hired in 1893[8]
- Osborne, then athletic director, appointed himself interim head coach following the firing of Bill Callahan in 2007. This was only for recruiting purposes, and Osborne did not coach any games[16]
- Pelini served as interim head coach for the 2003 Alamo Bowl[20]
- Cotton served as interim head coach for the 2014 Holiday Bowl
- Trent Bray briefly served as interim head coach after Riley was fired in 2017, but did not coach any games[21]
References
- "NCAA Coaching Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2008. pp. 189, 192.
- "Nebraska Football Schedules 1910–1919". HuskerMax. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
- "Tom's Time: Devaney Selects His Successor". HuskerMax. October 3, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- "The 150 greatest coaches in college football's 150-year history". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- "The Greatest Coaches in College Football History". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- "Epley leaving Huskers". Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- "Nebraska officially announces hiring of Scott Frost, introductory press conference scheduled for Sunday". Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- http://www.huskersnside.com//pdf5/40179.pdf?
- "EDWARD "ROBBIE" ROBINSON". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "FIELDING YOST". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "DANA BIBLE". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "LAWRENCE "BIFF" JONES". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "The Walter Camp Coach of the Year". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "ALL-TIME EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD WINNERS". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "BOB DEVANEY". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "Recruiting Tool: Osborne Names Himself Interim Coach". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- "Previous Winners". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "Awards". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "TOM OSBORNE". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "Recruiting Tool: Osborne Names Himself Interim Coach". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- "Nebraska updates coaching web site with Trent Bray as interim head coach, no other assistants listed". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- General
- "Nebraska Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- "Year-by-Year Results (1890–2008)" (PDF). Huskers.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2010-01-27.