How Many Great Coordinators Were Actually Great Head Coaches?

Sark and Lane have done pretty well.

Jimbo won a title.

Mark Richt was good, too.

Most great coaches I wound say every single one were a good coordinator at some point .

Dan Lanning is another off the top of my head.

Bob Stoops

Erk Russell at Georgia Southern....

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no one has ever accused Nick Saban of being a great defensive coordinator.

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Well this is just incorrect.

Almost ALL head coaches started out as position coaches and then coordinators. This thread is about when they hit their ceiling

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Not to rain on your parade, but majority of head coaches started as Coordinators baw

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No shite, that is how people advance. Most started as position coaches.

I did not do a good job asking my question. So I will try this.

How many great coordinators who become head coaches ended up being great head coaches? And how many of the all time great coaches were known as all time great coordinators? I would say very few. For example:

Chip Kelly - insanely good coordinator, has not been able to be a great head coach.

Will Muschamp - insanely good defensive coordinator, not a great head coach.

Jeremy Pruitt - insanely good coordinator, has a show cause from being a head coach

Bob Petrino - great offensive coordinator, has a horrible legacy as a head coach.

Mike Dubose - very good defensive coordinator, ended up as a 5A head coach.

Mike Leach - insanely good offensive coordinator - and I will get hate for this - he was not equally as skilled as a head coach.

There are a hundred other examples.

For NFL fans Buddy Ryan is a good example. One of the greatest defensive coordinators ever. Never won a single playoff game and did not have a winning record as a head coach.


My point is that being a head coach vs. coordinator requires slightly different skill sets.

And most coaches do not possess both.

Nick Saban was not known as a great coordinator. That is why Nick Saban left the NFL to take the Michigan State head coaching job. Turns out he was better at running the ship than shoveling the coal into the boilers.

If you put a master mechanic as CEO of a car manufacturer the company likely goes bankrupt. If you put a CEO of a car manufacturer in the shop you likely end up with a worker’s comp claim.

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No shite, that is how people advance. Most started as position coaches. I did not do a good job asking my question. So I will try this

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Obviously not.

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So far the list is: Pete Carroll Kirby Smart

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Nah man it’s subjective. Most would say (outside of the many others mentioned) guys like Kiffin, Sark, Jimbo, etc are/were pretty great at both. You evidently don’t think so.

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You evidently don’t think so.

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I don’t think any coach at a top half p4 program can be considered a great head coach if they don’t have a national championship, a couple of conference titles, or both.

And even then it is debatable.

I do not feel Jimbo Fisher is a great head coach. I think Jameis Winston is owed more crab legs from Jimbo. Jimbo and Ed Orgeron were very similar. Very good position coaches/coordinators. Blessed with Heisman winning; best player in football; quarterbacks as head coaches. But they are a step above Gene Chizik, who rode Cam Newton to a national championship too.

Here is the crazy thing that LSU fans won’t believe, a bit of a compliment. I think Ed Orgeron was a hell of a coach - just not a great head coach. Great DL line coach and good DC. Incredible recruiter and motivator. But not a great head coach despite the national title.