Ahh, Johnny Vaught.....he went 6-7-1 against Bear Bryant...not too shabby. What was the deal with him coming back to Ole Miss in 1973 after coaching from 1947-1970? Seems like at that point he woulda been solidly retired? And this is the dude who had a famous quote or sumpin he said about playing at LSU's Tiger Stadium.
Ole Miss tried to play "hire the ole school hero." They hired an ex all american named Kinard to coach. That was not like the start of a slide for OM. It was more like the first step off of a cliff. Run for one yard, run for two yards, no gain, punt. Talent was there but you sure couldn't have proved it. OM fired Kinard and brought Vaught back for the rest of the season. He had had a heart attack earlier. The first game was against So. Miss. The crowd was going wild as the Rebs were about to take the field. On the first play of the game, OM threw the bomb. Incomplete. THE CROWD GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION......OM beat Southern something like 50 points. But his health would not allow him to coach again permanently. He still lives in Oxford. He and Cholly Mac had some good ones. Both highly respected the other. I think the quote you are talking about was this.......He was being interviewed for something. While talking about LSU, he said that he did not mind playing at TS. It was a much larger stadium and OM got a good payday. He also said that he felt like OM could pretty much beat LSU at home or at TS. This was in the years that OM was winning pretty often against LSU. Times do change though. :grin:
What division Eddie Robinson coached in doesn't matter. It's all relative. Even though he played lesser competition, he had lesser talent and he won alot. IMO coaching I-AA is harder b/c you dont have less coaches, facilities, and academic services. Many times the coach is also teacher and trainer. Also, Robinson had always had 80% plus grad rate. That is why he's my number one.
For much of his coaching career Robinson did not have lesser talent. He coached in an era when the SEC and other big time schools were all white. Robinson got the cream of the crop of NFL quality black players. Nowdays these great black players don't go to Grambling or Southern. They play for LSU, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, ect.
I think you must consider several factors here, not just wins/losses, National Championships, or All-Americans. To me, it's also about innovation, longevity, contributions to the game, success within the context of tremendous adversity. I would bet that if you polled head coaches today & asked them this same question, the list would be far different from one compiled by fans. Frankly, trying to name a Top 5 is simply impossible. Here goes an attempt. Since 1950 and with at least 100 wins,and BTW,I am in no way biased. 1.- Bud Wilkinson 2.- Barry Switzer 3.- Bear Bryant 4.- Joe Paterno 5.- Tom Osborne 6.- Bo Schembeckler I earlier said that I would not put Paterno in my list. I have changed my mind. Switzer was one of the very first Head Coaches to really go after and recruit Black players.
You're not biased but you have 2 OU coaches at #1 and #2? Come on. Both Wilkinson and Switzer deserve to be high on any list but not that high.
You could scramble them up anyway you want to as long as you don't put Tom Osborne ahead of Switzer. Osborne was around 4-12 against Switzer.
He was 5-12 against Switzer. That's why I have Switzer so high in my list, to beat your main rival who is constantly in the top 5 or top 10 every time you play them and to beat them with such frequency says volumes for what kind of coach he was. About the only negative was lack of longevity and the way in which he left the program (under allegations).
