# List of college football career coaching wins leaders

ATTENTION! Please do not update this list for one or a few active coaches unless you are prepared to update all active coaches in like kind and in a timely fashion. This list has been specifically dated with care and making partial updates impedes its overall maintenance. This is a list of college football coaches who are the leaders in career wins. It is limited to coaches who have won at least 200 games at a four-year college or university program in either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). If a team competed at a time before the official organization of either of the two groups but is generally accepted as a "college football program", it is included.

## Historical overview

As of the end of the end of the 2024 season, a total of 101 head football coaches have reached the milestone of 200 career coaching wins.
In the 100 years after the first college football game in 1869, only eight coaches reached the 200-win milestone. The only two who reached the mark before 1950 were Pop Warner, with 319 wins from 1895 to 1938 (mostly at Carlisle, Pittsburgh and Stanford), and Amos Alonzo Stagg, with 314 wins from 1890 to 1946 (mostly at Chicago).
By 1970, another six coaches had reached the milestone: Ace Mumford, with 233 wins from 1924 to 1961 (mostly at Southern); Fred T. Long, with 224 wins from 1921 to 1965 (mostly at Wiley); Jess Neely, with 207 wins from 1924 to 1966 (mostly at Clemson and Rice); Cleveland Abbott, with 203 wins at Tuskegee between 1923 and 1954; Jake Gaither, with 204 wins at Florida A&M from 1945 to 1969; and Eddie Anderson, with 201 wins from 1922 to 1964 (mostly at Holy Cross).
Though only eight coaches reached the milestone from 1869 to 1970, 93 coaches have reached the mark since then.

## Leaders by category

In overall career wins, the all-time leader is John Gagliardi with 489 wins, mostly at the NCAA Division III level. Gagliardi began his head coaching career at Carroll in Helena, Montana in 1949 and moved in 1953 to Saint John's in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he served until retiring after the 2012 season. Joe Paterno, the head coach at Penn State from 1966 until his 2011 firing in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, is second with 409 wins. NCAA sanctions following the scandal had stripped him of all 111 Penn State wins between 1998 and 2011, but the NCAA restored those wins on January 16, 2015 as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by the state of Pennsylvania against the NCAA. Eddie Robinson, head coach at Grambling State from 1941 to 1997 with a two-season hiatus during World War II in which Grambling did not field a team, is third with 408. Bobby Bowden is fourth with 377 wins.
Among the coaches with 200 career wins, Larry Kehres has the highest winning percentage with .929 in 27 seasons (1986–2012) as the head football coach at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Seven others finished their careers with 200 wins and a winning percentage of .800 or greater: Pete Fredenburg (.856), Jake Gaither (.844), Tom Osborne (.836), Mike Kelly (.819), Joe Fincham (.815), Ron Schipper (.808), and Nick Saban (.804). One active coach has 200 wins and a winning percentage of .800 or greater: Steve Ryan (.835).
Among coaches with at least ten seasons in NCAA Division I and its predecessors, the all-time leaders in wins are Paterno (409), Robinson (408), Bowden (377), Bear Bryant (323), and Pop Warner (319).
Considering wins in Division I FBS only—including wins with "major" programs before the 1978 split of Division I football, and wins in Division I-A/FBS after the split—the all-time leaders are Paterno (409), Bowden (377), Bryant (323), Warner (319), and Amos Alonzo Stagg (314).
The only coaches with 200 Division I FCS wins after the Division I split are Jimmye Laycock (242), Roy Kidd (223), Andy Talley (217), and Jerry Moore (215).
The all-time win leaders in NCAA Division II are Danny Hale (Bloomsburg and West Chester), Gaither and Chuck Broyles, and the all-time win leaders in NCAA Division III are Gagliardi and Kehres.
Among coaches expected to be active in 2025, the career wins leaders are Kevin Donley (356), Brian Kelly (292), and K. C. Keeler (271).
The coaches with the most wins at one college are Gagliardi (465 at Saint John's), Paterno (409 at Penn State), Robinson (408 at Grambling), Kehres (332 at Mount Union), Ken Sparks (327 at Carson–Newman), Kidd (314 at Eastern Kentucky), Bowden (304 at Florida State) and Tubby Raymond (300 at Delaware).

## Key

| * | Expected to be active in the 2025 season |
| † | Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach |
| †† | Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player |
| ††† | Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach |
| | 200 wins with a Division I program (or historic equivalent) |

## Coaches with 200 career wins

    Updated through end of 2024 season
| Rank | Name | Years | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Teams |
| 1 | John Gagliardi$^†$ | 64 | 489 | 138 | 11 | .775 | Carroll (MT) (1949–1952), Saint John's (MN) (1953–2012) |
| 2 | Joe Paterno$^†$ | 46 | 409 | 136 | 3 | .749 | Penn State (1966–2011) |
| 3 | Eddie Robinson$^†$ | 55 | 408 | 165 | 15 | .707 | Grambling (1941–1942, 1945–1997) |
| 4 | Bobby Bowden$^†$ | 44 | 377 | 129 | 4 | .743 | Samford (1959–1962), West Virginia (1970–1975), Florida State (1976–2009) |
| 5 | Kevin Donley$^*$ | 46 | 356 | 157 | 1 | .694 | Anderson (IN) (1978–1981), Georgetown (KY) (1982–1992), California (PA) (1993–1996), Saint Francis (IN) (1998–present) |
| 6 | Ken Sparks | 37 | 338 | 99 | 2 | .772 | Carson–Newman (1980–2016) |
| 7 | Larry Kehres$^†$ | 27 | 332 | 24 | 3 | .929 | Mount Union (1986–2012) |
| 8 | Bear Bryant$^†$ | 38 | 323 | 85 | 17 | .780 | Maryland (1945), Kentucky (1946–1953), Texas A&M (1954–1957), Alabama (1958–1982) |
| 9 | Pop Warner$^†$ | 49 | 319 | 106 | 32 | .730 | Georgia (1895–1896), Iowa State (1895–1899), Cornell (1897–1898, 1904–1906), Carlisle (1899–1903, 1907–1914), Pittsburgh (1915–1923), Stanford (1924–1932), Temple (1933–1938) |
| 10 | Roy Kidd$^†$ | 39 | 314 | 124 | 8 | .713 | Eastern Kentucky (1964–2002) |
| 10 | Amos Alonzo Stagg$^{†††}$ | 57 | 314 | 199 | 35 | .605 | Springfield (1890–1891), Chicago (1892–1932), Pacific (CA) (1933–1946) |
| 12 | Frosty Westering$^†$ | 40 | 305 | 96 | 7 | .756 | Parsons (1962–1963), Lea (1966–1971), Pacific Lutheran (1972–2003) |
| 12 | Larry Wilcox | 42 | 305 | 153 | 0 | .666 | Benedictine (KS) (1979–2020) |
| 14 | Tubby Raymond$^†$ | 36 | 300 | 119 | 3 | .714 | Delaware (1966–2001) |
| 15 | Brian Kelly$^*$ | 35 | 292 | 107 | 2 | .731 | Grand Valley State (1991–2003), Central Michigan (2004–2006), Cincinnati (2006–2009), Notre Dame (2010–2021), LSU (2022–present) |
| 15 | Nick Saban | 28 | 292 | 71 | 1 | .804 | Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995–1999), LSU (2000–2004), Alabama (2007–2023) |
| 17 | Ron Schipper$^†$ | 36 | 287 | 67 | 3 | .808 | Central (IA) (1961–1996) |
| 18 | Mack Brown$^†$ | 36 | 288 | 155 | 1 | .650 | Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985–1987), North Carolina (1988–1997, 2019–2024), Texas (1998–2013) |
| 19 | Frank Beamer$^†$ | 35 | 280 | 144 | 4 | .657 | Murray State (1981–1986), Virginia Tech (1987–2015) |
| 20 | Monte Cater | 37 | 275 | 117 | 2 | .701 | Lakeland (1981–1986), Shepherd (1987–2017) |
| 21 | K. C. Keeler$^*$ | 31 | 271 | 112 | 1 | .707 | Rowan (1993–2001), Delaware (2002–2012), Sam Houston State (2014–2024), Temple (2025–present) |
| 22 | Al Bagnoli | 40 | 269 | 134 | 0 | .667 | Union (NY) (1982–1991), Penn (1992–2014), Columbia (2015–2022) |
| 22 | Bob Ford | 45 | 265 | 191 | 1 | .581 | St. Lawrence (1965–1968), Albany (1973–2013) |
| 23 | Dennis Douds | 45 | 264 | 204 | 3 | .564 | East Stroudsburg (1974–2018) |
| 25 | Roger Harring$^†$ | 31 | 261 | 75 | 7 | .771 | Wisconsin–La Crosse (1969–1999) |
| 26 | Rick Giancola | 39 | 260 | 143 | 2 | .644 | Montclair State (1983–2022) |
| 27 | Hank Biesiot | 38 | 258 | 121 | 1 | .680 | Dickinson State (1976–2013) |
| 28 | LaVell Edwards$^†$ | 29 | 257 | 101 | 3 | .716 | BYU (1972–2000) |
| 28 | Frank Girardi$^†$ | 36 | 257 | 97 | 5 | .723 | Lycoming (1972–2007) |
| 28 | Andy Talley$^†$ | 37 | 257 | 155 | 2 | .623 | St. Lawrence (1979–83), Villanova (1985–2016) |
| 31 | Jim Malosky | 40 | 255 | 125 | 13 | .665 | Minnesota–Duluth (1958–1997) |
| 31 | Tom Osborne$^†$ | 25 | 255 | 49 | 3 | .836 | Nebraska (1973–1997) |
| 33 | Steve Johnson | 34 | 252 | 110 | 1 | .696 | Bethel (MN) (1989–2023) |
| 34 | Lou Holtz$^†$ | 33 | 249 | 132 | 7 | .651 | William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State (1972–1975), Arkansas (1977–1983), Minnesota (1984–1985), Notre Dame (1986–1996), South Carolina (1999–2004) |
| 34 | Jimmye Laycock | 39 | 249 | 194 | 2 | .562 | William & Mary (1980–2018) |
| 36 | Rob Ash | 36 | 246 | 137 | 5 | .640 | Juniata (1980–1988), Drake (1989–2006), Montana State (2007–2015) |
| 36 | Mike Kelly$^†$ | 27 | 246 | 54 | 1 | .819 | Dayton (1981–2007) |
| 38 | Billy Joe$^†$ | 34 | 245 | 127 | 4 | .657 | Cheyney (1972–1978), Central State (1981–1993), Florida A&M (1994–2004), Miles (2008–2010) |
| 39 | Jerry Moore$^†$ | 31 | 242 | 135 | 2 | .641 | North Texas (1979–1980), Texas Tech (1981–1985), Appalachian State (1989–2012) |
| 39 | Mel Tjeerdsma$^†$ | 27 | 242 | 82 | 4 | .744 | Austin (1984–1993), Northwest Missouri State (1994–2010) |
| 41 | Steve Ryan$^*$ | 23 | 240 | 47 | 0 | .836 | Morningside (2002–present) |
| 42 | Bob Nielson | 32 | 239 | 128 | 1 | .651 | Ripon (1989–1990), Wartburg (1991–1995), Wisconsin–Eau Claire (1996–1998), Minnesota–Duluth (1999–2003, 2008–2012), Western Illinois (2013–2015), South Dakota (2016–2024) |
| 43 | Woody Hayes$^†$ | 33 | 238 | 72 | 10 | .759 | Denison (1946–1948), Miami (OH) (1949–1950), Ohio State (1951–1978) |
| 44 | John Merritt$^†$ | 32 | 235 | 70 | 12 | .760 | Jackson State (1952–1962), Tennessee State (1963–1983) |
| 45 | Chris Ault$^†$ | 28 | 234 | 108 | 1 | .684 | Nevada (1976–1992, 1994–1995, 2004–2012) |
| 45 | Rich Lackner | 36 | 234 | 125 | 2 | .651 | Carnegie Mellon (1986–2021) |
| 45 | Bo Schembechler$^†$ | 27 | 234 | 65 | 8 | .775 | Miami (OH) (1963–1968), Michigan (1969–1989) |
| 48 | Ace Mumford$^†$ | 36 | 233 | 85 | 23 | .717 | Jarvis Christian (1924–1926), Bishop (1927–1929), Texas College (1931–1935), Southern (1936–1942, 1944–1961) |
| 48 | Joe Taylor | 30 | 233 | 96 | 4 | .706 | Howard (1983), Virginia Union (1984–1991), Hampton (1992–2007), Florida A&M (2008–2012) |
| 50 | Norm Eash | 38 | 232 | 134 | 1 | .634 | Illinois Wesleyan (1987–2024) |
| 50 | Hayden Fry$^†$ | 37 | 232 | 178 | 10 | .564 | SMU (1962–1972), North Texas (1973–1978), Iowa (1979–1998) |
| 50 | Tim Murphy | 36 | 232 | 134 | 1 | .634 | Maine (1987–1988), Cincinnati (1989–1993), Harvard (1994–2023) |
| 53 | Pete Fredenburg | 24 | 231 | 39 | 0 | .856 | Mary Hardin–Baylor (1998–2021) |
| 54 | Willard Bailey | 37 | 230 | 150 | 7 | .603 | Virginia Union (1971–1983, 1995–2003), Norfolk State (1984–1992), Saint Paul's (VA) (2005–2010) |
| 55 | Mike Drass | 25 | 229 | 61 | 1 | .789 | Wesley (DE) (1993–2017) |
| 55 | Jim Tressel$^†$ | 25 | 229 | 79 | 2 | .742 | Youngstown State (1986–2000), Ohio State (2001–2010) |
| 57 | Steve Spurrier$^{†††}$ | 26 | 228 | 89 | 2 | .718 | Duke (1987–1989), Florida (1990–2001), South Carolina (2005–2015) |
| 58 | John Luckhardt$^†$ | 27 | 225 | 70 | 2 | .761 | Washington & Jefferson (1982–1998), California (PA) (2002–2011) |
| 59 | Joe Fincham | 25 | 224 | 51 | 0 | .815 | Wittenberg (1996–2021) |
| 59 | Fred T. Long | 44 | 224 | 145 | 31 | .599 | Paul Quinn (1921–1922), Wiley (1923–1947, 1956–1965), Prairie View A&M (1948), Texas College (1949–1954) |
| 61 | Walt Hameline | 34 | 223 | 139 | 2 | .615 | Wagner (1981–2014) |
| 62 | Jim Margraff | 29 | 221 | 89 | 3 | .711 | Johns Hopkins (1990–2018) |
| 63 | Gene Carpenter$^†$ | 32 | 220 | 90 | 6 | .706 | Adams State (1968), Millersville (1970–2000) |
| 63 | Larry Kindbom | 37 | 220 | 149 | 1 | .596 | Kenyon (1983–1988), Washington (MO) (1989–2019) |
| 65 | Mike Feminis$^*$ | 26 | 219 | 88 | 0 | .713 | Saint Xavier (1999–present) |
| 65 | Ted Kessinger$^†$ | 28 | 219 | 57 | 1 | .792 | Bethany (KS) (1976–2003) |
| 68 | Mike Ayers | 33 | 218 | 160 | 2 | .577 | East Tennessee State (1985–1987), Wofford (1988–2017) |
| 68 | Bill Cronin | 25 | 218 | 65 | 0 | .770 | Georgetown (KY) (1997–2021) |
| 68 | Ron Harms$^†$ | 31 | 218 | 112 | 5 | .658 | Concordia (NE) (1964–1969), Adams State (1970–1973), Texas A&M–Kingsville (1979–1999) |
| 68 | Ron Randleman | 36 | 218 | 167 | 6 | .565 | William Penn (1969–1975), Pittsburg State (1976–1981), Sam Houston State (1982–2004) |
| 71 | Jim Christopherson | 32 | 217 | 102 | 7 | .676 | Concordia (Moorhead) (1969–2000) |
| 71 | Fred Martinelli$^†$ | 35 | 217 | 119 | 12 | .641 | Ashland (1959–1993) |
| 71 | Bill Zwaan | 25 | 217 | 90 | 0 | .707 | Widener (1997–2002), West Chester (2003–2023) |
| 74 | Kirk Ferentz$^*$ | 29 | 216 | 145 | 0 | .598 | Maine (1990–1992), Iowa (1999–present) |
| 75 | Bill Snyder$^†$ | 27 | 215 | 117 | 1 | .647 | Kansas State (1989–2005, 2009–2018) |
| 76 | Sherman Wood$^*$ | 32 | 214 | 119 | 1 | .642 | Bowie State (1993–1998), Salisbury (1999–present) |
| 77 | Dennis Franchione | 30 | 213 | 135 | 2 | .611 | Southwestern (KS) (1981–1982), Pittsburg State (1985–1989), Texas State (1990–1991), New Mexico (1992–1997), TCU (1998–2000), Alabama (2001–2002), Texas A&M (2003–2007), Texas State (2011–2015) |
| 77 | Danny Hale | 25 | 213 | 69 | 1 | .754 | West Chester (1984–1988), Bloomsburg (1993–2012) |
| 79 | Willie Fritz$^*$ | 28 | 212 | 124 | 0 | .631 | Central Missouri Mules (1997–2009), Sam Houston State (2010–2013), Georgia Southern (2014–2015), Tulane (2016–2023), Houston (2024–present) |
| 79 | Eric Hamilton | 36 | 212 | 144 | 6 | .594 | TCNJ (1977–2012) |
| 79 | Larry Korver | 29 | 212 | 77 | 7 | .729 | Northwestern (IA) (1968–1994) |
| 79 | Bill Manlove$^†$ | 32 | 212 | 111 | 1 | .656 | Widener (1969–1991), Delaware Valley (1992–1995), La Salle (1997–2001) |
| 83 | Peter Mazzaferro | 41 | 209 | 158 | 11 | .567 | Waynesburg (1959–1963), Curry (1963), Bridgewater State (1968–1986, 1988–2004) |
| 83 | Mike Swider | 24 | 209 | 52 | 0 | .798 | Wheaton (IL) (1996–2019) |
| 85 | Jess Neely$^†$ | 40 | 207 | 176 | 19 | .539 | Southwestern (TN) (1924–1927), Clemson (1931–1939), Rice (1940–1966) |
| 86 | Jim Butterfield$^†$ | 27 | 206 | 71 | 1 | .743 | Ithaca (1967–1993) |
| 86 | Mike Maynard | 32 | 206 | 91 | 1 | .693 | Redlands (1988–2021) |
| 88 | Harold Elliott | 37 | 205 | 179 | 9 | .533 | Southwestern (KS) (1964–1968), Washburn (1969–1970), Emporia State (1971–1973), Texas–Arlington (1974–1983), Northwest Missouri State (1988–1993), Eastern New Mexico (1994–2004) |
| 88 | Carl Poelker | 31 | 205 | 100 | 1 | .672 | Millikin (1982–1995), McKendree (1996–2012) |
| 90 | Jake Gaither$^†$ | 25 | 204 | 36 | 4 | .844 | Florida A&M (1945–1969) |
| 91 | Cleveland Abbott | 31 | 203 | 96 | 28 | .664 | Tuskegee (1923–1954) |
| 91 | Mike Van Diest | 20 | 203 | 54 | 0 | .790 | Carroll (MT) (1999–2018) |
| 91 | Warren B. Woodson$^†$ | 31 | 203 | 95 | 14 | .673 | Arkansas State Teachers (1935–1940), Hardin–Simmons (1941–1942, 1946–1951), Arizona (1952–1956), New Mexico State (1958–1967), Trinity (TX) (1972–1973) |
| 94 | Don Nehlen$^†$ | 30 | 202 | 128 | 8 | .609 | Bowling Green (1968–1976), West Virginia (1980–2000) |
| 95 | Eddie Anderson$^†$ | 39 | 201 | 128 | 15 | .606 | Loras (1922–1924), DePaul (1925–1931), Holy Cross (1933–1938, 1950–1964) Iowa (1939–1942, 1946–1949) |
| 95 | Mike DeLong | 34 | 201 | 139 | 2 | .591 | Maine Maritime (1979–1980), Springfield (1984–2015) |
| 95 | Vince Dooley$^†$ | 25 | 201 | 77 | 10 | .715 | Georgia (1964–1988) |
| 95 | Keith W. Piper | 39 | 201 | 141 | 18 | .583 | Denison (1954–1992) |
| 99 | Joe Glenn | 28 | 200 | 134 | 1 | .599 | Doane (1976–1979), Northern Colorado (1989–1999), Montana (2000–2002), Wyoming (2003–2008), South Dakota (2012–2015) |
| 99 | Darrell Mudra$^†$ | 26 | 200 | 81 | 4 | .709 | Adams State (1959–1962), North Dakota State (1963–1965), Arizona (1967–1968), Western Illinois (1969–1973), Florida State (1974–1975), Eastern Illinois (1978–1982), Northern Iowa (1983–1987) |
| 99 | Jim Sweeney | 32 | 200 | 154 | 4 | .564 | Montana State (1963–1967), Washington State (1968–1975), Fresno State (1976–1977, 1980–1996) |

## Active coaches nearing 200 career wins

    This list identifies active coaches with at least 175 career wins; updated through end of 2024 season
| Rank | Name | Years | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Teams |
| $^*$ | Paul Vosburgh | 36 | 199 | 175 | 0 | .529 | William Penn (1985–1987), St. John Fisher (1991–present) |
| $^*$ | Chris Creighton | 28 | 196 | 121 | 0 | .618 | Ottawa (KS) (1997–2000), Wabash (2001–2007), Drake (2008–2013), Eastern Michigan (2014–present) |
| $^*$ | Mike Sirianni | 22 | 194 | 46 | 0 | .808 | Washington & Jefferson (2003–present) |
| $^*$ | Todd Knight | 31 | 190 | 135 | 2 | .584 | Delta State (1993–1998), Ouachita Baptist Tigers (1999–present) |
| $^*$ | Rich Rodriguez | 27 | 190 | 129 | 2 | .595 | Salem (1988), Glenville State (1990–1996), West Virginia (2001–2007), Michigan (2008–2010), Arizona (2012–2017), Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2022–2024), West Virginia (2025–present) |
| $^*$ | Kevin Callahan | 32 | 188 | 148 | 0 | .560 | Monmouth (1993–present) |
| $^*$ | Chris Hatcher | 25 | 182 | 108 | 0 | .630 | Valdosta State (2000–2006), Georgia Southern (2007–2009), Murray State (2010–2014), Samford (2015–present) |
| $^*$ | Dabo Swinney | 17 | 180 | 47 | 0 | .793 | Clemson (2008–present) |