Gym Cracks By Jim December 18, 2002 CREAM OF COACHING CROP Osborne and Devaney on list of top college football coaches of all time By Jim (Babe) Berryman MissingNebraska.com Western Nebraska I recently had the opportunity to peruse The Pigskin Post's top 50 football coaches of all time. This online publication doesn't provide the criteria used to determine the top 50 coaches. The only criterion mentioned was the countdown included all Division I coaches who were head coaches for at least ten seasons. Tom Osborne was awarded the 13th slot. Many Nebraskans cannot imagine 12 coaches better than Osborne. Two other Nebraska football coaches are on the list. Bob Devaney who turned the football fortunes around in Lincoln is listed at number 24. Number 48 was Dana X. Bible. What coaches were rated ahead of Osborne? Most of those rated above Osborne have retired from active coaching. The only active coaches rated ahead of Osborne are Joe Paterno (Penn State) in the fourth position, and Bobby Bowden (Florida State) in the seventh position. Who would you list as the number one Division 1 football coach of all time? This publication selected Bear Bryant who held head coaching responsibilities at Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Notre Dame coaches held the number two and three positions. Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy were number two and three, respectively. Small colleges and black colleges also had representation on this list. Earl "Red" Blaik who coached at Dartmouth and Army made the top ten, in ninth position. The black colleges were represented by Eddie Robinson (Grambling) in the tenth position, and "Jake" Gaither (Florida A&M) in the 38th position. The top 25 football coaches according to The Pigskin Post are as follows: 1. Bear Bryant - Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama 2. Knute Rockne - Notre Dame 3. Frank Leahy - Notre Dame 4. Joe Paterno - Penn State 5. Bud Wilkinson - Oklahoma 6. Fielding Yost - Michigan 7. Bobby Bowden - Florida State 8. Woody Hayes - Ohio State 9. Earl "Red" Blaik - Dartmouth, Army 10. Eddie Robinson - Grambling 11. Glen "Pop" Warner - Pittsburg, Stanford 12. John McKay - Southern California 13. TOM OSBORNE - NEBRASKA 14. Bob Neyland - Tennessee 15. Darrell Royal - Texas 16. Barry Switzer - Oklahoma 17. Lou Holtz - Arkansas, Notre Dame, South Carolina 18. Don James - Washington 19. Ara Parseghian - Miami (OH), Northwestern, Notre Dame 20. Bobby Dodd - Georgia Tech 21. Bo Schembechler - Michigan 22. Amos Alonzo Stagg - Chicago 23. Howard Jones - University Southern California 24. BOB DEVANEY - NEBRASKA 25. Steve Spurrier - Florida We welcome your comments! Feedback Previous Gym Cracks: 11-28-02: The Big Picture Gym Cracks By Jim 11-18-02: 2 For 2 Gym Cracks By Jim 10-25-02: Sweet On Switzer Gym Cracks By Jim 10-17-02: Best Time Year Gym Cracks By Jim 10-11-02: Odds And Ends Gym Cracks By Jim 10-04-02: The Rating Game Gym Cracks By Jim 09-22-02: Fans Panned Gym Cracks By Jim 09-12-02: World Herald Calling Gym Cracks 09-05-02: Bit By Baseball Bug Gym Cracks 08-29-02: Caring Coaches Gym Cracks 08-22-02: Nebraska "Storm" Hits Colorado Gym Cracks 08-15-02: Cubs Win, Wallet Drained Gym Cracks 08-08-02: To Coors For Cubs Gym Cracks 07-25-02: Major League Madness Gym Cracks 07-18-02: Nebraskans In The Majors Gym Cracks 07-11-02: Kile Death Sheds Light Gym Cracks 07-04-02: Couch Potato Parking Gym Cracks 06-23-02: Top 10 Nebraska High School Nicknames Gym Cracks 06-06-02: Better In The 50s Gym Cracks 05-30-02: Dangerfield of Nebraska Gym Cracks 05-16-02: Baseball Sneak Aways Gym Cracks