The college football world is dealing with the reality that Nick Saban is no longer roaming a college football sideline. The former Alabama head coach announced his retirement, which immediately intensified the discussion over the greatest college football coaches of all-time.
As such, 247Sports put out its winningest coaches of all-time list over the weekend. And the name Eddie Robinson was nowhere to be found. Robinson led his Grambling State University program to 408 wins from 1941 through 1997, the most of any man to coach college football when he retired. But he was not on the 247Sports list.
Only one man in the history of college football won more games than Eddie Robinson. Joe Paterno won 409 games as Penn State head coach from 1966 through 2011 when he was fired following the Joe Sandusky scandal. He had 111 wins vacated following that scandal which were eventually re-instated, giving him one win more than Eddie Robinson. Coincidently, Paterno was a three-time award winner of the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in college football by the Football Writer’s Association of America.
None of the other coaches on that list won more games than Eddie Robinson.
Bear Bryant won 323 games in an SEC that was completely closed to African-American players for the majority of his time at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama – players that Robinson had on his team that would have likely been competing for an SEC program today.
But those coaches both coached at what is now the FBS level for their entire careers – so maybe this list is just for FBS coaches, right?
Wrong.
No. 4 on the list is Pop Warner, credited with 311 wins. From 1897 through 1914, Warner split his coaching career from Carlisle and Cornell. Carlisle is a school that became defunct more than 50 years before the NCAA created the FBS. Cornell is currently an FCS school – just like Grambling State University.
Amos Alonzo Stagg won 282 games at Chicago – which is now a Division III program – along with Williston College and Pacific – and he’s on the list.
The rest of the list is filled with coaches who won 275 games or less, ending with Lou Holtz at 249.
Robinson achieved excellence despite the racism and lack of resources that the men on this list never had to deal with, and he won more.
Lists are a dime a dozen these days – and everyone is entitled to them. But there is no way you have a comprehensive list of the top football coaches of all time and not have the name Eddie Robinson on it.