The Adrian Bulldogs football program is a college football team that represents Adrian College in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a part of the Division III (NCAA). The team has had 25 head coaches and one interim head coach since its first recorded football game in 1892. [1] The current coach is Joe Palka who first took the position for the 2024 season.
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason [A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches [A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties [A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage [A 4] | ||||
| No. | Name | Term | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | CCs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unknown | 1892–1902, 1905 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | E. E. Tarr | 1903–1904 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Coach Huffstrater | 1906–1910 | 26 | 7 | 15 | 4 | .346 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Tom Leith | 1911–1912 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Coach Brown | 1913 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Frank Coombs | 1914 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | W. H. Dague | 1915 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Perry Grimm | 1916–1917 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| X | No team | 1918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Harvey E. Orwick | 1919 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | B. M. Allman | 1921–1922 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .688 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Dale R. "Spank" Sprankle | 1923–1935 | 115 | 55 | 52 | 8 | .513 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Frank Ballenger | 1936–1937 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | .222 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Harve A. Oliphant | 1938–1941 | 32 | 5 | 26 | 1 | .172 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| X | No team | 1942–1945 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | Lyman E. Abbott | 1946–1949 | 33 | 12 | 20 | 1 | .379 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | John Darnton | 1950 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Theodore "Ted" Boyett | 1951–1952 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 1 | .233 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Joe Fortunato | 1953–1955 | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | .327 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Robert Gillis | 1956–1958 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | .375 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Les Leggett | 1959–1961 | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | .396 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Charles Marvin | 1962–1967 | 47 | 14 | 33 | 0 | .298 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | William C. "Bill" Davis | 1968–1973 | 53 | 21 | 32 | 0 | .396 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Tom Heckert | 1974–1981 | 72 | 42 | 28 | 2 | .597 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Ron Labadie | 1982–1989 | 74 | 53 | 21 | 0 | .716 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Jim Lyall | 1990–2009 | 190 | 97 | 92 | 1 | .513 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Jim Deere [5] | 2010–2023 | 136 | 76 | 60 | 0 | .559 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Int. | Harry Bailey | 2023 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Joe Palka | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
An individual with the last name "Huffstrater" was the head coach for 5 seasons, from 1906 until 1910. His coaching record at Adrian was 7 wins, 15 losses and 4 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #12 at Adrian in total wins and #15 at the school in winning percentage (.346). [6]
A coach with the last name "Brown" was in the position for the 1913 season. Brown's coaching record at Adrian was 2 wins and 4 losses. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #21 at Adrian in total wins and #16 at the school in winning percentage (.333). [7] "