List of Stanford Cardinal head football coaches

Last updated

David Shaw, head coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team, 2011-2022 Coach David Shaw 2011.jpg
David Shaw, head coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team, 2011–2022

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cardinal competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The team has had 33 head coaches since its founding in 1892. The current head coach is Frank Reich, hired as an interim coach following the firing of Troy Taylor. [1] [2]

Contents

The Cardinal have played in 1,207 games of American football in 112 seasons. [A 1] In their first season, the team played 4 games with no head coach. [3] From 1906 to 1917, Stanford replaced football with rugby. [3] The school did not field teams in 1918 and from 1943 to 1945 due to World War I and World War II, respectively. [3]

Conference championships have been won by Pop Warner, Tiny Thornhill, Clark Shaughnessy, Chuck Taylor, John Ralston, Bill Walsh, Tyrone Willingham, and David Shaw. [3] Shaw is the all-time leader in games coached and most victories, having won his 72nd game in a 17–14 win over Cal in the 120th Big Game on November 18, 2017. [4] James F. Lanagan is the leader in win percentage for coaches with more than one season of service. [3] Shaw was also the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2017 respectively. [5]

Of the 32 Stanford head coaches, six—Walter Camp, [6] Fielding H. Yost, [7] Andrew Kerr, [8] Warner, [9] Shaughnessy, [10] and Ralston [11] —have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame as coaches. Four more—George H. Brooke (who played at Swarthmore), [12] Marchmont Schwartz (who played at Notre Dame), [13] Chuck Taylor (who played at Stanford) [14] and Paul Wiggin (who also played at Stanford) [15] —are in the Hall of Fame as players.

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
GeneralOverallConferencePostseason [A 2]
No.Order of coaches [A 3] GCGames coachedCWConference winsPWPostseason wins
DCDivision championshipsOWOverall winsCLConference lossesPLPostseason losses
CCConference championshipsOLOverall lossesCTConference tiesPTPostseason ties
NCNational championshipsOTOverall ties [A 4] C%Conference winning percentage
Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame O%Overall winning percentage [A 5]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards [A 6]
No.NameSeason(s)GCOWOLOTO%CWCLCTC%PWPLPTDC
[A 7]
CC
[A 8]
NCAwards
1 Walter Camp 1892, 1894–18951711330.735
2 C. D. "Pop" Bliss 189398010.9440
3 Harry P. Cross 1896
1898
137420.6150
4 George H. Brooke 189754100.8000
5 Burr Chamberlain 189992520.3330
6 Fielding H. Yost 1900107210.7500
7 Charles Fickert 190173220.5710100
8 Carl L. Clemans 190276100.8570
9 James F. Lanagan [A 9] 1903–19052923240.8620
10 Bob Evans 191974300.5711100.50000000
11 Walter D. Powell 192074300.5712100.66700000
12 Eugene Van Gent 192184220.6251100.50000000
13 Andrew Kerr 1922–19231811700.6113500.37500000
14 Pop Warner 1924–193296711780.78131950.74411131 1926
15 Claude E. Thornhill 1933–193967352570.575251840.57412030
16 Clark Shaughnessy 1940–19411916300.84211300.78610011 1940 AFCA Coach of the Year (1940) [19]
17 Marchmont Schwartz 1942
1946–1950
60282840.500172530.41100000
18 Chuck Taylor 1951–195771402920.577252020.55301010 AFCA Coach of the Year (1951) [19]
19 Jack Curtice 1958–196250143600.28051900.20800000
20 John Ralston 1963–197194553630.601302520.54420020 Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year (1970) [20]
21 Jack Christiansen 1972–197655302230.573221210.64300000
22 Bill Walsh 1977–1978
1992–1994
59342410.585191900.50030010 Pac-8 Coach of the Year (1977) [21]
23 Rod Dowhower 1979115510.5003310.50000000
24 Paul Wiggin 1980–198344162800.364112300.32400000
25 Jack Elway 1984–198856252920.464162220.42501000
26 Dennis Green 1989–199134161800.471131100.54201000
27 Tyrone Willingham 1995–200181443610.549322400.57113010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1999) [21]
28 Buddy Teevens 2002–20043310230.3035190.2080000
29 Walt Harris 2005–2006236170.2615120.2940000
30 Jim Harbaugh 2007–20105029210.58021150.5831100
31 David Shaw 2011–202215096540.64065400.61953430 Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017) [21]
32 Troy Taylor 2023–2024246180.2504130.23500000
33 Frank Reich 2025–present0000000000

Notes

  1. For 12 seasons from 1906 to 1917, Stanford replaced football with rugby. The school includes rugby matches as part of the overall football record. [3]
  2. Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played. [16]
  3. A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
  4. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. [17]
  5. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. [18]
  6. Statistics correct as of the end of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
  7. Divisional champions have advanced to the Pac-12 Football Championship Game since the institution of divisional play beginning in the 2011 season. Since that time, Stanford has competed as a member of the Pac-12 North.
  8. Stanford was not a part of an athletic conference prior to 1919, when the school joined the Pacific Coast Conference. After the demise of that conference, the school joined the new Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, which became the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968, the Pacific-10 Conference in 1978, and the Pac-12 Conference in 2011. [3]
  9. Football record only; Stanford includes Lanagan's 26–8–1 record in three seasons as rugby coach in his overall record.

References

General

Specific

  1. Cwik, Chris (March 31, 2025). "Stanford finds Troy Taylor replacement, hires NFL veteran Frank Reich to 1-year deal as interim head coach". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  2. Mandel, Stewart. "Stanford hires Sac State's Troy Taylor as coach". The Athletic. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The History". 2013 Stanford Football Media Guide. Stanford, California: Stanford Department of Athletics. 2013. pp. 145–153. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  4. Chesley, Kate (November 17, 2017). "David Shaw is now the winningest Stanford football coach". Stanford University.
  5. Wilner, Jon (December 1, 2015). "Stanford's McCaffrey, coach David Shaw garner top Pac-12 honors". San Jose Mercury-News. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  6. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Walter "The Father of Football" Camp". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  7. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Fielding "Hurry Up" Yost". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  8. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Andrew Kerr". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  9. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Pop Warner". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  10. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Clark Shaughnessy". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  11. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: John Ralston". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  12. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: George H. Brooke". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  13. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Marchy Schwartz". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  14. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Chuck Taylor". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  15. "Hall of Fame inductee detail: Paul Wiggin". National Football Foundation . Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  16. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  17. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  18. Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  19. 1 2 "Past National COTY Winners". American Football Coaches Association. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  20. "Plunkett named best by Sporting News". Youngstown Vindicator. December 9, 1970. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 "2015 Pac-12 Conference Football Media Guide". Pac-12 Communications Department. 2015. p. 121.