There was a time when hiring a college coach to join the pros was not a terribly bad bet. But (as I’ve written before) judging from the most recent NCAAers making forays into the pro ranks, that time is long over.


I suggested recently that Boston College’s head coach would be a poor choice to fill the Jets’ vacancy (I could add that the Browns would be equally foolish to hire Kirk Ferentz and the Broncos to hire Bob Stoops). Others here took offense, arguing that the BC coach’s previous experience as a tight ends coach and (for one year) an offensive coordinator means that he would be an exception.


This prompted me to take my own look at college coaches who have tried to make it in the NFL. I found college coaches used to succeed with some regularity, but that it’s been over a decade since it’s happened.

Here’s a list of college coaches in my lifetimes who have left college gigs for the NFL. I’m sure I’ve missed someone or someones, but it’s fairly nearly complete. (Good resources here, here and here.) I’ve bolded winning coaches; I’ve underlined ones with previous NFL experience.


- Don Coryell, hired 1973 by the St. Louis Cardinals, went 42-27.

- John McKay, cursed to the Tampa Bay Bucs’ coach starting in 1976; went 44-88-1.

- Lou Holtz, was 3-10 for the New York Jets in 1976 before quitting.

- Bill Walsh, 92-59 after being hired by the San Francisco 49ers in 1979.

- John Robinson, hired by the LA Rams in 1983; went 75-68.

- Daryl Rogers, hired by the Detroit Lions in 1985, and was a disastrous 18-40. Unknown whether he had NFL experience.

- Jimmy Johnson, hired by the Cowboys in 1989, was 44-36 with Dallas.

- Dick MacPherson, hired by the Patriots in 1991, was 8-24.

- Bobby Ross was 47-33 with the San Diego Chargers after they hired him in 1992.

- Barry Switzer replaced Jimmy Johnson with the Cowboys in 1994 and while he was 40-24, his success is widely viewed as being momentum from his predecessor’s tenure.

- Rich Brooks was a 13-19 flop for the Rams after they hired him in 1995.

- Tom Coughlin was 68-60 for the Jaguars when they hired him as their first coach in 1995.

- Dennis Erickson was 31-33 for the Seattle Seahawks after also being hired in 1995.

- Steve Mariucci was 57-39 for the 49ers after being hired in 1997.

- Mike Riley was a dismal 14-34 for the Chargers starting in 1999. He had no NFL experience, but had coached in the CFL and the World League of American Football.

- Butch Davis was 24-35 for the Browns starting in 2001.

- Steve Spurrier was a delightful 12-20 for the Redskins starting in 2002 (he had no NFL experience but had been a successful USFL head coach).

- Dennis Erickson (again!) should have known better than to rejoin the NFL, going 9-23 for the 49ers starting in 2003.

- Nick Saban was 15-17 in 2005 and 2006 before quitting the Dolphins.

- Bobby Petrino was 3-10 before pulling a Holtz and quitting the Falcons in 2007.

- Lane Kiffin was 5-15 for the Oakland Raiders in 2007 and 2008.


So we can make a few general observations here:  College coaches do do better in the NFL if they have NFL experience; but broadly college coaches don’t do well in the NFL. And it’s a trend that has gotten sharply worse: Nine of the last 11 college coaches to enter the NFL have been unqualified failures, including the last seven (of whom five had some form of NFL experience).


So please, Jets, take a pass on the college ranks.