Jack Follman’s All-Time HCs from Current Pac-12 Schools

Pac-12 Football SuperWest Lists & Rankings

Jack Follman’s All-Time HCs from Current Pac-12 Schools

These coaches were responsible for national titles, Rose Bowl trophies & All-Americans

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Posted on May 18, 2022


  By Jack Follman, SuperWest Sports

We’ve made it through all the best players in Pac-12 history at every position. A lot of those players were coached by coaches who were just as legendary, if not more so.

Between these coaches, you will find countless national titles, Rose Bowl trophies, awards, All-Americans, and all-time great coaches.

Spanning from a long, long time ago to coaches who are still coaching in the Conference, here are my choices for the best from current Pac-12 schools, based solely on their collegiate coaching.

1. John McKay, USC

Not really any debate here. Four national titles. Nine conference titles. Two National Coach of the Year awards. Countless wins, big wins, and legends developed. He’s high on the list of greatest coaches ever nationally.

2. Pete Carroll, USC

Carroll exploded soon after getting back to USC and brought greatness back to the Trojans.

Back-to-back national titles, six BCS bowl wins, seven conference championships, and two Heismans. He dominated the conference.

3. Howard Jones, USC

It can be hard to evaluate these old-timey coaches and players. There’s no denying Jones’ track record here though, even if it is quite old.

Four national titles at USC and seven conference titles. He was an inaugural inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame for good reason.

4. Don James, Washington

James is the last non-USC conference coach to win a national title and arguably has two.

Six conference titles, a national coach of the year award, three conference awards, and is regarded as being the blueprint for Nick Saban’s greatness.

5. John Robinson, USC

Robinson is the bottom of legendary USC coaches but that in no way means he didn’t have an incredible career in two stints in LA.

He took home a national title, five conference titles, and won four Rose Bowls.

6. Pop Warner, Stanford

The most-recognizable name on this list is another one that goes back like 100 years ago.

He brought home a national title to Stanford and three conference titles while establishing himself as one of the football coaches whose name will be remembered forever.

7. Bill McCartney, Colorado

He pushed Colorado to the highest of heights and laid a foundation for them to be a major player in college football for a long time.

He brought home a national title in 1990 and three conference titles while taking in a national coach of the year award and three conference coach of the year trophies.

8. Frank Kush, Arizona State

There has been plenty of Twitter gripes about the complications of factoring in players who didn’t actually play in the Pac-8/10/12.

Kush is complicated. He had incredible success and a debatable national title coaching in a lesser conference that no longer exists. Sliding him in here in the Pac-12 works for me.

Chip Kelly | Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images

9. Chip Kelly, Oregon/UCLA

Kelly’s Oregon teams dominated the conference in a way no other teams have. He came so close to winning a national title a couple of times and put together three-straight conference titles and four-straight BCS bowl trips.

10. Terry Donahue, UCLA

Donahue turned UCLA into a powerhouse in the 80s after years of struggling. He led them to five conference championships, three Rose Bowls wins, and is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

11. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford
12. David Shaw, Stanford
13. Jim Owens, Washington
14. Red Sanders, UCLA
15. Tommy Prothro, Oregon State/UCLA
16. Chris Petersen, Washington
17. Pappy Waldorf, Cal
18. Bruce Snyder, Cal/Arizona State
19. Mike Bellotti, Oregon
20. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
21. Mike Riley, Oregon State
22. Dennis Erickson, Washington State/Oregon State/Arizona State
23. Jeff Tedford, Cal
24. Dick Tomey, Arizona
25. Urban Meyer, Utah