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Greatest Coach of All Time

I may be biased, but Osborne is one or two for me, no lower. As to who would be in front of him? No idea, but it’s not Nick Saban. Hell, just look at Nebraska since he left? He stays, NU keeps right on rolling. He was only 62. He could have went thru 2005 easily.
 

There are so many variables in play within CFB, I don't think you can even definitively say one guy is the greatest at any given time. It's a sport of disparity in terms of location, resources, tradition, facilities, fan support, and on and on. Saban is also an all time great and the most accomplished contemporary coach. Does that make him the best? How do you factor in the mountain of highly qualified staffers he has at his disposal? Alabama's rich tradition, tremendous fan support, being smack dab in the middle of the most talent rich region? How would a guy like Snyder fit in? Was he as good of a coach in a much less advantageous situation?

Do I think you can compare Tom to Dabo in any type of all time ranking? Absolutely not. There have been radical changes that have swept through the sport since Tom retired. And that doesn't even begin to address the guys who came generations before. Football has gradually reinvented itself throughout its history. It's practically not the same sport as it was in its early years.
 
HuskerWeatherman said:
If you are asking if I'd trade two of Osborne's 9-win seasons for two 6-win seasons -- but pick up a couple more national titles ... I'd say, absolutely!

Anyhow, Tom is one of the elite. No matter how we slice it. Whether or not someone ranks him as the all-time best in a subjective poll doesn't matter too much to me. :) But it's fun to discuss!
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Me too, I would trade 2-3 Osborne seasons of 9 wins for just 6 wins if it meant 2-3 other 9 win seasons would be bumped up to 12 victories and a national championship!

I suspect most every Husker fan would agree...

The question I am asking though is which coach should we consider the superior?

The one who actually wins twice as many national titles OR the one who is a national championship contender every single year without fail?
 
Husker In Oklahoma said:
I may be biased, but Osborne is one or two for me, no lower. As to who would be in front of him? No idea, but it’s not Nick Saban. Hell, just look at Nebraska since he left? He stays, NU keeps right on rolling. He was only 62. He could have went thru 2005 easily.
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Yep, I think the Huskers win at least 2 more natties had Osborne not retired when he did!
 



treeplanter said:
Me too, I would trade 2-3 Osborne seasons of 9 wins for just 6 wins if it meant 2-3 other 9 win seasons would be bumped up to 12 victories and a national championship!

I suspect most every Husker fan would agree...

The question I am asking though is which coach should we consider the superior?

The one who actually wins twice as many national titles OR the one who is a national championship contender every single year without fail?
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Pretty close to equal in my book.

Another thing to consider -- Bear Bryant was the most successful coach in Kentucky football history. He only left because he realized he'd always play second fiddle to basketball at that school.

Worth noting: Bear's two six-win teams in '69 and '70 were due to the fact that Bama wouldn't recruit black players -- while much of the rest of the nation had by then and Alabama was no longer the force they once were. This forced Alabama to recruit black players.
 
Cisco said:
There are so many variables in play within CFB, I don't think you can even definitively say one guy is the greatest at any given time. It's a sport of disparity in terms of location, resources, tradition, facilities, fan support, and on and on. Saban is also an all time great and the most accomplished contemporary coach. Does that make him the best? How do you factor in the mountain of highly qualified staffers he has at his disposal? Alabama's rich tradition, tremendous fan support, being smack dab in the middle of the most talent rich region? How would a guy like Snyder fit in? Was he as good of a coach in a much less advantageous situation?

Do I think you can compare Tom to Dabo in any type of all time ranking? Absolutely not. There have been radical changes that have swept through the sport since Tom retired. And that doesn't even begin to address the guys who came generations before. Football has gradually reinvented itself throughout its history. It's practically not the same sport as it was in its early years.
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I think you are absolutely right - tradition, facilities, fan support, etc - all of these things contribute, as you say, to the disparity that has forever marked college football.

I do believe, however, that proximity to talent is, far and away, the single GREATEST and LARGEST disparity that exists in the game and Nebraska is the only blue blood program lacking this natural resource!

That Tom Osborne managed, nonetheless, not only to win but to win with a consistency unmatched in the annals of college football is why I feel certain that he is deserving of the title of modern day GOAT.
 
If you want to see the talent disparity between Oklahoma and Nebraska and one of the best coaching jobs I have ever witnessed go to Youtube and watch the 1978 Nebraska-Oklahoma game. The Nebraska guys, to a man, gave it everything they had that day. So much, they didn't have enough left to beat Missouri the next week.
 




On game day with equal talent, there is no one I would bet on to beat T.O. As others have said, hard to compare across eras and locations to name THE greatest.
As someone who values leadership and mentorship, there is no other coach on that list that I would want my son to play for to ensure he would grow into the best he could both on and off the field- and its not even close.
 
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treeplanter said:
Me too, I would trade 2-3 Osborne seasons of 9 wins for just 6 wins if it meant 2-3 other 9 win seasons would be bumped up to 12 victories and a national championship!

I suspect most every Husker fan would agree...
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I disagree. It would (probably) never have happened that way. Part of Osborne's greatness was the consistency. It was all about the PROCESS. He rarely had a top 10 recruiting class, but every opponent dreaded seeing NEBRASKA on the schedule, because they knew they would be in for a fight.

What it took to get over the hump was just a few players; just a little more team speed; a little change in strategy (moving safeties to LB, LBs to DE, etc.). Guys like Mike Riley and Callahan can have a great season every once in a while, but to be consistently great takes a special talent.

One of the things that sticks in my craw, to this day, was after the 2004 CU game, where we just lost to give us the first losing season in 43 years. BC's comment was, "It's only one game; it's only one season." NO!! It's 40+ years of A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE that you just threw away!

Sure, we got screwed out of a couple of NCs. But I wouldn't have wanted to win one by going for the tie in '83. And even though we beat FSU in every way but the score in '93, we were a missed 2-point conversion away from losing to KU.

TO was always about winning the RIGHT way. He's said he felt like they had done it all in '82, '83, '93 -- all except the trophy. I'd much rather have it be that way, than have a couple questionable NCs and settle for mediocrity every few years. Not even a question.
 
treeplanter said:
I think you are absolutely right - tradition, facilities, fan support, etc - all of these things contribute, as you say, to the disparity that has forever marked college football.

I do believe, however, that proximity to talent is, far and away, the single GREATEST and LARGEST disparity that exists in the game and Nebraska is the only blue blood program lacking this natural resource!

That Tom Osborne managed, nonetheless, not only to win but to win with a consistency unmatched in the annals of college football is why I feel certain that he is deserving of the title of modern day GOAT.
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That is a good argument but, again, it gets back to subjectivity and what you choose to prioritize. This is a Nebraska site so of course our vantage point is going to lean towards Tom. And he is undisputedly one of the games great coaches. But if you were on an FSU site they would say Bowden succeeded at multiple schools, which Tom didn't. He built something great out of very little, whereas Tom took over a national power and was able to maintain a lot of stability as it wasn't a complete regime change. And Bowden won A LOT of games.

Of course, both fan bases would be cherry picking facts that support their perspective. And they are both good arguments. And that's just between two candidates out of a number of them. End of the day...GOAT debates are just that. Debates about something that can't be proven because it's made up.
 



Cisco said:
Osborne is certainly an all time great. GOAT are make believe however. You can't truly compare across eras and it's too subjective. Same for teams, players, and coaches.
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I wish Dr. Tom received more respect from the modern media. He is all too often forgotten in the GOAT discussion nationally. But it kind of goes with the world we live in today. People simply do not understand old school structure and discipline. It is the #1 thing missing from the messed up world we live in these days.
 
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Prairie Sage said:
If you want to see the talent disparity between Oklahoma and Nebraska and one of the best coaching jobs I have ever witnessed go to Youtube and watch the 1978 Nebraska-Oklahoma game. The Nebraska guys, to a man, gave it everything they had that day. So much, they didn't have enough left to beat Missouri the next week.
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Nebraska was as good in the trenches. That kept them in that game. Skill positions OU definitely had an advantage. Hard hitting And determination won that game. OU felt it also!
 

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