List of Vanderbilt Commodores head football coaches

Dan McGugin has the most wins as Commodores' head coach with 198.

The Vanderbilt Commodores college football team represents Vanderbilt University in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores compete as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 27 head coaches since it began play during the 1890 season.^[1]

The team has played more than 1,150 games over 121 seasons of Vanderbilt football.^[1] In that time, five coaches have led the Commodores to postseason bowl games: Arthur Guepe, Steve Sloan, George MacIntyre, Bobby Johnson and James Franklin.^[2][3] Four other coaches won conference championships: R. G. Acton, Walter H. Watkins, James H. Henry and Dan McGugin. Between them, the coaches won eleven Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships; McGugin led the team to an additional two titles as a member of the Southern Conference.^[4]

McGugin is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 198 victories during his 30 years at Vanderbilt.^[1] E. H. Alley has the highest winning percentage with 1.000.^[1] Robbie Caldwell has the lowest winning percentage with .167.^[1] Of the 27 different head coaches who have led the Commodores, McGugin,^[5] Ray Morrison,^[6] Henry Russell Sanders,^[7] and Bill Edwards^[8] have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list

General		Overall		Conference		Postseason[A 1]
#	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]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards^{[A 5]}

#	Name	Term	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	PT	DC [A 6]	CC	NC	Awards
1	Jones, ElliottElliott Jones	1890–1892	13	8	5	0	.615	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
2	Keller, W. J.W. J. Keller	1893	7	6	1	0	.857	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
3	Thornton, Henry WorthHenry Worth Thornton	1894	8	7	1	0	.875	2	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
4	Upton, C. L.C. L. Upton	1895	9	5	3	1	.611	3	1	0	.750	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
5	Acton, R. G.R. G. Acton	1896–1898	20	10	7	3	.575	5	2	0	.714	—	—	—	—	1	0	—
6	Crane, James L.James L. Crane	1899–1900	18	11	6	1	.639	6	3	1	.650	—	—	—	—	0	0	—
7	Watkins, Walter H.Walter H. Watkins	1901–1902	17	14	2	1	.853	8	1	1	.850	—	—	—	—	1	0	—
8	Henry, James H.James H. Henry	1903	8	6	1	1	.813	5	1	1	.786	—	—	—	—	1	0	—
9	McGugin, DanDan McGugin	1904–1917 1919–1934	272	198	55	19	.763	104	34	13	.732	0	0	0	—	11	0	—
10	Morrison, RayRay Morrison	1918 1935–1939	53	29	22	2	.566	18	15	1	.544	0	0	0	—	0	0	SEC Coach of the Year (1937)[13]
11	Sanders, Henry RussellHenry Russell Sanders	1940–1942 1946–1948	60	36	22	2	.617	15	20	2	.432	0	0	0	—	0	0	SEC Coach of the Year (1941)[13]
12	Alley, E. H.E. H. Alley	1943	5	5	0	0	1.000	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
13	Bartling, DobyDoby Bartling	1944–1945	13	6	6	1	.500	2	4	0	.333	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
14	Edwards, BillBill Edwards	1949–1952	42	21	19	2	.524	11	17	1	.397	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
15	Guepe, ArthurArthur Guepe	1953–1962	100	39	54	7	.425	19	43	6	.324	1	0	0	—	0	0	SEC Coach of the Year (1955)[13]
16	Green, JohnJohn Green	1963–1966	40	7	29	4	.225	2	19	3	.146	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
17	Pace, BillBill Pace	1967–1972	63	22	38	3	.373	5	27	1	.167	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
18	Sloan, SteveSteve Sloan	1973–1974	23	12	9	2	.565	3	8	1	.292	0	0	1	—	0	0	—
19	Pancoast, FredFred Pancoast	1975–1978	44	13	31	0	.295	2	22	0	.083	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
20	MacIntyre, GeorgeGeorge MacIntyre	1979–1985	78	25	52	1	.327	8	33	1	.202	0	1	0	—	0	0	UPI SEC Coach of the Year (1982)[13] SEC Coach of the Year (1982)[13]
21	Brown, WatsonWatson Brown	1986–1990	55	10	45	0	.182	4	29	0	.121	0	0	0	—	0	0	—
22	DiNardo, GerryGerry DiNardo	1991–1994	44	19	25	0	.432	9	22	0	.290	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
23	Dowhower, RodRod Dowhower	1995–1996	22	4	18	0	.182	1	15	0	.063	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
24	Widenhofer, WoodyWoody Widenhofer	1997–2001	55	15	40	—	.273	4	36	—	.100	0	0	—	0	0	0	—
25	Johnson, BobbyBobby Johnson	2002–2009	95	29	66	—	.305	12	52	—	.188	1	0	—	0	0	0	SEC Coach of the Year (2008)[13]
26	Caldwell, RobbieRobbie Caldwell	2010	12	2	10	—	.167	1	7	—	.125	0	0	—	0	0	0	—
27	Franklin, JamesJames Franklin	2011–2013	39	24	15	—	.615	11	13	—	.458	2	1	—	0	0	0	—
28	Mason, DerekDerek Mason	2014–present	36	13	23	—	.361	5	19	—	.208	0	0	—	0	0	0	—

Notes

1. 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.^[9]
2. 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.
3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[10]
4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.^[11]
5. Statistics correct as of the end of the 2011–12 college football season.
6. Divisional champions have advanced to the SEC Championship Game since the institution of divisional play beginning in the 1992 season. Since that time, Vanderbilt has competed as a member of the East Division of the SEC.^[12]

References

General

• "Vanderbilt Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
• "Commodore History" (PDF). 2011 Football Fact Book. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt Athletic Communications Office. Retrieved February 19, 2012.

Specific

1. 2011 Football Fact Book, p. 109
2. 2011 Football Fact Book, pp. 128–129
3. "Kickoff return TD sparks Cincinnati past Vanderbilt in Liberty Bowl". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 31, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
4. 2011 Football Fact Book, pp. 110–117
5. "Hall of Famers: Dan McGugin". National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
6. "Hall of Famers: Ray Morrison". National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
7. "Hall of Famers: Red Sanders". National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
8. "Hall of Famers: Bill Edwards". National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
9. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
10. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
11. Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
12. Harwell, Hoyt (November 30, 1990). "SEC sets division lineups". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1C. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
13. 2011 Football Fact Book, p. 129