Michigan Football: ESPN Ranks Top 5 Coaches Of All Time

The great tradition of Michigan football coaches stretches back to the program’s foundation, but who were the best of the best?

A chance to look back at the storied past of anything is a great opportunity to learn more about the foundation of some of the things we really care about. History can be an interesting subject, and always so when it involves the Michigan football program.

Jesse Temple of ESPN recently ranked the top five coaches in Michigan history, including nuggets that you may have forgotten—or maybe never even knew.

Temple’s list is fairly predictable, but that’s not really the point. The point is the Wolverines have had revolutionary coaches go through the program. Some of them were vindicated during their time; others weren’t appreciated for what they were.

The list:

1. Fielding H. Yost

"The legendary coach arrived at Michigan in 1901 and immediately put together one of the most remarkable seasons in the history of the sport. That season, Michigan outscored its opponents a whopping 555-0, which included a 49-0 thrashing of Stanford in the Rose Bowl — the first bowl game ever played. During his early years, the Wolverines were referred to as “Point-a-Minute” teams. His 1902 team outscored opponents 644-12 and won the national championship. And in his first five seasons, Michigan finished 55-1-1, outscoring opponents 2,821-42. Yost worked as Michigan’s athletics director from 1921-40. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951."

2. Bo Schembechler

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3. Lloyd Carr

4. Fritz Crisler

"Crisler was an innovative coach who developed the “two-platoon football” system at Michigan, which involved separating groups playing offense and defense. He also is responsible for the Wolverines’ winged helmet design, which he brought with him from Princeton. His teams finished lower than second in Big Ten play on only two occasions. And in 1943, he guided the Wolverines to their first Big Ten championship in 10 seasons. He holds the second-highest winning percentage (.805) for a Michigan football coach with at least 50 games coached. Crisler’s final Michigan team in 1947 became known as the “Mad Magicians” because of his complicated schemes, which Michigan rode all the way to a 10-0 record, a Rose Bowl victory and a national championship."

5. Bennie Oosterbaan

I’m just as shocked as you are that Jim Harbaugh didn’t make the cut. (Sarcasm intended.) Temple’s piece doesn’t mention whether or not current coaches could be included, though my guess is it’s an unwritten rule that they shouldn’t be.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

In all seriousness, though, hashing out the top coaches in Michigan’s history is a great discussion. Michigan hasn’t had as many head coaches as other programs, but its top five could go up against any other.

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