Michigan Head Coaches, a Brief History

Submitted by Soulfire21 on

If you're like me, you're getting pretty much desperate for something, anything to read about college football until September 1 (or really August 30th, I suppose).  I was Wikipediaing (is that even a verb?) some football and stumbled upon Tressel's success from his first season at OSU, where he went 7-5, to his 2nd season where he went 14-0 and won the national championship.

This prompted me to take a look back at our coaching staff and their performance from year one to year two, which I have handily organized into this table*:

 

Coach First Year Second Year First Year Win % Second Year Win % Change
Frank Barbour 7-5 7-3 58.33% 70.00% 11.67%
William McCauley 9-1-1 8-1 81.82% 88.89% 7.07%
Gustave Ferbert 6-1-1 10-0 75.00% 100.00% 25.00%
Fielding H. Yost 11-0 11-0 100.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Elton Wieman 6-2 3-4-1 75.00% 37.50% -37.50%
Harry Kipke 5-3-1 8-0-1 55.56% 88.89% 33.33%
Fritz Crisler 6-1-1 6-2 75.00% 75.00% 0.00%
Bennie Oosterbaan 9-0 6-2-1 100.00% 66.67% -33.33%
Bump Elliot 4-5 5-4 44.44% 55.56% 11.11%
Bo Schembechler 8-3 9-1 72.73% 90.00% 17.27%
Gary Moeller 9-3 10-2 75.00% 83.33% 8.33%
Lloyd Car 9-4 8-4 69.23% 66.67% -2.56%
Rich Rodriguez 3-9 5-7 25.00% 41.67% 16.67%
Brady Hoke 11-2 14-0** 84.61% 100%* 15.38%*

*Win% only counts wins, ties count as a game played (so a 6-1-1 record means the win percentage is 6/8 * 100, not sure if that's standard practice, but that's how I did it)

**Of course, this is merely speculation, maybe.

What should I get from this?
Really, I don't know.  This is mostly just FYI and a product of my curiosity (and boredom at work, 'tis a slow day).

  • 10 of 13 head coaches either maintained the previous year's success, or improved upon it
  • Year 1 to Year 2 expects to see a 5.16% increase in the number of wins from the previous year (grand mean)
  • In improved years, the average increase in the number of wins was 16.20%
  • Yost is the only other coach beside Hoke that managed 11 wins in his first season at Michigan, Yost went on to win 11 the next.
  • I'm sure there's some more
  • Statistics

Well, an interesting just for your information table, at the very least.

Small sample size?  Small sample size.

Wolverine Devotee

August 14th, 2012 at 4:39 PM ^

We have something here named after every great coach (except Carr). Yost Ice Arena. Crisler Center. Schembechler Hall. Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. Kipke Dr.

Seriously, why isn't there anything on the athletic campus named after Ol' Dutch, Gustave Ferbert? He coached the team to their first conference championship, then left to go mining  for gold in Alaska. He hit it big and became a millionare.

 

Section 1

August 14th, 2012 at 4:50 PM ^

Yost, Crisler, Canham, Schembechler.  (A portion of the West Concourse at the Stadium, per his own handsome donation, for Bill Martin.)  Oosterbaan was a quasi-director (Alumni Relations) after he retired from coaching.

There are of course exceptions.  (Ray L. Fisher, Oosterbaan Fieldhouse -- see above.)  But not many.  And not all of our athletic directors warranted monuments in their honor.  Ferry Field; named for a donor, right? 

There is a pediatric cancer center at Mott Children's Hospital named after Lloyd Carr.  And that is absolutely the most appropriate thing I can think of.

Soulfire21

August 14th, 2012 at 8:48 PM ^

I'm looking into doing this for the entire Big Ten because, well, I was bored and it entertained me.  If I do take this endeavor, I will correct these.  Of course, they will probably only affect the percentages by a small amount, so I am assuming (whether correctly or incorrectly) that it is essentially negligible.

Engin77

August 14th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^

Bo's 8-3 in 1969, was sooooo much more satisfying than the 9-1 the following year.

1969: 8-3 with a monumental win over Woody's unbeatable team, (and a Rose Bowl loss the day after Bo's heart attack).

1970: Undefeated until the trip to Columbus, controversial loss, and home for the bowl season (Even had they won, UM was not eligible, as they'd been to Pasadena the season before; that rule would be abolished in 1972)

jsquigg

August 14th, 2012 at 8:11 PM ^

So, if Hoke beats Alabama, when do we break ground on the statue?  Also, seriously, and changing subjects spontaneously, does anyone else find it a bit odd that Saban already has a statue?  What happens if he bolts Alabama for Georgia or something (I know this won't happen)?

Wolverine Devotee

August 14th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^

If Yost, who won 6 National Championships, 4 in a row from 1901-1904 doesn't have one, then no Michigan man will ever have one. No matter the accomplishment.

The only one who will have one will be Bo at the entrance of Schembechler Hall when the new rennovations that were announced are complete.