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DBAR4WVU
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So I hear a lot of talk of WV coaches and their legacy - they were good, they sucked, losers - winners.
Blah-Blah, yada-yada..... so much BS in many cases.
Much of it comes down to your individual opinion, but I thought I would toss out some facts and
hopefully clear some things up for folks too busy throwing that BS around to look at the actual facts.
So I want to ask 3 questions....
#1 - who was the greatest coach to ever coach @ WV?
#2 - Who was the winningest coach @ WV?
** for fairness, I looked at coaches of 4 seasons or better.
#3 - What WV coach made the biggest impact on the WV Football program?
My answer to #1 - Bobby Bowden. While he saw modest success @ WVU, he went
on to become one of the greatest coaches of all time, not just at FSU.
His record @ WV was 42-26-0 on 6 seasons. Win % .618
#2 - Clarence Spears. He coached from 1921 to 1924. He was 30-6-3 on 4 seasons. Win % .808
..... As I said, there were coaches with higher win percentages, but they were all 1 season coaches.
#3 - Don Nehlen. He took a WV Program that was, at best, a regionally known (East) team
and turned them into a nationally recognized team that was regularly ranked and respected.
Prior to Nehlen, we were mostly the annual whipping boy of Penn St and Pitt. Don Nehlen
was seen as a class guy who took castoffs and players nobody else wanted and created
winning teams out of them.
When he retired in 2001, he was the 17th winningest coach in college football history.
I was impressed when I read that stat. He was inducted into the CFB Hall of Fame in 2005
and served as President of the American Football Coaches Association.
Nehlen coached 21 seasons - 1980 to 2000. He was 149-93-4 for a .614% win percentage.
In 21 seasons, he had 15 winning seasons, 4 losing and 2 even (both 6-6).
He led WV to 13 Bowls in his 21 seasons but as we all know, he had a dismal 4-9 record.
WV finished the season ranked only 7 times, but was ranked at some point over half of
his seasons at the helm. His average record over 21 seasons was 7-4.
In the modern era, the records are pretty tight. But - no coach even came close to the 21
seasons Nehlen coached the Mountaineers. Pappy Lewis coached 10 (1950-59 58-38-2 .602%).
Ira Rodgers coached for 9 seasons (1925-30, 43-45 44-31-8 .578%). I think we can agree that
the longer you coach, the greater the chance of a bad season. To only have 4 losing seasons in 21?
Some coaches had 4 straight (Cignetti).
DH ....... 3 ... 21-17-0 ... .553%
Stew .... 3 ... 28-12-0 ... .700%
RR ........ 7 ... 60-26-0 ... .698%
DN ...... 21 .. 149-93-4 ... .614%
BB ........ 6 ....42-26-0 .... .618%
DH is yet to have a season that is "HIS" players. Many of his are there now, but also JC guys.
Same for Stew - he never really had "HIS" team in place. He won with what RichRod left behind.
RR was left a few players from Nehlen, but he built his team his way with his players.
Nehlen had next to nothing when he came in and took over from Cignetti.
Bowden came in and got a 10-1 team from Jim Carlen. Can't imagine that was a hard transition.
You already have a group of guys that are winners. I will admit - I was too young to remember.
So for all of you out there that complain about Nehlen - I am not sure what you expect from a
21 year coach. I for one appreciate that he stayed. He had offers to go elsewhere but he loved
WV and the program and the state - so he stayed. And IMO - his legacy is what has made
our program what it is today.
So now when you say this coach sucked or this one was the greatest - you will have a point of reference.
Still - those sort of things come down to individual opinions. Some people just hatea coach
no matter what he does or doesn't do. I still remember in '93 when WV was 11-0.
My stepdad hated Nehlen for some unknown reason. He ranted about what a hack he was, how lucky he was to be undefeated, etc. Nothing he did was right - even when he won.... funny stuff.
Blah-Blah, yada-yada..... so much BS in many cases.
Much of it comes down to your individual opinion, but I thought I would toss out some facts and
hopefully clear some things up for folks too busy throwing that BS around to look at the actual facts.
So I want to ask 3 questions....
#1 - who was the greatest coach to ever coach @ WV?
#2 - Who was the winningest coach @ WV?
** for fairness, I looked at coaches of 4 seasons or better.
#3 - What WV coach made the biggest impact on the WV Football program?
My answer to #1 - Bobby Bowden. While he saw modest success @ WVU, he went
on to become one of the greatest coaches of all time, not just at FSU.
His record @ WV was 42-26-0 on 6 seasons. Win % .618
#2 - Clarence Spears. He coached from 1921 to 1924. He was 30-6-3 on 4 seasons. Win % .808
..... As I said, there were coaches with higher win percentages, but they were all 1 season coaches.
#3 - Don Nehlen. He took a WV Program that was, at best, a regionally known (East) team
and turned them into a nationally recognized team that was regularly ranked and respected.
Prior to Nehlen, we were mostly the annual whipping boy of Penn St and Pitt. Don Nehlen
was seen as a class guy who took castoffs and players nobody else wanted and created
winning teams out of them.
When he retired in 2001, he was the 17th winningest coach in college football history.
I was impressed when I read that stat. He was inducted into the CFB Hall of Fame in 2005
and served as President of the American Football Coaches Association.
Nehlen coached 21 seasons - 1980 to 2000. He was 149-93-4 for a .614% win percentage.
In 21 seasons, he had 15 winning seasons, 4 losing and 2 even (both 6-6).
He led WV to 13 Bowls in his 21 seasons but as we all know, he had a dismal 4-9 record.
WV finished the season ranked only 7 times, but was ranked at some point over half of
his seasons at the helm. His average record over 21 seasons was 7-4.
In the modern era, the records are pretty tight. But - no coach even came close to the 21
seasons Nehlen coached the Mountaineers. Pappy Lewis coached 10 (1950-59 58-38-2 .602%).
Ira Rodgers coached for 9 seasons (1925-30, 43-45 44-31-8 .578%). I think we can agree that
the longer you coach, the greater the chance of a bad season. To only have 4 losing seasons in 21?
Some coaches had 4 straight (Cignetti).
DH ....... 3 ... 21-17-0 ... .553%
Stew .... 3 ... 28-12-0 ... .700%
RR ........ 7 ... 60-26-0 ... .698%
DN ...... 21 .. 149-93-4 ... .614%
BB ........ 6 ....42-26-0 .... .618%
DH is yet to have a season that is "HIS" players. Many of his are there now, but also JC guys.
Same for Stew - he never really had "HIS" team in place. He won with what RichRod left behind.
RR was left a few players from Nehlen, but he built his team his way with his players.
Nehlen had next to nothing when he came in and took over from Cignetti.
Bowden came in and got a 10-1 team from Jim Carlen. Can't imagine that was a hard transition.
You already have a group of guys that are winners. I will admit - I was too young to remember.
So for all of you out there that complain about Nehlen - I am not sure what you expect from a
21 year coach. I for one appreciate that he stayed. He had offers to go elsewhere but he loved
WV and the program and the state - so he stayed. And IMO - his legacy is what has made
our program what it is today.
So now when you say this coach sucked or this one was the greatest - you will have a point of reference.
Still - those sort of things come down to individual opinions. Some people just hatea coach
no matter what he does or doesn't do. I still remember in '93 when WV was 11-0.
My stepdad hated Nehlen for some unknown reason. He ranted about what a hack he was, how lucky he was to be undefeated, etc. Nothing he did was right - even when he won.... funny stuff.
Last edited by a moderator:
per your stats Bill Stewart was the winningest coach for his time here.
