University of Michigan Football: A Legacy Forged by Coaching Giants
Since 1879, the Michigan football program has etched its name into college football lore, amassing over 1,000 victories-a feat unmatched by any other program in the nation. This enduring success is not solely attributable to the exceptional athletes who have donned the winged helmet, but also to the visionary leaders who have guided them. The University of Michigan football program is a college football team that represents the University of Michigan in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Big Ten Conference. From the program's inception, the contributions of 21 head coaches have shaped the program's illustrious history.
The Formative Years (1879-1900)
In its nascent stages, the Michigan football program lacked the structure of a designated head coach. For the first 11 years of its existence, Michigan didn't have an official head coach. It wasn't until 1891 that Frank Crawford and Mike Murphy took that designation. The duo only took up the post for one season, and a fast-spinning carousel of coaches began. It wasn't until 1891 that Frank Crawford and Mike Murphy took on the role of co-head coaches, marking the program's first official coaching staff. While official sources list only Mike Murphy and Frank Crawford as the coaches of the 1891 team, the Chicago Daily Tribune reported in November 1891 that the Michigan team was "coached systematically" by Murphy, Crawford, Horace Greely Prettyman and James Duffy.
Following their single season, a rapid succession of coaches took the reins. From 1870 through 1900, the longest tenured head coach was Gustave H. Ferbert, who collected an impressive 24-3-1 record in three seasons from 1896-1899. Medical student William McCauley took over in 1894 and led the team to a 17-2-1 record from 1894 to 1895. William Ward was the head coach for the 1896 team.
Key figures and their records during this period include:
- Frank Crawford/Mike Murphy (1891): 4-5
- Frank E. Barbour (1892-1893): 14-8
- William L. McCauley (1894-1895): 17-2-1
- William D. Ward (1896): 9-1
- Gustave H. Ferbert (1896-1899): 24-3-1
- Langdon (Biff) Lea (1900): 7-2-1
Mike Murphy, Michigan's first head coach, was considered the premier athletic trainer of his era. After leaving Michigan, Murphy was the athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania for many years and coached the American track athletes at the Summer Olympics in 1900, 1908, and 1912. The 1895 team compiled an 8-1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. Ward's team won the first nine consecutive games by a combined score of 256 to 4. Gustave Ferbert resigned in 1900 to prospect for gold in Alaska and became rich off his gold claims. With the departure of Ferbert, Michigan hired three-time Princeton All-American "Biffy" Lea to coach the 1900 team.
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Ascendancy to National Powerhouse (1901-1958)
The hiring of Fielding H. Yost in 1901 ushered in a new era of Michigan football. Prior to 1901, the Ivy League dominated the college football landscape. The arrival of Fielding H. Yost in 1901 marked a watershed moment, propelling Michigan onto the national stage. In his first season at Michigan in 1901, Fielding H. Yost guided the Wolverines to the 1902 Rose Bowl, the first college bowl game ever played.
The Wolverines rattled off four straight national championships from 1901 through 1904, a span in which Michigan never lost a game. It's important to note that these national championships, while recognized by the NCAA, were awarded retroactively by third-party foundations like the Helms Athletic Foundation and the National Championship Foundation in the middle and late 1900s, respectively. These foundations and Polls were how the national champion was decided until 1998. Fielding H. Yost's "Point-a-Minute" teams compiled a record of 55-1-1 and outscored opponents 2,821 to 42 in his first five seasons (1901-1905).
Yost became the longest tenured coach, taking the position for a total of 25 seasons. He also won six national championships. When Yost retired after the 1923 football season, his assistant George Little took over as the new head coach. In 1925, Yost returned to the position of head coach through the end of the 1926 season. His successors in this era, such as Harry Kipke, Herbert (Fritz) Crisler, and Bennie Oosterbaan, won the program four more national championships. All-American Harry Kipke won two national championships as Michigan's head coach in the 1930s.
Coaches during this period included:
- Fielding H. Yost (1901-1923, 1925-1926): 165-29-10
- George R. Little (1924): 6-2
- Elton E. (Tad) Wieman (1927-1928): 9-6-1
- Harry G. Kipke (1929-1937): 46-26-4
- Herbert (Fritz) Crisler (1938-1947): 71-16-3
- Bennie G. Oosterbaan (1948-1958): 63-33-4
When Tad Wieman announced his decision to attend Michigan, the Los Angeles Times called it "a calamity of almost national importance." In 1929, Michigan's former All-American halfback Harry Kipke was hired to replace Wieman. In his first year as head coach, the Wolverines finished in an eighth place tie in the Big Ten with a 5-3-1 record. However, Kipke quickly turned things around, leading the Wolverines to four straight conference championships and two national titles between 1930 and 1933. The 1932 and 1933 national championships teams did not lose any games. Kipke called his system "a punt, a pass, and a prayer" and reportedly coined the phrase, "A great defense is a great offense." In 1934, Kipke’s Wolverines fell from national champions to a tenth place finish in the conference with a 1-7 record. Fritz Crisler took over as head coach at Michigan in 1938 and remained in that position through the 1947 season. Crisler is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as Michigan's head coach. Crisler retired as head coach after the 1947 season to become the school's full-time athletic director. He appointed his former assistant, Bennie Oosterbaan as the new head football coach. In the mid-1920s, Oosterbaan was a three-time first team All-American football end, a two-time All-American basketball player, and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player. As recently as 2003, Oosterbaan was selected by Sports Illustrated as the fourth greatest athlete in the history of the State of Michigan. In his first year as the head coach of the football team, the 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team won an Associated Press national championship.
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Defining an Identity (1959-1994)
After Oosterbaan's departure, Chalmers (Bump) Elliott was promoted to the head coaching position. This change ushered in an era that sank below the standards set by Elliott's predecessors. While Elliott won a Big Ten title in 1964, an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Ohio State in 1968 forced his resignation and the hiring of Bo Schembechler. Schembechler then used that humiliating loss as motivation for the seasons to come. In 1959, Bump Elliott took over as head coach. Elliott had played halfback for Fritz Crisler's Michigan teams in 1946 and 1947 and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the conference in 1947. He was Michigan's head coach for ten years from 1959 to 1968. His 1964 team won a Big Ten Conference championship and the 1965 Rose Bowl. He later served as the athletic director at the University of Iowa from 1970 to 1991, hiring such coaches as Dan Gable, Hayden Fry, Lute Olson, C. Vivian Stringer, and Dr.
Bo Schembechler served as Michigan's head coach for 21 years from 1969 to 1989. He is the winningest head coach in Michigan history with 194 wins. Schembechler remained the coach for 21 seasons, winning 13 Big Ten titles, but never summiting the mountain for a national championship. Schembechler forged the identity of Michigan football for decades to come, with his iconic slogans including "Those who stay will be champions," and "The team! The team! The team!"
After Schembechler, Gary Moeller took over for five years and continued the success that Schembechler built. Gary Moeller was named Michigan's head coach after Schembechler's retirement. He won three Big Ten titles in his five seasons before being asked to step down due to a disorderly conduct arrest in 1995.
The coaches during this era were:
- Chalmers (Bump) Elliott (1959-1968): 51-42-2
- Glenn (Bo) Schembechler (1969-1989): 194-48-5
- Gary O. Moeller (1990-1994): 44-13-4
Navigating the Modern Era (1995-Present)
Lloyd Carr was hired after Moeller, and the success continued. Following Moeller's resignation, Lloyd Carr took over as Michigan's head football coach. Carr held the position for 13 years from 1995 to 2007. In 1997, just his third season at the helm, Carr and the Wolverines won a share of the national title. It was the program's first since 1948. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122-40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2004). Carr's 1997 team was declared the national champion by the Associated Press. Carr also collected five Big Ten titles in his 13 years with Michigan, the third-most of any coach in program history behind Yost (10) and Schembechler (13). Carr retired in 2008 following a massive bowl upset of Florida.
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Following Carr's retirement, the program experienced large struggles under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, finding itself reeling in what the Michigan faithful considered mediocrity. In December 2007, Rich Rodriguez was hired as the head football coach at Michigan. Prior to joining Michigan, Rodriguez was the head coach at West Virginia University for seven years. In his three seasons as Michigan's head coach, Rodriguez compiled a record of 15-22, including a mark of 6-18 in Big Ten Conference games. Brady Hoke was hired as Michigan's new head football coach in January 2011. He had previously been the defensive line coach at Michigan (1995-2002) and a head coach at Ball State University (2003-2008) and San Diego State University (2009-2010). In his first season as Michigan's head football coach, Hoke compiled a record of 11-2, as Michigan finished 6-2 in conference and second place in the newly formed Big Ten Legends Division and then won the Sugar Bowl. His 2013 squad finished 7-6 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. They lost the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl by a score of 31-14 to Kansas State. In 2014, the Wolverines finished 5-7. This marked only the third season since 1975 in which Michigan missed a bowl game. On December 2, 2014, Hoke was fired after four seasons.
But the 2015 hire of Jim Harbaugh injected new hope into the fanbase. On December 30, 2014, Jim Harbaugh was hired as the head football coach at the University of Michigan. Harbaugh has been a head coach since 2004. He was previously the head coach of the San Diego Toreros (2004-2006), the Stanford Cardinal (2007-2010), and the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) (2011-2014). He is the first Michigan head coach to lose his first five games against Ohio State.
Leaving his post in the NFL, Harbaugh won nine or more games in each of his first five seasons, but just couldn't get over the hump that was Ohio State. In 2021, Harbaugh led Michigan to a victory over Ohio State and the program's first Big Ten championship in 17 years. Harbaugh was heavily criticized for a lack of success against rivals, and the 2-4 record in the shortened 2020 season had many calling for his job.
But the Wolverines stayed true to Harbaugh, and he rewarded them with three straight Big Ten titles and CFP appearances and a 2023 national championship to boot. Following his national title, he returned to the NFL, and Sherrone Moore took his place.
The coaches of the modern era include:
- Lloyd Carr (1995-2007): 122-40
- Rich Rodriguez (2008-2010): 15-22
- Brady Hoke (2011-2014): 31-20
- Jim Harbaugh (2015-2023): 86-25
- Sherrone Moore (2024-present): 9-5
Coaching Records and Hall of Fame Inductees
Michigan's coaching history is replete with legendary figures who have left an indelible mark on the sport. Several coaches have achieved remarkable milestones and honors, solidifying their place in college football history.
Coaching Records:
- Most overall wins: 1. Bo Schembechler (194) 2. Fielding H. Yost (165) 3. Lloyd Carr (122) 4. Jim Harbaugh (86)
- Most Big Ten wins: 1. Bo Schembechler (143) 2. Lloyd Carr (81) 3. Jim Harbaugh (60) 4. Bennie Oosterbaan (44) 5. Fielding H. Yost (42)
- Highest overall winning percentage: 1. Biff Poggi (1.000) 2. William Ward (.900) 3. William McCauley (.875) 4. Gustave Ferbert (.875) 5. Fielding H. Yost (.833)
- Highest Big Ten winning percentage: 1. Biff Poggi (1.000) 2. Bo Schembechler (.855) 3. Fielding H. Yost (.796) 4. Jim Harbaugh (.779)
- Lowest overall winning percentage: 1. Rich Rodriguez (.405) 2. Frank Crawford/Mike Murphy (co-head coaches in 1891) (.444) 3. Bump Elliott (.547) 4. Tad Wieman (.594)
- Lowest Big Ten winning percentage: 1. Rich Rodriguez (.250) 2. Bump Elliott (.485) 3. Tad Wieman (.500) 4. Harry Kipke (.560)
- Big Ten championships: 1. Bo Schembechler (13) 2. Fielding H. Yost (10) 3. Lloyd Carr (5) 4. Harry Kipke (4) 5. Gary Moeller (3) 5. Bennie Oosterbaan (3)
- National championships: 1. Fielding H. Yost (6) 2. Harry Kipke (2) 3. Fritz Crisler (1) 3. Bennie Oosterbaan (1) 3. Lloyd Carr (1)
College Football Hall of Fame Inductees (as coaches or players):
Beginning with Lea, all nine individuals who served as head coach at Michigan during the 90 years from 1900 to 1989 have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame either as a player or coach: Langdon Lea, Yost, George Little, Elton Wieman, Kipke, Crisler, Oosterbaan, Elliott, and Schembechler.
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