During one of the craziest weeks of football in recent memory, we saw the end of an era for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
Belichick, 71, and Saban, 72, are easily two of the greatest coaches that the sport has ever seen. Next season, college football will look very different without Saban coaching Alabama. Meanwhile, the NFL will also look very different without Belichick coaching the Patriots.
Both teams will have huge decisions about how to fill these massive shoes. While there are some interesting candidates for the gig in New England and the job in Tuscaloosa, can either live up to the reputation that Belichick and Saban built?
We looked back at some of the most legendary coaches in football history, both in the NFL and in college football, to learn how these replacements have typically fared.
The results are a fairly mixed bag but if there is one thing we learned, it is that it is not easy to replace someone as accomplished as either of these two Hall of Fame-caliber coaches.
1
Knute Rockne (Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
YEARS: 1918 – 1930 (13 seasons, 3 championships)
RECORD: 105-12-5 (.881)
REPLACEMENT: Hunk Anderson
YEARS: 1931 – 1933 (3 seasons)
RECORD: 16-9-2 (.630)
Rockne was only 43 years old and one of the most famous sports figures in the country when he tragically died in a plane crash. Notre Dame was coming off a 10-0 season in which it claimed back-to-back national titles amid a 19-game win streak. That would’ve been impossible to follow under the best of circumstances. Hunk Anderson lasted just three years in South Bend before Elmer Layden replaced him in 1934.
— Blake Schuster
2
Vince Lombardi (Green Bay Packers)
YEARS: 1959 – 1967 (9 seasons, 5 championships)
RECORD: 89-29-4 (.754)
REPLACEMENT: Phil Bengtson
YEARS: 1968 – 1970 (3 seasons)
RECORD: 20-21-1 (.488)
Many consider Vince Lombardi the best football coach in history and with good reason. He never had a losing season in the NFL and the Super Bowl trophy was named after him. Lombardi resigned as Green Bay head coach but was the general manager of the franchise, where he hired former assistant coach Phil Bengston as his successor. Bengston was the only assistant coach to work as an assistant for the entire time Lombardi was a head coach for the Packers. He was eventually relieved of his duties as a head coach in 1970.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
3
George Halas (Chicago Bears)
YEARS: 1920 – 1967 (40 seasons, 6 championships)
RECORD: 149-31 (.682)
1ST REPLACEMENT: Ralph Jones (3 seasons, 1 championship)
YEARS: 1930-1932
RECORD: 24-10-7 (.585)
2ND REPLACEMENT: Hunk Anderson & Luke Johnsos (4 seasons, 1 championship)
YEARS: 1942 – 1945
RECORD: 23-11-2 (.638)
3RD REPLACEMENT: Paddy Driscoll (2 seasons)
YEARS: 1956 – 1957
RECORD: 14-9-1 (.583)
4TH REPLACEMENT: Jim Dooley (4 seasons)
YEARS: 1968 – 1972
RECORD: 20-36 (.357)
Papa Bear tried retiring four times before it finally stuck. First, he was replaced in 1930 by Ralph Jones, then Halas came back in 1933 for another 10 years. In 1943 he gave way to Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos as he rejoined the Navy during World War II. Halas returned to the sidelines in 1946 and lasted until 1955 when Paddy Driscoll took over the following year. That lasted for three years until Halas came back for another decade and finally retired for good in 1967. Jim Dooley was named his successor and lasted four years — but at least he wasn’t replaced by Halas.
— Blake Schuster
4
Woody Hayes (Ohio State Buckeyes)
YEARS: 1951 – 1978 (28 seasons, 5 championships)
RECORD: 205–61–10 (.761)
REPLACEMENT: Earle Bruce
YEARS: 1979 – 1987 (9 seasons)
RECORD: 81-26-1 (.755)
Woody Hayes’ run at Ohio State came to a screeching halt after the coach infamously punched Clemson’s Charlie Bauman following an interception in the 1978 Gator Bowl. Hayes was fired the following morning after having been given the chance to resign. His replacement, Earle Bruce, was a former Buckeyes tailback under Hayes who turned around an Iowa State program before taking over Ohio State. Earle didn’t make it a decade despite starting with eight consecutive nine-plus win seasons. He was fired after going 6-4-1 (4-4 Big Ten) in 1987.
— Blake Schuster
5
John Madden (Oakland Raiders)
YEARS: 1969 – 1978 (10 seasons, 1 championship)
RECORD: 103-32-7 (.759)
REPLACEMENT: Tom Flores
YEARS: 1979 – 1987 (9 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 83-53 (.610)
The late John Madden was nothing short of a legend on the sidelines of a football field and then later in the broadcasting booth. Madden, who won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Raiders, held one of the highest winning percentages in NFL history. His replacement, Tom Flores, went on to win multiple Super Bowl rings while coaching with the Raiders.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
6
Bear Bryant (Alabama Crimson Tide)
YEARS: 1958 – 1992 (25 seasons, 6 championships)
RECORD: 232-46-9 (.824)
REPLACEMENT: Ray Perkins
YEARS: 1983 – 1986 (4 seasons)
RECORD: 32-15-1 (.677)
How was anyone supposed to replace someone like Bear Bryant, who won six championships in his 25 years as head coach at Alabama? Ray Pekins, a former Alabama quarterback who won two national championships during his time playing for Bryant, was chosen for the job. Even though he had a winning record overall, his team had a losing record in 1984. That was the first losing record for the program since 1957, before Bryant’s tenure, and it was the last season Perkins spent with the Crimson Tide.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
7
Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys)
YEARS: 1960 – 1988 (29 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 250-162-6 (.607)
REPLACEMENT: Jimmy Johnson
YEARS: 1989 – 1993 (5 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 44-36 (.550)
Tom Landry recorded 20 consecutive winning seasons between 1966 and 1985, one of the most dominant stretches in football history. But when Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, it was the end of an era for Landry. Jones hired his former teammate, Jimmy Johnson, as the new head coach. Johnson won two Super Bowl rings as head coach but his time with the team did not last very long as he eventually mutually agreed to part ways with Jones and the Cowboys.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
8
Bill Walsh (San Francisco 49ers)
YEARS: 1979 – 1988 (10 seasons, 3 championships)
RECORD: 92-59-1 (.609)
REPLACEMENT: George Seifert
YEARS: 1989 – 1996 (8 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 98-30 (.766)
Bill Walsh is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and had tremendous success working with quarterbacks like Joe Montana and (more briefly) Steve Young. His replacement, George Seifert, began working for the 49ers in 1980 as an assistant. He took over for Walsh in 1989 and he won two Super Bowl rings as head coach of the team, also boasting an even better win percentage than his predecessor.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
9
Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh Steelers)
YEARS: 1969 – 1991 (23 seasons, 4 championships)
RECORD: 193-148-1 (.566)
REPLACEMENT: Bill Cowher
YEARS: 1992 – 2006 (15 seasons, 1 championship)
RECORD: 149-90-1 (.633)
Despite all the success that Chuck Noll enjoyed during his decades as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, his successor was comparably impressive. Cowher, who was originally born in Pittsburgh, didn’t win as many Super Bowl rings as Noll. But he did have a very long career with the Steelers and won a championship during his tenure as head coach.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
10
Don Shula (Miami Dolphins)
YEARS: 1970 – 1995 (26 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 257-133-2
REPLACEMENT: Jimmy Johnson
YEARS: 1996 – 1999 (4 seasons)
RECORD: 36-28 (.563)
Don Shula is the winningest coach in NFL history and finding his replacement was never going to be an easy task. After serving as the Dolphins head coach for more than two decades, Shula (like Tom Landry) was replaced by Jimmy Johnson. Although he had Dan Marino on his roster at quarterback, Miami failed to reach the lofty expectations set and Johnson opted to resign in 1999.
— Bryan Kalbrosky
11
Tom Osborne (Nebraska Cornhuskers)
YEARS: 1973 – 1997 (25 seasons, 3 championships)
RECORD: 255-39-3 (.836)
REPLACEMENT: Frank Solich
YEARS: 1998 – 2003 (6 seasons)
RECORD: 58-19-0 (.753)
Tom Osborne went 60-3 over his final five seasons. His hand-picked replacement barely lasted that long. He was fired by first-year athletic director Steve Pederson in 2003, who feared the program falling into “mediocrity” despite Solich winning more games (58) over his first five seasons than Osborne did to start his Nebraska tenure.
— Blake Schuster
12
Bobby Bowden (Florida State Seminoles)
YEARS: 1976 – 2009 (34 seasons, 2 championships)
RECORD: 315-98-4 (.760)
REPLACEMENT: Jimbo Fisher
YEARS: 2010 – 2017 (8 seasons, 1 championship)
RECORD: 83-53 (.783)
As far as transitions go, it’s hard to find one smoother than Jimbo Fisher taking over for Bobby Bowden. While he was never going to top what Bowden built in Tallahassee, Fisher proved more than adequate by winning a national title in his fourth year on the job. That earned him plenty of goodwill — and even more admirers. Fisher left FSU in 2018 for an ill-fated stint at Texas A&M after the Aggies dropped a 10-year, $75 million contract offer he couldn’t refuse.
— Blake Schuster
