12 NFL Coaching Busts

12 Successful College Coaches Who Were Busts in the NFL

Fans in San Francisco are excited about the upcoming season. After all, they hired the hottest college coach in America in Jim Harbaugh, who was incredibly successful nearby at Stanford University. However, you may not want to show 49er fans this slide show. It turns out that Harbaugh is almost certainly doomed. Coaches who make the jump from the college to pro ranks almost always fail. The last college-to-NFL coach to win a Super Bowl was Barry Switzer, and the last seven coaches who made the jump from college to the pros have combined to win exactly one playoff game (Pete Carroll's 7-9 Seahawks, who shouldn't have been allowed near the playoffs, pulled off a shocker against the Saints this past year). One. The last coach to have any sort of success in the NFL was Steve Mariucci, who led the 49ers to a 60-43 record before struggling for three years with the woeful Lions. None of the following coaches were nearly as successful as Mariucci, and the odds are, the new 49ers coach won't be either.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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12 NFL Coaching ... Fans in San Francisco are excited about the upcoming season. After all, they hired the hottest college coach in America in Jim Harbaugh, who was incredibly successful nearby at Stanford University. However, you may not want to show 49er fans this slide show. It turns out that Harbaugh is almost certainly doomed. Coaches who make the jump from the college to pro ranks almost always fail. The last college-to-NFL coach to win a Super Bowl was Barry Switzer, and the last seven coaches who made the jump from college to the pros have combined to win exactly one playoff game (Pete Carroll's 7-9 Seahawks, who shouldn't have been allowed near the playoffs, pulled off a shocker against the Saints this past year). One. The last coach to have any sort of success in the NFL was Steve Mariucci, who led the 49ers to a 60-43 record before struggling for three years with the woeful Lions. None of the following coaches were nearly as successful as Mariucci, and the odds are, the new 49ers coach won't be either.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Steve Spurrier, ... After years of floundering following their 1992 Super Bowl, the Redskins seemed to have finally righted the ship under Marty Schottenheimer in 2001, winning eight of their final eleven games. That wasn't good enough for owner Daniel Snyder, however, who fired Schottenheimer and brought in Steve Spurrier. To get the popular college coach, Snyder gave him an outlandish 5-year, $25 million contract. He lasted only two years, went 12-20, and then returned to the college ranks.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Mike Riley, Char... Riley was hired as Chargers coach after leading a perennially awful Oregon State program to a nearly respectable 5-6 record in 1998. His worst season with the Bolts was in 2000, where thanks to a historically inept offense, the team went 1-15. He was fired after the 2001 season, and later returned to Oklahoma State, where he has since found success.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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Lou Holtz, Jets After successful stints at William & Mary and North Carolina State, Lou Holtz decided he was ready for the pros. He wasn't. He coached the Jets in 1976, went 3-10, and quit with one game left in the season.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/File)

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Nick Saban, Dolp... Two years after leading LSU to a national title, Nick Saban took the coaching job in Miami. It wasn't a disaster, but it didn't go well either. During Saban's first year, the Dolphins went 9-7, and barely missed the playoffs. The next season, their lack of an experienced quarterback doomed them, and they went 6-10. After that season, Saban quit the Dolphins to become coach at Alabama, infuriating many Dolphin players.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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*Pete Carroll, J... This one has an asterisk beside it, as Carroll went from coaching in college to coaching in the pros and back again. Now he’s back in the NFL and his legacy is still in doubt. After being an assistant in college and the NFL, he coached the Jets for a season (1994), where he went 6-10 and was subsequently fired. Carroll then coached the Patriots from 1997-1999 and was also fired. In 2000, he took the coaching job at USC, where he found remarkable success, though his tenure was scarred by numerous NCAA violations. He then ducked out of USC right before the hammer came down on the program and accepted the head coaching position in Seattle. While the jury is still out on him, you have to think that with Tarvaris Jackson behind center, the team will be hard pressed to match their 7-9 record from last year.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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Butch Davis, Bro... After leading the Miami Hurricanes back to respectability in the late 1990s, Davis signed on to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. He made the playoffs one season with a 9-7 record, but his tenure was marked primarily by a quarterback controversy between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcombe. Neither QB could save Davis's job and he was forced to resign in 2004 after posting a 24-35 record.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)

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Bobby Petrino, F... Petrino's exit at Atlanta was certainly one of the ugliest in NFL history. With three games left in the season, Petrino quit, making the team aware of his decision via a note he posted in the locker room. He had made Louisville a national powerhouse before coming to the pros, but took the Atlanta job, thinking he would have Michael Vick as his QB. When Vick was arrested, Petrino had no interest in leading the Falcons. He fled Atlanta the moment Arkansas came calling.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

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Dennis Erickson,... Very few coaches have had as much success in college as Dennis Erickson, who has turned around programs at Idaho and Oregon State, and won two national titles while head coach of Miami. But that success never translated to the pros, where he coached the Seahawks to a 31-33 record and went 2-14 later at San Francisco, where his pro career ended.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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Frank Kush, Colt... A legendary coach at Arizona State, Kush compiled a 176-54-1 record over 22 seasons, though his departure was mired in controversy. After leaving college, he coached for a season in the CFL, then took the job as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. It was a disaster. A strike shortened the 1982 season and the Colts finished 0-8-1. They drafted John Elway the following year, but Elway refused to play for Kush. After two more losing seasons, he was out the door. He coached for a year in the USFL, then never coached again.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Bud Wilkinson, C... One of the most legendary coaches in college football history, between 1947-1963, he led the Oklahoma Sooners to a 47-game winning streak (still a college record) and three national championships. In 1978, he came out of retirement to take the head coaching job for the St. Louis Cardinals. It was an ill-fated move. He went 9-20 in parts of two seasons, quarreled with the front office, and quit with three games remaining in the 1979 season.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo)

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Dick MacPherson,... After making Syracuse a national powerhouse in the 1980s, Dick MacPherson was hired to coach the New England Patriots. He failed to turn around a team that resided in the NFL's basement and had major ownership issues (including threats of moving the team). He was fired after two years and an 8-24 record and never returned to coaching.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Rich Brooks, Ram... Brooks was the coach that ushered in the St. Louis era for the Rams, who had spent the last 48 years in L.A. Brooks was also making a big change, having coached the Oregon Ducks for the previous 18 seasons. The change of locales didn't prove successful for the franchise or the coach. The Rams went 7-9 in Brooks’s first year and 6-10 in his second season. He was then fired, and later became head coach at the University of Kentucky.—Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

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