List of college football head coaches with non-consecutive tenure

This is a list of college football head coaches with non-consecutive tenure, meaning that an individual was a head coach at a college or university for a period, departed, and then returned to the same college or university in the same capacity.

This list includes only head coaches. This list does not include the following:

• Head coaches whose break in tenure was due to a temporarily suspended football program with no other coach during the break in tenure. Most such cases involve programs that halted play for World War I (including the flu pandemic linked to that conflict), World War II, or COVID-19. Another recent example is Bill Clark, former head coach at UAB. UAB dropped football after his first season at the school in 2014, but announced six months later that it would reinstate the sport, eventually resuming play in 2017. Clark was under contract to UAB throughout the program's hiatus.
• Coaches who left and returned to an administrative capacity in the title of "head coach" but did not coach any games, such as when Tom Osborne temporarily named himself head coach while athletic director for the Nebraska Cornhuskers until Bo Pelini was hired in 2007.^[1]
• Coaches whose break in tenure was due to a medical or personal leave, with no new permanent head coach having been hired. A recent example is Joe Moglia, head coach at Coastal Carolina from 2012 to 2018. He went on a medical leave shortly before the 2017 season, and returned to coaching in 2018. During the 2017 season, offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell was interim head coach, but was not hired as the permanent replacement at that time; he would succeed Moglia after the latter retired after the 2018 season.
• Coaches who were hired as interim head coaches while the permanent head coach was on a personal or medical leave, such as Chadwell.

Several College Football Hall of Fame coaches have made the list, accenting not only their return to the same program but the success their return brought to the program.^[2] Critics have pointed out that returning coaches appear to be less successful at producing winning teams and programs during their second tenure^[3] and make comparisons to previous records of coaches attempting to return to a prior coaching job.^[4]

Head coach	Team	Tenure	Notes
Eli Abbott[5]	Alabama	1893–1895, 1902
A. A. Abraham[6]	Alcorn State	1936, 1938, 1941–1942
Hobbs Adams[7]	Kansas State	1940–1941, 1946
Bob Agler	Otterbein	1955–1965, 1970–1974
Jack Alexander	Brevard	1940, 1948
George E. Allen[8]	Maine	1941, 1946–1948
William Allen[9]	Washington State	1900, 1902
Barry Alvarez	Wisconsin	1990–2005, 2012, 2014	Alvarez, who stepped down from coaching after the 2005 season to concentrate on his second role as athletic director and entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010, has been interim coach for two Wisconsin bowl games after the Badgers' head coach left for another school. He coached in the 2013 Rose Bowl (part of the 2012 season) after Bret Bielema left to take the head coaching vacancy at Arkansas,[10] and the 2015 Outback Bowl (part of the 2014 season) following Gary Andersen's departure for the Oregon State vacancy (though Alvarez coached the bowl game in 2015).[11]
Gary Andersen	Utah State	2009–2012, 2019–2020
Carl "Swede" Anderson	Western Kentucky	1929, 1934–1937
Chester Anderson	Bemidji State	1955–1960, 1962–1965
Eddie Anderson	Holy Cross	1933–1938, 1950–1964	Member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Coached six years at Holy Cross in the 1930s, moved on to Iowa which he interrupted to serve in the U.S. Army. He then returned first to Iowa then to Holy Cross for 13 seasons.[2]
	Iowa	1939–1942, 1946–1949
Bob Andrews	Brevard	1946–1947, 1949–1950
Houston Arbogast		1925, 1927
Phillip Arbuckle	Rice	1912–1917, 1919–1923
Samuel Archer	Morehouse	1905–1908, 1912–1915
Bo Atterberry	Southeastern Oklahoma State	2014–2018, 2023–present
Chris Ault	Nevada	1976–1992, 1994–1995, 2004–2012	Stepped down and returned twice during his tenure at Nevada, each time to focus on his (now-relinquished) second role as athletics director.[2] Ault was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002, during his second break in tenure.
David Austin	Middlebury	1903–1904, 1907–1908
Cory Bailey	Assumption	2004–2007, 2009–2012
Willard Bailey	Virginia Union	1971–1983, 1995–2003
Boydson Baird	Maryville	1959–1963, 1970
Ed Baker	Kalamazoo	1967–1983, 1988–1989
Edward Baker	Carnegie Tech	1940–1942, 1949–1959	School is now known as Carnegie Mellon.
William C. Baker	Chadron State	1955, 1957–1961
George Baldwin	Kutztown	1973–1983, 1985–1987
D. M. Balliet	Purdue	1893–1895, 1901
Laurence Bankart	Colgate	1910, 1913–1916
Harry E. Barco	Virginia Union	1903, 1911–1912
T. L. Bayne	Tulane	1893, 1895
Ernest Bearg	Washburn	1918–1919, 1929–1935
Matty Bell	SMU	1935–1941, 1945–1949
Joe Benda	Saint John's (MN)	1930–1936, 1941–1942, 1945–1949
John R. Bender	Washington State	1906–1907, 1912–1914
Christie Benet	South Carolina	1904–1905, 1908–1909
Curt Bennett	Sterling	1966–1973, 1981, 1997–2000
Harry Newsham Bentz	Shippensburg	1924–1925, 1927–1928
Martin V. Bergen	Grinnell	1894–1895, 1902–1903, 1905	Served as co-head coach with Tuffy Fisk in 1905
Hugo Bezdek	Oregon	1906, 1913–1917
Bernie Bierman	Minnesota	1932–1941, 1945–1950
Jack Bishop	Southern Utah	1978–1982, 1986–1995
Gene Bissell	Kansas Wesleyan	1952–1961, 1963–1978
C. P. Blakeslee	Minnesota State	1924–1931, 1933–1934
J. Merrell Blanchard	William & Mary	1904–1905, 1910
Bill Bloss	Oregon State	1893, 1897
Branch Bocock	Virginia Tech	1909–1910, 1912–1915
	William & Mary	1928–1930, 1936–1938
Stanley Borleske	North Dakota State	1919–1921, 1923–1924, 1928	Co-head coach with Casey Finnegan in 1928
Robert E. Bowles	William Jewell	1913–1926, 1933–1936
Jerry Boyes	Buffalo State	1986–2000, 2009–2018
Jimmy Bradshaw	Fresno State	1936–1942, 1946	Fresno State did not play in 1943, but resumed in 1944.[12]
Jubie Bragg	Florida A&M	1907–1925, 1930	Team did not play from 1910 until 1919 and again in 1924. FAMU's current stadium bears his name.
Sidney O. Brandon	Campbell	1927–1928, 1932–1934, 1946
Chester Brewer	Michigan State	1903–1910, 1917, 1919	Michigan State played its 1918 season.
Arthur W. Briggs	Missouri State	1912, 1914–1917, 1919–1933	Missouri State, then known as the Fourth District Normal School, played in 1918.[13]
John Briley	Augustana (IL)	1941–1942, 1946
Eugene Brodhagen	Winona State	1946–1950, 1952–1954
Reuben Bronson	Idaho State	1915–1916, 1919	Idaho State played in 1917, but not in 1918.[14]
Joseph W. Brooks	Williams	1916, 1919–1920
Charles H. Brown	Birmingham-Southern	1916, 1919–1923
Don Brown	UMass	2004–2008, 2022–2024
John Brown	Alabama State	1943, 1945–1948	Alabama State played in 1944.[15]
Mack Brown	North Carolina	1988–1997, 2019–2024
George Buchheit	Bloomsburg	1932–1935, 1940–1941, 1945
Matthew Bullock	UMass[a]	1904, 1907–1908
Luther Burleson	Hardin-Simmons	1913, 1918
Derrick Burroughs	Lane	2010–2013, 2015–2019
Samuel D. Burton	West Texas A&M	1921–1924, 1931–1932
Perrin Busbee	North Carolina State	1892, 1896–1897
Henry Butova	American International	1948, 1952–1955
Johnny Cain	Louisiana[b]	1937–1941, 1946
L. Jay Caldwell	Colgate	1893, 1895
Walter Camp	Stanford	1892, 1894–1895
V. M. Campbell	Memphis[c]	1917, 1919	Memphis played in 1918.[16]
Mike Canales	North Texas	2010, 2015	Canales served as interim head coach of the Mean Green for their last 5 games in 2010, and again for their last 7 games in 2015.
Jack Cannell	Dartmouth	1921–1922, 1929–1933
William L. Carberry	Northern State	1933–1939, 1942–1945	Team did not play in 1943 and 1944 due to WWII.
Roger Caron	Pomona–Pitzer	1994–2004, 2007–2016
Gilbert Carson	Eastern Illinois	1936–1937, 1939–1941
Marino Casem	Southern	1987–1988, 1992
Frank Casey	Simpson	1935–1939, 1942–1947
Joe Bailey Cheaney	Howard Payne	1928–1934, 1946–1947
Ade Christenson	St. Olaf	1929–1942, 1946–1948, 1951–1957
Harvey Chrouser	Wheaton (IL)	1940–1941, 1946–1960
William W. Church	Georgetown	1899, 1901
George Clark	Nebraska	1945, 1948
Heze Clark	Rose-Hulman	1908–1911, 1923–1927
Louis Clark	Dayton	1913, 1917–1918
Tom Clark	Catholic	1994–2000, 2004–2005
Edward Clemons	Edward Waters	1929–1932, 1965	33 years between coaching periods
Roy Clogston	St. Lawrence	1938–1941, 1946–1947
George Cobb	Rhode Island	1909–1911, 1913–1914
Jasper Colebank	Fairmont State	1924–1932, 1934–1939
Bill Cooke	Missouri Southern	1988, 2000–2003	Was interim coach in 1988
Gerald Coonan	Wisconsin-Superior	1913, 1917
Duaine Counsell	Wisconsin-Stevens Point	1957–1965, 1967–1968
Dean Cromwell	USC	1909–1910, 1916–1918
H. P. Cross	Stanford	1896, 1898
Shannon Currier	Concordia–St. Paul	2000–2003, 2016–present	Team did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19
Charles Dudley Daly	Army	1913–1916, 1919–1922
Bill Davis	Savannah State	1986–1992, 2000–2001
Mark Dean	Indiana State	1951–1954, 1956
James DeHart	Washington & Lee	1922–1925, 1931–1932
Frank Dennie	Missouri S&T	1909–1911, 1915–1917
Hugh Devore	Notre Dame	1945, 1963
Oliver Morton Dickerson	Western Illinois	1906, 1910
Marvin D. Dickinson	Georgia	1903, 1905
Chester C. Dillon	Samford[d]	1919, 1927–1928
	Jacksonville State	1938–1939, 1945
Sam Doak	Tusculum	1919–1921, 1928–1936
Frank Dobson	Richmond	1913–1917, 1919–1933
Mike Donahue	Auburn	1904–1906, 1908–1922
George Donges	Ashland	1935–1937, 1945–1953
James C. Donnelly	WPI	1909, 1911, 1915
Hubert R. Doubs	Fayetteville State	1959–1962, 1966–1969
Ben Douglas	Grinnell	1940–1941, 1946
Sidney Drew	Hope	1916, 1918
Don Drumm	Marietta	1912–1916, 1942	26 years between coaching periods
Moon Ducote	Spring Hill	1919, 1921–1922, 1933–1934
E. C. Duggins	Appalachian State	1947–1950, 1952–1955
Mike Dunbar	Central Washington	1983, 1987–1991
E. A. Dunlap	Richmond	1905–1909, 1912
John Dunlop	Boston College	1897–1899, 1901
Joe Dupaix	Southern Virginia	2009–2013, 2022–present
Ron Dupree	Kansas Wesleyan	1979–1980, 1996
Schubert R. Dyche	Montana State	1928–1935, 1938–1941
Thomas Eck	Massachusetts[a]	1945, 1947–1951
Randy Edsall	UConn[e]	1999–2010, 2017–2021
George R. Edwards	Kansas Wesleyan	1914, 1917
Jake Eldridge	Montana State–Northern	2014, 2017	Was interim head coach for the entire 2014 season and for the final 3 games of the 2017 season.
Larry Elliott	Washburn	1974–1978, 1984–1989
Harry Ely	Fordham	1892, 1903
Homer Englund	South Dakota Mines	1959–1960, 1962
Rex Enright	South Carolina	1938–1942, 1946–1955
Dennis Erickson	Idaho	1982–1985, 2006	21 years between coaching periods[2]
Dan Estes	Central Arkansas	1915–1916, 1919–1932
Harry W. Ewing	Otterbein	1935–1938, 1942–1945, 1951–1954
Jack Faber	Maryland	1935, 1940–1941
Dave Fagg	Davidson	1970–1973, 1990–1992
Don Fambrough	Kansas	1971–1974, 1979–1982
George M. Farley	Nebraska Wesleyan	1935–1936, 1941–1942
Wells Farley	Maine	1901, 1903
Don Faurot	Missouri	1935–1942, 1946–1956
John Fenlon	Richmond	1942, 1946–1947
Jim Fenwick	Eastern Oregon	2002–2003, 2005
A. R. Ferguson	Hastings	1912–1914, 1917–1918
Stewart Ferguson	Arkansas-Monticello	1934, 1938–1941
Carl Ferrill	New Mexico Highlands	1996–1998, 2006
Lou Ferry	Villanova	1970–1973, 1974	Ferry served as interim head coach for the final 3 games in 1974
Doug Fessenden	Montana	1935–1941, 1946–1948
Charles A. Fisher	Lebanon Valley	1899, 1901
Red Floyd	Middle Tennessee	1917, 1935–1938
Ed Foley	Temple	2016, 2018	Foley was interim head coach for two Temple appearances in bowl games, the 2016 Military Bowl after Matt Rhule left for Baylor and the 2018 Independence Bowl after Geoff Collins left for Georgia Tech.
Fred Folsom	Colorado	1895–1899, 1901–1902, 1908–1915
Frank Forbes	Morehouse	1932–1933, 1935–1942, 1945–1949
Ted Forbes	UC Davis	1949–1953, 1955
Dixon Foster	South Carolina	1917, 1919
Dennis Franchione	Texas State	1990–91, 2011–2015	20 years between coaching periods[17]
John Edmund Fries	Carroll (WI)	1914–1918, 1920
Scott Frost	UCF	2016–2017, 2025–future
Thomas B. Fullerton	Emory and Henry	1915–1916, 1920–1926
Phillip Fulmer	Tennessee	1992, 1993–2008	Fulmer was named interim head coach for the first three games of the 1992 season in Johnny Majors' absence. He returned to his position as offensive coordinator upon Majors' return. Following Majors' resignation after the season, Fulmer was promoted to head coach.
John Fuhrer	Pittsburg State	1909–1914, 1918
Mike Furrey	Limestone	2016–2017, 2022–present
Glen Galligan	Winona State	1927–1933, 1935
J. A. Gammons	Brown	1902, 1908–1909
Mike Gardner	Tabor	2004–2005, 2010–present
Frank Gargan	Fordham	1916, 1922–1926
Wix Garner	Western Illinois	1942–1943, 1945–1947
Al Garten	Eastern New Mexico	1936–1937, 1939–1953	Team did not play from 1942 until 1944 due to WWII.
Rufus Gilbert	Kalamazoo	1905, 1907–1908
	Rose-Hulman	1915, 1917–1920
W. J. Gobrecht	Dickinson	1965–1979, 1984	Was interim head coach in 1984
Ernie Godfrey	Wittenberg	1916, 1919–1928
Milton Goering	Bethel (KS)	1954–1956, 1958–1959
Otto Graham	Coast Guard	1959–1965, 1974–1975
Paul Graham	RPI	1920–1926, 1942–1945	Went 16 years between coaching stints
Ralph Graham	Wichita State[f]	1942, 1946–1947
Artis P. Graves	Morris Brown	1940, 1944–1949
B. C. Graves	Sul Ross	1923–1925, 1927–1939
Ernest Graves, Sr.	Army	1906, 1912
Rob Green	Missouri Southern	1997, 2003	Green had no wins in nine games as head coach.
Ray Greene	Alabama A&M	1979–1983, 1986–1988
Roger A. Greene	Colby	1916, 1923
James Griffin	Hampton	1941–1942, 1947–1948
John G. Griffith	Idaho	1902–1906, 1910–1914
Fred Gushurst	South Dakota Mines	1917, 1919–1920
Joe Guyon	Union (TN)	1919, 1923–1926
Roy J. Guyer	Lebanon Valley	1908–1910, 1913–1916
Eugene M. Haas	Gettysburg	1957–1968, 1973–1974
Odell Haggins	Florida State	2017, 2019	Haggins served as the Seminoles' interim head coach for the final 2 games of 2017 after Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M and for the final 4 games in 2019 after Willie Taggart was fired.
Bert Hall	West Chester	1920, 1922
Henry Hall	Olivet	1901–1903, 1908–1910, 1912
Dale E. Hamilton	Central Oklahoma	1941–1949, 1952–1957	Program idle from 1943 to 1945; from 1950 to 1951, Hamilton served in the Korean War.
Tom Hamilton	Navy	1934–1936, 1946–1947
	Pittsburgh	1951, 1954
Charles Hammett	Allegheny	1913–1917, 1919
Howard Hancock	Wisconsin–Oshkosh	1921–1928, 1930
A. G. Harbaugh	Montana State	1901, 1905
Jack Harding	Miami (FL)	1937–1942, 1945–1947
Clarion Hardy	Dakota Wesleyan	1902, 1907–1908, 1913–1914
Lyle W. Hare	Black Hills State	1906, 1911–1919
Walter Hargesheirner	UMass[a]	1941–1942, 1946
Homer Woodson Hargiss	Emporia State	1914–1917, 1920–1927
Dick Harlow	Harvard	1935–1942, 1945–1947
Harvey Harman	Rutgers	1938–1941, 1946–1955
Robert E. Harmon	Illinois College	1903, 1917
William T. Harmon	Illinois College	1910–1916, 1919–1931
C. E. Harris	Grinnell	1897–1900, 1904
L. Harris	Alcorn State	1937, 1939–1940
Sox Harrison	Edinboro	1926–1938, 1941–1942
Herbert L. Hart	Monmouth (IL)	1925–1929, 1932–1937
Harry Hartsell	NC State	1917, 1921–1923
Burwell Towns Harvey	Morehouse	1916–1925, 1927–1928
Bobby Hauck	Montana	2003–2009, 2018–present
Charlie Havens	McDaniel	1935–1941, 1946–1956	School was called Western Maryland College
Patrick Haverty	Fitchburg State	2002–2006, 2011–2017
Jimmy R. Haygood	Henderson State	1907–1918, 1920–1924
Herman Hayward	Wisconsin-River Falls	1921, 1923
C. M. Hazen	Richmond	1882–1886, 1888	Team did not play in 1883 and 1884
Charles B. Hedgcock	Northern Michigan	1922–1933, 1936–1937
Jim Heinitz	Augustana (SD)	1985–1992, 1996–2004
John Heisman	Oberlin	1892, 1894
Clay Helton	USC	2013, 2015–2021	Helton was interim coach for the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl and for seven games after Steve Sarkisian's firing in 2015. He was named permanent head coach after the 2015 UCLA game.
Ernie Hertel	Wartburg	1935–1937, 1944–1945
Fred Hess	Wyoming	1892, 1894, 1898	Hess was co-head coach with Justus Soule in 1894.
Simon Hester	William Penn	1900, 1903
Bob Higgins	West Virginia Wesleyan	1920, 1922–1924
Sam H. Hill	Wichita State	1923–1924, 1928–1929
Nick E. Hinch	Eastern Washington	1908, 1912
Tony Hinkle	Butler	1926, 1935–1941, 1946–1969
Lance Hinson	Saint Mary	2005–2013, 2020–present
Robert T. Hinton	Georgetown (KY)	1908–1917, 1919
Brady Hoke	San Diego State	2009–2010, 2020–2023
Bill Hollenback	Penn State	1909, 1911–1914
	Pennsylvania Military	1912, 1915	Now called Widener University
Lamar Hoover	Wichita State	1916–1917, 1921–1922
George W. Hoskins	Bucknell	1899–1906, 1909
Blue Howell	Pittsburg State	1929–1935, 1937
Henry B. Hucles	Virginia Union	1919–1920, 1926–1942
Harry W. Hughes	Colorado State	1911–1941, 1946
Claude J. Hunt	Washington	1917, 1919	Washington played in 1918.[18]
Maurice Hunt	Morehouse	1979–1989, 1995–1996
John Hunthausen	Carroll (MT)	1957, 1959–1961	[19]
R. Victor Hurst	Northern Michigan	1934–1935, 1938–1942
Vic Hurt	Oklahoma Baptist	1923–1929, 1931–1934
T. Briscoe Inman	Centre	1952–1956, 1963–1965
Carl Iverson	Western Colorado	1988–1995, 1997–2000
Edward Jackson	Delaware State	1933–1936, 1939, 1941–1942, 1945, 1953–1956
Red Jarrett	North Dakota	1942, 1946–1948
Allen Jeardeau	Wisconsin-Platteville	1895, 1898	School was then called Platteville Normal
Harry R. Jefferson	Bluefield State	1925–1929, 1932–1933
Willie Jeffries	South Carolina State	1973–1978, 1989–2001
Greg Johnson	Langston	1992–1996, 2004–2010
Walter A. Johnson	Presbyterian	1915–1917, 1919–1940
Tad Jones	Yale	1916–1917, 1920–1927
Thomas Kane	Saint Anselm	1909, 1913
Ted Karras Jr.	Marian (IN)	2007–2012, 2023–present
Tom Kelley	Framingham State	1982–1984, 2007–present	Team did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.
Dan Kenan	Wesleyan	1916, 1920
A. R. Kennedy	Washburn	1903, 1916–1917
Walter S. Kennedy	Albion	1904–1905, 1907–1911, 1914–1920	Was co-head coach with Bruce Guyselman from 1918 to 1919.
William C. Kenyon	Maine	1942, 1944–1945
Bill Kern	West Virginia	1940–1942, 1946–1947
Dale Kessinger	Highland	1955, 1960–1969	School was known as Doniphan County Junior College from 1960–1965
Glenn Killinger	West Chester	1934–1941, 1945–1959
Eddie Kimball	BYU	1937–1941, 1946–1948
Philip King	Wisconsin	1896–1902, 1905
W. J. King	William & Mary	1897–1898, 1900
Ray Kirchmeyer	Wagner	1928–1937, 1938–1941, 1946	Team did not play from 1942 until 1945
James Kitts	Virginia Tech	1941, 1946–1947
Bill Klika	FDU–Florham	1974–1996, 2000–2001
Greg Knox	Mississippi State	2017, 2023	Knox was named interim head coach of the Bulldogs for their appearance in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl after Dan Mullen left for Florida and for the final 2 games in 2023 after Zach Arnett was fired.
Robert Kolf	Oshkosh State	1929, 1931–1942, 1946–1962	School now known as Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Hal Kopp	Rhode Island	1950, 1952–1955
Stan Kostka	North Dakota State	1941, 1946–1947
Harl Lahar	Colgate	1952–1956, 1962–1967
Oliver M. Lanhorst	Elmhurst	1933–1948, 1960–1962
Charles Lantz	Eastern Illinois	1911–1934, 1944	No season in 1918.[20]
Frank Leahy	Notre Dame	1941–1943, 1946–1953
Edwin W. Lee	Washington (St. Louis)	1898, 1900
Jay L. Lee	William Penn	1915, 1917–1920	Team did not play in 1918
John P. Lee	Fordham	1891, 1893
Kelley Lee	Eastern New Mexico	2017–2020, 2023–present	Team did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Sam Lee	Keystone	1936, 1942–1943
Wally Lemm	Lake Forest	1952–1953, 1957
Al Leonzi	Kutztown	1984, 1993–1997
Henry W. Lever	Linfield	1930–1938, 1940–1942
Emil Liston	Baker	1920–1937, 1940–1942
George Little	Miami (OH)	1916, 1919–1921
Dominic Livedoti	Olivet	1988–1992, 2005–2009
Mike Locksley	Maryland	2015, 2019–present	Was interim head coach of the team for their final 5 games in 2015 after Randy Edsall's firing.
John B. Longwell	Samford[d]	1909, 1911, 1916–1917
Will Lotter	UC Davis	1954, 1956–1957, 1959–1963
Lynn Lundin	Bethel (MN)	1950, 1953–1959
Richard W. Luther	Western Reserve	1947, 1950
Bill Lynch	DePauw	2004, 2013–2019
George Lynch	St. Cloud State	1920–1928, 1933–1934
James Lytle	Shaw	1928–1929, 1934–1945	Team did not play from 1943 to 1944
Frank Maile	Utah State	2018, 2020	Maile served as the Aggies interim head coach for their appearance in the 2018 New Mexico Bowl after Matt Wells left for Texas Tech, and for the final 5 games of the 2020 season after the school parted ways with Gary Andersen.
Rip Major	Wofford	1919, 1922–1926
Johnny Majors	Pittsburgh	1973–1976, 1993–1996	Won a national title at Pittsburgh in his first tenure.[2]
Oliver Mann	Rutgers	1903, 1905
Wally Marks	Indiana State	1927–1930, 1933–1941, 1946–1948
Duncan M. Martin	Hillsdale	1896, 1898
Art Martynuska	Saint Francis	1969–1979, 1981
Robert Mastny	St. Procopius	1927–1928, 1930, 1934–1936	School now known as Benedictine (IL)
Charles Mayser	Franklin & Marshall	1919–1914 1924–1925 1944–1945
Peter Mazzaferro	Bridgewater State	1968–1986, 1988–2004
William McAndrew	Southern Illinois	1913–1916, 1921–1938
Bill McArthur	Western Oregon	1947–1954, 1956–1982	Was known as Oregon College until 1981.
William McAvoy	Delaware	1908–1916, 1922–1924
Sam P. McBirney	Tulsa	1908, 1914–1916
Dan McCann	Duquesne	1970–1983, 1988–1992
Tim McCarty	East Central	2004–2005, 2009–2017
Jack McClairen	Bethune–Cookman	1961–1972, 1994–1997
Sam McCorkle	West Alabama[g]	1985–1990, 2004–2005
James H. McCurdy	Springfield	1895–1903, 1907–1916
Raymond McDougal	Fayetteville State	1970–1979, 1989–1991
Stan McGarvey	William Jewell	1978–1980, 1987–1988
Dan McGugin	Vanderbilt	1904–1917, 1919–1934
Jack McKay	Butler	1907–1908, 1910
Tuss McLaughry	Dartmouth	1941–1942, 1945–1954
	Westminster (PA)	1915–1916, 1918, 1921	Co-head coach with Andrew Park in 1915
R.D. McLeod	Colorado College	1885, 1895
Maury McMains[21]	Drexel	1944–1945, 1948	After coaching two full seasons at Drexel, McMains left the head coaching position after the 1945 season to become athletic director. During the 1948 football season, after an 0–5 start, McMains relieved head football coach Ralph Chase of his duties and became head coach for the last three games of the season.
R.D. McLeod	Colorado College	1885, 1895
Daryl C. McNeill	Johnson C. Smith	1995–1996, 2005–2009
Herb McQuillan	Stetson	1924–1934, 1955–1956	Went 21 years between coaching periods.
Randolph M. Medley	Southwestern	1939–1947, 1950
T. Nelson Metcalf	Oberlin	1913, 1919–1921
Ray Michaels	Muskingum	1917, 1919
Dennis Michie	Army	1890, 1892
John O. Miller	New Mexico State	1899, 1901–1907
Alfred Miles	Middle Tennessee	1913–1916, 1919–1923
T. R. Mobley	Louisiana[b]	1916, 1919, 1921–1930
George Moody	Elizabeth City State	1993–1995, 1998–1999
Jim Moore	Murray State	1941, 1946–1947
Charles Morgan	Pittsburg State	1936, 1938–1948
Edward Morrison	Howard	1920–1924, 1928
Ray Morrison	SMU	1915–1916, 1924–1934	Was co-head coach with Ewing Y. Freeland from 1922–1923.
	Vanderbilt	1918, 1935–1939
David C. Morrow	Washington & Jefferson	1908–1911, 1919–1920, 1924–1925	[22]
Mertz Mortorelli	Wisconsin-Superior	1954–1969, 1975–1983
Arthur Mosse	Central Missouri	1899, 1902
B. Moyer	Willamette	1903, 1907
Moon Mullins	Saint Ambrose	1940, 1947–1950	[23]
Frank Murray	Marquette	1922–1936, 1946–1949
W. E. Murray	Benedict	1926, 1932
Denny Myers	Boston College	1941–1942, 1946–1950
Howdy Myers	Johns Hopkins	1946–1949, 1979	Myers had a 30-year break in tenure at Johns Hopkins[24]
Robert L. Myers	Centre	1917, 1924–1925
Edward Mylin	Lafayette	1937–1942, 1946
Sliv Nemzek	Minnesota State–Moorhead	1919, 1923–1940
Samuel B. Newton	Williams	1907, 1909–1910
	Lafayette	1898–1901, 1911
Robert Neyland	Tennessee	1926–1934, 1936–1940, 1946–1952	Interrupted his coaching twice to serve in the U.S. Army[2]
Angus Nicoson	Indianapolis	1947–1949, 1954
Ralph Nichols	Washington	1895–1896, 1898
Billy Nicks	Morris Brown	1930–1935, 1937–1939, 1941–1942
	Prairie View A&M	1945–1947, 1952–1965
Bob Nielson	Minnesota–Duluth	1999–2003, 2008–2012	Won two Division II national titles in his second tenure.
Harvey O'Brien	The Citadel	1916–1918, 1920–1921
Maynard O'Brien	Eastern Illinois	1946–1950, 1952–1955
Howie O'Daniels	Cal Poly	1933–1941, 1946–1947
Frank "Buck" O'Neill	Colgate	1902, 1904–1905
	Syracuse	1906–1907, 1913–1915, 1917–1919
Tex Oliver	Oregon	1938–1941, 1945–1946
Cliff Olson	Pacific Lutheran	1929–1941, 1946
Leonard A. Olson	Augustana (SD)	1931–1942, 1946
Preston Vaughn Overall	Tennessee Tech	1923–1946, 1952–1953
Foster F. Parker	William Penn	1898–1899, 1901
Herb Parker	Minot State	1947–1949, 1951
Wallace Parker	Central Michigan	1921–1923, 1926–1928
Willie Parker	Alabama State	1973–1975, 1984, 1986
Art Parkhurst	Northwestern Oklahoma State	1956–1964, 1972–1973
Tom Parry	Central Washington	1966–1982, 1984–1986
Dale Patterson	Northeastern Oklahoma A&M	1996–2003, 2011–2012
Simon F. Pauxtis	Pennsylvania Military	1916–1929, 1939–1946	Now called Widener University
Mike Pecarovich	Loyola Marymount	1928, 1939
Bo Pelini	Nebraska	2003, 2008–2014	Pelini coached the final game (the Alamo Bowl) of the 2003 season after Frank Solich was fired.
James Owen Perrine	Northern Iowa	1910, 1917
Marty Peters	Benedictine (KS)	1937–1941, 1946–1947
Bobby Petrino	Louisville	2003–2006, 2014–2018
Bill Pierce	Austin	1935, 1947–1948
Alvin Pierson	Fresno State	1945, 1949
Boozer Pitts	Auburn	1923–1924, 1927
Doug Porter	Fort Valley State	1979–1985, 1987–1996
Tom Porter	St. Olaf	1958–1967, 1969–1990
Frank Potts	Colorado	1940, 1944–1945
Irving Pray	Louisiana State	1916, 1919, 1922
Gabby Price	Husson	2003–2008, 2013–2018
Mike Price	UTEP	2004–2012, 2017	Price returned as interim head coach after the resignation of Sean Kugler during the 2017 season.[25]
Percy S. Prince	Louisiana Tech	1909–1915, 1919
John Pucillo	Millersville	1925–1929, 1933–1936
Charles M. Rademacher	Saint Louis	1917, 1919–1920
W. C. Raftery	Washington and Lee	1917, 1919–1921
George Ralston	Wilkes	1946–1954, 1957
Casto Ramsey	Emory and Henry	1953–1956, 1960–1968
Alured Ransom	Geneva	1941, 1946–1948
Eddie Reed	Loyola (LA)	1926, 1935–1936
Red Reese	Eastern Washington	1930–1941, 1946
Bill Reid	Harvard	1901, 1905–1906
Benjamin F. Reiter	Marietta	1909–1911, 1917–1918
Charlie Richard	Baker	1980–1990, 1992–1994
John Richards	Wisconsin	1911, 1917, 1919–1922
Pat Riepma	Northwood	1993–2007, 2014
Ed Rifilato	Fort Lewis	2004–2009, 2016–2018
Walter Riggs	Clemson	1896, 1899
Mike Riley	Oregon State	1997–1998, 2003–2014	Returned to Oregon State after coaching in the NFL[4]
Manuel Rivero	Lincoln (PA)	1934–1947, 1951	Team did not play in 1943
Eddie "Robbie" Robinson	Brown	1898–1901, 1904–1907, 1910–1925
John Robinson	USC[26]	1976–1982, 1993–1997	Won a national title in his first tenure[2]
Merton Robinson	Howard	1908, 1918–1919
Stanley L. Robinson	Mississippi College	1920–1923, 1928–1953	Team did not play from 1942 to 1945
Harry Rockafeller	Rutgers	1927–1930, 1942–1945
Ira Rodgers	West Virginia	1925–1930, 1943–1945
Rich Rodriguez	West Virginia	2001–2007, 2025–future
George Rogers	The Citadel	1913–1915, 1919
Bill Roper	Princeton	1906–1908, 1910–1911, 1919–1930	Three undefeated seasons and four national championships at Princeton[2]
Dana Rucker	Richmond	1891, 1893–1895
Frederick Bushnell "Jack" Ryder	Ohio State	1892–1895, 1898
Elton Rynearson	Eastern Michigan[h]	1917, 1919–1920, 1925–1948	No season in 1944. Rynearson is considered the most successful coach in the program, leading the team to several undefeated seasons. Eastern Michigan's current stadium bears his name.[27]
Henry Russell Sanders	Vanderbilt	1940–1942, 1946–1948
Don Salls	Jacksonville State	1946–1952, 1954–1964
Paul Samson	Emporia State	1904–1906, 1908	Then called Kansas State Normal
Joe Savage	Saint Francis	1911–1912, 1917–1919	Team did not play in 1918
Herb Schmalenberger	UC Davis	1958, 1964–1969
Harvey Schofield	Wisconsin-Stevens Point	1900, 1903
Ed Schwager	Wisconsin-Whitewater	1942, 1946–1955
John D. Schwender	Carroll (WI)	1899–1900, 1904–1905
Clark Shaughnessy	Maryland	1942, 1946
	Tulane	1915–1920, 1922–1926
Greg Schiano	Rutgers	2001–2011, 2020–present
Jack Schouten	Hope	1917, 1920–1930
Robert M. Shores	Lenoir-Rhyne	1932–1936, 1938–1941
Clarence A. Short	Delaware	1902, 1906
Brad Smith	Chadron State	1987–2004, 2011	Was interim head coach for the final 4 games of the 2011 season.
Clyde B. Smith	Wisconsin–La Crosse	1938–1942, 1946–1947
Fred L. Smith	Fordham	1901, 1904, 1906–1907	Smith was co-head coach with Maurice McCarthy in 1901.
Hampton Smith	Albany State	1971–1976, 1982–1999
Herbert L. Smith	Wayne State	1948, 1955–1959
Sid Smith	McPherson	1953–1966, 1971–1972
Warren W. Smith	Oregon	1901, 1903
W. Smith	Union (NY)	1900–1901, 1903–1904
Carl Snavely	North Carolina	1934–1935, 1945–1952
Norm Snead	Apprentice	1977–1984, 1988–1989
Bill Snyder[28]	Kansas State	1989–2005, 2009–2018
Harry Snyder	Slippery Rock	1908–1909, 1911–1913
Tommy Spangler	Presbyterian	2001–2006, 2017–2020
Frank Spaziani	Boston College	2006, 2009–2012	Spaziani coached the final game of the 2006 season (the Meineke Car Care Bowl) after Tom O'Brien left.
Thomas Stephens	Curry	1972–1979, 1981–1982
J. W. Stephenson	Jacksonville State	1920–1921, 1929–1930
Peter P. Stevens	Ursinus	1941–1943, 1946
Roy Stewart	Murray State	1932–1940, 1942–1945	No season in 1943.[29] Murray State's current stadium bears his name.
Bob Stoops	Oklahoma	1999–2016, 2021	Stoops retired in 2016, but returned as interim head coach for Oklahoma's bowl game after Lincoln Riley left for USC.
Tony Storti	Montana State	1952–1953, 1956–1957
Eugene Stringer	Saint Francis	1926, 1930–1931
Arthur L. Strum	Indiana State	1923–1926, 1932, 1942
Dwight Stuessy	Macalester	1937–1938, 1946–1956
Fred Sullivan	Ohio	1899, 1903
Jack Surridge	Concordia–St. Paul	1973–1977, 1983
Jim Sweeney	Fresno State	1976–1977, 1980–1996
Tony V. Swinton	Allen	1932–1933, 1938–1939
Clark Swisher	Northern State	1946–1955, 1957–1968
Bud Talbott	Dayton	1920, 1921	Talbott was interim head coach for Dayton's final game of the 1921 season.
Charles Tambling	Central Michigan	1902–1905, 1918
Jim Tatum	North Carolina	1942, 1956–1958
Nat Taylor	Morgan State	1974–1975, 1982
Mike Taylor	North Greenville	1987–1991, 2004–2008
Jeff Tedford	Fresno State	2017–2019, 2022–2023
Buddy Teevens	Dartmouth	1987–1991, 2005–2022
Gordon A. Teller	Hobart	1897–1899, 1901
Ralph Thacker	Macalester	1917–1918, 1922–1924
Jesse Thomas	Western Kentucky	1933, 1946–1947
Bobby Thompson	Fort Hays State	1979–1980, 1984
John Thompson	Arkansas State	2012, 2013	Thompson was an interim head coach for two Arkansas State appearances in the game now known as the LendingTree Bowl. He was first named interim coach after the 2012 regular season when Gus Malzahn left to take the head coaching vacancy at Auburn, and coached in the 2013 game. Thompson again became interim coach after the 2013 regular season when Bryan Harsin left for Boise State, and coached in the 2014 game.[30]
Thomas Trenchard	North Carolina	1895, 1913–1915
	Washington & Lee	1899, 1901
Richard Tysseling	Central (IA)	1938–1944, 1946–1960
Otto D. Unruh	Bethel (KS)	1919–1942, 1967–1969	25 years and nine other head coaches held the post between times of service, including his son David Unruh[31]
Fred Vail	Gettysburg	1904–1906, 1909–1911
LaRue Van Meter	Illinois College	1932–1933, 1937
Alphonso Varner	Fort Valley State	1960, 1962
Johnny Vaught	Ole Miss	1947–1970, 1973
Matt Viator	McNeese	2006–2015, 2025–future
Dave Waddell	Linfield	1901, 1905
Charley Wade	Western New Mexico	1994–1995, 2001–2006
Wallace Wade	Duke	1931–1941, 1946–1950
James J. Walker	Central State	1957–1964, 1967–1973
Bobby Wallace	North Alabama	1988–1997, 2012–2016
Bill Walsh[32]	Stanford	1977–1978, 1992–1994
Charles W. Wantland	Central Oklahoma	1912–1919, 1921–1930
W. Rice Warren	Virginia	1913, 1920–1921
Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner	Cornell	1897–1898, 1904–1906
	Carlisle	1899–1903, 1907–1914
Louis L. Watson	Howard	1923, 1925–1927
Vincent S. Welch	Hobart	1916, 1918–1929
Edward A. Werner	Trinity	1909–1910, 1914
Bill Wertenbaker	Washington and Lee	1900, 1902
Charles A. West	North Dakota	1928–1941, 1945
Charles Fremont West	Howard	1928, 1934–1935
Charles Whelan	Tufts	1903–1907, 1912–1917, 1919
Mark Whipple	UMass	1998–2003, 2014–2018	Whipple won a Division I-AA (FCS) national title in the first year of his first tenure.
William C. White	Samford[d]	1940–1941, 1954
Mickey Whitehurst	Western Maryland	1901–1906, 1912	Now McDaniel College
Todd Whitten	Tarleton State	1996, 2000–2004, 2016–present
Harry J. Wienbergen	Dickinson State	1928–1943, 1946–1949, 1951–1952	Team did not play in 1942
Henry L. Wilder	Lebanon Valley	1906–1907, 1911–1912, 1921–1922
Bob Williams	Clemson	1906, 1909, 1913–1915
Charles Holston Williams	Hampton	1914–1917, 1919–1920
Doug Williams	Grambling State	1998–2003, 2011–2013
Rick Willis	Wartburg	1997–2005, 2008–2021
Fred Wilson	Lewis & Clark	1965–1983, 1987
Jimmy Wilson	Buffalo	1932–1933, 1950–1951
Squibb Wilson	Fairmont State	1940–1942, 1946–1951
Edgar Wingard	Susquehanna	1916–1917, 1919, 1924–1925
William J. Wisdom	Tarleton State	1920–1922, 1924–1928, 1930–1935
Frank N. Wolf	Waynesburg	1921–1922, 1928–1941
Sol Wolf	Lock Haven	1923, 1934
Star Wood	ETSU	1952–1953, 1955–1965
Warren B. Woodson	Hardin-Simmons	1941–1942, 1946–1951
Hoover J. Wright	Prairie View A&M	1966–1968, 1973–1979
Frank Wyatt	Northwestern Oklahoma State	1906–1915, 1919–1923
James J. Yeager	Colorado	1941–1943, 1946–1947
Louis Yeager	West Virginia	1899, 1901–1902
Fielding H. Yost	Michigan	1901–1923, 1925–1926
Donzell Young	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	1973–1975, 1984–1986
Don Young	Black Hills State	1948–1950, 1953–1958, 1967
Ralph H. Young	Kalamazoo	1916–1917, 1919–1922
Walter Yund	Carroll (MT)	1914–1915, 1919
Herman F. Zimoski	Delta State	1928–1932, 1934–1945
Bill Zorn	Wisconsin-Eau Claire	1928–1940, 1942

Footnotes

1. School then athletically known as "Massachusetts", though the term "UMass" was in wide use for most if not all of the 20th century.
2. Then known as Southwestern Louisiana.
3. Then known as West Tennessee, from its formal name of West Tennessee Normal School.
4. Then known as Howard College, or Howard (Alabama) to distinguish from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
5. Officially known for athletic purposes as Connecticut until 2013, though "UConn" was in regular use during Edsall's first tenure.
6. Then known as Wichita, from its formal name of Municipal University of Wichita.
7. Known as Livingston State during McCorkle's first tenure, and West Alabama since 1995.
8. Then formally known as Michigan State Normal College; short form Michigan Normal.