Best SEC Football Coach in History: General Robert "Bob" Neyland vs. Paul "Bear" Bryant

by David

(Tennessee)

Lengthy but if you want to compare the 2 greatest SEC coaches, read on ...



Background



Robert Neyland coached at Tennessee for a total of 21 years, twice interrupted. He coached from 1926-34, 1936-1940, and 1946-52.



Paul “Bear” Bryant coached a total of 38 years at 4 different schools; He was at Maryland in 1945, Kentucky 1946-53, Texas A&M 1954-57, and Alabama 1958-82.



Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Maryland were among the 21 team Southern Conference when Neyland became head coach at Tennessee in 1926. Duke joined in 1929 to make it 22 teams. The 13 team SEC started in 1933. Sewanee left after 1940, Georgia Tech after 1963, and Tulane after 1965. Maryland was in the Southern Conference when Bryant coached there. Texas A&M was in the SWC.



Except where the percent of games tied is listed separately, ties count as ½ win and ½ loss when calculating winning percentages.





Overall Record



Games won, lost, and tied (winning percentage) in number of seasons:



*Neyland Career (at Tennessee): 173-31-13 (82.9%) in 21 seasons

Neyland in Southern: 61-2-5 (93.4%) in 7 seasons

Neyland in SEC: 112-29-8 (77.9%) in 14 seasons

*Bryant Career: 323-85-17 (78.0%) in 38 seasons

Bryant at Maryland and in Southern: 6-2-1 (72,2%) in 1 season

Bryant at Texas A&M and in SWC: 25-14-2 (63.4%) in 4 seasons

Bryant in SEC: 292-69-15 (79.7%) in 33 seasons

Bryant at Kentucky: 60-23-6 (70.8%) in 8 seasons

Bryant at Alabama: 232-46-9 (82.4%) in 25 seasons



Portion of Games Won, Lost, and Tied:



Neyland Career: 79.7%, 14.3%, 6.0%

Bryant Career: 76.0%, 20.0%, 4.0%

Bryant at Alabama: 80.8%, 16.0%, 3.1%



*Neyland’s winning percentage is best among SEC head coaches, minimum 10 years (7th among all NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision coaches). Bryant’s is 3rd (15th). Bryant’s win total is best among SEC head coaches (3rd NCAA FBS). Neyland’s is 11th (40th).



Overall Outstanding Seasons



Neyland Career (21 years):



6 undefeated seasons (1 perfect with no ties / 5 with one tie each)

6 one-loss seasons (no ties)

0 losing seasons (Two .500 seasons)



Bryant Career (38 years):



4 undefeated seasons (3 perfect with no ties / 1 with one tie)

11 one-loss seasons (9 with no ties / 2 with one tie each)

1 losing season (first year at Texas A&M)



Bryant at Alabama (25 years):



3 undefeated seasons (all perfect with no ties)

10 one-loss seasons (8 with no ties / 2 with one tie each)

0 losing seasons



In Neylands first 7 years, 1926-1932, he lost one game in 1926, one game in 1930 and had one tie each of the other 5 years for a cumulative record of 61-2-5 (93.4%). The 3 consecutive and 5 out of 6 undefeated seasons is unmatched in the history of any current SEC team.



National Championships Claimed



Neyland (4) – 1938, 1940, 1950, 1951



Bryant (6) – 1961, 1964-65, 1973, 1978-79



AP Polls (Beginning 1936)



Neyland Career (12 years)

1st – 1

Total Top 5 – 5

6-10th – 2

11th – 20th – 2

Unranked – 3



Bryant Career (38 years)

1st – 5

Total Top 5 – 13

6th-10th – 9

11-20th – 6

Unranked – 10



Bryant at Alabama (25 years)

1st – 5

Total Top 5 – 12

6th-10th – 7

11-20th – 2

Unranked – 4



Bowls



There were fewer bowls in the earlier years. Alabama is 1st in bowl appearances. Tennessee is tied for 2nd. Neyland has fewer appearances because he coached in the earlier era. During the time when their careers overlapped (1946-1952), Neyland and Bryant each coached in 4 bowl games.



Neyland: 4-4 in 8 appearances

Bryant: 15-12-2 in 29 appearances





Conference Record



Neyland Career: 103-17-10 (83.1%) in 21 seasons

Neyland in Southern: 41-2-5 (90.6%) in 7 seasons

Neyland in SEC: 62-15-5 (78.7%) in in 14 seasons



Bryant Career: 185-51-10 (77.6%) in 38 seasons

Bryant in Southern: 3-2 (60%) in 1 season

Bryant in SWC: 14-9-1 (60.4%) in 4 seasons

Bryant in SEC: 168-40-9 (79.5%) in 33 seasons

Bryant in SEC at Kentucky: 22-18-4 (54.5%) in 8 seasons

Bryant in SEC at Alabama: 146-22-5 (85.8%) in 25 seasons



Conference Outstanding Seasons



Neyland Career (21 Years)

11 seasons undefeated in conference (6 with tie)

2 seasons with SEC losing record

Neyland in SEC (14 Years)

6 seasons undefeated in conference (one with tie)

2 seasons with SEC losing record



Bryant Career (38 Years)

12 seasons undefeated in conference (each perfect with no tie, 1 in SWC)

5 seasons with losing record in conference (4 SEC, 1 SWC)

Bryant in SEC (33 Years)

11 seasons undefeated in SEC (each perfect with no tie, all at Alabama)

4 seasons with SEC losing record (3 at Kentucky)



Conference Championships



Neyland (21 years)

Total – 7

2 Southern – 1927(1/3), 1932(1/3)

5 SEC – 1938, 1939(1/3), 1940, 1946(1/2), 1951(1/2)



Bryant Career (38 years)

Total – 15

14 SEC – 1950 (KY), 1961(1/2), 1964, 1965, 1966(1/2), 1971-75, 1977-79, 1981(1/2)

1 SWC – 1956



In 1950, Kentucky won the conference with a 5-1 record, despite the loss being to Tennessee who was 4-1. Tennessee finished 4th in the AP, then defeated #3 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Kentucky finished 7th in the AP, then defeated #1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. So, while counting conference titles is an indicator of success, the method used to determine champions, especially in the earlier years, should be considered. The Southern Conference had as many as 22 teams. Some years, the champion played as few as 4 conference games – other years as many as 8 so scheduling was a big factor.



Among current SEC teams, Alabama’s 5 straight conference championships is matched only by Vanderbilt who won 5 straight (the first one shared) from 1903-1907 in the SIAA (a larger conference).



Bryant vs. Neyland, Head-to-Head (record indicated is for entire season)



1946 Tennessee (9-2) defeated Kentucky (7-3) 7-0 at Tennessee

1947 Tennessee (5-5) defeated Kentucky (8-3) 13-6 at Kentucky

1948 Tennessee (4-4-2) tied Kentucky (5-3-2) 0-0 at Tennessee

1949 Tennessee (7-2-1) defeated Kentucky (9-3) 6-0 at Kentucky

1950 Tennessee (11-1) defeated Kentucky (11-1) 7-0 at Tennessee

1951 Tennessee (10-1) defeated Kentucky (8-4) 28-0 at Kentucky

1952 Tennessee (8-2-1) tied Kentucky (5-4-2) 14-14 at Tennessee



Total: Neyland 5, Bryant at Kentucky, 0, 2 ties



Neyland vs. Alabama

12-5-2 (68.4%)



Bryant vs. Tennessee

17-13-4 (55.9%)

0-5-2 (14.3%) at Kentucky

0-1-0 (0%) at Texas A&M (Gator Bowl)

16-7-2 (68%) at Alabama







Editor's Note: Wow. Thanks David, terrific post! In fact, it will be the Sept. '08 "Post of the Month" on our SEC Sports Fan Forum. And, even better, that entitles to you to a free SEC Sports Fan T-shirt. If you want one, just let me know.



I'm a Tennessee fan and really didn't realize he had such great stats.



But, I still have a question: Who do you think was the best SEC football coach ever? Bear Bryant or Robert Neyland?