If you were not aware of it, Hayden Fry is your father. This may not be true in the strictest biological sense of the word, but in some sense the Iowa great gave birth to something you love football-wise, or at least has a connection to it through his vast coaching tree and its intricate web of connections.

If you like work and really strange narratives, just reread the Old Testament, and wherever it says "Abraham," just substitute "Hayden Fry." That will give you a pretty good summary of Fry's astonishing influence as a coach, and also convey just how many of his children went on not only to coach football programs, but also to rebuild them from little more than ashes and happy thoughts.

For the short version, just use the chart below. (Click to embiggen.)

Please note that not all formal relationships could be illustrated. For instance, Snyder is tied up with almost all of the first wave of Fry acolytes, but drawing a big dashed line across the whole thing is simply impractical, so settle for what we had space to illustrate. We know Jim Leavitt worked with Snyder at K-State, and so do you, and aren't we all brilliant for being able to read Wikipedia!

Lines leading to other groups, subclades, groups, schools, clubs, or other categories extend off their page, and deserve their own treatment. Frank Broyles' coaching tree is not only awe-inspiring, but also the source of "most likely to dominate in a drinking contest with Cossacks." At one point we simply had to stop because this is one big wormhole, but it's May 30th. 'Tis the season for wormholes.