OU vs.College football icons

[stoopified]

By this I refer not only to OU's record vs. these coaches but the overall OU record vs. these iconic coaching legends during their coaching tenure at the school they are most associated with.

OU vs. Joe Paterno,Penn State 1966-Present
Pterno: 372-125-3 .747 2 NCs
OU: 370-123-11 .745 4 NCs
OU coaches during Paterno reign- McKenzie 1966,Fairbanks 1967-1972,Switzer 1973-1988,Gibbs 1989-1994,Scnellenbeger 1995,Blake 1996-1998,Stoops 1999-Present.OU vs. Paterno head to head 2-0.

OU vs.Bobby Bowden, Florida State 1976-Present
Bowden: 300-87-4 .772 2 NCs
OU: 283-97-6 .741 2 NCs
OU coaches during Bowden reign:Switzer 1976-1988,Gibbs 1989-1994,Scnellenberger 1995,Blake 1996-1998,Stoops 1999-Present.OU vs. Bowden head to head 4-0

OU vs. Bear Bryant, Alabama 1958-1982
Bryant: 232-46-9 .830 4 NCs
OU: 203-67-6 .746 2 NCs
OU Coaches during Bryant reign: Wilkinson 1958-1963,Jones 1964-1965,McKenzie 1966,Fairbanks 1967-1972,Switzer 1973-1982.OU vs. Bryant head to head 0-1-1

The first thing I noticed when comparing OU and its coaches to coaching icons at Penn State,Florida State,and Alabama is that OU fares well against all but the BEAR and Alabama during his tenure.

.Part of OU's failure to measure up to Alabama during Bear's reign is that it begins in 1958 as Bud's tenure at OU was winding down.During Bud's final seasons(1958-63) OU was 41-20-1 which included Wilkinson's only losing season(1960 3-6-1) and a .500 season(1961 5-5).The 60's as a whole were not kind to OU(62-41-2),as OU had (2) losing seasons (1960 3-6-1,1965 3-7)And only (1) 10 win season..By contrast OU had (6) seasons in the 50's with at least (10) wins and ZERO losing seasons.

Ou's comparative record during the Age of Paterno and Bowden is that they both include the absolute worst 5 year period in OU history 1994-1998 when OU had FIVE consecutive non-winning seasons.In 1994 under Gibbs 6-6,Schnelly 1995 5-5-1,and of course the disaster known as the Blake Era 1996-98 where OU went 12-22.Other schools can take pride in their programs which are largely built around one man but as for me I'm proud that OU does not owe its history and great tradition to one coach.

[soonermix]

thats cool

[KantoSooner]

I have always kind of liked Bryant, disliked Bowden and am neutral on Joe Pa. Coincidence? I think not.

And D. Royal will always be 'The Traitor'.

[Sabanball]

Interesting comparison, but it's worth noting that, much like your Sooners and contrary to popular belief outside of our state, Bama does not owe it's success to one single coach. Yes, we had a great run under Bryant and we were definitely the dominant program of the sixties, but Alabama had a tradition long before Coach Bryant got here in '58, and showed we can still win the hardware after his tenure as well('92 season). In fact, we've won MNC's under four different coaches--Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, the Bear, and of course Gene Stallings, and that's not even including the two NC's that the NCAA gives us credit for that many people dispute('65 and '73).

This is one of the things that makes our two programs very unique and special. I've always said give practically anyone the chance to coach four years at either one of our schools and I will almost guarantee you that person will be able to have at least one 10 win season and maybe then some. Our schools and tradition have always been bigger than one man, and they always will be...

[fadada1]

Yes, we had a great run under Bryant and we were definitely the dominant program of the sixties...

that's because bear bryant invented the 1960's.

[goingoneight]

I saw something like this awhile back about OU versus iconic players; Barry Sanders, Vince Young and the like... it was an impressive resume as well.

[Sabanball]

that's because bear bryant invented the 1960's.

Yep-- the Bear invented the '60's, and Barry AND the Bear OWNED the '70's.:)

RTR and boomer sooner!

[stoopified]

Interesting comparison, but it's worth noting that, much like your Sooners and contrary to popular belief outside of our state, Bama does not owe it's success to one single coach. Yes, we had a great run under Bryant and we were definitely the dominant program of the sixties, but Alabama had a tradition long before Coach Bryant got here in '58, and showed we can still win the hardware after his tenure as well('92 season). In fact, we've won MNC's under four different coaches--Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, the Bear, and of course Gene Stallings, and that's not even including the two NC's that the NCAA gives us credit for that many people dispute('65 and '73).

This is one of the things that makes our two programs very unique and special. I've always said give practically anyone the chance to coach four years at either one of our schools and I will almost guarantee you that person will be able to have at least one 10 win season and maybe then some. Our schools and tradition have always been bigger than one man, and they always will be...Well as a Bama fan you are entitled to your POV.To the world at large however Bama is THE BEAR.The record would seem to BEAR this out as the second winningest coach in Tide history is Frank Thomas(1931-1946) with a record of 115-24-7.No other coach in Alabama history has coached more than 7 years,which IMHO lends credence to my point.

[Sabanball]

Well as a Bama fan you are entitled to your POV.To the world at large however Bama is THE BEAR.The record would seem to BEAR this out as the second winningest coach in Tide history is Frank Thomas(1931-1946) with a record of 115-24-7.No other coach in Alabama history has coached more than 7 years,which IMHO lends credence to my point.

I don't dispute that at all--in fact I think I acknowledged that in my original post. From afar, it's obvious why people would identify Alabama football with the man in the houndstooth hat. It goes without question that we enjoyed a level of success under CPB that is unmatched when compared to any other 25yr time period since our program's inception in 1892. OTOH, ....to win MNC's under four coaches and as far back as the mid 1920's I think shows we still have a program, much like your own, that is bigger than the man leading it at any given time. That's all I am saying....;)