10 Best College Football Head Coaches Who Flopped in the NFL

Key Takeaways

• Nick Saban went 15-17 in two seasons with the Miami Dolphins before leaving to take the lead job at Alabama.
• Urban Meyer couldn’t even make it through an entire season in the NFL, coaching just 13 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
• Former Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier underwhelmed with the team now known as the Washington Commanders.

Coaching comes down to so much more than one’s knowledge or understanding of a specific sport. To galvanize a group of athletes, a coach needs a combination of intelligence, adaptability, and interpersonal skills.

It’s easy to find a coach who checks one of these boxes, but those who meet all three criteria aren’t around every corner.

While it’s easy to categorize coaches as either good, bad, or somewhere in between, it’s also important to denote their style or attitude. There are certain archetypes that are better suited for college football than the NFL and vice versa.

These 10 coaches made the bold move to leave stable job situations in hopes of making it big at the professional level, only to flame out.

1 Nick Saban

Saban left Miami before he could fully showcase his potential

In all fairness to Nick Saban, he didn’t give himself much of a chance to succeed in the NFL. Not long after leading LSU to a national title, he spent two seasons (2005-06) with the Miami Dolphins, compiling a record of 15-17 before returning to the college ranks.

Whereas most coaching changes involve the team giving up on their coach, it was Saban who would become fed up with Miami.

It’s widely believed that the tipping point came before the 2006 season. Saban wanted the Dolphins to acquire then- San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees but instead got Daunte Culpepper, who was benched early in the year. This exemplifies one of the biggest differences between coaching in the NFL and college.

College coaches can essentially customize their rosters and target whomever they choose, but Saban didn’t have that latitude with Miami. After weeks of shutting down rumors regarding the Alabama head coaching vacancy, Saban took the job and went on to win six national titles with the Crimson Tide.

2 Urban Meyer

Meyer embarrassed himself in Jacksonville

It’s hard to think of a worse coaching debacle in recent memory than Urban Meyer’s brief run with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Meyer, who’d won national titles with Florida and Ohio State, had been out of football for two years when the Jaguars hired him with the confidence that he could bring Jacksonville to prominence. The franchise was already budding with excitement, having landed the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft that would be used to select Trevor Lawrence.

Adding Meyer to the mix made Jacksonville an extremely intriguing team. However, any optimism that fans had in Meyer’s abilities was quickly dashed. From being fined to violating practice rules to a video of Meyer inappropriately touching a young woman who wasn’t his wife after a game going viral, it was a complete and utter embarrassment on and off the field.

As the 2021 season came to a close, more players began to complain about Meyer’s treatment of his athletes and coaching staff. After former kicker Josh Lambo alleged that Meyer repeatedly kicked him prior to a preseason game, the Jaguars finally relieved Meyer of his duties.

It’s almost impressive that Meyer was able to embroil himself in so much controversy in such a limited timeframe. He went 2-11 with Jacksonville, but that was far from his worst crime.

No one can ever take away from Meyer’s illustrious collegiate coaching career that saw him win a total of three national championships. Nevertheless, his time in the NFL has tarnished his legacy and reputation.

3 Steve Spurrier

Spurrier underwhelmed in Washington

Steve Spurrier abruptly resigned from his position as head coach of the Florida Gators after the 2001 season and became the coach of the team now known as the Washington Commanders shortly after.

Spurrier signed what was a then-record five-year, $25 million contract, showing the confidence Washington had in its newest head coach.

After a solid start, Washington’s offense faltered. Teams used various blitz packages to slow down Spurrier’s passing attack, leading to a 7-9 record. Things only got worse in 2003, as the departure of former defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis left a huge void on the coaching staff. Following his second season in Washington, Spurrier found himself resigning for the second time in three years.

He returned to the SEC, this time coaching South Carolina, and remained at the school until he retired altogether in 2015.

4 Lou Holtz

Holtz was humbled in the NFL

Lou Holtz joined the New York Jets in 1976 after a successful run with the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Holtz was regarded as a premier coaching candidate and was even selected over future Hall of Famer Marv Levy.

But after a dismal 3-10 start, Holtz resigned with one game remaining in the regular season.

Holtz humbly acknowledged that he wasn’t meant to be an NFL coach and coached college ball for nearly three more decades. The decision to walk away early paid off for Holtz, who had his greatest success after returning from the NFL, winning the SWC with Arkansas in 1979 and a national championship with Notre Dame in 1988.

5 Bobby Petrino

Petrino’s NFL career essentially ended before it could start

Bobby Petrino needed only four years of head coaching experience at Louisville before securing the Atlanta Falcons coaching job in 2007. Petrino was billed as an offensive guru of sorts, having worked as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at both the college and professional levels.

The Falcons had a dynamic quarterback by the name of Michael Vick, whom they believed would reach new heights with an offensive-minded coach.

In a case of terrible luck for Petrino, Vick was put on trial for his role in a dog-fighting operation shortly after he took the job. Without any semblance of a franchise quarterback on the active roster, Petrino lost his purpose. After a 3-10 start, he resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas.

6 Chip Kelly

Kelly flamed out of the league after a strong start

Chip Kelly is a unique entry in the sense that he was good enough from an X’s-and-O’s standpoint to carve out a longer career.

Kelly left the Oregon Ducks for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 and wasted no time bringing his fast-paced offense to the NFL. Early on, Kelly’s scheme wore down defenses and resulted in a high offensive output.

The Eagles finished in the top five in scoring offense in 2013 and 2014 with Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez playing quarterback. Philadelphia also went 20-12 during these seasons, further demonstrating his coaching prowess.

What caused Kelly’s demise was his insistence on moving on from some of the Eagles’ most productive skill position players in favor of athletes he deemed better fits for Philadelphia’s culture.

Not only did cutting ties with the likes of LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin leave holes on the roster, it created a rift in the locker room. Players felt that Kelly was overstepping and trying to force a certain identity on the team.

Philadelphia stumbled to a 6-9 start in 2015, and Kelly was fired before the season finale. He landed a job with the San Francisco 49ers the following offseason but was let go after the team went 2-14 in 2016.

7 Dennis Erickson

Erickson had some success but not enough to keep his job long-term

Dennis Erickson coached at Wyoming, Washington State, and Miami (FL) before being named head coach of the Seattle Seahawksin 1995.

There were certainly flashes under Erickson, but they weren’t enough to sell ownership on him. In his four years in Seattle, Erickson went 31-33, winning either seven or eight games each year.

Erickson returned to the college football scene, where he went 31-17 in four years with Oregon State. He then re-entered the NFL, this time signing with the 49ers in 2003. Erickson struggled to adapt to his personnel, which was better suited for the West Coast offense, and flamed out after going 9-23 in two seasons.

8 Greg Schiano

Schiano got a short leash in Tampa

On the heels of reviving Rutgers’ football program, Greg Schiano was named head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. Unlike many of the other admissions on this list, Schiano avoided major controversy or embarrassment.

The problem was that the Buccaneers went 7-9 in 2012 and 4-12 in 2013.

Some organizations would’ve been more patient, but Tampa Bay was ready for a complete overhaul, firing Schiano and general manager Mark Dominik at the end of the ’13 season. Schiano is now back at Rutgers, where he has once again turned the Scarlet Knights into a competitive team.

9 Butch Davis

Davis was plagued by poor quarterback play

Butch Davis set the stage for the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, who are considered one of the greatest college football teams ever.

Despite his role in assembling the team, Davis actually left after the 2000 season for the Cleveland Browns head coaching job. While Miami prospered in the years that immediately followed Davis’ departure, Cleveland was a different story.

The Browns made the playoffs in 2002 after going 9-7, but the team still had a lot of questions, particularly at the quarterback position. Davis made Kelly Holcomb the starter for 2003 after a great postseason performance, filling in for Tim Couch.

The Browns would rotate quarterbacks in 2003 and 2004 to no avail, leading to Davis’ resignation. He went 24-35 with Cleveland and coached at North Carolina and Florida International upon his return to the NCAA.

10 Matt Rhule

Rhule wasn’t prepared for the NFL

No one would hold Matt Rhule in the same regard as Saban or Meyer as a college coach, but he did oversee one of the most impressive turnarounds of the 2010s at Baylor.

The Bears, who had been hit by heavy sanctions by the NCAA, went from 1-11 to 11-3 in just two seasons. This was enough for the Carolina Panthers to give Rhule a seven-year, $62 million contract in 2020.

There isn’t much to say about Rhule’s time in Carolina other than that things didn’t work out. He went 11-27 in two and a half years and came across as someone who was in over his head when dealing with the media.

Rhule has since returned to the college game and is currently coaching at Nebraska. Having already turned around two programs in a relatively short time, there is plenty of buzz in Lincoln. Regardless, it’s unlikely that a return to the NFL is in the cards.

All stats courtesy of Sports Reference unless stated otherwise.