Coaches / Head coach / Ara Parseghian
Career
89
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak93best 5 yrs
Career89whole career
confidence
Ara Parseghian
Head coach, 1956–1974
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs2
Stints2
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating—Peak93Career89
1956–1974 · 19 seasonsRecord 131-52National titles 2Great seasons 8 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 93: his whole career, recent seasons weighted most, measured as how far his teams stood above their era, crediting him with half of what each program already was when he arrived (about the share that, historically, follows a coach to his next job), fading as the program becomes his own.
- Peak 93: best five-season stretch, 1964–1968 at Notre Dame (40-7, 5 top-10 seasons by team strength, 1 national title), taking over an average program.
- Career 89 (#16 since 1936): total accomplishment over 19 seasons (131-52), 2 national titles, 8 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Proven at 2 programs: Northwestern · Notre Dame.
Rating = who he is: his whole head-coaching career (since 1936), weighted toward recent years — how far his teams stood above their contemporaries, how much he lifted programs, his great seasons and titles. Form = the last two seasons. Career = the all-time ranking number.
| Season | Team | Record | Season rank | vs contemporaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | #10 | +1.23 SD |
| 1973 | Notre Dame | 11-0 | #5 | +1.88 SD |
| 1972 | Notre Dame | 8-3 | #13 | +1.12 SD |
| 1971 | Notre Dame | 8-2 | #12 | +1.28 SD |
| 1970 | Notre Dame | 10-1 | #2 | +2.01 SD |
| 1969 | Notre Dame | 8-2-1 | #8 | +1.50 SD |
| 1968 | Notre Dame | 7-2-1 | #9 | +1.38 SD |
| 1967 | Notre Dame | 8-2 | #1 | +1.80 SD |
| 1966 | Notre Dame | 9-0-1 | #1 | +2.42 SD |
| 1965 | Notre Dame | 7-2-1 | #2 | +2.01 SD |
| 1964 | Notre Dame | 9-1 | #1 | +2.38 SD |
| 1963 | Northwestern | 5-4 | #13 | +1.17 SD |
| 1962 | Northwestern | 7-2 | #4 | +1.51 SD |
| 1961 | Northwestern | 4-5 | #25 | +0.68 SD |
| 1960 | Northwestern | 5-4 | #20 | +0.92 SD |
| 1959 | Northwestern | 6-3 | #11 | +1.05 SD |
| 1958 | Northwestern | 5-4 | #10 | +1.23 SD |
| 1957 | Northwestern | 0-9 | #72 | -0.74 SD |
| 1956 | Northwestern | 4-4-1 | #39 | +0.33 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).