Coaches / Head coach / Bobby Bowden
Career
96
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak95best 5 yrs
Career96whole career
confidence
Bobby Bowden
Head coach, 1970–2009
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—Peak95Career96
1970–2009 · 40 seasonsRecord 357-124National titles 2Great seasons 16 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 89: 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 95: best five-season stretch, 1996–2000 at Florida State (56-6, 5 top-10 seasons by team strength, 1 national title), taking over an average program.
- Career 96 (#3 since 1936): total accomplishment over 40 seasons (357-124), 2 national titles, 16 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Won big at one of his 2 programs (Florida State).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Florida State | 7-6 | #32 | +0.66 SD |
| 2008 | Florida State | 9-4 | #17 | +1.04 SD |
| 2007 | Florida State | 7-6 | #50 | +0.38 SD |
| 2006 | Florida State | 7-6 | #36 | +0.60 SD |
| 2005 | Florida State | 8-5 | #30 | +0.77 SD |
| 2004 | Florida State | 9-3 | #11 | +1.30 SD |
| 2003 | Florida State | 10-3 | #4 | +1.74 SD |
| 2002 | Florida State | 9-5 | #11 | +1.34 SD |
| 2001 | Florida State | 8-4 | #8 | +1.27 SD |
| 2000 | Florida State | 11-2 | #1 | +2.24 SD |
| 1999 | Florida State | 12-0 | #1 | +2.29 SD |
| 1998 | Florida State | 11-2 | #3 | +1.90 SD |
| 1997 | Florida State | 11-1 | #1 | +2.32 SD |
| 1996 | Florida State | 11-1 | #4 | +1.91 SD |
| 1995 | Florida State | 10-2 | #3 | +1.98 SD |
| 1994 | Florida State | 10-1-1 | #4 | +1.78 SD |
| 1993 | Florida State | 12-1 | #1 | +2.27 SD |
| 1992 | Florida State | 11-1 | #1 | +2.17 SD |
| 1991 | Florida State | 11-2 | #4 | +1.82 SD |
| 1990 | Florida State | 10-2 | #3 | +1.69 SD |
| 1989 | Florida State | 10-2 | #1 | +1.99 SD |
| 1988 | Florida State | 11-1 | #4 | +1.84 SD |
| 1987 | Florida State | 11-1 | #1 | +2.39 SD |
| 1986 | Florida State | 7-4-1 | #14 | +1.18 SD |
| 1985 | Florida State | 9-3 | #21 | +0.99 SD |
| 1984 | Florida State | 7-3-2 | #3 | +1.49 SD |
| 1983 | Florida State | 7-5 | #12 | +1.17 SD |
| 1982 | Florida State | 9-3 | #8 | +1.43 SD |
| 1981 | Florida State | 6-5 | #43 | +0.33 SD |
| 1980 | Florida State | 10-2 | #3 | +2.19 SD |
| 1979 | Florida State | 11-1 | #14 | +1.38 SD |
| 1978 | Florida State | 8-3 | #16 | +1.16 SD |
| 1977 | Florida State | 10-2 | #15 | +1.20 SD |
| 1976 | Florida State | 5-6 | #60 | +0.03 SD |
| 1975 | West Virginia | 9-3 | #28 | +0.78 SD |
| 1974 | West Virginia | 4-7 | #54 | +0.09 SD |
| 1973 | West Virginia | 6-5 | #60 | -0.09 SD |
| 1972 | West Virginia | 8-4 | #38 | +0.44 SD |
| 1971 | West Virginia | 7-4 | #35 | +0.15 SD |
| 1970 | West Virginia | 8-3 | #64 | -0.27 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).