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Coaches with the best and worst bowl records of all time
Matthew Emmons / USA Today Sports Images

Coaches with the best and worst bowl records of all time

For some college football head coaches, postseason success comes easy, but for others it's very difficult. Here's a look at the coaches with the 10 best and 10 worst bowl records of all time, with a minimum of 10 games coached.

 
1 of 20

Best: Kyle Whittingham, 11-1 (.917)

Best: Kyle Whittingham, 11-1 (.917)
Greg M. Cooper / USA Today Sports Images

Named co-coach of Utah in 2004 before taking over for Urban Meyer permanently, Whittingham's teams have dominated bowl play. His only bowl loss was the Maaco Bowl in 2010.

 
2 of 20

Worst: Chris Ault, 2-8 (.200)

Worst: Chris Ault, 2-8 (.200)
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

Known as one of the pioneers of the pistol offense, Ault led Nevada off and on for 12 seasons from 1992-2012. He made eight bowls in a row from 2005-12 before retiring but only won two bowl games during that stretch after losing his first two bowl appearances in the 1990s.

 
3 of 20

Best: Tom O'Brien, 8-2 (.800)

Best: Tom O'Brien, 8-2 (.800)
Charlotte Observer / Tribune News Service / Getty Images

O'Brien has quite the bowl record from his 16 years coaching Boston College and NC State from 1997-2012. After losing in his first bowl appearance in 1999, he went on to win six straight bowls. During his six seasons with NC State, O'Brien went 2-1 in bowl games.

 
4 of 20

Worst: Fred Akers, 2-8 (.200)

Worst: Fred Akers, 2-8 (.200)
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Akers coached 16 seasons from 1975-90 at Wyoming, Texas and Purdue. Nine of his 10 bowl appearances came at Texas, and he had three top five finishes with the Longhorns — though that didn't translate to much bowl success.

 
5 of 20

Best: Urban Meyer, 11-3 (.786)

Best: Urban Meyer, 11-3 (.786)
Matthew Emmons / USA Today Sports Images

Meyer has coached in 14 postseason games between Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won two BCS National Championships with Florida and the College Football Playoff while heading the Buckeyes in 2014. His elite bowl track record supports his case as one of the best college football coaches ever.

 
6 of 20

Worst: Jerry Claiborne, 3-8 (.273)

Worst: Jerry Claiborne, 3-8 (.273)
The Washington Post / Getty Images

Claiborne spent 28 years as a college head coach with Virginia Tech, Maryland and Kentucky from 1961-89. He had 309 wins during his career, but only three came in bowl games. His best finish was No. 8 in the AP Poll in 1976 after losing the Cotton Bowl at Maryland.

 
7 of 20

Best: Pat Dye, 7-2-1 (.750)

Best: Pat Dye, 7-2-1 (.750)
Collegiate Images / Getty Images

Dye coached 19 seasons from 1974-92 between East Carolina, Wyoming and Auburn. Nine of his 10 bowls came in a nine-year stretch as the Tigers' head coach, and he led Auburn to five top 10 finishes.

 
8 of 20

Worst: R.C. Slocum, 3-8 (.273)

Worst: R.C. Slocum, 3-8 (.273)
Brian Bahr / Getty Images

Slocum was Texas A&M's head coach from 1989-2002, finishing with a .721 winning percentage and three top 10 finishes. However, his bowl track record was mediocre, at best, including four losses in the Cotton Bowl and one loss in the Sugar Bowl.

 
9 of 20

Best: Bob Devaney, 7-3 (.700)

Best: Bob Devaney, 7-3 (.700)
Collegiate Images / Getty Images

Devaney was the head coach of Wyoming and Nebraska over 16 seasons. He coached the Huskers from 1962-72, capping off his coaching career with three straight Orange Bowl wins and National Championships in 1970 and 1971.

 
10 of 20

Worst: Bo Schembechler, 5-12 (.294)

Worst: Bo Schembechler, 5-12 (.294)
Rick Stewart / Getty Images

Schembechler is arguably the greatest head coach in Michigan history, but he didn't have great success in bowl games. Leading the Wolverines from 1969-89, he was 2-9 in the Rose Bowl. Michigan finished in the top 10 in the AP Poll 16 times under his leadership despite the poor bowl performances.

 
11 of 20

Best: Dan Devine, 7-3 (.700)

Best: Dan Devine, 7-3 (.700)
Collegiate Images / Getty Images

Devine had an accomplished coaching career from 1955-80 with Arizona State, Missouri and Notre Dame. He won the 1977 National Championship with Notre Dame and had seven top 10 finishes between Mizzou and the Irish.

 
12 of 20

Worst: Bill Dooley, 3-7 (.300)

Worst: Bill Dooley, 3-7 (.300)
Brett Davis / USA TODAY Sports Images

Dooley was a head coach for 26 seasons between North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest from 1967-92.  He moved on from North Carolina after going 1-5 in bowl games and went 1-2 with the Hokies before winning his lone bowl appearance at Wake Forest, also the final game of his career.

 
13 of 20

Best: June Jones, 7-3 (.700)

Best: June Jones, 7-3 (.700)
Marco Garcia / Getty Images

Jones built numerous elite offenses between Hawaii and SMU during his 16-year college coaching career. The height of his success was his final year at Hawaii in 2007, entering the Sugar Bowl 12-0 before losing to Georgia.

 
14 of 20

Worst: Don Nehlen, 4-9 (.308)

Worst: Don Nehlen, 4-9 (.308)
George Dojkovich / Getty Images

Nehlen had a long and prosperous career as the head coach of West Virginia from 1980-2000, making 13 bowl appearances in 21 seasons. His teams finished in the top 10 twice, but he had a streak of eight straight bowl losses before winning the Music City Bowl in his final game.

 
15 of 20

Best: Mike Riley, 7-3 (.700)

Best: Mike Riley, 7-3 (.700)
Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today Sports Images

Riley went 6-2 in bowls during his 14 years at Oregon State before an unceremonious three seasons at Nebraska. He went 1-1 during his tenure with the Huskers in postseason play.

 
16 of 20

Worst: George Welsh, 5-10 (.333)

Worst: George Welsh, 5-10 (.333)
Mitchell Layton / Getty Images

Welsh led Navy for nine seasons followed by Virginia for 19 seasons, winning 189 games during his head coaching career. Unfortunately, he had a .333 bowl win percentage at both schools and retired after losing the Oahu Classic in 2000.

 
17 of 20

Best: Barry Alvarez, 9-4 (.692)

Best: Barry Alvarez, 9-4 (.692)
Mark Zerof / USA Today Sports Images

Alvarez spent his entire coaching career with Wisconsin before getting promoted to athletic director in 2006. He was 8-3 in bowls at that time but coached bowl games in 2012 and 2014 when Wisconsin's head coaches departed. Including those games, Alvarez has coached in four Rose Bowls, winning three.

 
18 of 20

Worst: LaVell Edwards, 7-14-1 (.341)

Worst: LaVell Edwards, 7-14-1 (.341)
Stephen Dunn / Getty Images

Despite winning a National Championship in 1984, Edwards mostly struggled in bowl games during his 29 years at BYU. He did go 257-101-3 for his entire career as a head coach, with three top 10 finishes.

 
19 of 20

Best: Bobby Dodd, 9-4 (.692)

Best: Bobby Dodd, 9-4 (.692)
Bettmann / Getty Images

Dodd led Georgia Tech from 1945-66 and won his first eight bowl appearances. The height of his success was 1951-56, with five top 10 finishes in a six-year span.

 
20 of 20

Worst: Larry Smith, 3-6-1 (.350)

Worst: Larry Smith, 3-6-1 (.350)
Bud Symes / Getty Images

Smith didn't have much success in bowl games during his stints as head coach at Tulane, Arizona, USC, and Missouri. He did appear in three consecutive Rose Bowls while at USC, winning the game following the 1989 season.

Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto.

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