Bernie Bierman
Bernie Bierman went 145–61–9 as a head coach, 1919–1950, at Montana, Mississippi State, Tulane, Minnesota and Iowa Pre-Flight. His teams claim five national titles: Minnesota in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940 and 1941. Wikipedia’s season articles record three seasons differently (1919, 2–3–2, 1920, 4–3 and 1921, 3–3–1); by them his record is 153–65–12. Share
- Record
- 145–61–9 career
- Seasons
- 27
- Schools
- 5
- National titles
- 5 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1955 inducted
- Best season
- 1940 8–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Montana | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 2–3–2) | T–5th | |||
| 1920 | Montana | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 4–3) | 7th | |||
| 1921 | Montana | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 3–3–1) | 6th | |||
| 1922–24: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1925 | Mississippi State | 3–4–1 | T–15th | |||
| 1926 | Mississippi State | 5–4 | 14th | |||
| 1927 | Tulane | 2–5–1 | 18th | |||
| 1928 | Tulane | 6–3–1 | T–10th | |||
| 1929 | Tulane | 9–0 | 1st | 10 | ||
| 1930 | Tulane | 8–1 | T–1st | 11 | ||
| 1931 | Tulane | 11–1 | T–1st | Rose Bowl L | 2 | |
| 1932 | Minnesota | 5–3 | 6th | |||
| 1933 | Minnesota | 4–0–4 | T–1st | |||
| 1934 | Minnesota | 8–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1935 | Minnesota | 8–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1936 | Minnesota | 7–1 | T–2nd | 1 | ||
| 1937 | Minnesota | 6–2 | 1st | 5 | ||
| 1938 | Minnesota | 6–2 | 1st | 10 | ||
| 1939 | Minnesota | 3–4–1 | 7th | |||
| 1940 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 1st | 1 | ||
| 1941 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 1st | 1 | ||
| 1942 | Iowa Pre-Flight | 7–3 | ||||
| 1943–44: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1945 | Minnesota | 4–5 | T–8th | |||
| 1946 | Minnesota | 5–4 | 5th | |||
| 1947 | Minnesota | 6–3 | T–3rd | |||
| 1948 | Minnesota | 7–2 | 3rd | 16 | ||
| 1949 | Minnesota | 7–2 | 3rd | 8 | ||
| 1950 | Minnesota | 1–7–1 | 7th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Ed WidsethNo. 4 pick, 1937- Clayton TonnemakerNo. 4 pick, 1950
- Urban OdsonConsensus All‑American, 1940
Jerry DalrympleConsensus All‑American, 1931- Frank LarsonConsensus All‑American, 1934
- Bill BevanConsensus All‑American, 1934
- Larry BuhlerNo. 9 pick, 1939
- Bud GrantNo. 14 pick, 1950
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 32 | 13–18–1 | 42% |
| Against top-10 teams | 18 | 6–12 | 33% |
| Against rivals | 81 | 57–20–4 | 73% |
| Conference games | 135 | 84–43–8 | 65% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 81 | 43–29–9 | 59% |
| At home | 130 | 98–25–7 | 78% |
| On the road | 83 | 47–34–2 | 58% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 149 | 121–22–6 | 83% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 66 | 24–39–3 | 39% |
His own 215 games on file, 1919–1950, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Stuhldreher 1936–1948 | 9–1 | Wisconsin | 10 | |
| Pappy Waldorf 1935–1946 | 6–4 | Northwestern | 10 | |
| Fritz Crisler 1938–1947 | 5–3 | Michigan | 8 | |
| Edward Anderson 1939–1949 | 5–2 | Iowa | 7 | |
| Harry Kipke 1932–1937 | 4–1–1 | Michigan | 6 | |
| Ossie Solem 1932–1936 | 5–0 | Iowa | 5 | |
| William Alexander 1927–1931 | 3–2 | Georgia Tech | 5 | |
| Bo McMillin 1934–1946 | 3–2 | Indiana | 5 | |
| Biff Jones 1937–1941 | 3–2 | Nebraska | 5 | |
| Dana Bible 1932–1936 | 4–0 | Nebraska | 4 |
Bernie Bierman’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Northwesternseries | 17 | 9–7–1 |
| Michiganseries | 17 | 9–6–2 |
| Nebraskaseries | 16 | 13–3 |
| Wisconsinseries | 16 | 13–3 |
| Iowaseries | 16 | 12–4 |
| Purdueseries | 12 | 8–2–2 |
| Washingtonseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| Indianaseries | 8 | 4–3–1 |
Other roles
- Team captain, Minnesota 1915
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919–21 | Montana | Head coach | |
| 1923–24 | Tulane | Assistant coach | |
| 1925–26 | Mississippi A&M | Head coach | |
| 1925–26 | Mississippi State | Head coach | |
| 1927–31 | Tulane | Head coach | |
| 1932–41 | Minnesota | Head coach | |
| 1942 | Iowa Pre-Flight service team | Head coach | |
| 1945–50 | Minnesota | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Clark ShaughnessyTulane
Assistants who became head coaches
- Charles NobleMississippi College, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
- Ted CoxTulane, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin River Falls
- George HauserColgate, Minnesota
- Red DawsonTulane, Pittsburgh, Buffalo Bills (AAFC)
- Dallas WardColorado
- Trevor ReesKent State
- John RoningUtah State, Denver, Gustavus Adolphus
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Shaughnessy | Tulane | 1923–24 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Noble | Mississippi State, 1925–26: assistant coach | Mississippi College, Mississippi State, Ole Miss | |
| Ted Cox | Tulane, 1927–28: freshman coach; 1929–31: line coach | Tulane, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin River Falls | |
| George Hauser | Minnesota, 1932–41, 1945–50: assistant coach | Colgate, Minnesota | |
| Red Dawson | Minnesota, 1932–35: backfield coach | Tulane, Pittsburgh, Buffalo Bills (AAFC) | |
| Dallas Ward | Minnesota, 1936–41: assistant coach; Iowa Pre-Flight, 1942: assistant coach; Minnesota, 1945–47: backfield coach | Colorado | |
| Trevor Rees | Iowa Pre-Flight, 1942: ends coach | Kent State | |
| John Roning | Minnesota, 1946–50: backfield coach | Utah State, Denver, Gustavus Adolphus |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.