Bret Bielema
Bret Bielema went 137–87 as a head coach, 2006–2026, at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois. Share
- Record
- 137–87 career
- Seasons
- 18
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 3 seasons
- Born
- Jan 13, 1970
- Best season
- 2006 12–1, No. 7
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Wisconsin | 12–1 | T–2nd | Capital One Bowl W | 7 | |
| 2007 | Wisconsin | 9–4 | 4th | Outback Bowl L | 24 | |
| 2008 | Wisconsin | 7–6 | T–6th | Champs Sports Bowl L | ||
| 2009 | Wisconsin | 10–3 | T–4th | Champs Sports Bowl W | 16 | |
| 2010 | Wisconsin | 11–2 | T–1st | Rose Bowl L | 7 | |
| 2011 | Wisconsin | 11–3 | 1st (Leaders) | Rose Bowl L | 10 | |
| 2012 | Wisconsin | 8–5 | 3rd (Leaders) | Rose (not coached) | ||
| 2013 | Arkansas | 3–9 | 7th (Western) | |||
| 2014 | Arkansas | 7–6 | 7th (Western) | Texas Bowl W | ||
| 2015 | Arkansas | 8–5 | T–3rd (Western) | Liberty Bowl W | ||
| 2016 | Arkansas | 7–6 | T–5th (Western) | Belk Bowl L | ||
| 2017 | Arkansas | 4–8 | 7th (Western) | |||
| 2018–20: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2021 | Illinois | 5–7 | 5th (West) | |||
| 2022 | Illinois | 8–5 | T–2nd (West) | ReliaQuest Bowl L | ||
| 2023 | Illinois | 5–7 | T–4th (West) | |||
| 2024 | Illinois | 10–3 | T–5th | Citrus Bowl W | 16 | |
| 2025 | Illinois | 9–4 | T–7th | Music City Bowl W | 25 | |
| 2026 | Illinois | 3–3 | ||||
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
Kevin ZeitlerConsensus All‑American, 2011- Lance KendricksConsensus All‑American, 2010
Johnny NewtonConsensus All‑American, 2023- Travis FrederickNo. 31 pick, 2013
- J.J. WattNo. 11 pick, 2011
Frank RagnowNo. 20 pick, 2018
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 | 69 | 23–46 | 33% |
| Against top-10 teams | 32 | 7–25 | 22% |
| Against rivals | 58 | 30–28 | 52% |
| Conference games | 144 | 72–72 | 50% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 12 | 6–6 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 90 | 47–43 | 52% |
| At home | 122 | 88–34 | 72% |
| On the road | 80 | 37–43 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 22 | 12–10 | 55% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 133 | 105–28 | 79% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 91 | 32–59 | 35% |
His own 224 games on file, 2006–2026, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Ferentz 2006–2023 | 4–4 | Iowa | 8 | |
| Pat Fitzgerald 2006–2026 | 5–1 | Northwestern, Michigan State | 6 | |
| Mark Dantonio 2007–2012 | 3–3 | Michigan State | 6 | |
| Dan Mullen 2013–2017 | 1–4 | Mississippi State | 5 | |
| Gus Malzahn 2013–2017 | 1–4 | Auburn | 5 | |
| Kevin Sumlin 2013–2017 | 0–5 | Texas A&M | 5 | |
| Nick Saban 2013–2017 | 0–5 | Alabama | 5 | |
| Bill Lynch 2007–2010 | 4–0 | Indiana | 4 | |
| Tim Brewster 2007–2010 | 4–0 | Minnesota | 4 | |
| Danny Hope 2009–2012 | 4–0 | Purdue | 4 |
Bret Bielema’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesotaseries | 11 | 10–1 |
| Purdueseries | 11 | 7–4 |
| Indianaseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 10 | 5–5 |
| Northwesternseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Iowaseries | 8 | 4–4 |
| Penn Stateseries | 8 | 3–5 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 8 | 1–7 |
How he was hired
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Other roles
- Team captain, Iowa 1992
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | Iowa | Graduate assistant | |
| 1996–2001 | Iowa | Linebackers coach | |
| 2002–03 | Kansas State | Co-defensive coordinator | |
| 2004–05 | Wisconsin | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2006–12 | Wisconsin | Head coach | |
| 2013–17 | Arkansas | Head coach | |
| 2018 | New England Patriots NFL | Consultant | |
| 2019 | New England Patriots NFL | Defensive line coach | |
| 2020 | New York Giants NFL | Outside linebackers coach | |
| 2021–present | Illinois | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Hayden FryIowa
- Kirk FerentzIowa
- Bill SnyderKansas State
- Barry AlvarezWisconsin
- Bill BelichickNew England Patriots
- Brian BelichickNew England Patriots
Assistants who became head coaches
- Dave DoerenNorthern Illinois, NC State
- Mike HankwitzArizona, Colorado
- Paul ChrystPittsburgh, Wisconsin
- Charlie PartridgeFlorida Atlantic
- Joe RudolphPittsburgh
- Chris AshRutgers
- Thomas HammockNorthern Illinois
- Matt CanadaMaryland
- Barry Lunney Jr.Arkansas
- Jim ChaneyTennessee
- Randy ShannonMiami, Florida
- Sam PittmanArkansas, Hutchinson
- and 10 more
Worked under (6)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Fry | Iowa | 1994–98 | 1994–95: graduate assistant; 1996–98: linebackers coach | |
| Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | 1999–2001 | Linebackers coach | |
| Bill Snyder | Kansas State | 2002–03 | Co-defensive coordinator | |
| Barry Alvarez | Wisconsin | 2004–05 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Bill Belichick | New England Patriots NFL | 2018–19 | 2018: consultant; 2019: defensive line coach | |
| Brian Belichick | New England Patriots NFL | 2018–19 | 2018: consultant; 2019: defensive line coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (22)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Doeren | Wisconsin, 2006–07: co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2008–10: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Northern Illinois, NC State | |
| Mike Hankwitz | Wisconsin, 2006–07: defensive coordinator | Arizona, Colorado | |
| Paul Chryst | Wisconsin, 2006–11: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Pittsburgh, Wisconsin | |
| Charlie Partridge | Wisconsin, 2008–10: special teams and defensive line coach; 2011–12: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; Arkansas, 2013: assistant head coach and defensive line coach | Florida Atlantic | |
| Joe Rudolph | Wisconsin, 2008–11: tight ends coach | Pittsburgh | |
| Chris Ash | Wisconsin, 2010: defensive backs coach; 2011–12: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Arkansas, 2013: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Rutgers | |
| Thomas Hammock | Wisconsin, 2011–12: assistant head coach and running backs coach | Northern Illinois | |
| Matt Canada | Wisconsin, 2012: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Maryland | |
| Barry Lunney Jr. | Arkansas, 2013–17: tight ends coach; Illinois, 2022–26: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Arkansas | |
| Jim Chaney | Arkansas, 2013–14: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Tennessee | |
| Randy Shannon | Arkansas, 2013–14: linebackers coach | Miami, Florida | |
| Sam Pittman | Arkansas, 2013–15: assistant head coach and offensive line coach | Arkansas, Hutchinson | |
| Dan Enos | Arkansas, 2015–17: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Central Michigan | |
| Paul Rhoads | Arkansas, 2016: defensive backs coach; 2017: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Iowa State | |
| Morris Watts | Arkansas, 2017: analyst | Michigan State | |
| Ryan Walters | Illinois, 2021–22: defensive coordinator | Purdue | |
| Courtney Messingham | Illinois, 2022: offensive assistant | Upper Iowa | |
| Jim Leonhard | Illinois, 2023: senior football analyst | Wisconsin | |
| Dana Dimel | Illinois, 2024: senior offensive assistant | Wyoming, Houston, UTEP | |
| Mike Neu | Illinois, 2025–26: senior offensive assistant | Ball State, Carolina Cobras, New Orleans VooDoo | |
| Bobby Hauck | Illinois, 2026: defensive coordinator | UNLV, Montana | |
| Jared Elliott | Illinois, 2026: tight ends coach | Western Illinois |
Other assistants under him (18)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Kerry Cooks | Wisconsin, 2006–09: defensive backs coach | |
| Kevin Kane | Wisconsin, 2008–09: graduate assistant; 2010: defensive quality control coach; Illinois, 2021–22: associate head coach and outside linebackers coach | |
| Terrance Jamison | Wisconsin, 2008–09: student assistant; Illinois, 2023–25: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Dave Huxtable | Wisconsin, 2011: linebackers coach | |
| DeMontie Cross | Wisconsin, 2011: safeties and special teams coach | |
| Eddie Faulkner | Wisconsin, 2012: tight ends coach | |
| Jon Budmayr | Wisconsin, 2012: student assistant | |
| Mike Markuson | Wisconsin, 2012: offensive line coach | |
| Zach Azzanni | Wisconsin, 2012: wide receivers coach | |
| Joel Thomas | Arkansas, 2013–14: running backs coach | |
| Taver Johnson | Arkansas, 2013: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | |
| Aaron Henry | Arkansas, 2014–15: graduate assistant; Illinois, 2021–22: defensive backs coach; 2023–25: defensive coordinator | |
| Robb Smith | Arkansas, 2014–16: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Carl Reese | Arkansas, 2015: analyst | |
| Chad Walker | Arkansas, 2017: outside linebackers coach | |
| John Scott Jr. | Arkansas, 2017: defensive line coach | |
| George McDonald | Illinois, 2021–23: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach | |
| Tony Petersen | Illinois, 2021: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
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.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000; $125,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $5,874,227 | $4,245,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000; $100,000 in bonuses paid | $4,145,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $1,000,000; $100,000 in bonuses paid | $3,960,666 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $700,000 | $3,214,000 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $700,000 | $5,158,863 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $400,000 | $2,640,140 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $400,000 | $2,598,186 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $350,000 | $1,781,759 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $350,000 | $1,481,506 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Wisconsin | head coach | $1,400,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $350,000 | $1,394,638 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $175,000 | $761,600 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Bielema’s teams went for it on 19% of fourth downs and on 35% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 43% of plays and took 27.7 seconds a play, 2006–2026.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 13 g | Wisconsin | 15 of 92 16% | 39% | 42% | 28.8 | −0.07 | |
| 2007 13 g | Wisconsin | 15 of 96 16% | 29% | 41% | 26.9 | +0.04 | |
| 2008 13 g | Wisconsin | 11 of 101 11% | 18% | 40% | 26.1 | −0.04 | |
| 2009 13 g | Wisconsin | 13 of 84 15% | 27% | 40% | 28.4 | +0.03 | |
| 2010 13 g | Wisconsin | 10 of 65 15% | 26% | 34% | 28.6 | +0.19 | |
| 2011 14 g | Wisconsin | 10 of 67 15% | 29% | 38% | 28.8 | +0.24 | |
| 2012 14 g | Wisconsin | 18 of 119 15% | 31% | 35% | 27.6 | +0.01 | |
| 2013 12 g | Arkansas | 15 of 81 19% | 26% | 39% | 26.7 | −0.01 | |
| 2014 13 g | Arkansas | 19 of 92 21% | 33% | 41% | 28.7 | +0.07 | |
| 2015 13 g | Arkansas | 21 of 76 28% | 51% | 44% | 30.6 | +0.24 | |
| 2016 13 g | Arkansas | 18 of 92 20% | 34% | 48% | 29.0 | +0.05 | |
| 2017 12 g | Arkansas | 19 of 86 22% | 37% | 47% | 27.6 | +0.04 | |
| 2021 12 g | Illinois | 14 of 101 14% | 27% | 44% | 26.4 | −0.03 | |
| 2022 13 g | Illinois | 25 of 111 23% | 43% | 45% | 26.4 | −0.04 | |
| 2023 12 g | Illinois | 24 of 94 26% | 53% | 56% | 24.6 | +0.04 | |
| 2024 12 g | Illinois | 16 of 78 21% | 45% | 47% | 27.6 | +0.07 | |
| 2025 13 g | Illinois | 23 of 81 28% | 50% | 50% | 28.2 | +0.13 | |
| 2026 6 g | Illinois | 13 of 35 37% | 45% | 54% | 26.6 | +0.16 | |
| All 224 g | 299 of 1551 19% | 35% | 43% | 27.7 | +0.06 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.