Frank Leahy
Frank Leahy went 107–13–9 as a head coach, 1939–1953, at Boston College and Notre Dame. His teams claim five national titles: Boston College in 1940 and Notre Dame in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949. Share
- Record
- 107–13–9 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 5 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1970 inducted
- Best season
- 1949 10–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Boston College | 9–2 | Cotton Bowl L | 11 | ||
| 1940 | Boston College | 11–0 | Sugar Bowl W | 5 | ||
| 1941 | Notre Dame | 8–0–1 | 3 | |||
| 1942 | Notre Dame | 7–2–2 | 6 | |||
| 1943 | Notre Dame | 9–1 | 1 | |||
| 1944–45: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1946 | Notre Dame | 8–0–1 | 1 | |||
| 1947 | Notre Dame | 9–0 | 1 | |||
| 1948 | Notre Dame | 9–0–1 | 2 | |||
| 1949 | Notre Dame | 10–0 | 1 | |||
| 1950 | Notre Dame | 4–4–1 | ||||
| 1951 | Notre Dame | 7–2–1 | 13 | |||
| 1952 | Notre Dame | 7–2–1 | 3 | |||
| 1953 | Notre Dame | 9–0–1 | 2 | |||
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
Johnny Lattner
Leon Hart
Angelo Bertelli
Johnny Lujack
Creighton Miller
Bob Williams
Bill Fischer
George Connor
Art Hunter
Emil Sitko
Jerry Groom
Gene Goodreault
- George SullivanNo. 4 AAFC pick, 1947
- Bob DoveConsensus All‑American, 1941 and 1942
- Jim WhiteConsensus All‑American, 1943
- Pat FilleyConsensus All‑American, 1943
- John YonakorConsensus All‑American, 1943
- Frank TripuckaNo. 9 pick, 1949
1 more
Neil Worden (No. 9 pick, 1954).
18 of the 19 players from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick, the best of each school he coached among them. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 41 | 32–5–4 | 83% |
| Against top-10 teams | 26 | 22–3–1 | 87% |
| Against rivals | 59 | 48–8–3 | 84% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 2 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 39 | 22–8–9 | 68% |
| At home | 61 | 52–7–2 | 87% |
| On the road | 51 | 43–4–4 | 88% |
| At neutral sites | 17 | 12–2–3 | 79% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 114 | 96–10–8 | 88% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 15 | 11–3–1 | 77% |
His own 129 games on file, 1939–1953, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Holcomb 1947–1953 | 6–1 | Purdue | 7 | |
| Jeff Cravath 1942–1950 | 4–1–1 | USC | 6 | |
| Red Blaik 1941–1947 | 3–0–2 | Army | 5 | |
| Biggie Munn 1948–1952 | 2–3 | Michigan State | 5 | |
| Pappy Waldorf 1941–1946 | 4–0 | Northwestern | 4 | |
| Edward Anderson 1946–1949 | 4–0 | Iowa | 4 | |
| Henry Frnka 1946–1950 | 4–0 | Tulane | 4 | |
| Carl Snavely 1949–1952 | 4–0 | North Carolina | 4 | |
| Eddie Erdelatz 1950–1953 | 4–0 | Navy | 4 | |
| Clyde Smith 1948–1951 | 3–1 | Indiana | 4 |
Frank Leahy’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Navyseries | 11 | 11–0 |
| USCseries | 10 | 8–1–1 |
| Pittsburghseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Purdueseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Iowaseries | 8 | 5–0–3 |
| Northwesternseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| North Carolinaseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Tulaneseries | 5 | 5–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Georgetown | Line coach | |
| 1932 | Michigan State | Line coach | |
| 1933–38 | Fordham | Line coach | |
| 1939–40 | Boston College | Head coach | |
| 1941–43 | Notre Dame | Head coach | |
| 1946–53 | Notre Dame | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Tommy MillsGeorgetown
- Jimmy CrowleyMichigan State, Fordham
Assistants who became head coaches
- Ed McKeeverNotre Dame, Cornell, San Francisco, Chicago Rockets
- Bernie CrimminsIndiana
- Edward DohertyArizona State, Arizona, Xavier, Holy Cross, Rhode Island
- Terry BrennanNotre Dame
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Mills | Georgetown | 1931 | Line coach | |
| Jimmy Crowley | Michigan State | 1932 | Line coach | |
| Jimmy Crowley | Fordham | 1933–38 | Line coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (4)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed McKeever | Boston College, 1939–40: assistant coach; Notre Dame, 1941–43: backfield coach | Notre Dame, Cornell, San Francisco, Chicago Rockets | |
| Bernie Crimmins | Notre Dame, 1946–51: assistant coach | Indiana | |
| Edward Doherty | Notre Dame, 1946: assistant coach | Arizona State, Arizona, Xavier, Holy Cross, Rhode Island | |
| Terry Brennan | Notre Dame, 1953: freshman coach | Notre Dame |
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.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.