Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas went 119–29–7 as a head coach, 1925–1946, at Chattanooga and Alabama. His teams claim two national titles: Alabama in 1934 and 1941. Wikipedia’s season articles record four seasons differently (1925, 4–4, 1926, 6–2–2, 1927, 8–1 and 1928, 8–2); by them his record is 141–33–9. Share
- Record
- 119–29–7 career
- Seasons
- 19
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 2 claimed: 1934 and 1941
- Hall of Fame
- 1951 inducted
- Best season
- 1945 10–0, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Chattanooga | 1–2 (Wikipedia: 4–4) | 12th | |||
| 1926 | Chattanooga | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 6–2–2) | T–1st | |||
| 1927 | Chattanooga | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 8–1) | T–1st | |||
| 1928 | Chattanooga | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 8–2) | 1st | |||
| 1929–30: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1931 | Alabama | 9–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1932 | Alabama | 8–2 | T–5th | |||
| 1933 | Alabama | 7–1–1 | 1st | |||
| 1934 | Alabama | 10–0 | T–1st | Rose Bowl W | ||
| 1935 | Alabama | 6–2–1 | 5th | |||
| 1936 | Alabama | 8–0–1 | 2nd | 4 | ||
| 1937 | Alabama | 9–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 4 | |
| 1938 | Alabama | 7–1–1 | T–2nd | 13 | ||
| 1939 | Alabama | 5–3–1 | 8th | |||
| 1940 | Alabama | 7–2 | 4th | |||
| 1941 | Alabama | 9–2 | 3rd | Cotton Bowl W | 20 | |
| 1942 | Alabama | 8–3 | 5th | Orange Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1943: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1944 | Alabama | 5–2–2 | T–3rd | Sugar Bowl L | ||
| 1945 | Alabama | 10–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 2 | |
| 1946 | Alabama | 7–4 | 6th | |||
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
Riley SmithNo. 2 pick, 1936- Holt RastConsensus All‑American, 1941
- Leroy MonskyConsensus All‑American, 1937
- Bill LeeConsensus All‑American, 1934
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 | 23 | 10–11–2 | 48% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 3–8 | 27% |
| Against rivals | 59 | 38–16–5 | 69% |
| Conference games | 99 | 74–19–6 | 78% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 6 | 4–2 | 67% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 52 | 34–11–7 | 72% |
| At home | 87 | 73–13–1 | 84% |
| On the road | 62 | 42–14–6 | 73% |
| At neutral sites | 6 | 4–2 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 123 | 105–12–6 | 88% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 32 | 14–17–1 | 45% |
His own 155 games on file, 1925–1946, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Alexander 1932–1942 | 7–3–1 | Georgia Tech | 11 | |
| Bob Neyland 1931–1946 | 3–6–1 | Tennessee | 10 | |
| Allyn McKeen 1939–1946 | 5–2 | Mississippi State | 7 | |
| Red Dawson 1936–1941 | 5–1 | Tulane | 6 | |
| A.D. Kirwan 1938–1944 | 5–0–1 | Kentucky | 6 | |
| Dan McGugin 1927–1934 | 4–2 | Vanderbilt | 6 | |
| Ray Morrison 1935–1939 | 4–1 | Vanderbilt | 5 | |
| Wallace Butts 1941–1946 | 2–3 | Georgia | 5 | |
| Jess Neely 1931–1936 | 4–0 | Clemson | 4 | |
| C.A. Wynne 1934–1937 | 4–0 | Kentucky | 4 |
Frank Thomas’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vanderbiltseries | 16 | 12–4 |
| Kentuckyseries | 15 | 14–0–1 |
| Tennesseeseries | 15 | 7–6–2 |
| Mississippi Stateseries | 13 | 10–3 |
| Georgia Techseries | 11 | 7–3–1 |
| Samfordseries | 10 | 9–0–1 |
| Tulaneseries | 7 | 6–1 |
| Georgiaseries | 7 | 4–3 |
Other roles
- Team captain, Western Michigan 1918
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923–24 | Georgia | Assistant coach | |
| 1925–28 | Chattanooga | Head coach | |
| 1929–30 | Georgia | Backfield coach | |
| 1931–46 | Alabama | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- George WoodruffGeorgia
- Harry MehreGeorgia
Assistants who became head coaches
- Chuck CollinsNorth Carolina
- Red DrewBirmingham-Southern, Ole Miss, Alabama, Trinity (CT), Chattanooga
- Ears WhitworthAlabama, Oklahoma State
- Bear BryantMaryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama
- Hilman WalkerArizona State
- Pete CawthonTexas Tech, Austin, Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers
- Dixie HowellArizona State, Idaho, UNAM
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Woodruff | Georgia | 1923–24 | Assistant coach | |
| Harry Mehre | Georgia | 1929–30 | Backfield coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Collins | Chattanooga, 1925: line coach | North Carolina | |
| Red Drew | Chattanooga, 1928: assistant coach; Alabama, 1931–41, 1945: assistant coach | Birmingham-Southern, Ole Miss, Alabama, Trinity (CT), Chattanooga | |
| Ears Whitworth | Alabama, 1932–34: assistant coach | Alabama, Oklahoma State | |
| Bear Bryant | Alabama, 1936–39: line coach | Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama | |
| Hilman Walker | Alabama, 1937: freshman coach | Arizona State | |
| Pete Cawthon | Alabama, 1942: line coach | Texas Tech, Austin, Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers | |
| Dixie Howell | Alabama, 1946: backs coach | Arizona State, Idaho, UNAM |
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.