Lou Saban
Lou Saban went 60–83–4 as a head coach, 1950–2002, at Case Tech, Northwestern, Western Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Army, UCF, Peru State and Chowan. Share
11 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1950–52 at Case Tech; 1957–59 at Western Illinois; 1983–84 at UCF; 1991 at Peru State; 2001–02 at Chowan. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 60–83–4 career
- Seasons
- 16
- Schools
- 9
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1978 6–5
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Case Tech * | 4–4 | ||||
| 1951 | Case Tech * | 3–5–1 | ||||
| 1952 | Case Tech * | 3–5 | ||||
| 1953–54: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1955 | Northwestern | 0–8–1 | 10th | |||
| 1956: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1957 | Western Illinois * | 5–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1958 | Western Illinois * | 6–1–1 | 1st | |||
| 1959 | Western Illinois * | 9–0 | 1st | |||
| 1960–65: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1966 | Maryland | 4–6 | T–3rd | |||
| 1967–76: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1977 | Miami | 3–8 | ||||
| 1978 | Miami | 6–5 | ||||
| 1979 | Army | 2–8–1 | ||||
| 1980–82: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1983 | UCF * | 5–6 | ||||
| 1984 | UCF * | 1–6 | ||||
| 1985–90: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1991 | Peru State * | 7–4 | NAIA Division II Semifinal L | |||
| 1992–00: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2001 | Chowan * | 2–3 | 6th | |||
| 2002 | Chowan * | 0–10 | 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. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
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 | 8 | 1–7 | 13% |
| Against top-10 teams | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 11 | 3–7–1 | 32% |
| Conference games | 13 | 3–9–1 | 27% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 19 | 8–9–2 | 47% |
| At home | 25 | 10–13–2 | 44% |
| On the road | 26 | 5–21 | 19% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 16 | 8–7–1 | 53% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 36 | 7–28–1 | 21% |
His own 52 games on file, 1955–1979, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Paterno 1966–1979 | 0–3 | Penn State | 3 |
Lou Saban’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Stateseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Penn Stateseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Tulaneseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Kansasseries | 2 | 2–0 |
| Floridaseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Dukeseries | 2 | 1–0–1 |
| Syracuseseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Georgia Techseries | 2 | 0–2 |
Other roles
- Team MVP, Indiana 1942
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–52 | Case Tech | Head coach | |
| 1953 | Washington | Assistant coach | |
| 1954 | Northwestern | Assistant coach | |
| 1955 | Northwestern | Head coach | |
| 1957–59 | Western Illinois | Head coach | |
| 1960–61 | Boston Patriots NFL | Head coach | |
| 1962–65 | Buffalo Bills NFL | Head coach | |
| 1966 | Maryland | Head coach | |
| 1967–71 | Denver Broncos NFL | Head coach | |
| 1972–76 | Buffalo Bills NFL | Head coach | |
| 1977–78 | Miami (FL) | Head coach | |
| 1979 | Army | Head coach | |
| 1983–84 | UCF | Head coach | |
| 1987–88 | Martin County HS (FL) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1988 | South Fork HS (FL) high school | Head coach | |
| 1989 | Georgetown HS (SC) high school | Head coach | |
| 1990 | Middle Georgia Heat Wave | Head coach | |
| 1991 | Peru State | Head coach | |
| 1992 | Tampa Bay Storm Arena | Head coach | |
| 1994 | Milwaukee Mustangs Arena | Head coach | |
| 1994 | Alfred State | Head coach | |
| 1995–2000 | SUNY Canton | Head coach | |
| 2001–02 | Chowan | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John CherbergWashington
- Robert VoigtsNorthwestern
- Bill CubitMartin County HS (FL)
Assistants who became head coaches
- Mike HolovakBoston College, Boston Patriots
- Dick MacPhersonSyracuse, Massachusetts, New England Patriots
- Ed CavanaughArmy, Idaho State
- Marvin BassWilliam & Mary, South Carolina, Birmingham Vulcans
- John RayKentucky, John Carroll
- Jerry WampflerColorado State
- Jim LaRueArizona
- Mike ArcherLSU
- Rick LantzNavy, Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire
- Al SeagravesElon
- Mike Sanford Sr.UNLV, Indiana State
- Alan GoochUCF
- and 2 more
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Cherberg | Washington | 1953 | Assistant coach | |
| Robert Voigts | Northwestern | 1954 | Assistant coach | |
| Bill Cubit | Martin County HS (FL) high school | 1987–88 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Holovak | Boston Patriots, 1960–61: running backs coach | Boston College, Boston Patriots | |
| Dick MacPherson | Maryland, 1966: defensive backs coach; Denver Broncos, 1967–70: linebackers and defensive backs coach | Syracuse, Massachusetts, New England Patriots | |
| Ed Cavanaugh | Buffalo Bills, 1972–76: assistant coach; Miami, 1977–78: offensive line coach; Army, 1979: offensive line coach | Army, Idaho State | |
| Marvin Bass | Buffalo Bills, 1972: assistant coach | William & Mary, South Carolina, Birmingham Vulcans | |
| John Ray | Buffalo Bills, 1973–76: defensive coordinator | Kentucky, John Carroll | |
| Jerry Wampfler | Buffalo Bills, 1976: defensive line coach | Colorado State | |
| Jim LaRue | Buffalo Bills, 1976: wide receivers coach | Arizona | |
| Mike Archer | Miami, 1977: graduate assistant; 1978: assistant coach | LSU | |
| Rick Lantz | Miami, 1977–78: defensive coordinator | Navy, Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire | |
| Al Seagraves | Army, 1979: assistant coach; UCF, 1983–84: defensive coordinator | Elon | |
| Mike Sanford Sr. | Army, 1979: wide receivers and tight ends coach | UNLV, Indiana State | |
| Alan Gooch | UCF, 1983–84: defensive backs coach | UCF | |
| Bill Cubit | UCF, 1983–84: defensive backs coach | Western Michigan, Illinois, Widener | |
| John Gutekunst | Tampa Bay Storm, 1992: offensive line and defensive line coach | Minnesota |
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.