Red Sanders
Red Sanders went 102–41–3 as a head coach, 1940–1957, at Vanderbilt and UCLA. His 1954 UCLA team claims the national title. Share
- Record
- 102–41–3 career
- Seasons
- 15
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1954
- Hall of Fame
- 1996 inducted
- Best season
- 1954 9–0, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Vanderbilt | 3–6–1 | 11th | |||
| 1941 | Vanderbilt | 8–2 | 6th | |||
| 1942 | Vanderbilt | 6–4 | 8th | |||
| 1943–45: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1946 | Vanderbilt | 5–4 | 7th | |||
| 1947 | Vanderbilt | 6–4 | 5th | |||
| 1948 | Vanderbilt | 8–2–1 | 4th | 12 | ||
| 1949 | UCLA | 6–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1950 | UCLA | 6–3 | 3rd | |||
| 1951 | UCLA | 5–3–1 | 2nd | 17 | ||
| 1952 | UCLA | 8–1 | 2nd | 6 | ||
| 1953 | UCLA | 8–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 5 | |
| 1954 | UCLA | 9–0 | 1st | 2 | ||
| 1955 | UCLA | 9–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 4 | |
| 1956 | UCLA | 7–3 | T–2nd | |||
| 1957 | UCLA | 8–2 | 3rd | 18 | ||
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
.jpg){kind=link}
Paul CameronThird in the 1953 Heisman vote- Dick WallenConsensus All‑American, 1957
Jack JenkinsNo. 10 pick, 1943
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 | 15–17 | 47% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 10–11 | 48% |
| Against rivals | 52 | 32–19–1 | 63% |
| Conference games | 96 | 62–31–3 | 66% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 47 | 25–19–3 | 56% |
| At home | 82 | 63–16–3 | 79% |
| On the road | 59 | 36–23 | 61% |
| At neutral sites | 5 | 3–2 | 60% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 98 | 80–17–1 | 82% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 48 | 22–24–2 | 48% |
His own 146 games on file, 1940–1957, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pappy Waldorf 1949–1956 | 6–2 | California | 8 | |
| Len Casanova 1949–1957 | 5–2 | Santa Clara, Oregon | 7 | |
| Chuck Taylor 1951–1957 | 4–3 | Stanford | 7 | |
| Kip Taylor 1949–1954 | 6–0 | Oregon State | 6 | |
| Jess Hill 1951–1956 | 4–2 | USC | 6 | |
| Bear Bryant 1946–1955 | 2–2 | Kentucky, Texas A&M | 4 | |
| Jim Tatum 1947–1955 | 2–2 | Maryland | 4 | |
| Howard Odell 1949–1952 | 2–1–1 | Washington | 4 | |
| Bob Neyland 1940–1948 | 1–3 | Tennessee | 4 | |
| Frank Thomas 1940–1946 | 1–3 | Alabama | 4 |
Red Sanders’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon Stateseries | 9 | 8–1 |
| Californiaseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| Washingtonseries | 9 | 7–1–1 |
| Stanfordseries | 9 | 6–3 |
| USCseries | 9 | 6–3 |
| Oregonseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Washington Stateseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Kentuckyseries | 6 | 3–2–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927–30 | Clemson | Assistant coach | |
| 1934–37 | Riverside Military Academy | Head coach | |
| 1938 | Florida | Assistant coach | |
| 1939 | LSU | Assistant coach | |
| 1940–42 | Vanderbilt | Head coach | |
| 1946–48 | Vanderbilt | Head coach | |
| 1949–57 | UCLA | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Josh CodyClemson, Florida
- Bernie MooreLSU
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bear BryantMaryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama
- Tommy ProthroOregon State, UCLA, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers
- Jim MyersIowa State, Texas A&M
- George DickersonUCLA
- Bill BarnesUCLA
- Ray NagelUtah, Iowa
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Cody | Clemson | 1927–30 | Assistant coach | |
| Josh Cody | Florida | 1938 | Assistant coach | |
| Bernie Moore | LSU | 1939 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (6)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Bryant | Vanderbilt, 1940–41: line coach | Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama | |
| Tommy Prothro | Vanderbilt, 1946–48: assistant coach; UCLA, 1949–54: assistant coach | Oregon State, UCLA, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers | |
| Jim Myers | Vanderbilt, 1948: line coach; UCLA, 1949–56: line coach | Iowa State, Texas A&M | |
| George Dickerson | UCLA, 1949–57: assistant coach | UCLA | |
| Bill Barnes | UCLA, 1950–57: assistant coach | UCLA | |
| Ray Nagel | UCLA, 1955–57: backfield coach | Utah, Iowa |
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.