Tom Osborne
Tom Osborne went 255–49–3 as a head coach, 1973–1997, at Nebraska. His teams claim three national titles: Nebraska in 1994, 1995 and 1997. Share
- Record
- 255–49–3 career
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 1
- National titles
- 3 claimed: 1994, 1995 and 1997
- Hall of Fame
- 1998 inducted
- Best season
- 1994 13–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Nebraska | 9–2–1 | T–2nd | Cotton Bowl W | 7 | |
| 1974 | Nebraska | 9–3 | T–2nd | Sugar Bowl W | 9 | |
| 1975 | Nebraska | 10–2 | T–1st | Fiesta Bowl L | 9 | |
| 1976 | Nebraska | 9–3–1 | T–4th | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl W | 9 | |
| 1977 | Nebraska | 9–3 | T–2nd | Liberty Bowl W | 12 | |
| 1978 | Nebraska | 9–3 | T–1st | Orange Bowl L | 8 | |
| 1979 | Nebraska | 10–2 | 2nd | Cotton Bowl L | 9 | |
| 1980 | Nebraska | 10–2 | 2nd | Sun Bowl W | 7 | |
| 1981 | Nebraska | 9–3 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 11 | |
| 1982 | Nebraska | 12–1 | 1st | Orange Bowl W | 3 | |
| 1983 | Nebraska | 12–1 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 2 | |
| 1984 | Nebraska | 10–2 | T–1st | Sugar Bowl W | 4 | |
| 1985 | Nebraska | 9–3 | 2nd | Fiesta Bowl L | 11 | |
| 1986 | Nebraska | 10–2 | 3rd | Sugar Bowl W | 5 | |
| 1987 | Nebraska | 10–2 | 2nd | Fiesta Bowl L | 6 | |
| 1988 | Nebraska | 11–2 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 10 | |
| 1989 | Nebraska | 10–2 | 2nd | Fiesta Bowl L | 11 | |
| 1990 | Nebraska | 9–3 | 3rd | Citrus Bowl L | 24 | |
| 1991 | Nebraska | 9–2–1 | T–1st | Orange Bowl L | 15 | |
| 1992 | Nebraska | 9–3 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 14 | |
| 1993 | Nebraska | 11–1 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 3 | |
| 1994 | Nebraska | 13–0 | 1st | Orange Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1995 | Nebraska | 12–0 | 1st | Fiesta Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1996 | Nebraska | 11–2 | 1st (North) | Big 12 Championship Game L; Orange Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1997 | Nebraska | 13–0 | 1st (North) | Big 12 Championship Game W; Orange Bowl W | 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
Dave RimingtonFifth in the 1982 Heisman vote- David HummFifth in the 1974 Heisman vote
- Dean Steinkuhler1983 Lombardi Award
- Grant Wistrom1997 Lombardi Award
- Trev Alberts1993 Butkus Award
- Aaron Taylor1997 Outland Trophy
- Zach Wiegert1994 Outland Trophy
- Bruce PickensNo. 3 pick, 1991
- Mike CroelNo. 4 pick, 1991
- Jake YoungConsensus All‑American, 1988 and 1989
- John DuttonConsensus All‑American, 1973
- Broderick ThomasConsensus All‑American, 1988
19 more
Junior Miller (Consensus All‑American, 1979); Jason Peter (Consensus All‑American, 1997); Danny Noonan (Consensus All‑American, 1986); Kelvin Clark (Consensus All‑American, 1978); Brenden Stai (Consensus All‑American, 1994); Ed Stewart (Consensus All‑American, 1994); Jarvis Redwine (Consensus All‑American, 1980); Mark Traynowicz (Consensus All‑American, 1984); Rik Bonness (Consensus All‑American, 1975); Dave Butterfield (Consensus All‑American, 1976); Randy Schleusener (Consensus All‑American, 1980); Marvin Crenshaw (Consensus All‑American, 1974); Lawrence Phillips (No. 6 pick, 1996); George Andrews (No. 19 pick, 1979); Michael Booker (No. 11 pick, 1997); Tom Ruud (No. 19 pick, 1975); Jimmy Williams (No. 15 pick, 1982); Johnny Mitchell (No. 15 pick, 1992); Rob Zatechka (1994 William V. Campbell Trophy).
18 of the 37 players 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 | 99 | 61–37–1 | 62% |
| Against top-10 teams | 57 | 26–31 | 46% |
| Against rivals | 169 | 140–28–1 | 83% |
| Conference games | 177 | 153–22–2 | 87% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 27 | 13–14 | 48% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 62 | 36–23–3 | 60% |
| At home | 162 | 146–16 | 90% |
| On the road | 115 | 93–19–3 | 82% |
| At neutral sites | 30 | 16–14 | 53% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 278 | 246–30–2 | 89% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 29 | 9–19–1 | 33% |
His own 307 games on file, 1973–1997, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Switzer 1973–1988 | 5–12 | Oklahoma | 17 | |
| Bill McCartney 1982–1994 | 9–3–1 | Colorado | 13 | |
| Pat Jones 1984–1994 | 11–0 | Oklahoma State | 11 | |
| Glen Mason 1988–1996 | 9–0 | Kansas | 9 | |
| Bill Snyder 1989–1997 | 9–0 | Kansas State | 9 | |
| Jim Walden 1987–1994 | 7–1 | Iowa State | 8 | |
| Warren Powers 1977–1984 | 6–2 | Washington State, Missouri | 8 | |
| Bobby Bowden 1980–1993 | 2–6 | Florida State | 8 | |
| Jim Dickey 1978–1984 | 7–0 | Kansas State | 7 | |
| Earle Bruce 1973–1991 | 5–2 | Iowa State, Colorado State | 7 |
Tom Osborne’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahomaseries | 26 | 13–13 |
| Kansasseries | 25 | 25–0 |
| Kansas Stateseries | 25 | 25–0 |
| Iowa Stateseries | 25 | 22–3 |
| Coloradoseries | 25 | 21–3–1 |
| Missouriseries | 25 | 21–4 |
| Oklahoma Stateseries | 23 | 22–0–1 |
| Florida Stateseries | 8 | 2–6 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1978 Nebraska: Bobby Dodd Award
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Nebraska’s 1994 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
- Won a national title on Nebraska’s 1995 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
- Won a national title on Nebraska’s 1997 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–68 | Nebraska | Assistant coach | |
| 1969–72 | Nebraska | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1973–97 | Nebraska | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bob DevaneyNebraska
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jerry MooreNorth Texas, Texas Tech, App State
- Monte KiffinNC State
- Warren PowersWashington State, Missouri
- Frank SolichNebraska, Ohio
- Jerry PettiboneNorthern Illinois, Oregon State
- Craig BohlWyoming, North Dakota State
- L. C. ColeTennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman
- Scott DowningSterling, Northern Colorado
- Tony SamuelNew Mexico State, Southeast Missouri State
- Steve StanardNebraska Wesleyan
- Kevin SteeleBaylor, Auburn
- Turner GillBuffalo, Kansas, Liberty
- and 1 more
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Devaney | Nebraska | 1964–72 | 1964–68: assistant coach; 1969–72: offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (13)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Moore | Nebraska, 1973–77: wide receivers coach; 1978: offensive coordinator | North Texas, Texas Tech, App State | |
| Monte Kiffin | Nebraska, 1973–76: defensive coordinator | NC State | |
| Warren Powers | Nebraska, 1973–76: defensive backs coach | Washington State, Missouri | |
| Frank Solich | Nebraska, 1979–82: freshman coach; 1983–97: running backs coach | Nebraska, Ohio | |
| Jerry Pettibone | Nebraska, 1979–81: recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach | Northern Illinois, Oregon State | |
| Craig Bohl | Nebraska, 1981–83: graduate assistant; 1995–97: linebackers coach | Wyoming, North Dakota State | |
| L. C. Cole | Nebraska, 1982: defensive ends coach | Tennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman | |
| Scott Downing | Nebraska, 1984–86: graduate assistant and FHC | Sterling, Northern Colorado | |
| Tony Samuel | Nebraska, 1986–96: defensive ends and outside linebackers coach | New Mexico State, Southeast Missouri State | |
| Steve Stanard | Nebraska, 1988: student assistant; 1989–90: graduate assistant | Nebraska Wesleyan | |
| Kevin Steele | Nebraska, 1989–94: linebackers coach | Baylor, Auburn | |
| Turner Gill | Nebraska, 1989: graduate assistant; 1992–97: quarterbacks coach | Buffalo, Kansas, Liberty | |
| Ryan Held | Nebraska, 1997: student assistant | Peru State, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Highland, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Nebraska Kearney |
Other assistants under him (5)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie McBride | Nebraska, 1977–81: assistant coach; 1982–97: defensive coordinator | |
| Lance Van Zandt | Nebraska, 1977–80: defensive coordinator | |
| Dave Schramm | Nebraska, 1989: graduate assistant | |
| Bill Busch | Nebraska, 1990–93: graduate assistant | |
| Gerry Gdowski | Nebraska, 1991–93: graduate assistant |
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.