William Alexander
William Alexander went 134–95–15 as a head coach, 1920–1944, at Georgia Tech. His 1928 Georgia Tech team claims the national title. Share
- Record
- 134–95–15 career
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 1
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1928
- Hall of Fame
- 1951 inducted
- Best season
- 1942 9–2, No. 5
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Georgia Tech | 8–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1921 | Georgia Tech | 8–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1922 | Georgia Tech | 7–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1923 | Georgia Tech | 3–2–4 | T–11th | |||
| 1924 | Georgia Tech | 5–3–1 | 10th | |||
| 1925 | Georgia Tech | 6–2–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1926 | Georgia Tech | 4–5 | 9th | |||
| 1927 | Georgia Tech | 8–1–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1928 | Georgia Tech | 10–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | ||
| 1929 | Georgia Tech | 3–6 | 14th | |||
| 1930 | Georgia Tech | 2–6–1 | 15th | |||
| 1931 | Georgia Tech | 2–7–1 | 16th | |||
| 1932 | Georgia Tech | 4–5–1 | T–10th | |||
| 1933 | Georgia Tech | 5–5 | 10th | |||
| 1934 | Georgia Tech | 1–9 | 12th | |||
| 1935 | Georgia Tech | 5–5 | 8th | |||
| 1936 | Georgia Tech | 5–5–1 | T–6th | |||
| 1937 | Georgia Tech | 6–3–1 | 6th | |||
| 1938 | Georgia Tech | 3–4–3 | 5th | |||
| 1939 | Georgia Tech | 8–2 | T–1st | Orange Bowl W | 16 | |
| 1940 | Georgia Tech | 3–7 | 11th | |||
| 1941 | Georgia Tech | 3–6 | 9th | |||
| 1942 | Georgia Tech | 9–2 | T–2nd | Cotton Bowl L | 5 | |
| 1943 | Georgia Tech | 8–3 | 1st | Sugar Bowl W | 13 | |
| 1944 | Georgia Tech | 8–3 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 13 |
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
Clint CastleberryThird in the 1942 Heisman vote- Peter PundConsensus All‑American, 1928
- Phil TinsleyConsensus All‑American, 1944
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 | 24 | 7–16–1 | 31% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 4–7 | 36% |
| Against rivals | 104 | 46–49–9 | 49% |
| Conference games | 149 | 80–54–15 | 59% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 5 | 3–2 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 92 | 35–42–15 | 46% |
| At home | 172 | 114–48–10 | 69% |
| On the road | 67 | 17–45–5 | 29% |
| At neutral sites | 5 | 3–2 | 60% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 147 | 112–27–8 | 79% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 97 | 22–68–7 | 26% |
His own 244 games on file, 1920–1944, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace Wade 1923–1941 | 4–11–1 | Alabama, Duke | 16 | |
| Dan McGugin 1920–1934 | 3–8–1 | Vanderbilt | 12 | |
| Frank Thomas 1932–1942 | 3–7–1 | Alabama | 11 | |
| Harry Mehre 1928–1937 | 2–6–2 | Georgia | 10 | |
| Jack Meagher 1934–1942 | 4–5 | Auburn | 9 | |
| Knute Rockne 1922–1929 | 1–7 | Notre Dame | 8 | |
| Chuck Collins 1927–1933 | 4–1–2 | North Carolina | 7 | |
| Wallace Butts 1939–1944 | 3–3 | Georgia | 6 | |
| Mike Donahue 1920–1927 | 5–0 | Auburn, LSU | 5 | |
| Jess Neely 1932–1937 | 4–1 | Clemson | 5 |
William Alexander’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Auburnseries | 24 | 15–7–2 |
| Georgiaseries | 20 | 7–10–3 |
| Vanderbiltseries | 19 | 6–11–2 |
| Alabamaseries | 19 | 6–11–2 |
| Floridaseries | 17 | 10–4–3 |
| Notre Dameseries | 15 | 2–13 |
| Dukeseries | 12 | 3–9 |
| Kentuckyseries | 11 | 6–4–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–44 | Georgia Tech | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bobby DoddGeorgia Tech
Coached under him, later head coaches (1)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Dodd | Georgia Tech, 1931–44: backfield coach | Georgia Tech |
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.