Coaches who returned to their Alma Matter
I was wondering who are the most famous coaches of their alma matter. Also has a school ever had both football and basketball in such a situation?
Personally, I think it is always a good thing for recruiting because I think the love for the school comes through (that was one reason it struck me as weird when RichRod left West Virginia for Michigan).
Anyway, here are some besides Harbaugh and Howard:
-- Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)
-- Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)
-- Scott Frost (Nebraska)
-- Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)
-- Tim Lester (Western Michigan)
-- Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia)
-- Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
-- Roy Williams (North Carolina)
Kevin Ollie (UConn)
Who else is there? Who is the best of all time (as a coach)?
Bo (Miami).
In the same vein, Mike Krzyzewski graduated from West Point in 1969 and coached there, and then left for Duke.
Frank McGuire graduated from St. John's, coached there, and then left from North Carolina.
Huggy Bear at WVU
Alma matter? Like dark matter?
Bummer...I wish we could edit these posts.
The no brainer is the old ball coach winning the Heisman at Fla then coaching there.
He's obviously saying only people who return to Alma, Michigan matter.
Bingo! Here is a list of towns called Alma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma
Thanks for the shout out to my hometown. Go Panthers!
I know a guy named Al Matter. Maybe Al is short for Alma.
Steve Spurrier and Tom Osborne
After looking at his bio it looks like Osborne was getting his masters and PhD when he became an unpaid assistant at Nebraska but played his football elsewhere
Spurrier won a national title and coached a Heisman QB at his alma mater .... where he won a Heisman. I think he’s the clear answer for “best to coach at his alma mater.”
Red Berenson is also on the list
Bear Bryant would like a word
He was a better coach than Spurrier but nowhere near as good a player as Spurrier was
...and all of those guys are respected. ...or at least they were until they left their alma matter. (Looking at you RR.)
Patrick Ewing
Penny Hardaway
Clyde Drexler
Chris Mullin
Gary Williams at Maryland. I believe he won a NC there before retiring
I forgot about Gary Williams when I was reading the OP, but yeah, I think he was a point guard at Maryland in the 1960s. I think it took him a while to get back to Maryland as well, about 20 years in fact.
What's the Mater with you?
Have a feeling JH is going to excel at recruiting. Seems to relate to the kids well
Doug Marrone was an offensive lineman for Syracuse from 1983-1985 and returned as head football coach of his alma mater from 2009-2012.
There are several coaches who’ve coached their alma mater’s teams to national championships in college hockey, Vic Heyliger, Al Renfrew and Red Berenson at Michigan, Herb Brooks at Minnesota, Bob May, Gino Gasparini and Brad Berry at North Dakota, Mike Eaves at Wisconsin, Bill Cleary at Harvard, Jack Kelley and Jack Parker at Boston University, John “Snooks” Kelley and Jerry York at Boston College and Keith Allain at Yale. LINK
Jaime Dixon at TCU
All Almas Matter.
Ummm, how did you forget and how has no one mentioned yet, Harbaugh
I wrote, "here are some besides Harbaugh and Howard." It may be that you just skimmed over it.
Ah, I even read it like 4 times before posting to make sure I wasn’t an idiot, apparently I still was
I think maybe the way I had it listed caused a blind spot (with Harbaugh and Howard in the sentence above but not in the list). Not a biggee.
Charlie Weis
Haha
I just learned that Charlie Weis is a ND grad.
Matt Doherty
*spoiler alert*
did not end well...
Anybody heard of Bear Bryant?!
Who was he? Was he a good coach?
Red Berenson-Michigan hockey
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch
Wisconsin-US Marines /World War II-Michigan-Wisconsin AD
(In one day competing for Michigan he won the broad jump in Ann Arbor for M and then drove to Columbus to pitch a one-hitter and beat Ohio State, 5-0.)
Elroy/Crazy Legs was Michigan's first 4 sport player: Football, Track & Field, Baseball and Basketball.
Also, don't forget:
John Travolta
Disco Tech
Bennie Oosterbaan. Earned nine letters at Michigan: three each in football (3x All-American), basketball (2x All-American) and baseball (1x All Big Ten).
Spent the next 20 years as Assistant Coach for football under Fritz Crisler, then took over as Head Coach in 1948, winning the National Championship that year as well as two more Big Ten titles.
He was Head Basketball Coach from 1938 - 1946, after serving 10 years as Assistant Coach, and also served as Head Coach of the freshman baseball team.
Actually, I'm not sure this example fits the OP's title: "Coaches Who Returned to their Alma Mater." Oosterbann arrived at UM in 1924 and never left.
Great point about Oosterbaan.If I could speak with anyone in Michigan sports history for a couple of hours over some brews, it would be Oosterbaan. He worked with everyone from Fritz to Bo, won championships, and over all just had mountains of knowledge.
I would add Matt Painter to the list as well.
Bill Frieder - Michigan Basketball
Dave Rice - UNLV
Ended poorly...
Bill Freehan
Jon Urbanchek