MOVING THE CHAINS: Turf may not be Greener

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

More likely than not, neither is the turf … at least of the artificial variety.

The point is I’m trying to make is this: success as a college football head coach does not always translate into success as an NFL head coach.

The triumvirate of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Steve Spurrier have a composite record of 707 wins against only 192 losses (and three ties) in their collegiate careers. In other words, they collectively won 79% of their games.

On the other side of the coin, all three coached in the NFL at one time or another, if albeit for a short time. Altogether, they won only 38% of their games, going a composite 29 – 48: Saban 15 – 17 with the Miami Dolphins, Meyer 2 – 11 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Spurrier 12 – 20 with the Washington Redskins.

Other notable failures include:

Matt Ruhle, who left a promising career at Baylor and won a measly 11 games (while losing 27) with the Carolina Panthers.

Greg Schiano, who left an equally promising career at Rutgers for an equally measly 11 wins (and 21 losses) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bobby Petrino, who was on top of the world at Louisville, before letting his ego get the better of him to take over the Atlanta Falcons, which he led to a grand total of three wins in 13 games before jumping ship via a Dear John letter in the locker room telling the team goodbye in perhaps the most cowardly exit in the history of sports. (And shame on Louisville for taking him back a few years later.)

As is always the case, there have been a few exceptions. Tom Coughlin left Boston College for the NFL and ultimately won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. Pete Carroll left Southern Cal and won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. And Jimmy Johnson left the Miami Hurricanes and won a pair of Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

In addition, John Robinson left USC and posted a winning record of 75 – 68 with the Los Angeles Rams, Bobby Ross left Georgia Tech for a winning record in the NFL of 74 – 63, and Barry Switzer left Oklahoma and posted an NFL record of 40 – 24.

Other than that, the pickin’s have been mighty slim for collegiate coaches jumping over to the other side of the fence in search of greener grass … or turf, as the case may be.

And then there’s Jim Harbaugh, the former coach of the 2023 National Champion University of Michigan Wolverines. He recently thumbed his nose at his alma mater’s offer of $125 million over 10 years – that would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football – to take on the position of head coach with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers … to the tune of $80 million for the next five years.

Harbaugh, who posted a 44 – 19 – 1 record (70%) with the San Francisco 49’ers in his first stay in the NFL, shows promise at the next level. (By comparison, his record in nine seasons with Michigan is 89 – 25, a winning ratio of 72%.)

Will he be a success in the National Football League? Time will tell, but in the meantime wish him luck; he’s going to need it.

The average stay of a former college head coach in the NFL is less than three years.

That artificial turf you see on Sundays may appear to be green, but if you’re the coach of a losing team in the NFL, it will be anything but.