Examining prior experiences and career attainment of FBS football head coaches

Abstract

A Football Bowl Subdivision college head coach position is desired in the American football coaching profession due to associated financial benefits, social network improvements, and prestige. The rise of an individual from player, to assistant coach, and eventually head coach, is primarily understood anecdotally. This empirical evaluation of head coaching attainment provided insight into the career progression of these important sport leaders. The purpose of this study was to assess prior experiences (e.g., playing and assistant coaching) of first-time Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football head coaches hired from 1998-1999 to 2013-2014 (n ¼ 200). Data were collected to determine if the quantity of playing and coaching experiences indicated variance within or predictability for career attainment. The five experiential categories investigated were: Playing Experience, Coaching Experience, Affiliation, Coaching Success, and Descriptive Variables. Several significant predictors among the coaching variables emerged, including coaching experience, affiliation, and past coaching success. Playing experience variables were found to be largely non-significant, suggesting that career attainment of college football coaches does not hinge on playing experience.

Coaching Transition and Nature of Change: An Examination of NCAA DI Team Sports

“…Previous studies have explored the relationship between a coach's alumni status and the length of their tenure, indicating a positive correlation (Johnson et al, 2023;Nesseler et al, 2012;Tracy et al, 2018). However, this study explored nature of coaching change rather than length of tenure and alumni status was found to have predictive value.…”

“…Johnson et al (2023) found that alumni status had a significant positive correlation with the length of a coach's tenure in a variety of sports. Similarly, in a study about FBS football assistant coaches, Tracy et al (2018) found that playing and coaching at their alma mater was the strongest predictor of retaining the head coaching position. A coach's alumni status was more predictive than previous winning seasons or playoff experience.…”

“…On-field success has been a predictor of coaching change at the college and professional levels throughout history (Cook & Glass, 2013;Fee et al, 2006;Goff et al, 2019;Humphreys et al, 2016;Johnson et al, 2012;Roach, 2013). Empirical evidence shows that winning is directly correlated with coaching tenure where total wins or win percentage as the most prevalent dependent variable (Fee et al, 2006;Johnson et al, 2013Johnson et al, , 2017Johnson et al, , 2018Tracy et al, 2018).…”

“…Johnson et al (2013) found that negative changes (i.e., coach fired) increase as winning percentages decrease. Tracy et al (2018) found that years one spent winning as a head and assistant coach are significant predictors of attaining one's head coaching position, in a study of 200 first-time NCAA Division I football coaches from 1998-2014. Thus, winning is a crucial factor regarding coaching tenure, so any study must acknowledge these findings and include winning as an independent variable.…”

“…Although sport and sex have important relationships with nature of change, and many coaches must navigate challenges distinct from winning (Knight Commission, 2021;Sperber, 2001;Weiner, 2009), winning still proved to be the most significant factor when considering the combination of descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression results. This confirmed Hypotheses 1 and 2, and reinforced elements of previous studies (Fee at al., 2006;Humphreys et al, 2016;Johnson et al, 2012Johnson et al, , 2013Johnson et al, , 2017Johnson et al, , 2018Tracy et al, 2018).…”