John Gagliardi: Most Wins of Any College Football Coach Ever.
John Gagliardi has done something no other human being has ever done.
He has coached college football teams to 449 wins in 59 collegiate
seasons.
John has only coached at two places in his 59-year college
football-coaching career. John's first assignment was at Carroll
College in Helena, Montana during the 1949 to 1952 seasons, winning
three conference championships in those four seasons. John Gagliardi's
next venture would bring him east to take on the head coaching position
at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. The Johnnies had
not won a conference title in 15 years when John Gagliardi arrived to
take over the program from legendary coach and charter member of the
Professional Football Hall of Fame, Johnny "Blood" McNally. John
Gagliardi has remained at Saint John's for the balance of his career.
During his time at Saint John's Gagliardi has coached the Johnnies to
28 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and 4
National Championships.
Along the way Gagliardi's teams have a combined record of 449-120-11
during his 59 seasons. His 1993 Saint John's squad was know as "The
Point a Minute Team" setting a national record by averaging 61.5 points
per game that season, establishing a scoring record that may never be
equaled in college football.
John Gagliardi and the Saint John's University Johnnies football team
has been the subject of many national publications over the years such
as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated. The Today
Show and CBS News Sunday Morning have also done featured pieces on
Gagliardi and the Johnnies for their television shows.
During the 1999 season, Sports Illustrated feature writer Austin Murphy
moved his wife and two young children to Collegeville from the San
Francisco Bay Area to spend the season with the Johnnies. The result of
his time in Stearns County living with and writing about the team was a
book named The Sweet Season published by Harper Collins.
One of the main subjects of interest that visiting reporters have when
covering Gagliardi and the Johnnies are the principles of "Winning With
Nos" · No blocking sleds or dummies · No Scholarships · No compulsory
weightlifting program · No whistles · No "coach"- the players call him
John · No tackling in practice- the players wear shorts and sweats
Gagliardi has realized a long time ago that having a different outlook
at the way football is coached is not for everybody, but it has worked
out well for him, something his 59 year .783 winning percentage is
proof of.
Another in a long line of accomplishments for John Gagliardi came
during the summer of 2006 as John was the first active coach inducted
in the College Football Hall of Fame.
John Gagliardi will turn 81 years young on November 1,2007 with no
signs of slowing down. Gagliardi has repeatedly stated that he has no
intentions of retiring as long as he is in good health and he is still
enjoying coaching football.
Nothing typifies John Gagliardi and the Saint John's University
Johnnies better than the often-heard mantra of, "ordinary people doing
ordinary things extraordinarily well." There is nothing ordinary about
this bunch!
Dana Buttenhoff is an avid college football fan and loves to spend
Saturday afternoons in the autumn cheering for the St. John's
University Johnnies. The Johnnies are coached by College Football Hall
of Fame Coach John Gagliardi. John Gagliardi has more career college
football victories than any other coach on the planet. Learn more about
St. John's University Football at http://www.JohnnieFootball.com
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