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NFL Head Coaches and their Alma Maters

A google search showed up in the site meter a couple days ago that read, "NFL coaches colleges." Since I've been breaking down players, I figured I'd enlighten the masses on what colleges all the NFL coaches went to (I'll work my way up to the 120 I-A coaches eventually). Over the course of the 2009-2010 season, there were 33 different head coaches. Dick Jauron was fired by Buffalo midseason so I added the interim coach into the mix.

Since about ~70% of the players in the NFL are from I-A programs, it's only fitting that 13 of the NFL head coaches this past season were from I-A programs. The Pac 10 had the most alums with 4 (2 from USC, 1 from Oregon, and 1 from Washington). The real champions of Division I football (I-AA) had 6 head coach alum in the NFL while Divisions II and III combined for 8. NAIA football had a single head coach. And defunct football programs or schools that don't even have football teams had 3 reps.

The most represented universities were Eastern Illinois (a I-AA school in the Ohio Valley Conference), Southern Cal, and Wesleyan (Belichick/Mangini). Brad Childress, Sean Payton, and Mike Shanahan all went to EIU. If there's one school that can lay claim to Head Coach U for the 2010-2011 Season, it's EIU.

Georgia Tech was 1 of 12 I-A institutions represented by an NFL head coach this season (Ken Whisenhunt). The other 11 I-A programs represented were Houston, Idaho, Iowa, Miami (OH), Oregon, San Diego State, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Southern Cal, and Washington.

So far, the newest additions to the NFL head coaching fold are Pete Carroll (Pacific) and Mike Shanahan (EIU). Pacific's football program shut down in the '90s. Buffalo still hasn't named a permanent head coach for 2010.