I don't know how old this is, so you may already have your answer, but Barry Switzer has the most wins and one of the best winning percentages of all college head coaches in NCAA history. He won 157 games, lost 29, and tied 4 times. His winning percentage is 83.7 percent. He won three national titles and 11 conference championships. But Bud Wilkinson's win/loss record isn't that far off, nor is his winning percentage. He won 145 games, lost 29, and tied 4 times. His winning percentage is 82.6 percent. He won three national titles also, and won 14 conference titles, 13 of them consecutively. He also has the longest winning streak in NCAA Division 1 football history at 47 games. It has only been seriously threatened 3 times, once by Toledo at 35 wins, Miami at 34, and USC at 34. But before that, he actually won 31 games in a row, also. So when discussing which one is the better coach, it's really an exercise in splitting hairs, and shouldn't come down to wins. When it comes to reputation as a person and coach, Wilkinson is regarded as one of the all time greats of the game, a players coach on the level of Joe Paterno, and a winner on the level of Bear Bryant. Switzer, on the other hand, was always seen as a rebel, and no one actually liked him except Sooner fans. Also, it could be said Switzer had to cheat to win in the latter stages of his career. OU wound up on serious probation after his tenure ended abruptly in the late '80's amidst incredible controversy (shootings on campus, rape, steriod abuse by players, paying players). Wilkinson never had to break the rules, his players were respected members of the community, and, I mean, you win 31 games in a row, let alone 47 games in a row, you're an incredible motivator and X's and O's guru. But Switzer knew how to motivate players, too, and his innovative wishbone offense dominated the college game for nearly two decades. So it's a wash. Personally, I'm going to go with Wilkinson. Class act, knew the game better than a great deal who have ever walked the sidelines, and a great winner. Owen was also a great coach, good enough to be inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, but his record was only 122-54-16, with a winning percentage of 67.7 percent. No national titles. We named the field after him because he was the first great coach to coach at the program. But he's not the best to ever coach at OU.
