Paul “Bear” Bryant

Paul “Bear” Bryant is widely regarded as one of the great football coaches of all-time. He’s best-known as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1958-1982, but he also coached at Texas A&M, Kentucky and Maryland. Bryant won six national championships, all at Alabama, and won 14 SEC championships during his career (13 at Alabama and one at Kentucky in 1950). He was a 12-time SEC Coach of the Year and three-time AFCA Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

His career record as a head coach was 323-85-17 (.760 win percentage) and his career record in bowl games was 15-12-2. Bryant also served as the athletic director at Texas A&M from 1954-1957 and at Alabama from 1957-1983. He retired following the 1982 season and roughly four weeks later passed away at the age of 69.