The Utah State Aggies college football team represents Utah State University in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 27 head coaches, and 2 interim head coaches, since it began play during the 1892 season. Since July 2024, Nate Dreiling has served as Utah State's interim head coach after Blake Anderson was fired.
Eight coaches have led Utah State in postseason bowl games: Dick Romney, John Ralston, Charlie Weatherbie, John L. Smith, Gary Andersen, Matt Wells, Frank Maile, and Blake Anderson. Seven coaches also won conference championships: Romney captured three as a member of the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference; Romney captured one and Ralston two as a member of the Skyline Conference; Snyder captured two as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association; Weatherbie captured one and Smith two as a member of the Big West Conference; Andersen captured one as a member of the Western Athletic Conference; Anderson captured one as a member of the MWC.
Romney is the leader in seasons coached, with 29 years as head coach and games coached (235), won (128). Mysterious Walker has the highest winning percentage at .909. Brent Guy has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .191. Of the 27 different head coaches who have led the Aggies, Romney and Ralston have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Walter Mayo | 1896 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | Samuel Dunning | 1898 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | Willard Langton | 1899–1900 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Dick Richards | 1901 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | George P. Campbell | 1902–1906 | 30 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 0.433 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 6 | Mysterious Walker | 1907–1908 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0.909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 7 | Clayton Teetzel | 1909–1915 | 44 | 24 | 18 | 2 | 0.568 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Jack Watson | 1916–1917 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0.600 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Dick Romney | 1919–1942 1944–1948 |
235 | 128 | 91 | 16 | 0.579 | 88 | 71 | 12 | 0.550 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — |
| 10 | George Melinkovich | 1949–1950 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0.238 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | John Roning | 1951–1954 | 41 | 18 | 21 | 2 | 0.463 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 0.483 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Ev Faunce | 1955–1958 | 40 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 0.388 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 0.375 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | John Ralston | 1959–1962 | 43 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0.733 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0.675 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Tony Knap | 1963–1966 | 40 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 0.638 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 15 | Chuck Mills | 1967–1972 | 62 | 38 | 23 | 1 | 0.621 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 16 | Phil Krueger | 1973–1975 | 33 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 0.636 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 17 | Bruce Snyder | 1976–1982 | 77 | 38 | 37 | 2 | 0.506 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0.740 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Chris Pella | 1983–1985 | 33 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 0.273 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0.368 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Chuck Shelton | 1986–1991 | 66 | 26 | 39 | 1 | 0.402 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 0.607 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Charlie Weatherbie | 1992–1994 | 34 | 15 | 19 | 0 | 0.441 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0.611 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 21 | John L. Smith | 1995–1997 | 34 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 0.471 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0.750 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 22 | Dave Arslanian | 1998–1999 | 22 | 7 | 15 | — | 0.318 | 5 | 6 | — | 0.455 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 23 | Mick Dennehy | 2000–2004 | 56 | 19 | 37 | — | 0.339 | 9 | 9 | — | 0.500 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 24 | Brent Guy | 2005–2008 | 47 | 9 | 38 | — | 0.191 | 8 | 24 | — | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 25 | Gary Andersen | 2009–2012 2019–2020 |
66 | 33 | 33 | — | 0.500 | 22 | 18 | — | 0.550 | 1 | 2 | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 26 | Matt Wells | 2013–2018 | 78 | 44 | 34 | — | 0.564 | 30 | 18 | — | 0.625 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Int | Frank Maile |
2018 2020 |
4 | 2 | 2 | — | 0.500 | 1 | 2 | — | 0.333 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 27 | Blake Anderson | 2021–2023 | 40 | 23 | 17 | — | 0.575 | 15 | 9 | — | 0.625 | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Int | Nate Dreiling | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- Maile has served as interim head coach on two separate occasions. He first served as interim head coach after the resignation of Matt Wells and led the Aggies to a victory in the 2018 New Mexico Bowl. His second stint as interim head coach came in 2020 after Utah State fired Gary Andersen on November 7, and he served as the team's head coach for the remainder of the season.
References
- Londergan, Joe (July 2, 2024). "Who is Interim Utah State Football Head Coach Nate Dreiling?". SI.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- Vejar, Alex (December 10, 2018). "With one head coach leaving and another coming in, Utah State's Frank Maile is right in the middle". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- Wood, Trent (December 10, 2020). "Will Frank Maile get the Utah State head coaching job on a permanent basis? Should he?". Deseret News. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
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