Knute Rockne won 105 games and lost 12 in thirteen seasons, a winning percentage of .881 that no coach in college football history has matched. Notre Dame has had five coaches win national championships, and the four who followed Rockne into that group, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz, produced eight more titles between them.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | National titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Freeman | 2021 to present | 43, 12 | None |
| Brian Kelly | 2010 to 2021 | 113, 40 (92, 40 after vacated wins) | None |
| Charlie Weis | 2005 to 2009 | 35, 27 | None |
| Tyrone Willingham | 2002 to 2004 | 21, 15 | None |
| Bob Davie | 1997 to 2001 | 35, 25 | None |
| Lou Holtz | 1986 to 1996 | 100, 30, 2 | One, 1988 |
| Gerry Faust | 1981 to 1985 | 30, 26, 1 | None |
| Dan Devine | 1975 to 1980 | 53, 16, 1 | One, 1977 |
| Ara Parseghian | 1964 to 1974 | 95, 17, 4 | Two, 1966 and 1973 |
| Hugh Devore | 1945, 1963 | 9, 9, 1 | Interim, twice |
| Joe Kuharich | 1959 to 1962 | 17, 23 | None |
| Terry Brennan | 1954 to 1958 | 32, 18 | None |
| Frank Leahy | 1941 to 1943, 1946 to 1953 | 87, 11, 9 | Four, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949 |
| Ed McKeever | 1944 | 8, 2 | Interim |
| Elmer Layden | 1934 to 1940 | 47, 13, 3 | None |
| Hunk Anderson | 1931 to 1933 | 16, 9, 2 | None |
| Knute Rockne | 1918 to 1930 | 105, 12, 5 | Three, 1924, 1929, 1930 |
| Jesse Harper | 1913 to 1917 | 34, 5, 1 | None |
The Early Coaches
| Coach | Seasons | Record |
|---|---|---|
| John Marks | 1911 to 1912 | 13, 0, 2 |
| Frank Longman | 1909 to 1910 | 11, 1, 2 |
| Victor Place | 1908 | 8, 1 |
| Thomas Barry | 1906 to 1907 | 12, 1, 1 |
| Henry McGlew | 1905 | 5, 4 |
| Louis Salmon | 1904 | 5, 3 |
| James Faragher | 1902 to 1903 | 6, 2, 1 |
| Patrick O’Dea | 1900 to 1901 | 14, 4, 2 |
| James McWeeney | 1899 | 6, 3, 1 |
| Frank Hering | 1896 to 1898 | 12, 6, 1 |
| H.G. Hadden | 1895 | 3, 1 |
| James Morrison | 1894 | 3, 1, 1 |
Notre Dame played without a head coach from 1887 to 1893, going 7, 4 and 1. Frank Hering is regarded as the program’s first true coach.
Knute Rockne, 1918 to 1930
Rockne’s .881 winning percentage is the highest of any coach in the history of the sport. He went 105, 12 and 5 across thirteen seasons, won three national championships, produced the Four Horsemen and George Gipp, and popularised the forward pass. He died in a plane crash in Kansas in March 1931 at 43, months after his final championship, and the stadium he designed opened the year before. Our Notre Dame Stadium page covers that.
Frank Leahy, 1941 to 1953
Leahy won four national championships in a seven year stretch and finished 87, 11 and 9, with a .855 winning percentage that is second only to Rockne among coaches with more than a handful of seasons. His tenure was interrupted by two years of naval service during the war, and his 1946 to 1949 teams went 36 games without a loss. Four of his players won the Heisman.
Ara Parseghian, 1964 to 1974
Parseghian inherited a program that had gone 2 and 7 the previous year and finished 9 and 1 in his first season, then won titles in 1966 and 1973. He ended the 44 year bowl ban in 1969 and went 95, 17 and 4. The 1973 Sugar Bowl over Alabama, won 24 to 23, decided his second championship.
Lou Holtz, 1986 to 1996
Holtz won 100 games in eleven seasons and the 1988 national championship, and his teams won 23 straight between 1988 and 1989. He is the last Notre Dame coach to win a title, and the gap since has now reached 37 years.
Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman
Kelly won 113 games in twelve seasons, more than any Notre Dame coach on the field, though the NCAA vacated 21 of them from 2012 and 2013 over academic violations. He reached the 2012 BCS championship game and the 2018 and 2020 playoffs, and left for LSU in November 2021 with the team ranked in the top ten.
Freeman, his defensive coordinator, was promoted within days. He is 43 and 12 across four full seasons, took Notre Dame to the 2024 national championship game with three playoff wins, and went 10 and 2 in 2025. That team missed the twelve team playoff and declined a bowl invitation rather than play a lesser game, which drew criticism. Notre Dame opens 2026 ranked fourth.
The Bottom Line
Notre Dame has had more than two dozen head coaches, and five of them won all eleven of the program’s claimed national championships: Rockne three, Leahy four, Parseghian two, Devine one and Holtz one. Rockne’s .881 remains the best winning percentage in college football history. Marcus Freeman is in his fifth season at 43 and 12. Our Notre Dame national championships page covers every title.