Bill Snyder vs. Tom Osborne - Who's the better coach?

ESPY

ESPY

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I think we all know what Bill Snyder has done since returning as K-State's head coach is nothing short of miraculous. How he gets that team from where they were after he left to where they are now is just baffling to me, especially considering K-State is nowhere near the top when it comes to recruiting.

I'm not K-State backer by any means, but I'd like to think I recognize an outstanding coach when I see one. And that leads me to the big question of this thread - who is the better coach between Snyder and our own beloved Tom Osborne?

If TO had returned as head coach instead of AD, do you think he could've done what Snyder has done since his return to the sidelines? I'd like to think so, but I'm not so sure. No question Osborne is one of the greatest coaches of all time, but given the situation our program was in b/c of Pedersen/Callahan, could he have taken us to the elite status we all crave so much in the same span of time as Snyder?

 
i think Tom was the better coach between the 2 because he has won or been a part of 5 national championships. i think Tom could have done the same thing...that being said, there are few coaches i admire more than Bill Snyder...T.O. being one of them.

 
You make a decent point when you mention the national titles, but a large part of that was due to the players we had. Obviously a big part of coaching is recruiting to get those players, and in that regard, I would definitely say TO had the edge. The other part is getting those players to buy into the program and win, and that's what I'm wondering about with this thread. Who's better?

 
A better comparison would be Devaney vs Snyder since both inherited bottom feeder programs at the time. In that case, I'd go with Devaney because of these key stats:

-- NU only had 4 winning seasons in 21 years before Devaney's arrival.

-- Bill Jennings (Devaney's predecessor) was HC @ NU for 5 years with these records = 1-9, 3-7, 4-6, 4-6, 3-6-1

-- Devaney's first 5 years @ NU looked like this = 9-2, 10-1, 9-2, 10-1, 9-2

-- In Devaney's 4th year, he had NU in national title contention when they lost to Bama in the Orange Bowl and finished 10-1

-- 2x back-to-back national champions

Snyder's first 5 years @ KSU = 1-10, 5-6, 7-4, 5-6, 9-2-1

However, this doesn't undermine what Snyder has accomplished and I actually admire him as a coach. It's also cool to see one of Osborne's peers having success in today's college football climate.

But to answer your question, yes, I think Osborne could've turned it around had he pulled a Snyder.

 
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I don't have the numbers but I would say the coaching tree from Bill Snyder is longer than the tree from our TO. The Stoops boys, Mark Mangino, Jim Leavitt, and Brett Bielema to name a few. TO may have the same numbers but few have risen to head coaching jobs with success. What amazes me about BS is the fact he has resurrected that program twice and the fact he does it with players no one else recruited for the most part. Aside from the Huskers KSU has been my favorite team for a long time. I would be curious what offense TO would be running had he chosen to come back as a coach.

 
Nexus said:
A better comparison would be Devaney vs Snyder since both inherited bottom feeder programs at the time. In that case, I'd go with Devaney because of these key stats:

-- NU only had 4 winning seasons in 21 years before Devaney's arrival.

-- Bill Jennings (Devaney's predecessor) was HC @ NU for 5 years with these records = 1-9, 3-7, 4-6, 4-6, 3-6-1

-- Devaney's first 5 years @ NU looked like this = 9-2, 10-1, 9-2, 10-1, 9-2

-- In Devaney's 4th year, he had NU in national title contention when they lost to Bama in the Orange Bowl and finished 10-1

-- 2x back-to-back national champions

Snyder's first 5 years @ KSU = 1-10, 5-6, 7-4, 5-6, 9-2-1

However, this doesn't undermine what Snyder has accomplished and I actually admire him as a coach. It's also cool to see one of Osborne's peers having success in today's college football climate.

But to answer your question, yes, I think Osborne could've turned it around had he pulled a Snyder.
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Damn fine post.

TO was great but Devaney was greater imo. Snyder is a great, great coach also especially with little KSU to work with. It's a tough call.....

 
There's no doubt Snyder's record turning around the program, twice, is impressive. But he couldn't even maintain his own momentum, going 4-7 and 5-6 in his last 2 years his first time around. It's unproven whether Osborne could've turned around a bottom feeder like Snyder did. It is proven that Snyder could not keep a program on top for year after year like Osborne did.

 
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The Dude said:
Let the record show that Tom Osborne was 8-0 against Bill Snyder.

This shouldn't even be a topic for discussion.
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about the time osborne retired, is when Snyder came into his own. also, his first 5 years at a ksu program that he'd spent most of my lifetime at 2-10 steadily improved. Tom inherited a good program, snyder did not. what is impressive, by year 5 snyder is 9-2, with his program and recruits coming on line. he is a bad few minutes away from playing for a nc.

I still think Osborne is 1 of the greats of all time(better than snyder) for his NC's and the shear amount of years he coached, the work he has done as AD and even his political contribution, but that was also a differenrt time, snyder has primarily done this in the modern era..., its hard to argue Snyder isn't also becoming a great coach. I dont think he could beat FL or Alabama in a nc because of their athletes,, but he has a solid repeatable process of excellence and a great chess strategist of the game...and btw, im not a fan of KSU

i think if snyder came here 5 years ago, its uncomfortable to contemplate where we'd be right now. he is getting older and learned a lot in lfe, Bo hopefully will be in the same place someday...

 
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