The Florida A&M Rattlers college football team represents Florida A&M University in the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The program has had 19 head coaches, and 1 interim head coach, since it began play during the 1907 season. Since January 2024, James Colzie III has served as Florida A&M's head coach.[1]
Six coaches have led Florida A&M in postseason bowl games: William M. Bell, Jake Gaither, Rudy Hubbard, Ken Riley, Billy Joe, and Willie Simmons. Seven coaches also won conference championships: Gaither captured twenty, Bell three, and Hubbard two, as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Joe captured five, Riley two, and Taylor one as a member of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference; Simmons captured one as a member of the SWAC. Gaither captured eight and Bell and Hubbard both captured two black college football national championships. Gaither also won the 1962 AP small college national championship and Hubbard won the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football national championship.
Gaither is the leader in seasons coached, with 25 years as head coach and games coached (244), won (204), and highest winning percentage at .844. Jazz Byrd has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .222. Of the 19 different head coaches who have led the Rattlers, Gaither, Hubbard, Joe, and Joe Taylor have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
edit| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | 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[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
edit| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jubie Bragg | 1907–1909 1920–1925 1930–1932 |
29 | 9 | 17 | 3 | 0.362 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0.118 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Jazz Byrd | 1926–1929 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 0.222 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0.083 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Ted A. Wright | 1933 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.667 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.667 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Eugene J. Bragg | 1934–1935 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0.500 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | William M. Bell | 1936–1942 | 61 | 46 | 9 | 6 | 0.803 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0.833 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 2 – 1938 1942 |
— |
| 6 | Herman Nielson | 1943–1944 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0.529 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0.857 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Jake Gaither† | 1945–1969 | 244 | 204 | 36 | 4 | 0.844 | 119 | 3 | 0 | 0.975 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 8 – 1950 1952 1953 1954 1957 1959 1961 1962 |
NAIA Coach of the Year (1969) |
| 8 | Pete Griffin | 1970 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.500 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Clarence Montgomery | 1971 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.545 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Big Jim Williams | 1972–1973 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0.455 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0.625 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Rudy Hubbard† | 1974–1985 | 134 | 83 | 48 | 3 | 0.631 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0.763 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 – 1977 1978 |
— |
| 12 | Ken Riley | 1986–1993 | 87 | 45 | 40 | 2 | 0.529 | 23 | 13 | 0 | 0.639 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Billy Joe† | 1994–2004 | 132 | 86 | 46 | 0 | 0.652 | 56 | 17 | 0 | 0.767 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Rubin Carter | 2005–2007 | 33 | 16 | 17 | — | 0.485 | 12 | 14 | — | 0.462 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Joe Taylor† | 2008–2012 | 54 | 35 | 19 | — | 0.648 | 26 | 12 | — | 0.684 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Earl Holmes | 2012–2014 | 22 | 6 | 16 | — | 0.273 | 5 | 9 | — | 0.357 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Int | Corey Fuller [A 6] |
2014 | 4 | 1 | 3 | — | 0.250 | 1 | 3 | — | 0.250 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Alex Wood | 2015–2017 | 33 | 8 | 25 | — | 0.242 | 7 | 17 | — | 0.292 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Willie Simmons | 2018–2023 | 58 | 45 | 13 | — | 0.776 | 32 | 5 | — | 0.865 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 19 | James Colzie III | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
edit- ^ 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.[2]
- ^ 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.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- ^ Corey Fuller was named interim head coach after Earl Holmes was fired as head coach after a 2–6 start to the season.[5]
References
edit- ^ Mire, Tommy (January 30, 2024). "FAMU promotes former FSU football standout James Colzie as next head coach". SI.com. Retrieved September 28, 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.
- ^ "Florida A&M fires Earl Holmes". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 29, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics; Florida A&M; Football; Year By Year History". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Florida A&M 2022 Media Guide" (PDF). Florida A&M University. p. 86. Retrieved October 24, 2024.