List of Nevada Wolf Pack head football coaches
List of head football coaches for the Nevada Wolf Pack
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The Nevada Wolf Pack college football team represents the University of Nevada, Reno as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 28 head coaches, and 1 interim head coach, since it began play during the 1896 season. Since December 2023, Jeff Choate has served as Nevada's head coach.[1]
Six coaches have led Nevada in postseason bowl games or playoffs: Joe Sheeketski, Chris Ault, Jeff Tisdel, Brian Polian, Jay Norvell, and Vai Taua. Four coaches also won conference championships: Brick Mitchell captured two and Jim Aiken one as a member of the Far Western Conference; Ault captured four as a member of the Big Sky Conference, three as a member of the Big West Conference, and two as a member of the Western Athletic Conference; and Tisdel captured two as a member of the Big West.
Ault is the leader in seasons coached, with 28 years as head coach and games coached (343), won (234). F. F. Ellis has the highest winning percentage at 0.800. Ken Wilson has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.167. Of the 28 different head coaches who have led the Wolf Pack, Buck Shaw and Ault have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| 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
| No. | Name | Year(s) | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Taylor | 1896 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | William H. Harrelson | 1897 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | F. F. Ellis | 1898 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.800 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | A. King Dickson | 1899 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | James Hopper | 1900 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0.643 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 6 | Allen Steckle | 1901–1903 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0.412 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 7 | Bruce Shorts | 1904 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 8 | Jack Glascock | 1915–1917 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0.222 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 9 | Ray Courtright | 1919–1923 | 5 | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 0.641 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 10 | Charles F. Erb | 1924 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.438 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 11 | Buck Shaw† | 1925–1928 | 4 | 33 | 10 | 20 | 3 | 0.348 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0.441 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 | George Philbrook | 1929–1931 | 3 | 26 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 0.327 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.591 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Brick Mitchell | 1932–1935 | 4 | 33 | 10 | 20 | 3 | 0.348 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0.533 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Doug Dashiell | 1936–1938 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0.386 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.364 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Jim Aiken | 1939–1946 | 8 | 68 | 38 | 26 | 4 | 0.588 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Joe Sheeketski | 1947–1950 | 4 | 42 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 0.571 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 17 | Jake Lawlor | 1952–1954 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0.375 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Gordon McEachron | 1955–1958 | 4 | 30 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 0.217 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 0.225 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Dick Trachok | 1959–1968 | 10 | 91 | 40 | 48 | 3 | 0.456 | 22 | 28 | 3 | 0.443 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Jerry Scattini | 1969–1975 | 7 | 74 | 37 | 36 | 1 | 0.507 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — |
| 21 | Chris Ault† | 1976–1992 1994–1995 2004–2012 |
17, 2, 9 | 343 | 234 | 108 | 1 | 0.684 | 133 | 53 | 0 | 0.715 | 11 | 15 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | — |
| 22 | Jeff Horton | 1993 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.636 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0.714 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 23 | Jeff Tisdel | 1996–1999 | 4 | 45 | 23 | 22 | — | 0.511 | 13 | 8 | — | 0.619 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 24 | Chris Tormey | 2000–2003 | 4 | 47 | 16 | 31 | — | 0.340 | 12 | 20 | — | 0.375 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 25 | Brian Polian | 2013–2016 | 4 | 50 | 23 | 27 | — | 0.460 | 14 | 18 | — | 0.438 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 26 | Jay Norvell | 2017–2021 | 5 | 59 | 33 | 26 | — | 0.559 | 23 | 17 | — | 0.575 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Int | Vai Taua | 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | .000 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 27 | Ken Wilson | 2022–2023 | 2 | 24 | 4 | 20 | — | 0.167 | 2 | 14 | — | 0.125 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 28 | Jeff Choate | 2024–present | 2 | 25 | 6 | 19 | — | 0.240 | 2 | 13 | — | 0.133 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- 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.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season.