All time winningest coach?

[Boilermaker]

Just dawned on me how very real the possibility is of Coach Painter, 53, retiring as the all time winningest coach in the Big 10 (Izzo, 68, is currently #1 and will likely have low to mid 700’s wins when he hangs it up). Depending on how long he stays in the game, Matt may crack the NCAA all time top 10 men’s coaches in total wins (currently, 829 wins would put him #10). For reference, RMK had 902 career wins (#6 all time) in 42 seasons, a per year win average below CMP’s.

Matt currently has 427 Big 10 wins, and 452 overall in his 19.5 years as a head coach (18.5 in the Big 10). I know there are plenty who criticize or second guess him, and it’s not without merit, but we likely have a future hall of fame inductee that we get to call coach (I’m assuming at least one FF run). Something to keep in mind when thoughts of “who should we hire” come to mind after a rough or unexpected loss (i.e. grass is usually not greener on the other side).

Looking further, I see that Matt also likely finishes his career as the longest tenured head coach in Purdue history. Mean Gene coached Purdue for 25 seasons (493 wins) and “Piggy” Lambert coached 29 seasons (371 wins).

Wouldn’t be surprised if something significant on campus gets named after him waaaay down the road.

 

[Woodsa]

Only fitting that it would.

 

[rgarlitz]

It would be cool to see Painter on top of that list. But it's also a relative stat. Regular seasons were only about 25 games when Knight started coaching and fewer than 20 in Lambert's day. Also no B1G Tournament before '98.

 

[Boilermaker]

It would be cool to see Painter on top of that list. But it's also a relative stat. Regular seasons were only about 25 games when Knight started coaching and fewer than 20 in Lambert's day.

Yeah, totally get that part of it. There are other considerations that make the following stat also a bit apples to oranges, but win percentage is a better gage of relative performance.

Keady .684
Knight .709
Lambert .709
Painter .689

 

[Schmedly_Whiplash]

Matt was 35? when he took over. Or there abouts. Izzo didnt' get hc job till he was 40 I think.

 

[boilerzz]

Paint can tie Lou Doo for 5th on the B1G games only win list with 2 wins this week.

 

[RDUBoiler]

Yeah, totally get that part of it. There are other considerations that make the following stat also a bit apples to oranges, but win percentage is a better gage of relative performance.

Keady .684
Knight .709
Lambert .709
Painter .689

He's ahead of Keady there and not far behind Knight and Lambert. I bet his winning percentage continues to improve, especially with his recent recruiting successes. Still, even with a similar winning percentage, longer seasons and post-season tournaments can help him accumulate wins more quickly than past caoches. Wouldn't be surprised to see him finish pretty high on the all-time wins list, depending on how long he wants to coach.