Major Coaching Awards
Major Coaching Award Winners at Penn State—
AFCA Coach the Year (since 1935/has also been known as Kodak Coach of the Year)—Joe Paterno 1968, 1978, 1982, 1986, & 2005
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (since 1976)—Joe Paterno 1981 & 2005—Joe was honored, with Sue Paterno present along with other Dodd award winners, at the 2023 Peach Bowl
Paul Bear Bryant Coach of the Year (since 1986)—Joe Paterno 1986 (inaugural award), Bill O’Brien 2012
AP College Football Coach of the Year (since 1998)—Joe Paterno 2005
FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (since 1957/renamed 1997)—Joe Paterno 1978, 1982, & 1986
Maxwell Club George Munger Award (since 1989)—Joe Paterno 1990, 1994, & 2005, Bill O’Brien 2012—Award was briefly renamed for Paterno in 2010 (Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech was the recipient), but the Munger name was reinstated in 2011 in aftermath of Sandusky scandal
Woody Hayes Trophy (presented by the Columbus Touchdown Club 1977-2018)—Joe Paterno 1978, 1982, 1986, & 2005, James Franklin 2016
ESPN/ABC Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (since 1994)—Joe Paterno 2005
The Sporting News Coach of the Year (since 1963)—Joe Paterno 2005, James Franklin 2016
Walter Camp Coach of the Year (since 1967)—Joe Paterno 1972, 1994, & 2005
Chevrolet Coach of the Year (award now defunct)—Joe Paterno 1978
Big Ten Coach of the Year (since 1972/presented under various names)—Joe Paterno 1994, 2005, & 2008, Bill O’Brien 2012, James Franklin 2016 (Media selection)
Coaching Championships at Penn State—
National Championships (Consensus)—Joe Paterno 1982 & 1986
National Championships (NCAA Recognized Selectors)—Bill Hollenback 1911 & 1912, Joe Paterno 1969, 1981, 1982, 1986, & 1994
Big Ten Championships—Joe Paterno 1994, 2005, & 2008, James Franklin 2016
Lambert Trophy/Eastern Championships (total trophies won)—Bob Higgins (1), Rip Engle (3), Joe Paterno (24), Bill O’Brien (1), James Franklin (6)
Other PSU Coaching Honors—
PSU Coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame—Bill Hollenback (officially elected as a player at UPenn), Dick Harlow, Hugo Bezdek, Bob Higgins, Rip Engle, & Joe Paterno (all 5 coaches other than Paterno were head coaches at multiple colleges)
PSU Coaches in Bowl Halls of Fame—Hugo Bezdek (Rose), Joe Paterno (Orange & Gator)
Coaching Honors for former Penn State players at other schools—
AFCA Coach of the Year (since 1935)—Dick Harlow 1936 Harvard (also former PS head coach 1915-17), Greg Gattuso 2023 Univ. of Albany (FCS award/since 1983)
The Sporting News Coach of the Year (since 1963)—Matt Rhule 2019 Baylor
Nittany Notes:
Joe Paterno was a 5-time winner of the AFCA Coach of the Year Award (aka Kodak Coach of the Year) based on voting by his coaching peers in the American Football Coaches Association. Interestingly (through 2025 season), Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden, Ryan Day, and Urban Meyer never won this award in their careers, to date. For the record, Bear Bryant won it on three occasions and Curt Cignetti of Indiana won it back-to-back in 2024 & ‘25 (the only one to do it, so far).
Joe was named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year on 2 occasions. He and Bill Snyder of Kansas State (1998 & 2012) are the only coaches to have won this award more than once.
Paterno also won the first ever Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award in 1986. It was his only win. For the record, Nick Saban won it twice including once each at LSU & Alabama, and Dabo Swinney of Clemson is the lone 3-time winner. (Bill O’Brien won this award at PSU in 2012)