Texas Football: 10 greatest head coaches all-time for the Longhorns

6. Fred Akers, 1977-1986

Fred Akers is always one of the most difficult head coaches in Texas program history to slot on a list like this. He sure had an impressive resume in terms of longevity with the program and overall win percentage. Akers would post a record 86-31-2 in his decade-long run as the Texas head coach. But his time at Texas will always be punctuated by his 2-7 career bowl record.

Granted, you have to give credit to Akers for putting together three seasons with top-five finishes, with one Heisman winner and 10 consensus All Americans. Akers did get three conference titles and was dominant against Oklahoma and Texas A&M in the first half of his tenure with Texas.

5. Berry Whitaker, 1920-1922

Of all the head coaches in Texas program history that led the Horns for more than one season, none have a better winning percentage than Berry Whitaker. In his three seasons coaching the Longhorns, Whitaker registered a record of 22-3-1 (.865 winning percentage).

Whitaker’s successful run at Texas included an undefeated season in his first year at the helm. In fact, he didn’t lose a single game until roughly a year and a half into his run as the Texas head coach, which came in 1921.

Whitaker is an interesting figure in Texas sports history, albeit for a short period of time. He was the basketball coach prior to taking over as the head football coach. But he would retire from head coaching just three years into his run with the football program as he was apparently too stressed after losses.