The Tulane Green Wave college football team represents Tulane University in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Green Wave compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 43 head coaches since it began play during the 1893 season. Since 2026, Will Hall has served as head coach at Tulane.

Thirteen coaches have led Tulane in postseason bowl games: R. R. Brown, Bernie Bierman, Ted Cox, Red Dawson, Jim Pittman, Bennie Ellender, Larry Smith, Vince Gibson, Mack Brown, Chris Scelfo, Curtis Johnson, Willie Fritz, and Jon Sumrall. Six of those coaches also won conference championships: Cox, Dawson, and Henry Frnka each captured one as a member of the Southeastern Conference; Tommy Bowden captured one as a member of Conference USA; and Fritz and Sumrall each captured one as a member of the AAC. In 2025, Sumrall led Tulane to the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth.

Clark Shaughnessy is the leader in seasons coached, with 11 years as head coach and games won with 59. Willie Fritz is the leader in games coached, at 101 games overall. H. T. Summersgill has the highest winning percentage at 0.909. Fred Sweet and Mark Hutson have the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.000. Of the 42 different head coaches who have led the Green Wave, Shaughnessy, Bierman, Claude Simons Jr., and Brown have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Key

Coaches + List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards No. Name Term GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C% PW PL CCs NCs 1 18931895 — — 2 1894 — — — — — — — 3 1896 — — 4 1898 — — 5 1899 — — 6 1900–1901 — — 7 1902 — — 8 1903 — — 9 1904 — — 10 1905 — — 11 1906 — — 12 1907–1908 — — 13 1909 14 1910–1912 15 1913 16 1914 17 1915–19201922–1926 18 1921 19 1927–1931 20 1932–1935 21 1936–1941 22 1942–1945 23 1946–1951 24 1952–1953 25 1954–1961 26 1962–1965 27 1966–1970 — — — — — 28 1971–1975 — — — — — 29 1976–1979 — — — — — 30 1980–1982 — — — — — 31 1983–1984 — — — — — 32 1985–1987 — — — — — 33 1988–1991 — — — — — 34 1992–1996 — 35 1997–1998 — — 36 1998–2006 — — 37 2007–2011 — — 38 2011 — — 39 2012–2015 — — 40 2016–2023 — — 41 2023 — — — — — 42 2024–2025 — — 43 2026–present — —

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