Wille Fritz is a coaching superstar without the Power Five identity
Willie Fritz is the college football head coach journalists and college football junkies love.
Fritz has done great work at non-Power Five conference programs, the out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-path coaching stops which don’t receive major national attention.
Lots of us who blog about college football for a living have long felt that lower- or middle-tier Power Five schools in need of a coaching upgrade should have hired Fritz.
No Power Five athletic director has snapped up Fritz yet, however. Tulane is very thankful for that. Fritz, who has coached at Tulane since 2016, has won the AAC championship and the Group of Five title. He has led Tulane to its first New Year’s Six (formerly BCS/Bowl Alliance/Bowl Coalition/New Year’s Day) bowl appearance since the 1940 Sugar Bowl.
Learn more about Tulane’s excellent coach, who will match wits with Lincoln Riley on Jan. 2 in the 2023 Cotton Bowl:
CAREER BIO
Willie Fritz has been coaching college football for quite some time, and here’s his resume as a head coach:
Blinn (Junior college): 1993-1996
Central Missouri: 1997-2009
Sam Houston State: 2010-2013
Georgia Southern: 2014-2015
Tulane: 2016-Now
CAREER RECORD
Willie Fritz has a career record of 196-114 with three bowl victories.
BOWLS AT TULANE
Fritz had taken Tulane to three bowl games before this one: Cure Bowl in 2018, Armed Forces Bowl in 2019, and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2020.
HUGE TURNAROUND
Tulane was 2-10 in 2021, then turned things around big time in 2022 with 11 wins and an AAC title.
STRONG COY ARGUMENT
Looking back over the years of college football, it’s hard to argue there’s any more remarkable turnaround in the history of the sport than what Tulane has done between last year and this year (2-10 to 11-2).
Hand Willie Fritz national coach of the year.
— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) December 4, 2022
OVER 80 YEARS
Really happy for Willie Fritz and Tulane, the type of story that makes college football so great. They’ll play in the Cotton Bowl, the school’s first major bowl since 1939.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 4, 2022
DOING IT ALL
In the last few days, Willie Fritz:
✅ Won a conference title
✅ Told Georgia Tech they’re a bunch of broke boys
✅ Locked down Tulane’s first major bowl appearance in 83 yearsWhat a week.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 4, 2022
24 YEARS
Tulane wins its first conference championship since 1998 and will go to a major bowl game for the first time since the 1939 season.
Willie Fritz kept building and building and finally kicks down the door with this 11-2 record and AAC title. What a run for the Green Wave.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 4, 2022
SUPREME
Incredible turnaround. Amazing job by Willie Fritz and co. https://t.co/l5YhuNfnaV
— College Sports Superfan (@eisner_ryan) December 4, 2022
GREAT GUY
Official.
Willie Fritz is one of the best people I’ve ever worked with and something always seemed amiss with this — absolutely never struck me as someone who would leave his team in the midst of a historic season with an upcoming AAC championship and potential NY6 bowl. https://t.co/wyecbcj49J
— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) November 29, 2022
SELECT GROUP
Incredible stuff from Tulane this season. They are only the sixth FBS team to go from 2 wins to double-digit wins in a one year span. Plus they are conference champions!
Great stuff from Willie Fritz and his staff, as well as the entire roster. https://t.co/TdSSQt9iMT
— Hunter Haas. (@NFLDraftHaas) December 4, 2022
TRUTH
“The greatest turnaround story in college football will continue at the Cotton Bowl.”
Well captured, @DavePasch. Awesome scene in New Orleans. What a turnaround for Willie Fritz and Tulane this year.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 4, 2022
REMARKABLE MOMENT
What an incredible season for Willie Fritz and has squad at Tulane. The vibe at Yulman today was unlike ever before. So happy for all involved.
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) December 4, 2022
UNDENIABLE
We’re proud to share our Coach of the Week…
Willie Fritz 🌊
The Tulane program enjoyed quite the season in 2022 and we hope every moment was cherished. @CoachWEFritz has brought this program a very long way as he climbed the mountain and defied the odds! 🥲 pic.twitter.com/igELHlfCpE
— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) November 27, 2022
GOING THE DISTANCE
Fritz made two FCS national championship game appearances at Sam Houston State. He is no stranger to big-game January football.
BEFORE CLAY HELTON
Helton has Georgia Southern in a bowl game with a 6-6 record, but that’s nothing compared to Fritz’s 9-3 season with Georgia Southern in 2014. The Eagles went a perfect 8-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, finishing first.
HISTORY
Fritz made bowl games in three consecutive seasons at Tulane. No other Tulane coach has ever done that.
