JACKSON, Miss. – Two former Jackson State head football coaches, "Big John" Merritt and W.C. Gorden earned their rightful place in ESPN's Top 150 list of the greatest college football coaches of all time.
 
Merritt is ranked No. 71 and Gorden comes in at No. 145.
 
Merritt coached at JSU from 1952-62 and accumulated a 63-37-5 record while winning one Midwest Athletic Association championship (1957) and two Southwestern Athletic Conference championships (1961, 1962). In Merritt's final season, the Tigers claimed its first HBCU national championship. His final two teams also went a combined 19-3.
 
Gorden led the Tigers from 1976 to 1991 and guided the Tigers to eight SWAC championships and nine NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearances. Gorden also brought the university its second HBCU national championship in 1985. He finished his storied career with a 119-48-5 overall record and was a six-time SWAC Coach of the Year. Gorden was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 1994 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.