Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 7-5-1
Alabama’70T’71L’72L’73L’74L’75W’76W’77W’78W’79W’80W’81L’82W
Show all 13 games
1970Bluebonnet BowlT 24-24
1971Orange BowlL 6-38
1972Cotton Bowl ClassicL 13-17
1973Sugar BowlL 23-24ND1974Orange BowlL 11-131975Sugar BowlW 13-6
1976Liberty BowlW 36-61977Sugar BowlW 35-6
1978Sugar BowlW 14-71979Sugar BowlW 24-9
BAY1980Cotton Bowl ClassicW 30-21981Cotton Bowl ClassicL 12-14
1982Liberty BowlW 21-15Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
1-5 against his rivals at Kentucky. Winless in 7 tries against Bob Neyland.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
3-3 against his rivals at Texas A&M. Just 1-2 against Edwin Price.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
51-17 against his rivals at Alabama. Winless in 3 tries against Dan Devine.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
55-25 against his rivals. Winless in 7 tries against Bob Neyland.
Building the roster
Three numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Maryland→
Kentucky1946Kentucky→
Texas A&M1954Texas A&M→
Alabama1958Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1958-1982) predates 2021, when transfer-portal tracking begins in this database. Portal usage cannot be measured for this tenure at all -- this is not the same as '0% portal'.
“His own” means the player arrived while he was head coach; “inherited” means a predecessor brought him in.
The NFL pipeline
The NFL pipeline
players drafted into the NFL off his teams here (a floor — see the note below). None can be traced to who brought them in — there’s no roster record for these players here. 14 went in the first round.
At least 49 — his 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 seasons predate the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for those seasons.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | R1.16 | Mike Pitts | Defensive Tackle |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.16 | Jeremiah Castille | Defensive Back |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.09 | Steve Mott | Center |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1982 | R3.10 | Benny Perrin | Defensive Back |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.05 | E.J. Junior | Linebacker | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1981 | R5.06 | Byron Braggs | Defensive Tackle |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1981 | R7.14 | Billy Jackson | Running Back |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1980 | R1.21 | Don McNeal | Defensive Back |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | R2.20 | Dwight Stephenson | Center | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1980 | R6.25 | Wayne Hamilton | Linebacker |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R7.04 | Buddy Aydelette | Offensive Tackle | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R1.06 | Barry Krauss | Linebacker |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1979 | R1.14 | Marty Lyons | Defensive End |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1979 | R3.05 | Tony Nathan | Running Back |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1979 | R7.19 | Rich Wingo | Linebacker |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.18 | Bob Cryder | Offensive Guard |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.23 | Ozzie Newsome | Tight End |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1978 | R2.02 | Johnny Davis | Running Back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1977 | R2.12 | Bob Baumhower | Defensive Tackle | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1977 | R3.01 | Charles Hannah | Defensive End | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1977 | R6.20 | Paul Harris | Linebacker |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R1.06 | Richard Todd | Quarterback |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1976 | R4.16 | Wayne Rhodes | Defensive Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1976 | R5.07 | Woodrow Lowe | Linebacker | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R5.14 | Willie Shelby | Running Back |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1975 | R3.01 | Mike Washington | Defensive Back |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1974 | R1.09 | Wilbur Jackson | Running Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R3.02 | Wayne Wheeler | Wide Receiver | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1974 | R6.08 | Mike Raines | Defensive Tackle | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R1.04 | John Hannah | Offensive Guard | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1973 | R7.18 | John Mitchell | Linebacker | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1972 | R3.10 | Johnny Musso | Running Back | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.10 | Scott Hunter | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.20 | Dennis Homan | Wide Receiver |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1968 | R2.25 | Ken Stabler | Quarterback |  Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1967 | R1.26 | Les Kelley | Linebacker |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1967 | R4.02 | Louis Thompson | Defensive Tackle |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1967 | R4.11 | Wayne Trimble | Defensive Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1966 | R7.103 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R1.12 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R3.39 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R5.57 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R5.64 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R1.06 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R2.24 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R3.32 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R4.42 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R5.68 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R7.67 | Estimated |
A pick counts toward his tenure when the player’s final college season was one he coached, a checkable rule rather than a claim about who developed the player. A blank note means the player is on a verified roster and arrived on his watch. “Estimated” means no roster record, so the final season is assumed to be the year before the draft.
Career
Coaching career
The arc of his career is on Now.
Transformer raised the program into the sport's top tier, or higher within it · Builder meaningfully raised a program that wasn't one · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
2nd-best Alabama tenure of 12 by the numbers.
Followed Ears Whitworth (1955–1957) · succeeded by Ray Perkins (1983–1986).
| Season | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Record | 5-4-1 | 7-2-2 | 8-1-2 | 11-0 | 10-1 | 9-2 | 10-1 | 9-1-1 | 11-0 | 8-2-1 | 8-3 | 6-5 | 6-5-1 | 11-1 | 10-2 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 9-3 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 12-0 | 10-2 | 9-2-1 | 8-4 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Offense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Defense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
8th-best Texas A&M tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Ray George (1951–1953) · succeeded by Jim Myers (1958–1961).
1st-best Kentucky tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Bernie Shively (1945) · succeeded by Blanton Collier (1954–1961).
Followed Clarence Spears (1943–1944) · succeeded by Clark Shaughnessy (1946).
Selector agreement
The AP and Coaches’ polls split on the national champion in 3 seasons of this coach’s career — shown as each selector’s own pick, not a single consensus title.
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
3rd all-time in FBS wins
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+55.8 pts at Alabama · #3 of 1290 · top quarter