Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 0-3
1984Sugar BowlL 10-28
BAY1985Liberty BowlL 7-211986Sugar BowlL 15-30Stats
Big games
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.
8-1 against his rivals. Nobody he faced three or more times has a winning record against him.
Building the roster
Two numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1984-1986) 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.
At least 11 — his 1984, 1985, 1986 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | R3.03 | Karl Wilson | Defensive End |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1987 | R3.16 | Henry Thomas | Defensive Tackle |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1987 | R3.28 | Michael Brooks | Linebacker |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1987 | R6.19 | Toby Caston | Linebacker |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1987 | R7.16 | Roland Barbay | Defensive Tackle |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1986 | R2.02 | Garry James | Running Back |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1986 | R2.04 | Dalton Hilliard | Running Back |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1985 | R2.27 | Jeff Dale | Defensive Back | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | R3.16 | Lance Smith | Offensive Guard |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1985 | R3.18 | Liffort Hobley | Defensive Back |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1985 | R7.11 | Eric Martin | Wide Receiver | New Orleans Saints | 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.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
12th-best LSU tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Jerry Stovall (1980–1983) · succeeded by Mike Archer (1987–1990).
| Season | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||
| Record | 8-3-1 | 9-2-1 | 9-3 | |
| Postseason | L bowl | L bowl | L 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 | — | — | — | |
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+4.5 pts at LSU · #405 of 1290 · middle half