The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bill Doolittle

Followed Merle Schlosser. Bill Doolittle held Western Michigan at Regional Program I for 11 seasons.

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1964–1974 · 1 stint
Western Michigan
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerWESTERN MICHIGANNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelWestern Michigan, 1964: 3-6, Regional Program III1964Western Michigan, 1965: 6-2, Regional Program III1965Western Michigan, 1966: 7-3, Regional Program III1966Western Michigan, 1967: 5-4, Regional Program III1967Western Michigan, 1968: 3-6, Regional Program II1968Western Michigan, 1969: 4-6, Regional Program II1969Western Michigan, 1970: 7-3, Regional Program I1970Western Michigan, 1971: 7-3, Regional Program I1971Western Michigan, 1972: 7-3, Regional Program I1972Western Michigan, 1973: 6-5, Regional Program I1973Western Michigan, 1974: 3-8, Regional Program II1974+2.5One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Western Michigan, 11 seasons
+2.5
Regional Program III → Regional Program II.

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.

Winless in 5 tries against Bill Mallory.

One-score games
16–12–2
53.3% · margin ≤8
The toughest matchup
vs. Bill Mallory0–5
5 meetings, 1969–1973
’69 L’70 L’71 L’72 L’73 L
0% win rate across a real, 5-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
National Program
9–25 26.5%
Regional Program
31–16 66.0%

Coaching career

1964–1974
Western Michigancaretaker
Regional Program I → Regional Program I
Bill Doolittle held Western Michigan at Regional Program I for 11 seasons.

4th-best Western Michigan tenure of 10 by the numbers.

Followed Merle Schlosser (1962–1963) · succeeded by Elliot Uzelac (1975–1981).

3 NFL Draft picks: Bob Rowe (1967), Dale Livingston (1968), Bill Slater (1972)

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