Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 1-0
1974Sun BowlW 26-24Stats
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.
3-3 against his rivals at Mississippi State. Winless in 6 tries against Bear Bryant.
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.
3-3 against his rivals. Winless in 6 tries against Bear Bryant.
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 (1981-1981) 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 2 — his 1981 season predates the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for that season.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | R4.17 | Louis Haynes | Linebacker | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1982 | R5.03 | Tony Elliott | Defensive End | 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.
Builder meaningfully raised a program that wasn't one · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
Followed Jerry Moore (1979–1980) · succeeded by Corky Nelson (1982).
15th-best Mississippi State tenure of 20 by the numbers.
Followed Charles Shira (1967–1972) · succeeded by Emory Bellard (1979–1985).
| Season | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||
| Record | 4-5-2 | 9-3 | 6-4-1 | 9-2 | 5-6 | 6-5 | |
| Postseason | — | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
9 NFL Draft picks: Wayne Jones (1974), Jimmy Webb (1975), Steve Freeman (1975), Jim Eidson (1976), Larry Buie (1976), Stan Black (1977), Dennis Johnson (1978), Bruce Threadgill (1978) + 1 more
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+13.9 pts at Mississippi State · #135 of 1290 · top quarter
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints