The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Curley Hallman

Followed Mike Archer. Curley Hallman slid LSU from Power Program II to Power Program III in 4 seasons.

The ascent
31–36
1988–1994 · 2 stints
Southern MissLSU
← all coaches

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 careerSOUTHERN MISSLSUPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelSouthern Miss, 1988: 10-2, National Program III1988Southern Miss, 1989: 5-6, National Program III1989+0.0LSU, 1991: 5-6, Power Program III1991LSU, 1992: 2-9, Power Program III1992LSU, 1993: 5-6, National Program I1993LSU, 1994: 4-7, National Program I1994-11.1One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 3rd career season — faster than 46% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #194 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Southern Miss, 2 seasons
+0.0
National Program III → National Program III.
LSU, 4 seasons
−11.1
Power Program III → National Program I.

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.

9–10 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against R.C. Slocum.

Rivalry record
9–10
47.4% · 6 rivals
One-score games
13–12
52.0% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
1–3
25.0%
Rivalry ledger
Texas A&M0–40%
Ole Miss2–250%
Alabama1–325%
Tulane4–0100%
Arkansas1–150%
Louisiana Tech1–0100%
The toughest matchup
vs. R.C. Slocum0–5
5 meetings, 1989–1994
’89 L’91 L’92 L’93 L’94 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
Blue Blood
1–3 25.0%
Power Program
1–20 4.8%
National Program
8–5 61.5%
Regional Program
20–6 76.9%

Coaching career

1991–1994
LSUcaretaker
Power Program II → Power Program III
Curley Hallman slid LSU from Power Program II to Power Program III in 4 seasons.

14th-best LSU tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Mike Archer (1987–1990) · succeeded by Gerry DiNardo (1995–1999).

8 NFL Draft picks: Harvey Williams (1991), Blake Miller (1991), Marc Boutte (1992), Todd Kinchen (1992), Kevin Mawae (1994), Harold Bishop (1994), Rodney Young (1995), Marcus Price (1995)

16–28
1988–1989
Southern Misscaretaker
National Program III → National Program III
Curley Hallman held Southern Miss at National Program III for 2 seasons.

6th-best Southern Miss tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Jim Carmody (1982–1987) · succeeded by Jeff Bower (1990–2007).

1 NFL Draft pick: James Henry (1989)

15–8