The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Dana Bible

Followed Jack Chevigny. Dana Bible raised Texas from National Program I to Power Program I.

The builder
70–33
1936–1946 · 2 stints
NebraskaTexas
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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 careerNEBRASKATEXASBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelNebraska, 1936: 7-2, Power Program II1936+0.0Texas, 1937: 2-6, National Program II1937Texas, 1938: 1-8, National Program II1938Texas, 1939: 5-4, National Program III1939Texas, 1940: 8-2, National Program II1940Texas, 1941: 8-1, Power Program III1941Texas, 1942: 9-2, Power Program II1942Texas, 1943: 7-1, Power Program I1943Texas, 1944: 5-4, Power Program I1944Texas, 1945: 10-1, Power Program I1945Texas, 1946: 8-2, Power Program I1946+18.4One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Texas, 10 seasons
+18.4
National Program II → Power 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.

16–4 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Tom Stidham.

Rivalry record
16–4–1
76.2% · 3 rivals
One-score games
19–15–2
52.8% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Oklahoma7–2–170%
Texas A&M8–280%
Texas Tech1–0100%
The toughest matchup
vs. Tom Stidham1–2–1
4 meetings, 1937–1940
’37 T’38 L’39 L’40 W
25% win rate across a real, 4-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
0–1 0.0%
Power Program
20–16 55.6%
National Program
34–12 73.9%
Regional Program
10–2 83.3%

Coaching career

1937–1946
Texasbuilder
National Program I → Power Program I
Dana Bible raised Texas from National Program I to Power Program I.

8th-best Texas tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Followed Jack Chevigny (1936–1936) · succeeded by Blair Cherry (1947–1950).

63–31
1936–1936
Nebraskacaretaker
Power Program II
Dana Bible held Nebraska at Power Program II for 1 season.

8th-best Nebraska tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Biff Jones (1937–1941).

7–2