Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 0-2
1973Liberty BowlL 18-31
1981Hall of Fame ClassicL 0-10Stats
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.
6-2 against his rivals at Kansas. Just 1-2 against Eddie Crowder.
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.
4-4 against his rivals at Kansas. Winless in 4 tries against Barry Switzer.
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.
10-6 against his rivals. Winless in 6 tries against Barry Switzer.
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 (1971-1982) 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. 2 went in the first round.
At least 19 — his 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | R2.24 | Wayne Capers | Wide Receiver |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R7.17 | Greg Smith | Defensive Tackle |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.10 | David Verser | Wide Receiver |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1980 | R2.03 | Kirby Criswell | Linebacker |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1980 | R3.14 | LeRoy Irvin | Defensive Back |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1980 | R5.13 | Jim Zidd | Linebacker |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.14 | Emmett Edwards | Wide Receiver |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.25 | Bruce Adams | Wide Receiver |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | R5.25 | Robert Miller | Running Back | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1975 | R6.13 | Steve Towle | Linebacker |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1975 | R6.19 | Mike Lemon | Linebacker |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1974 | R1.15 | Don Goode | Linebacker |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R2.23 | Delvin Williams | Running Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R3.11 | Mitch Sutton | Defensive Tackle |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1974 | R3.14 | David Jaynes | Quarterback | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1973 | R3.24 | Roger Bernhardt | Offensive Guard | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R4.05 | Gery Palmer | Offensive Tackle |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1972 | R5.16 | Bob Childs | Offensive Guard | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1972 | R7.02 | Steve Conley | Linebacker | Cincinnati Bengals | 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
6th-best Kansas tenure of 21 by the numbers.
Followed Pepper Rodgers (1967–1970) · succeeded by Bud Moore (1975–1978) · returned in 1979 · succeeded by Mike Gottfried (1983–1985).
| Season | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||
| Record | 4-7 | 4-7 | 7-4-1 | 4-7 | 3-8 | 4-5-2 | 8-4 | 2-7-2 | |
| Postseason | — | — | 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.
-3.0 pts at Kansas · #887 of 1290 · middle half