The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Foge Fazio

Followed Jackie Sherrill. Foge Fazio inherited a Blue Blood Pittsburgh and won with it.

25–18

1982–1985 · 1 stint

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.

Reached Blue Blood in his 1st career season — faster than 59% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #1 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Pittsburgh, 4 seasons

−5.6

Blue Blood → 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.

2–4 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Don Nehlen.

Rivalry record

2–4–2

25.0% · 2 rivals

One-score games

9–9–3

42.9% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

2–5

28.6%

Rivalry ledger

West Virginia1–2–125%

Penn State1–2–125%

The toughest matchup

vs. Don Nehlen1–2–1

4 meetings, 1982–1985

’82 W’83 L’84 L’85 T

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

2–5 28.6%

Power Program

4–5 44.4%

National Program

10–7 58.8%

Regional Program

9–1 90.0%

Coaching career

1982–1985

Pittsburghinheritor

Blue Blood → Blue Blood

Foge Fazio inherited a Blue Blood Pittsburgh and won with it.

1st-best Pittsburgh tenure of 23 by the numbers.

Followed Jackie Sherrill (1977–1981) · succeeded by Mike Gottfried (1986–1989).

17 NFL Draft picks: Emil Boures (1982), Jimbo Covert (1983), Tim Lewis (1983), Dan Marino (1983), Bryan Thomas (1983), Dave Puzzuoli (1983), Ron Sams (1983), Bill Maas (1984) + 9 more

25–18