The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Houston Nutt

Followed Ed Orgeron. Houston Nutt moved Ole Miss from National Program III to National Program I in 4 seasons.

Peak, then fade
103–81
1997–2011 · 3 stints
Boise StateArkansasOle Miss
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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 careerBOISE STARKANSASOLE MISSPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelBoise State, 1997: 4-7, Regional Program III1997-3.2Arkansas, 1998: 9-3, National Program II1998Arkansas, 1999: 8-4, National Program IArkansas, 2000: 6-6, National Program IArkansas, 2001: 7-5, National Program IArkansas, 2002: 9-5, National Program IArkansas, 2003: 9-4, Power Program IIIArkansas, 2004: 5-6, Power Program IIIArkansas, 2005: 4-7, Power Program IIIArkansas, 2006: 10-4, Power Program IIIArkansas, 2007: 8-4, Power Program III2007+11.9Ole Miss, 2008: 9-4, National Program II2008Ole Miss, 2009: 9-4, National Program IOle Miss, 2010: 4-8, National Program IIOle Miss, 2011: 2-10, National Program II2011+7.4One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 7th career season — faster than 21% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #297 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Arkansas, 10 seasons
+11.9
National Program II → Power Program III.
Ole Miss, 4 seasons
+7.4
National Program II → National Program II.

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.

11–12 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against Mark Richt.

Rivalry record
11–12
47.8% · 5 rivals
One-score games
28–32
46.7% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
1–2
33.3%
Rivalry ledger
LSU6–843%
Mississippi State1–325%
Missouri1–150%
Memphis2–0100%
Idaho1–0100%
The toughest matchup
vs. Mark Richt0–5
5 meetings, 2001–2011
’01 L’02 L’04 L’05 L’11 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
Dynasty
1–2 33.3%
Blue Blood
6–19 24.0%
Power Program
19–27 41.3%
National Program
25–18 58.1%
Regional Program
41–13 75.9%

Coaching career

2008–2011
Ole Misscaretaker
National Program III → National Program I
Houston Nutt moved Ole Miss from National Program III to National Program I in 4 seasons.

10th-best Ole Miss tenure of 17 by the numbers.

Followed Ed Orgeron (2005–2007) · succeeded by Hugh Freeze (2012–2016).

Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Running back from high school
100%
#196 of 208 stints
Grows Interior line from high school
100%
#198 of 224 stints

10 NFL Draft picks: Michael Oher (2009), Peria Jerry (2009), Mike Wallace (2009), Jamarca Sanford (2009), Dexter McCluster (2010), John Jerry (2010), Kendrick Lewis (2010), Greg Hardy (2010) + 2 more

24–26
1998–2007
Arkansascaretakerborderline
National Program II → Power Program III
Houston Nutt moved Arkansas from National Program II to Power Program III in 10 seasons.

8th-best Arkansas tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Danny Ford (1993–1997) · succeeded by Bobby Petrino (2008–2025).

33 NFL Draft picks: David Sanders (1998), Brandon Burlsworth (1999), Melvin Bradley (1999), Madre Hill (1999), Ryan Hale (1999), Kenoy Kennedy (2000), Bobbie Williams (2000), David Barrett (2000) + 25 more

75–48
1997–1997
Boise Statecaretaker
Regional Program II → Regional Program III
Houston Nutt slid Boise State from Regional Program II to Regional Program III in 1 season.

9th-best Boise State tenure of 9 by the numbers.

Followed Pokey Allen (1996–1996) · succeeded by Dirk Koetter (1998–2000).

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