Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 8-6
Pittsburgh’77W’78L’79W’80W’81WTexas A&M’85W’86L’87WMississippi State’91L’92L’94L’98L’99W’00W
Show all 14 games
1977Gator BowlW 34-3
1978Tangerine BowlL 17-30
1979Fiesta BowlW 16-10
1980Gator BowlW 37-9
1981Sugar BowlW 24-20
Texas A&M
1985Cotton Bowl ClassicW 36-16
1986Cotton Bowl ClassicL 12-28
1987Cotton Bowl ClassicW 35-10Mississippi State
1991Liberty BowlL 15-38
1992Peach BowlL 17-21
1994Peach BowlL 24-28
1998Cotton Bowl ClassicL 11-38
1999Peach BowlW 17-7
2000Independence BowlW 43-41Stats
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.
0-1 against his rivals at Washington State.
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.
7-3 against his rivals at Pittsburgh. Just 2-3 against Joe Paterno.
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.
5-5 against his rivals at Texas A&M. Just 1-3 against Jerry Moore.
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.
7-6 against his rivals at Mississippi State. Just 1-5 against Houston Nutt.
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.
19-15 against his rivals. Just 1-5 against Houston Nutt.
Building the roster
Four numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Washington State→
Pittsburgh1977Pittsburgh→
Texas A&M1982Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1991-2003) 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.
Where he recruits
is his biggest recruiting state: 23 of 34 signees (68%) across his 2001–2003 classes on record (his tenure ran 1991–2003), drawn from 7 states in all. Next: GA (3).
79% of his signees come from MS and its 4 border states (AL 2, TN 2).
Off this map: 3 signees to the west (TX 2, KS) and 2 to the east (FL, GA).
The map counts signed recruits across his tenure; the distance figures cover his current roster, transfers and walk-ons included. Two different groups, kept separate on purpose.
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.
At least 33 — the draft class following his 1995 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1991, 1992 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | R4.24 | Justin Griffith | Running Back |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 2003 | R5.21 | Donald Lee | Tight End |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 2003 | R7.14 | Mario Haggan | Linebacker |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 2002 | R3.31 | Dorsett Davis | Defensive Tackle |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 2001 | R2.14 | Fred Smoot | Defensive Back |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 2001 | R3.31 | Willie Blade | Defensive Tackle |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 2001 | R4.33 | Floyd Womack | Offensive Tackle |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 2001 | R6.20 | Ellis Wyms | Defensive End |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | R4.26 | Alvin McKinley | Defensive Tackle |  Carolina Panthers | Estimated |
| 2000 | R5.04 | Robert Bean | Defensive Back |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 2000 | R6.24 | John Hilliard | Defensive Tackle | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 2000 | R7.31 | Wes Shivers | Offensive Tackle |  Tennessee Titans | Estimated |
| 1999 | R2.08 | James Johnson | Running Back |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1999 | R2.11 | Reggie Kelly | Tight End |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1999 | R2.26 | Randy Thomas | Offensive Guard |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1999 | R6.37 | Dennis McKinley | Running Back |  Arizona Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1998 | R2.31 | Eric Brown | Defensive Back |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1998 | R3.07 | Robert Hicks | Offensive Tackle | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1998 | R4.28 | Greg Favors | Linebacker |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1997 | R3.36 | Brent Smith | Offensive Tackle | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1997 | R4.06 | Terry Day | Defensive End |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1995 | R2.27 | Kendell Watkins | Tight End |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1995 | R2.30 | Jesse James | Offensive Tackle |  St. Louis Rams | Estimated |
| 1995 | R4.08 | Melvin Hayes | Offensive Tackle | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1995 | R6.37 | Fred McCrary | Running Back |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1995 | R7.02 | Kevin Bouie | Running Back | Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1995 | R7.16 | Wesley Leasy | Linebacker | Arizona Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1994 | R5.11 | Herman Carroll | Defensive End |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1993 | R4.24 | Kevin Henry | Defensive End |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1993 | R5.13 | Olanda Truitt | Wide Receiver |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1993 | R5.28 | Marc Woodard | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1993 | R7.27 | Willie Harris | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1992 | R4.12 | Keo Coleman | Linebacker | New York Jets | 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.
Builder meaningfully raised a program that wasn't one · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
8th-best Mississippi State tenure of 20 by the numbers.
Followed Rockey Felker (1986–1990) · succeeded by Sylvester Croom (2004–2008).
| Season | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||||
| Record | 7-5 | 7-5 | 3-6-2 | 8-4 | 3-8 | 5-6 | 7-4 | 8-5 | 10-2 | 8-4 | 3-8 | 3-9 | 2-10 | |
| Postseason | L bowl | L bowl | — | L bowl | — | — | — | L bowl | W bowl | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
3rd-best Texas A&M tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Tom Wilson (1979–1981) · succeeded by R.C. Slocum (1989–2002).
| Season | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||
| Record | 5-6 | 5-5-1 | 6-5 | 10-2 | 9-3 | 10-2 | 7-5 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | W bowl | L bowl | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
23 NFL Draft picks: Johnny Hector (1983), Billy Cannon (1984), Jeff Paine (1984), Jeff Fuller (1984), Keith Guthrie (1984), Ray Childress (1985), Matt Darwin (1985), Jimmy Teal (1985) + 15 more
2nd-best Pittsburgh tenure of 23 by the numbers.
Followed Johnny Majors (1973–1976) · succeeded by Foge Fazio (1982–1985).
| Season | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 9-2-1 | 8-4 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 11-1 | |
| Postseason | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | |
21 NFL Draft picks: Randy Holloway (1978), Matt Cavanaugh (1978), Bob Jury (1978), Elliott Walker (1978), Randy Reutershan (1978), Gordon Jones (1979), Walt Brown (1979), Jeff Delaney (1979) + 13 more
Followed Jim Sweeney (1968–1975) · succeeded by Warren Powers (1977).
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
1st all-time at Mississippi State
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+14.4 pts at Pittsburgh · #127 of 1290 · top quarter