The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Johnny Griffith

Followed Wallace Butts. Johnny Griffith held Georgia at Power Program III for 3 seasons.

10–16

1961–1963 · 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 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).

Georgia, 3 seasons

−9.3

Power Program III → National 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.

3–8 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Bear Bryant.

Rivalry record

3–8–1

25.0% · 4 rivals

One-score games

5–5–4

35.7% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

0–2

0.0%

Rivalry ledger

South Carolina2–0–167%

Florida0–30%

Auburn1–233%

Georgia Tech0–30%

The toughest matchup

vs. Bear Bryant0–3

3 meetings, 1961–1963

’61 L’62 L’63 L

0% win rate across a real, 3-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

0–2 0.0%

Power Program

4–7 36.4%

National Program

2–5 28.6%

Regional Program

4–2 66.7%

Coaching career

1961–1963

Georgiacaretaker

Power Program III → Power Program III

Johnny Griffith held Georgia at Power Program III for 3 seasons.

7th-best Georgia tenure of 9 by the numbers.

Followed Wallace Butts (1939–1960) · succeeded by Vince Dooley (1964–1988).

10–16