The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Larry Smith

Followed Bob Stull. Larry Smith moved Missouri from Regional Program III to Regional Program I in 7 seasons.

Peak, then fade
143–126
1976–2000 · 4 stints
TulaneArizonaUSCMissouri
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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 careerTULANEARIZONAUSCMISSOURIBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelTulane, 1976: 2-9, Regional Program II1976Tulane, 1977: 3-8, Regional Program IITulane, 1978: 4-7, Regional Program IITulane, 1979: 9-3, Regional Program I1979+1.3Arizona, 1980: 5-6, National Program III1980Arizona, 1981: 6-5, National Program IIIArizona, 1982: 6-4, National Program IIIArizona, 1983: 7-3, National Program IIArizona, 1984: 7-4, National Program IIArizona, 1985: 8-3, National Program IArizona, 1986: 9-3, National Program I1986+7.3USC, 1987: 8-4, Power Program I1987USC, 1988: 10-2, Power Program IUSC, 1989: 9-2, Power Program IUSC, 1990: 8-4, Power Program IUSC, 1991: 3-8, Power Program IUSC, 1992: 6-5, Power Program I1992+2.0Missouri, 1994: 3-8, Regional Program III1994Missouri, 1995: 3-8, Regional Program IIIMissouri, 1996: 5-6, Regional Program IIIMissouri, 1997: 7-5, Regional Program IIMissouri, 1998: 8-4, Regional Program IMissouri, 1999: 4-7, Regional Program IIMissouri, 2000: 3-8, Regional Program II2000+4.9One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 12th career season — faster than 4% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #374 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Tulane, 4 seasons
+1.3
Regional Program II → Regional Program I.
Arizona, 7 seasons
+7.3
National Program III → National Program I.
USC, 6 seasons
+2.0
Power Program I → Power Program I.
Missouri, 7 seasons
+4.9
Regional Program III → Regional 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.

11–18 against his rivals. Winless in 6 tries against Lou Holtz.

Rivalry record
11–18–1
36.7% · 5 rivals
One-score games
43–56–7
40.6% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–6
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Arizona State5–271%
Kansas2–529%
Notre Dame0–60%
UCLA3–2–150%
LSU1–325%
The toughest matchupNemesis
vs. Lou Holtz0–6
6 meetings, 1987–1992
’87 L’88 L’89 L’90 L’91 L’92 L
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–6 0.0%
Blue Blood
7–15 31.8%
Power Program
31–47 39.7%
National Program
38–33 53.5%
Regional Program
59–25 70.2%

Coaching career

1994–2000
Missouricaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program I
Larry Smith moved Missouri from Regional Program III to Regional Program I in 7 seasons.

12th-best Missouri tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Followed Bob Stull (1989–1993) · succeeded by Gary Pinkel (2001–2015).

6 NFL Draft picks: A.J. Ofodile (1994), Ernest Blackwell (1998), Ron Janes (1998), Craig Heimburger (1999), Jeff Marriott (2000), Justin Smith (2001)

33–46
1987–1992
USCinheritor
Power Program I → Power Program I
Larry Smith inherited a Power Program I USC and won with it.

9th-best USC tenure of 17 by the numbers.

Followed Ted Tollner (1983–1986).

23 NFL Draft picks: Tim McDonald (1987), Jeff Bregel (1987), Louis Brock (1987), Erik Affholter (1989), Rodney Peete (1989), Chris Hale (1989), Junior Seau (1990), Mark Carrier (1990) + 15 more

44–25
1980–1986
Arizonacaretaker
National Program III → National Program I
Larry Smith moved Arizona from National Program III to National Program I in 7 seasons.

3rd-best Arizona tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Followed Tony Mason (1977–1979) · succeeded by Dick Tomey (1987–2000).

14 NFL Draft picks: Cleveland Crosby (1980), Mark Streeter (1980), Larry Heater (1980), Robert Cobb (1981), Mike Robinson (1981), Chris Schultz (1983), Ricky Hunley (1984), Randy Robbins (1984) + 6 more

48–28
1976–1979
Tulanecaretaker
Regional Program I → Regional Program I
Larry Smith held Tulane at Regional Program I for 4 seasons.

13th-best Tulane tenure of 23 by the numbers.

Followed Bennie Ellender (1971–1975) · succeeded by Vince Gibson (1980–1982).

3 NFL Draft picks: Martin Mitchell (1977), Eric Laakso (1978), Eddie Murray (1980)

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