The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Mike Knoll

Followed Fred Zechman. Mike Knoll slid New Mexico State from Regional Program V to Regional Program VI in 4 seasons.

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1986–1989 · 1 stint
New Mexico State
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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 careerNEW MEXICO STATERegional Programthe building-block levelNew Mexico State, 1986: 1-10, Regional Program VI1986New Mexico State, 1987: 2-9, Regional Program VI1987New Mexico State, 1988: 1-10, Regional Program VI1988New Mexico State, 1989: 0-11, Regional Program VI1989-3.4One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

New Mexico State, 4 seasons
−3.4
Regional Program VI → Regional Program VI.

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.

1–3 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Chuck Shelton.

Rivalry record
1–3
25.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
1–4
20.0% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
New Mexico1–325%
The toughest matchup
vs. Chuck Shelton0–4
4 meetings, 1986–1989
’86 L’87 L’88 L’89 L
0% 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
0–1 0.0%
Power Program
0–1 0.0%
National Program
0–8 0.0%
Regional Program
2–17 10.5%

Coaching career

1986–1989
New Mexico Statecaretaker
Regional Program V → Regional Program VI
Mike Knoll slid New Mexico State from Regional Program V to Regional Program VI in 4 seasons.

14th-best New Mexico State tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Followed Fred Zechman (1983–1985) · succeeded by Jim Hess (1990–1996).

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