The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Nelson Stokley

Followed Sam Robertson. Nelson Stokley held Louisiana at Regional Program III for 13 seasons.

62–80
1986–1998 · 1 stint
Louisiana
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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 careerLOUISIANARegional Programthe building-block levelLouisiana, 1986: 6-5, Regional Program III1986Louisiana, 1987: 6-5, Regional Program III1987Louisiana, 1988: 6-5, Regional Program III1988Louisiana, 1989: 7-4, Regional Program III1989Louisiana, 1990: 5-6, Regional Program III1990Louisiana, 1991: 2-8, Regional Program III1991Louisiana, 1992: 2-9, Regional Program IV1992Louisiana, 1993: 8-3, Regional Program IV1993Louisiana, 1994: 6-5, Regional Program IV1994Louisiana, 1995: 6-5, Regional Program III1995Louisiana, 1996: 5-6, Regional Program III1996Louisiana, 1997: 1-10, Regional Program IV1997Louisiana, 1998: 2-9, Regional Program V1998+1.7One 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).

Louisiana, 13 seasons
+1.7
Regional Program III → Regional Program V.

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.

0–2 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Bill Curry.

Rivalry record
0–2
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
23–18–1
54.8% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–5
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
UL Monroe0–20%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bill Curry0–3
3 meetings, 1987–1989
’87 L’88 L’89 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
0–5 0.0%
Power Program
1–9 10.0%
National Program
4–19 17.4%
Regional Program
41–39 51.2%

Coaching career

1986–1998
Louisianacaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program III
Nelson Stokley held Louisiana at Regional Program III for 13 seasons.

6th-best Louisiana tenure of 9 by the numbers.

Followed Sam Robertson (1980–1985) · succeeded by Jerry Baldwin (1999–2001).

7 NFL Draft picks: Chris Gannon (1989), Mark Hall (1989), Brian Mitchell (1990), Todd Scott (1991), Orlando Thomas (1995), Anthony Clement (1998), Brandon Stokley (1999)

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