Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 3-1
1984Gator BowlW 21-14
1985Gator BowlL 23-34
1987Sun BowlW 35-33
1988Holiday BowlW 62-14
Stats
Big games
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.
1-11 against his rivals. Just 1-5 against Bill Snyder.
Building the roster
Two numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1984-1994) 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.
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. 3 went in the first round.
At least 11 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | R4.32 | Linc Harden | Linebacker |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1994 | R3.23 | Jason Gildon | Linebacker |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1994 | R7.16 | Keith Burns | Linebacker |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1989 | R1.03 | Barry Sanders | Running Back |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1989 | R1.16 | Hart Lee Dykes | Wide Receiver | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1987 | R4.20 | Mark Moore | Defensive Back |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1986 | R1.08 | Leslie O'Neal | Defensive End |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1986 | R3.18 | John Washington | Defensive End |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | R4.28 | Paul Blair | Offensive Tackle |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1985 | R6.03 | Rusty Hilger | Quarterback |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1985 | R7.09 | James Harris | Wide Receiver |  Washington Redskins | 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.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
3rd-best Oklahoma State tenure of 15 by the numbers.
Followed Jimmy Johnson (1979–1983) · succeeded by Bob Simmons (1995–2000).
| Season | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||
| Record | 10-2 | 8-4 | 6-5 | 10-2 | 10-2 | 4-7 | 4-7 | 0-10-1 | 4-6-1 | 3-8 | 3-7-1 | |
| Postseason | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
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.
2nd all-time at Oklahoma State
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+7.0 pts at Oklahoma State · #315 of 1290 · top quarter