Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 3-2
1970Gator BowlW 35-28
1971Sugar BowlL 22-40
1973Sun BowlL 17-34Stats
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.
24-26 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Charles McClendon.
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 (1951-1975) 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. 8 went in the first round.
At least 36 — his 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | R2.06 | Lee Gross | Center | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1975 | R3.15 | Dan Nugent | Tight End | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1975 | R3.21 | Mike Fuller | Defensive Back | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.23 | Ken Bernich | Linebacker | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1972 | R1.19 | Terry Beasley | Wide Receiver | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1972 | R2.14 | Pat Sullivan | Quarterback | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1971 | R4.17 | Larry Willingham | Defensive Back | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.23 | Al Bresler | Wide Receiver | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | R6.03 | Dave Campbell | Defensive End | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1969 | R7.09 | Al Giffin | Tight End | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.15 | Forrest Blue | Center | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1968 | R2.13 | Fred Hyatt | Wide Receiver | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1966 | R5.64 | Estimated | |||
| 1966 | R5.75 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R1.01 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R4.46 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R7.86 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R3.34 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R3.33 | Estimated | |||
| 1963 | R5.60 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R6.80 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R1.08 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R3.30 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R5.59 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R1.11 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R2.13 | Estimated | |||
| 1959 | R4.45 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R1.05 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R3.32 | Estimated | |||
| 1958 | R5.58 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R1.07 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R2.16 | Estimated | |||
| 1956 | R2.21 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R1.11 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R3.36 | Estimated | |||
| 1955 | R7.80 | 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.
Transformer raised the program into the sport's top tier, or higher within it
6th-best Auburn tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Earl Brown (1948–1950) · succeeded by Doug Barfield (1976–1980).
| Season | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Record | 5-5 | 2-8 | 7-3-1 | 8-3 | 8-2-1 | 7-3 | 10-0 | 9-0-1 | 7-3 | 8-2 | 6-4 | 6-3-1 | 9-2 | 6-4 | 5-5-1 | 4-6 | 6-4 | 7-4 | 8-3 | 9-2 | 9-2 | 10-1 | 6-6 | 10-2 | 3-6-2 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | L 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Selector agreement
The AP and Coaches’ polls split on the national champion in 1 season of this coach’s career — shown as each selector’s own pick, not a single consensus title.
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.
1st all-time at Auburn
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+36.6 pts at Auburn · #12 of 1290 · top quarter
New Orleans Saints
Los Angeles Rams
San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Atlanta Falcons
St. Louis Cardinals
Miami Dolphins
St. Louis Cardinals