The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Red Wilson

Followed Mike McGee. Red Wilson held Duke at Regional Program I for 4 seasons.

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1979–1982 · 1 stint

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.

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).

Duke, 4 seasons

+0.7

Regional Program I → Regional Program I.

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 3 tries against Jerry Claiborne.

Rivalry record

1–3

25.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

5–9–1

33.3% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

North Carolina1–325%

The toughest matchup

vs. Jerry Claiborne0–3

3 meetings, 1979–1981

’79 L’80 L’81 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

Power Program

2–11 15.4%

National Program

9–10 47.4%

Regional Program

4–6 40.0%

Coaching career

1979–1982

Dukecaretaker

Regional Program I → Regional Program I

Red Wilson held Duke at Regional Program I for 4 seasons.

9th-best Duke tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Followed Mike McGee (1971–1978) · succeeded by Steve Sloan (1983–1986).

4 NFL Draft picks: Cedric Jones (1982), Charles Bowser (1982), Dennis Tabron (1982), Chris Castor (1983)

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