Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 8-5
’75W’76W’77L’78W’79W’80W’81W’82L’84L’85W’86W’87L’88L
Show all 13 games
1975Orange BowlW 14-6
1976Fiesta BowlW 41-7
1977Orange BowlL 6-31
1978Orange BowlW 31-24
1979Orange BowlW 24-71980Orange BowlW 18-17
1981Sun BowlW 40-14
1982Fiesta BowlL 21-32
1984Orange BowlL 17-28
1985Orange BowlW 25-10
1986Orange BowlW 42-81987Orange BowlL 14-20
1988Florida Citrus BowlL 6-13
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.
24-6 against his rivals. Nobody he faced three or more times has a winning record against him.
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 (1973-1988) 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. 12 went in the first round.
At least 61 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | R6.13 | Anthony Stafford | Wide Receiver |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1989 | R6.26 | Eric Mitchel | Running Back | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1987 | R5.08 | Steve Bryan | Defensive End |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1987 | R5.21 | Spencer Tillman | Running Back |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1986 | R1.02 | Tony Casillas | Defensive Tackle |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1986 | R2.13 | Kevin Murphy | Linebacker |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1986 | R5.06 | Jeff Tupper | Defensive End |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1985 | R1.26 | Steve Sewell | Running Back | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | R4.01 | Buster Rhymes | Wide Receiver |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1985 | R7.21 | Danny Bradley | Running Back |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1984 | R1.09 | Rick Bryan | Defensive Tackle | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1984 | R1.14 | Jackie Shipp | Linebacker |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1984 | R2.03 | Bob Slater | Defensive Tackle |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1984 | R2.04 | Scott Case | Defensive Back | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1984 | R2.08 | Thomas Benson | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1983 | R6.02 | Steve Haworth | Defensive Back | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R7.17 | Weldon Ledbetter | Running Back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R3.12 | Bill Bechtold | Center |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1982 | R5.02 | Terry Crouch | Offensive Guard |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.13 | David Overstreet | Running Back | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.17 | Keith Gary | Defensive End |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.05 | Steve Rhodes | Wide Receiver | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.22 | Richard Turner | Defensive Tackle |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1981 | R5.01 | Louis Oubre | Offensive Tackle |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1980 | R1.01 | Billy Sims | Running Back |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1980 | R1.26 | George Cumby | Linebacker | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R2.12 | Darrol Ray | Defensive Back |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1980 | R2.28 | John Goodman | Defensive End | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R4.04 | Fred Nixon | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R5.20 | Paul Tabor | Center | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1980 | R7.14 | Bud Hebert | Defensive Back |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1979 | R2.05 | Greg Roberts | Offensive Guard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R2.10 | Reggie Mathis | Linebacker | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1979 | R2.19 | Sam Claphan | Offensive Tackle |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1979 | R3.16 | Kenny King | Running Back |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R4.08 | Phil Tabor | Defensive End | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1979 | R5.12 | Victor Hicks | Tight End | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1979 | R6.06 | Daryl Hunt | Linebacker | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R6.07 | Thomas Lott | Running Back | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1979 | R7.24 | Uwe von Schamann | Place Kicker |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.20 | Elvis Peacock | Running Back | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1978 | R3.28 | Dave Hudgens | Offensive Tackle |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1978 | R7.12 | Karl Baldischwiler | Offensive Tackle | Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1977 | R2.16 | Horace Ivory | Running Back |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1977 | R3.26 | Sidney Brown | Defensive Back | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1977 | R4.04 | Mike Vaughan | Offensive Tackle | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1977 | R4.21 | Jerry Anderson | Defensive Back |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1976 | R1.01 | Lee Roy Selmon | Defensive End | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R1.04 | Joe Washington | Running Back |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R1.11 | William Brooks | Wide Receiver | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1976 | R2.32 | Dewey Selmon | Defensive Tackle | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R4.03 | Tinker Owens | Wide Receiver | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1976 | R5.20 | Jimbo Elrod | Linebacker |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.15 | Rod Shoate | Linebacker | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.04 | Tony Peters | Defensive Back | Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.18 | Randy Hughes | Defensive Back | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1975 | R5.09 | Kyle Davis | Center | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1975 | R6.04 | John Carroll | Wide Receiver | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R4.07 | Durwood Keeton | Defensive Back | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1974 | R5.06 | Gary Baccus | Linebacker |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1974 | R5.15 | Clyde Powers | Defensive Back |  New York Giants | 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
1st-best Oklahoma tenure of 15 by the numbers.
Followed Chuck Fairbanks (1967–1972) · succeeded by Gary Gibbs (1989–1994).
| Season | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||||||||||
| Record | 10-0-1 | 11-0 | 11-1 | 9-2-1 | 10-2 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 10-2 | 7-4-1 | 8-4 | 8-4 | 9-2-1 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 11-1 | 9-3 | |
| Postseason | — | — | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | — | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | L 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.
2nd-most wins by a Big 8 coach
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+16.1 pts at Oklahoma · #103 of 1290 · top quarter