The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bill Battle

Followed Doug Dickey. Bill Battle inherited a Power Program I Tennessee and won with it.

59–22
1970–1976 · 1 stint
Tennessee
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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 careerTENNESSEEBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderTennessee, 1970: 11-1, Power Program I1970Tennessee, 1971: 10-2, Power Program I1971Tennessee, 1972: 10-2, Power Program I1972Tennessee, 1973: 8-4, Power Program I1973Tennessee, 1974: 7-3, Power Program I1974Tennessee, 1975: 7-5, Power Program I1975Tennessee, 1976: 6-5, Power Program I1976+1.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Tennessee, 7 seasons
+1.6
Power Program I → Power 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.

12–8 against his rivals. Just 1–6 against Bear Bryant.

Rivalry record
12–8–1
57.1% · 3 rivals
One-score games
20–11–2
60.6% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
1–6
14.3%
Rivalry ledger
Alabama1–614%
Kentucky6–186%
Vanderbilt5–1–171%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bear Bryant1–6
7 meetings, 1970–1976
’70 W’71 L’72 L’73 L’74 L’75 L’76 L
14% win rate across a real, 7-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
1–6 14.3%
Power Program
13–11 54.2%
National Program
18–2 90.0%
Regional Program
25–3 89.3%

Coaching career

1970–1976
Tennesseeinheritor
Power Program I → Power Program I
Bill Battle inherited a Power Program I Tennessee and won with it.

6th-best Tennessee tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Doug Dickey (1964–1969) · succeeded by Johnny Majors (1977–1992).

15 NFL Draft picks: Jack Reynolds (1970), Steve Kiner (1970), Bobby Majors (1972), George Hunt (1972), Jackie Walker (1972), Curt Watson (1972), Ray Nettles (1972), Jamie Rotella (1973) + 7 more

59–22