The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bill Dooley

Followed Al Groh. Bill Dooley moved Wake Forest from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 6 seasons.

Peak, then fade
161–127
1967–1992 · 3 stints
North CarolinaVirginia TechWake Forest
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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 careerNORTH CAROLINAVIRGINIA TECHWAKE FORESTNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelNorth Carolina, 1967: 2-8, Regional Program I1967North Carolina, 1968: 3-7, Regional Program IINorth Carolina, 1969: 5-5, Regional Program IINorth Carolina, 1970: 8-4, Regional Program INorth Carolina, 1971: 9-3, National Program IIINorth Carolina, 1972: 11-1, National Program IINorth Carolina, 1973: 4-7, National Program IINorth Carolina, 1974: 7-5, National Program IINorth Carolina, 1975: 3-7, National Program IINorth Carolina, 1976: 9-3, National Program IINorth Carolina, 1977: 8-3, National Program II1977+5.0Virginia Tech, 1978: 4-7, Regional Program I1978Virginia Tech, 1979: 5-6, Regional Program IVirginia Tech, 1980: 8-4, Regional Program IVirginia Tech, 1981: 7-4, National Program IIIVirginia Tech, 1982: 7-4, National Program IIIVirginia Tech, 1983: 9-2, National Program IIIVirginia Tech, 1984: 8-4, National Program IIVirginia Tech, 1985: 6-5, National Program IIVirginia Tech, 1986: 9-2, National Program II1986+6.0Wake Forest, 1987: 7-4, Regional Program IV1987Wake Forest, 1988: 6-4, Regional Program IIIWake Forest, 1989: 2-8, Regional Program IIIWake Forest, 1990: 3-8, Regional Program IIIWake Forest, 1991: 3-8, Regional Program IIIWake Forest, 1992: 8-4, Regional Program III1992+4.2One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 5th career season — faster than 14% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #547 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

North Carolina, 11 seasons
+5.0
Regional Program I → National Program II.
Virginia Tech, 9 seasons
+6.0
Regional Program I → National Program II.
Wake Forest, 6 seasons
+4.2
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.

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.

19–14 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against Paul Dietzel.

Rivalry record
19–14–1
55.9% · 4 rivals
One-score games
41–44–4
46.1% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
NC State5–645%
Duke8–2–173%
Virginia6–367%
Miami0–30%
The toughest matchupNemesis
vs. Paul Dietzel0–5
5 meetings, 1967–1974
’67 L’68 L’69 L’70 L’74 L
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–1 0.0%
Blue Blood
0–6 0.0%
Power Program
6–18 25.0%
National Program
34–48 41.5%
Regional Program
82–48 63.1%

Coaching career

1987–1992
Wake Forestcaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III
Bill Dooley moved Wake Forest from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 6 seasons.

8th-best Wake Forest tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Al Groh (1981–1986) · succeeded by Jim Caldwell (1993–2000).

8 NFL Draft picks: Paul Kiser (1987), Mike Elkins (1989), David Braxton (1989), Ricky Proehl (1990), Tony Mayberry (1990), Ben Coleman (1993), John Henry Mills (1993), Mike McCrary (1993)

29–36
1978–1986
Virginia Techcaretaker
National Program III → National Program II
Bill Dooley moved Virginia Tech from National Program III to National Program II in 9 seasons.

7th-best Virginia Tech tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Jimmy Sharpe (1974–1977) · succeeded by Frank Beamer (1987–2015).

6 NFL Draft picks: Doug McDougald (1980), Kenny Lewis (1980), Robert Brown (1982), Tony Paige (1984), Bruce Smith (1985), Jesse Penn (1985)

63–38
1967–1977
North Carolinacaretaker
National Program III → National Program II
Bill Dooley moved North Carolina from National Program III to National Program II in 11 seasons.

16th-best North Carolina tenure of 17 by the numbers.

Followed James Hickey (1959–1966) · succeeded by Dick Crum (1978–1987).

10 NFL Draft picks: Bo Wood (1967), Mike Richey (1969), Don McCauley (1971), Lewis Jolley (1972), Robert Pratt (1974), Sammy Johnson (1974), Ken Huff (1975), Charles Waddell (1975) + 2 more

69–53