Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 3-0
1977Sun BowlW 24-14
1978Astro-Bluebonnet BowlW 25-22
1992Blockbuster BowlW 24-3Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
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.
2-0 against his rivals at Stanford.
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.
2-4 against his rivals at Stanford. Winless in 3 tries against Dick Tomey.
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.
4-4 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against John Robinson.
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 (1977-1994) 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. 3 went in the first round.
At least 16 — his 1977, 1978, 1992 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | R4.15 | Justin Armour | Wide Receiver |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1995 | R4.33 | Tony Cline | Tight End | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1995 | R4.36 | Steve Stenstrom | Quarterback |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1995 | R7.35 | Jason Fisk | Defensive Tackle |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1994 | R4.21 | Vaughn Bryant | Defensive Back |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1993 | R1.22 | Darrien Gordon | Defensive Back |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1993 | R2.14 | Glyn Milburn | Running Back |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1993 | R3.26 | John Lynch | Defensive Back |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | R5.09 | Ron George | Linebacker |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1993 | R6.26 | Chris Dalman | Offensive Guard |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R4.15 | Steve Dils | Quarterback |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1979 | R7.01 | Phil Francis | Running Back | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.06 | James Lofton | Wide Receiver |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.10 | Gordon King | Offensive Tackle |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1978 | R2.23 | Guy Benjamin | Quarterback |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1978 | R7.18 | Bill Kellar | Wide Receiver | Kansas City Chiefs | 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.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
7th-best Stanford tenure of 20 by the numbers.
Followed Jack Christiansen (1972–1976) · succeeded by Ron Dowhower (1979) · returned in 1992, succeeding Dennis Green (1989–1991) · succeeded by Tyrone Willingham (1995–2001).
| Season | 1977 | 1978 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 9-3 | 8-4 | 10-3 | 4-7 | 3-7-1 | |
| Postseason | W bowl | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+6.4 pts at Stanford · #329 of 1290 · middle half