Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 4-4-1
’71L’73W’74T’76W’78L’79W’80W’81L’84L
Show all 9 games
1971Astro-Bluebonnet BowlL 17-29
1973Astro-Bluebonnet BowlW 47-7
1974Astro-Bluebonnet BowlT 31-31
1976Cotton Bowl ClassicW 30-21ND1978Cotton Bowl ClassicL 34-35
1979Cotton Bowl ClassicW 17-14
1980Garden State BowlW 35-0
1981Sun BowlL 14-40
1984Cotton Bowl ClassicL 28-45Stats
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.
12-4 against his rivals. Just 1-4 against Bobby Collins.
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 (1962-1986) 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. 6 went in the first round.
At least 49 — his 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | R3.26 | T.J. Turner | Defensive Tackle |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1986 | R7.13 | Carl Hilton | Tight End |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1985 | R2.26 | Simon Fletcher | Linebacker |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1985 | R3.28 | Audray McMillian | Defensive Back |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1984 | R6.12 | Eugene Lockhart | Linebacker |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.04 | Weedy Harris | Linebacker | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1982 | R4.20 | Dave Barrett | Running Back |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R6.24 | Lonell Phea | Wide Receiver |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | R7.22 | Alvin Ruben | Defensive End | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.27 | Leonard Mitchell | Defensive End |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1980 | R4.15 | David Hodge | Linebacker |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R7.22 | Melvin Jones | Offensive Guard |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1979 | R1.20 | Willis Adams | Wide Receiver |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1979 | R7.14 | Emmett King | Running Back | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1978 | R3.27 | Don Bass | Wide Receiver |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1978 | R4.26 | Alois Blackwell | Running Back | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1977 | R1.08 | Wilson Whitley | Defensive Tackle | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1977 | R3.25 | Val Belcher | Offensive Guard | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1977 | R4.24 | Guy Brown | Linebacker | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1976 | R4.32 | Everett Little | Offensive Guard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1975 | R1.05 | Mack Mitchell | Defensive End | Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1975 | R3.23 | Gerald Hill | Linebacker |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.01 | Robert Giblin | Defensive Back |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.02 | Marshall Johnson | Wide Receiver |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.26 | Harold Evans | Linebacker |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1975 | R6.25 | Bubba Broussard | Linebacker |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1975 | R7.18 | Reggie Cherry | Running Back |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1974 | R3.08 | Steve George | Defensive Tackle |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1972 | R1.05 | Riley Odoms | Tight End | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1972 | R2.09 | Robert Newhouse | Running Back | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1972 | R3.17 | Tommy Mozisek | Running Back |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1971 | R1.16 | Elmo Wright | Wide Receiver |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1971 | R2.10 | Charles Ford | Defensive Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1971 | R3.16 | Charles Hall | Linebacker |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1971 | R4.04 | Carlos Bell | Running Back |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.05 | Earl Thomas | Tight End | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1970 | R6.09 | Rusty Clark | Quarterback | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1970 | R7.09 | Jim Strong | Running Back | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1969 | R2.03 | Paul Gipson | Running Back |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1969 | R5.14 | John Peacock | Defensive Back | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1969 | R7.05 | Royce Berry | Defensive End |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1969 | R7.26 | Cliff Larson | Defensive End |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1968 | R3.24 | Ken Hebert | Wide Receiver |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.26 | Warren McVea | Running Back | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.28 | Gus Hollomon | Defensive Back | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1967 | R2.01 | Bo Burris | Quarterback | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1967 | R2.06 | Thomas Beer | Tight End | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1967 | R4.05 | Carl Cunningham | Defensive End | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1967 | R4.14 | Dick Post | Running Back | San Diego Chargers | 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 Houston tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Hal Lahar (1957–1961) · succeeded by Jack Pardee (1987–1989).
| Season | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Record | 7-4 | 2-8 | 2-6-1 | 4-5-1 | 8-2 | 7-3 | 6-2-2 | 9-2 | 8-3 | 9-3 | 6-4-1 | 11-1 | 8-3-1 | 2-8 | 10-2 | 6-5 | 9-3 | 11-1 | 7-5 | 7-4-1 | 5-5-1 | 4-7 | 7-5 | 4-7 | 1-10 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | L bowl | — | W bowl | L bowl | — | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
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.
1st all-time at Houston
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+26.1 pts at Houston · #36 of 1290 · top quarter