The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bob Simmons

Followed Pat Jones. Bob Simmons held Oklahoma State at Regional Program I for 6 seasons.

30–38
1995–2000 · 1 stint
Oklahoma State
← all coaches

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 careerOKLAHOMA STATENational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelOklahoma State, 1995: 4-8, Regional Program II1995Oklahoma State, 1996: 5-6, Regional Program II1996Oklahoma State, 1997: 8-4, Regional Program I1997Oklahoma State, 1998: 5-6, Regional Program I1998Oklahoma State, 1999: 5-6, Regional Program I1999Oklahoma State, 2000: 3-8, Regional Program I2000+3.2One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Oklahoma State, 6 seasons
+3.2
Regional Program II → Regional 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.

4–7 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against R.C. Slocum.

Rivalry record
4–7
36.4% · 2 rivals
One-score games
5–12
29.4% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–3
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Oklahoma3–350%
Texas Tech1–420%
The toughest matchup
vs. R.C. Slocum0–5
5 meetings, 1996–2000
’96 L’97 L’98 L’99 L’00 L
0% win rate across a real, 5-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
Dynasty
0–3 0.0%
Blue Blood
2–3 40.0%
Power Program
3–15 16.7%
National Program
5–9 35.7%
Regional Program
17–8 68.0%

Coaching career

1995–2000
Oklahoma Statecaretaker
Regional Program I → Regional Program I
Bob Simmons held Oklahoma State at Regional Program I for 6 seasons.

12th-best Oklahoma State tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Followed Pat Jones (1984–1994) · succeeded by Les Miles (2001–2004).

6 NFL Draft picks: Linc Harden (1995), R.W. McQuarters (1998), Kevin Williams (1998), Alonzo Mayes (1998), Jacoby Shepherd (2000), Ethan Howell (2000)

30–38