Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 1-1
1986California BowlW 37-7
1987California BowlL 27-30Stats
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.
6-1 against his rivals at San Diego State. Winless in 4 tries against LaVell Edwards.
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.
Just 1-4 against Jack Elway.
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.
6-1 against his rivals. Just 1-4 against Jack Elway.
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 (1984-1989) 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.
At least 3 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | R7.04 | Johnny Johnson | Running Back |  Phoenix Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1989 | R6.11 | Jay Taylor | Defensive Back | Phoenix Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1985 | R5.22 | Tony Smith | Wide Receiver |  New York Jets | 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
1st-best San José State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Jack Elway (1979–1983) · succeeded by Terry Shea (1990–1991).
| Season | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||
| Record | 6-5 | 2-8-1 | 10-2 | 10-2 | 4-8 | 6-5 | |
| Postseason | — | — | W 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
1st-best San Diego State tenure of 11 by the numbers.
Followed Don Coryell (1969–1972) · succeeded by Doug Scovil (1981–1985).
16 NFL Draft picks: Claudie Minor (1974), Jesse Freitas (1974), Monte Jackson (1975), Duke Fergerson (1976), Craig Penrose (1976), Greg Boyd (1976), Dave Turner (1978), Ronnie Smith (1978) + 8 more
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 San José State
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+2.2 pts at San Diego State · #540 of 1290 · middle half