Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 10-5
Kent State’72LWashington’77W’79W’80L’81W’82W’83L’84W’85W’86L’87W’89W’90W’91W’92L
Show all 15 games
1972Tangerine BowlL 18-21Washington
1977Rose BowlW 27-20
1979Sun BowlW 14-7
1980Rose BowlL 6-23
1981Rose BowlW 28-0
1982Aloha BowlW 21-20
1983Aloha BowlL 10-13
1984Orange BowlW 28-17
1985Freedom BowlW 20-17
1986Sun BowlL 6-28
1987Independence BowlW 24-12
1989Freedom BowlW 34-7
1990Rose BowlW 46-341991Rose BowlW 34-141992Rose BowlL 31-38Stats
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.
1-0 against his rivals at Kent State. Just 1-2 against Bill Mallory.
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.
28-8 against his rivals at Washington. Just 4-8 against Terry Donahue.
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.
29-8 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Lee Corso.
Building the roster
Three numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Kent State→
Washington1975Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1975-1992) 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. 10 went in the first round.
At least 60 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | R1.09 | Lincoln Kennedy | Offensive Tackle |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1993 | R3.02 | Billy Joe Hobert | Quarterback |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1993 | R4.19 | Jaime Fields | Linebacker |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1993 | R5.06 | Mark Brunell | Quarterback |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1993 | R6.06 | Dave Hoffmann | Linebacker |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1993 | R6.19 | Darius Turner | Running Back | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1992 | R1.01 | Steve Emtman | Defensive End |  Indianapolis Colts | Estimated |
| 1992 | R1.18 | Dana Hall | Defensive Back |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | R3.05 | Ed Cunningham | Center |  Phoenix Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1992 | R3.12 | Siupeli Malamala | Offensive Tackle |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1992 | R3.13 | Aaron Pierce | Tight End |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1992 | R5.18 | Orlando McKay | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1992 | R6.22 | Mario Bailey | Wide Receiver |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R5.04 | Greg Lewis | Running Back |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1991 | R5.22 | Charles Mincy | Defensive Back | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1990 | R1.23 | Bern Brostek | Center |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1990 | R2.22 | Dennis Brown | Defensive Tackle | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1990 | R4.05 | Cary Conklin | Quarterback |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1990 | R5.27 | Le-Lo Lang | Defensive Back | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1989 | R3.11 | Mike Zandofsky | Offensive Guard | Phoenix Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1987 | R1.07 | Reggie Rogers | Defensive End |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1987 | R2.12 | Lonzell Hill | Wide Receiver |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1987 | R3.26 | Jeff Jaeger | Place Kicker |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1987 | R7.06 | Tim Peoples | Defensive Back |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1986 | R1.11 | Joe Kelly | Linebacker |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1986 | R2.28 | Vestee Jackson | Defensive Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1986 | R3.16 | Hugh Millen | Quarterback |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1986 | R5.22 | Ron Hadley | Linebacker | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1985 | R1.08 | Ron Holmes | Defensive End |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1985 | R3.04 | Tim Meamber | Linebacker |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1985 | R3.25 | Danny Greene | Wide Receiver |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1985 | R6.13 | Joe Krakoski | Linebacker | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1985 | R7.20 | Mark Pattison | Wide Receiver | Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1984 | R5.01 | Steve Pelluer | Quarterback |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.25 | Ray Horton | Defensive Back | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.26 | Tony Caldwell | Linebacker | Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1983 | R4.03 | Chuck Nelson | Place Kicker | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1983 | R4.13 | Vince Newsome | Defensive Back | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.15 | Mark Stewart | Linebacker |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.21 | Paul Skansi | Wide Receiver |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R6.16 | Anthony Allen | Wide Receiver |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1982 | R5.24 | Mark Jerue | Linebacker | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1982 | R7.02 | Fletcher Jenkins | Defensive Tackle |  Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1981 | R1.23 | Curt Marsh | Offensive Guard |  Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1981 | R3.12 | Randy Van Divier | Offensive Tackle | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.07 | Tom Flick | Quarterback |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1980 | R1.09 | Doug Martin | Defensive End | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1980 | R2.06 | Mark Lee | Defensive Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1980 | R3.01 | Tom Turnure | Center | Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1980 | R5.17 | Joe Steele | Running Back | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1980 | R7.16 | Chris Linnin | Defensive End | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1979 | R2.25 | Jeff Toews | Offensive Tackle |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1979 | R3.01 | Michael Jackson | Linebacker | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1979 | R6.03 | Robert Gaines | Wide Receiver | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1979 | R7.21 | Roger Westlund | Offensive Tackle | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1978 | R1.16 | Blair Bush | Center |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1978 | R2.26 | Dave Browning | Defensive End | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1977 | R3.05 | Robin Earl | Running Back | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1976 | R2.09 | Ray Pinney | Center | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R6.06 | Dan Lloyd | Linebacker | New York Giants | 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 · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
1st-best Washington tenure of 18 by the numbers.
Followed Jim Owens (1957–1974) · succeeded by Jim Lambright (1993–1998).
| Season | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||||||||||||
| Record | 6-5 | 5-6 | 8-4 | 7-4 | 9-3 | 9-3 | 10-2 | 10-2 | 8-4 | 11-1 | 7-5 | 8-3-1 | 7-4-1 | 6-5 | 8-4 | 10-2 | 12-0 | 9-3 | |
| Postseason | — | — | W bowl | — | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | — | W bowl | W bowl | 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 Kent State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Dave Puddington (1968–1970) · succeeded by Dennis Fitzgerald (1975–1977).
| Season | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||
| Record | 3-8 | 6-5-1 | 9-2 | 7-4 | |
| Postseason | — | 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 | — | — | — | — | |
2 NFL Draft picks: Gerald Tinker (1974), Jack Lambert (1974)
Selector agreement
The AP and Coaches’ polls split on the national champion in 1 season of this coach’s career — shown as each selector’s own pick, not a single consensus title.
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.
2nd-most wins by a Pac-10 coach
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+30.6 pts at Washington · #23 of 1290 · top quarter