The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Doug Dickey

Followed Ray Graves. Doug Dickey held Florida at Power Program III for 9 seasons.

The builder
104–58
1964–1978 · 2 stints
TennesseeFlorida
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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 careerTENNESSEEFLORIDABlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyTennessee, 1964: 4-5, Power Program II1964Tennessee, 1965: 8-1, Power Program IITennessee, 1966: 8-3, Power Program IITennessee, 1967: 9-2, Power Program ITennessee, 1968: 8-2, Power Program ITennessee, 1969: 9-2, Power Program I1969+9.5Florida, 1970: 7-4, Power Program III1970Florida, 1971: 4-7, National Program IFlorida, 1972: 5-5, National Program IFlorida, 1973: 7-5, National Program IFlorida, 1974: 8-4, Power Program IIIFlorida, 1975: 9-3, Power Program IIIFlorida, 1976: 8-4, Power Program IIIFlorida, 1977: 6-4, Power Program IIIFlorida, 1978: 4-7, Power Program III1978-0.8One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Tennessee, 6 seasons
+9.5
Power Program II → Power Program I.
Florida, 9 seasons
−0.8
Power Program III → Power Program III.

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.

23–12 against his rivals. Just 3–7 against Bear Bryant.

Rivalry record
23–12–1
63.9% · 5 rivals
One-score games
32–27–6
49.2% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
1–1
50.0%
Rivalry ledger
Florida State7–278%
Georgia3–633%
Alabama3–2–150%
Kentucky5–183%
Vanderbilt5–183%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bear Bryant3–7–1
11 meetings, 1964–1978
’64 L’65 T’66 L’67 W’68 W’69 W’70 L’71 L’72 L’73 L’78 L
27% win rate across a real, 11-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
1–1 50.0%
Blue Blood
3–9 25.0%
Power Program
29–27 51.8%
National Program
40–15 72.7%
Regional Program
26–5 83.9%

Coaching career

1970–1978
Floridacaretaker
Power Program III → Power Program III
Doug Dickey held Florida at Power Program III for 9 seasons.

18th-best Florida tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Ray Graves (1960–1969) · succeeded by Charley Pell (1979–1984).

22 NFL Draft picks: Steve Tannen (1970), Jack Youngblood (1971), John Reaves (1972), Fred Abbott (1973), Nat Moore (1974), Vince Kendrick (1974), Joel Parker (1974), Glenn Cameron (1975) + 14 more

58–43
1964–1969
Tennesseecaretaker
Power Program II → Power Program I
Doug Dickey moved Tennessee from Power Program II to Power Program I in 6 seasons.

7th-best Tennessee tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Jim McDonald (1963–1963) · succeeded by Bill Battle (1970–1976).

46–15