The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Dutch Meyer

Dutch Meyer held TCU at Power Program I for 17 seasons.

89–74
1936–1952 · 1 stint
TCU
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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 careerTCUBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyTCU, 1936: 9-2, Power Program II1936TCU, 1937: 4-4, Power Program IITCU, 1938: 11-0, Power Program ITCU, 1939: 3-7, Power Program ITCU, 1940: 3-7, Power Program ITCU, 1941: 7-3, Power Program IITCU, 1942: 7-3, Power Program IITCU, 1943: 2-6, Power Program IIITCU, 1944: 7-3, Power Program IIITCU, 1945: 5-5, National Program ITCU, 1946: 2-7, National Program ITCU, 1947: 4-5, National Program ITCU, 1948: 4-5, National Program IITCU, 1949: 6-3, National Program IITCU, 1950: 5-5, National Program ITCU, 1951: 6-5, National Program ITCU, 1952: 4-4, National Program I1952+0.0One 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).

TCU, 17 seasons
+0.0
Power Program II → National 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.

16–12 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against John Barnhill.

Rivalry record
16–12–4
50.0% · 2 rivals
One-score games
38–31–13
46.3% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
SMU8–6–347%
Baylor8–6–153%
The toughest matchup
vs. John Barnhill0–4
4 meetings, 1946–1949
’46 L’47 L’48 L’49 L
0% win rate across a real, 4-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
Power Program
22–27 44.9%
National Program
41–38 51.9%
Regional Program
11–4 73.3%

Coaching career

1936–1952
TCUcaretaker
Power Program I
Dutch Meyer held TCU at Power Program I for 17 seasons.

1st-best TCU tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Abe Martin (1953–1966).

89–74