Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 0-2
1982Cotton Bowl ClassicL 3-7
1983Fiesta BowlL 23-28Stats
Big games
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.
2-4 against his rivals. Just 1-2 against Don Nehlen.
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 (1982-1985) 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. 7 went in the first round.
At least 16 — his 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | R1.24 | Bob Buczkowski | Defensive End |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1986 | R4.12 | Bill Callahan | Defensive Back |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1985 | R1.02 | Bill Fralic | Offensive Tackle |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1985 | R1.04 | Chris Doleman | Defensive End |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1985 | R5.08 | Troy Benson | Linebacker |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1984 | R1.05 | Bill Maas | Defensive Tackle |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1984 | R2.09 | Jim Sweeney | Center | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1984 | R3.28 | Joe McCall | Running Back | Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | R5.14 | Tom Flynn | Defensive Back |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1984 | R6.14 | Dwight Collins | Wide Receiver |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1983 | R1.06 | Jimbo Covert | Offensive Tackle |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1983 | R1.11 | Tim Lewis | Defensive Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R1.27 | Dan Marino | Quarterback |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.20 | Bryan Thomas | Running Back | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R6.09 | Dave Puzzuoli | Defensive Tackle |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1983 | R6.20 | Ron Sams | Offensive Guard | Green Bay Packers | 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.
Inheritor inherited a power and neither built it higher nor let it collapse
1st-best Pittsburgh tenure of 23 by the numbers.
Followed Jackie Sherrill (1977–1981) · succeeded by Mike Gottfried (1986–1989).
| Season | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||
| Record | 9-3 | 8-3-1 | 3-7-1 | 5-5-1 | |
| Postseason | L 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 | — | — | — | — | |
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
-5.6 pts at Pittsburgh · #1040 of 1290 · bottom quarter