The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas held Alabama at Power Program I for 10 seasons.

75–18

1936–1946 · 1 stint

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.

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).

Alabama, 10 seasons

+0.0

Power Program I → Power 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.

5–5 against his rivals. Just 1–4 against Bob Neyland.

Rivalry record

5–5–3

38.5% · 2 rivals

One-score games

21–5–5

67.7% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

Tennessee4–4–240%

LSU1–1–133%

The toughest matchup

vs. Bob Neyland1–4–1

6 meetings, 1936–1946

’36 T’37 W’38 L’39 L’40 L’46 L

17% win rate across a real, 6-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

19–10 65.5%

National Program

18–6 75.0%

Regional Program

15–0 100.0%

Coaching career

1936–1946

Alabamacaretaker

Power Program I

Frank Thomas held Alabama at Power Program I for 10 seasons.

8th-best Alabama tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Red Drew (1947–1954).

75–18