The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Frank Waters

Followed Darryl Rogers. Frank Waters slid Michigan State from Power Program II to Power Program III in 3 seasons.

10–23
1980–1982 · 1 stint
Michigan State
← all coaches

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 careerMICHIGAN STATEPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyMichigan State, 1980: 3-8, Power Program III1980Michigan State, 1981: 5-6, National Program I1981Michigan State, 1982: 2-9, National Program I1982-10.5One 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).

Michigan State, 3 seasons
−10.5
Power Program III → 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.

0–3 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Bo Schembechler.

Rivalry record
0–3
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
3–11
21.4% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–3
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Michigan0–30%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bo Schembechler0–3
3 meetings, 1980–1982
’80 L’81 L’82 L
0% win rate across a real, 3-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
Blue Blood
0–3 0.0%
Power Program
0–7 0.0%
National Program
2–5 28.6%
Regional Program
8–8 50.0%

Coaching career

1980–1982
Michigan Statecaretaker
Power Program II → Power Program III
Frank Waters slid Michigan State from Power Program II to Power Program III in 3 seasons.

10th-best Michigan State tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Followed Darryl Rogers (1976–1979) · succeeded by George Perles (1983–1994).

11 NFL Draft picks: Angelo Fields (1980), Mark Brammer (1980), Eugene Byrd (1980), Ray Stachowicz (1981), James Burroughs (1982), Morten Andersen (1982), Tom Morris (1982), Jeff Wiska (1982) + 3 more

10–23