The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Howard Schnellenberger

Howard Schnellenberger held Florida Atlantic at Regional Program IV for 7 seasons.

Peak, then fade
141–133
1979–2011 · 4 stints
MiamiLouisvilleOklahomaFlorida Atlantic
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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 careerMIAMILOUISVILLEOKLAHOMAFLORIDA ATLANTICBlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelMiami, 1979: 5-6, National Program II1979Miami, 1980: 9-3, National Program IIMiami, 1981: 9-2, National Program IMiami, 1982: 7-4, Power Program IIIMiami, 1983: 11-1, Power Program I1983+14.3Louisville, 1985: 2-9, Regional Program IV1985Louisville, 1986: 3-8, Regional Program IVLouisville, 1987: 3-7, Regional Program IVLouisville, 1988: 8-3, Regional Program IVLouisville, 1989: 6-5, Regional Program IIILouisville, 1990: 10-1, Regional Program IILouisville, 1991: 2-9, Regional Program IILouisville, 1992: 5-6, Regional Program IIILouisville, 1993: 9-3, Regional Program ILouisville, 1994: 6-5, Regional Program I1994+8.3Oklahoma, 1995: 5-5, Blue Blood1995-4.1Florida Atlantic, 2005: 2-9, Regional Program IV2005Florida Atlantic, 2006: 5-7, Regional Program IVFlorida Atlantic, 2007: 8-5, Regional Program IVFlorida Atlantic, 2008: 7-6, Regional Program IVFlorida Atlantic, 2009: 5-7, Regional Program IVFlorida Atlantic, 2010: 4-8, Regional Program IVFlorida Atlantic, 2011: 1-11, Regional Program V2011+0.0One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Blue Blood in his 16th career season — faster than 9% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #91 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Miami, 5 seasons
+14.3
National Program II → Power Program I.
Louisville, 10 seasons
+8.3
Regional Program IV → Regional Program I.
Florida Atlantic, 7 seasons
+0.0
Regional Program IV → Regional Program V.

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.

10–8 against his rivals. Just 1–5 against Rick Stockstill.

Rivalry record
10–8–1
52.6% · 6 rivals
One-score games
59–31–3
63.4% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–2
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Cincinnati4–450%
Florida State3–260%
Virginia Tech3–0100%
Kentucky0–10%
Texas0–0–10%
Oklahoma State0–10%
The toughest matchupNemesis
vs. Rick Stockstill1–5
6 meetings, 2006–2011
’06 L’07 W’08 L’09 L’10 L’11 L
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–2 0.0%
Blue Blood
3–8 27.3%
Power Program
14–30 31.8%
National Program
33–39 45.8%
Regional Program
72–50 59.0%

Coaching career

2004–2011
Florida Atlanticcaretaker
Regional Program IV
Howard Schnellenberger held Florida Atlantic at Regional Program IV for 7 seasons.

6th-best Florida Atlantic tenure of 9 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Carl Pelini (2012–2013).

Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Running back from high school
100%
#196 of 208 stints
Grows Interior line from high school
100%
#198 of 224 stints

3 NFL Draft picks: Rusty Smith (2010), Robert Housler (2011), Alfred Morris (2012)

41–56
1995–1995
Oklahomainheritor
Blue Blood → Blue Blood
Howard Schnellenberger inherited a Blue Blood Oklahoma and won with it.

8th-best Oklahoma tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Followed Gary Gibbs (1989–1994) · succeeded by John Blake (1996–1998).

5–5
1985–1994
Louisvillecaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program I
Howard Schnellenberger moved Louisville from Regional Program IV to Regional Program I in 10 seasons.

13th-best Louisville tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Followed Bob Weber (1980–1984) · succeeded by Ron Cooper (1995–1997).

10 NFL Draft picks: Ron Davenport (1985), Ernest Givins (1986), Bruce Armstrong (1987), Carwell Gardner (1990), Ted Washington (1991), Browning Nagle (1991), Ray Buchanan (1993), Deral Boykin (1993) + 2 more

54–56
1979–1983
Miamibuilder
National Program II → Power Program I
Howard Schnellenberger raised Miami from National Program II to Power Program I.

8th-best Miami tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Followed Lou Saban (1977–1978) · succeeded by Jimmy Johnson (1984–1988).

16 NFL Draft picks: Ottis Anderson (1979), Don Smith (1979), Steve Alvers (1979), John Swain (1981), Lester Williams (1982), Fred Marion (1982), Bob Nelson (1982), Jim Kelly (1983) + 8 more

41–16