Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 0-1
1982Orange BowlL 20-21Stats
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.
5-6 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Emory Bellard.
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 (1980-1983) 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.
At least 12 — his 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | R4.10 | Rydell Malancon | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.09 | Leonard Marshall | Defensive End | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.15 | James Britt | Defensive Back | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.02 | Tim Joiner | Linebacker | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.15 | Ramsey Dardar | Defensive Tackle | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1983 | R5.12 | Malcolm Scott | Tight End | New York Giants | Estimated |
| 1983 | R7.24 | Bill Elko | Defensive Tackle | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R2.23 | Orlando McDaniel | Wide Receiver | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | R2.21 | Chris Williams | Defensive Back | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1981 | R2.26 | Lyman White | Linebacker | Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1981 | R3.26 | Greg LaFleur | Tight End | Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.16 | Tracy Porter | Wide Receiver | Detroit Lions | 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.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
13th-best LSU tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Charles McClendon (1962–1979) · succeeded by Bill Arnsparger (1984–1986).
| Season | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||
| Record | 7-4 | 3-7-1 | 8-3-1 | 4-7 | |
| Postseason | — | — | 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.
-2.9 pts at LSU · #881 of 1290 · middle half
Atlanta Falcons
New York Giants
Houston Oilers
St. Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos
Buffalo Bills
Philadelphia Eagles
Detroit Lions