The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Jim Pittman

Followed Fred Taylor. Jim Pittman held TCU at Regional Program I for 1 season.

The journeyman
24–33
1966–1971 · 2 stints
TulaneTCU
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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 careerTULANETCUNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelTulane, 1966: 5-4, Regional Program IV1966Tulane, 1967: 3-7, Regional Program III1967Tulane, 1968: 2-8, Regional Program III1968Tulane, 1969: 3-7, Regional Program III1969Tulane, 1970: 8-4, Regional Program III1970+2.9TCU, 1971: 3-3, Regional Program I1971-2.1One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Tulane, 5 seasons
+2.9
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.

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.

0–5 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against Charles McClendon.

Rivalry record
0–5
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
9–7–1
52.9% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–3
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
LSU0–50%
The toughest matchup
vs. Charles McClendon0–5
5 meetings, 1966–1970
’66 L’67 L’68 L’69 L’70 L
0% win rate across a real, 5-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
2–13 13.3%
National Program
6–8 42.9%
Regional Program
12–5 70.6%

Coaching career

1971–1971
TCUcaretaker
Regional Program I → Regional Program I
Jim Pittman held TCU at Regional Program I for 1 season.

9th-best TCU tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Followed Fred Taylor (1967–1970).

3–3
1966–1970
Tulanecaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III
Jim Pittman moved Tulane from Regional Program IV to Regional Program III in 5 seasons.

18th-best Tulane tenure of 23 by the numbers.

Followed Tommy O'Boyle (1962–1965) · succeeded by Bennie Ellender (1971–1975).

3 NFL Draft picks: Peter Johns (1967), Bob Duhon (1968), Warren Bankston (1969)

21–30