Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 2-0
Stats
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.
2-7 against his rivals. Just 1-4 against Bill Mallory.
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 (1973-1978) 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. 4 went in the first round.
At least 10 — his 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | R1.05 | Terry Miller | Running Back | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1978 | R2.13 | Milton Hardaway | Offensive Tackle | San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1977 | R1.12 | Phil Dokes | Defensive Tackle | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1977 | R6.08 | Cliff Parsley | Punter | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1977 | R7.05 | Derrel Gofourth | Center | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1976 | R1.25 | James White | Defensive Tackle | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1976 | R7.15 | Larry Harris | Defensive Tackle | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R1.18 | Reuben Gant | Tight End | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | R3.05 | Glenn Robinson | Linebacker | Baltimore Colts | Estimated |
| 1974 | R5.26 | Cleveland Vann | Linebacker | Miami Dolphins | 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.
Builder meaningfully raised a program that wasn't one
2nd-best Oklahoma State tenure of 15 by the numbers.
Followed Dave Smith (1972) · succeeded by Jimmy Johnson (1979–1983).
| Season | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||
| Record | 5-4-2 | 7-5 | 7-4 | 9-3 | 4-7 | 3-8 | |
| Postseason | — | W bowl | — | W 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.
+18.0 pts at Oklahoma State · #85 of 1290 · top quarter
Buffalo Bills
San Diego Chargers
New Orleans Saints
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Houston Oilers
Baltimore Colts
Miami Dolphins