Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 3-1
1972Rose BowlW 42-171973Rose BowlL 21-421974Rose BowlW 18-17TA&M1975Liberty BowlW 20-0Stats
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.
18-11 against his rivals. Just 1-2 against Joe Kuharich.
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 (1960-1975) 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. 18 went in the first round.
At least 65 — his 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | R3.09 | Danny Reece | Defensive Back |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.11 | Anthony Davis | Running Back |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.19 | Charles Phillips | Defensive Back |  Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.21 | Bill Bain | Offensive Guard |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1975 | R2.26 | Art Riley | Defensive Tackle |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1975 | R3.16 | Richard Wood | Linebacker | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1975 | R4.08 | Allen Carter | Running Back |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1975 | R7.02 | Jim Obradovich | Tight End |  New York Giants | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | R7.20 | Pat Haden | Quarterback |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1974 | R1.21 | Lynn Swann | Wide Receiver |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1974 | R1.25 | Steve Riley | Offensive Tackle | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1974 | R4.10 | Rod McNeill | Running Back |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1974 | R6.24 | Booker Brown | Offensive Guard |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R1.06 | Charle Young | Tight End |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1973 | R1.11 | Sam Cunningham | Running Back | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1973 | R1.22 | Pete Adams | Offensive Guard |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1973 | R2.06 | Jeff Winans | Defensive Tackle |  Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1973 | R4.04 | Allen Gallaher | Offensive Tackle | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1973 | R5.01 | Edesel Garrison | Wide Receiver | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1973 | R7.10 | John Grant | Defensive End |  Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1972 | R2.05 | Willie Hall | Linebacker | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1972 | R2.17 | John Vella | Offensive Tackle | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1972 | R7.20 | Alonzo Thomas | Defensive Back | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1971 | R1.12 | Marv Montgomery | Offensive Tackle | Denver Broncos | Estimated |
| 1971 | R1.25 | Tody Smith | Defensive End |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1971 | R2.22 | Charlie Weaver | Linebacker |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1971 | R3.03 | Sam Dickerson | Wide Receiver |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1971 | R4.08 | Gerry Mullins | Offensive Guard | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1971 | R4.19 | Clarence Davis | Running Back | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.19 | Greg Slough | Linebacker | Oakland Raiders | Estimated |
| 1971 | R6.22 | Herman Franklin | Wide Receiver | Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1971 | R7.04 | Bob Chandler | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1970 | R1.05 | Al Cowlings | Defensive End | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1970 | R1.26 | Sid Smith | Offensive Tackle |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1970 | R5.09 | Gary McArthur | Offensive Tackle | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1970 | R6.08 | Sandy Durko | Defensive Back | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1970 | R6.19 | Tony Terry | Defensive Tackle | Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1970 | R7.13 | Gary Orcutt | Wide Receiver |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1969 | R1.01 | O.J. Simpson | Running Back | Buffalo Bills | Estimated |
| 1969 | R1.21 | Bob Klein | Tight End | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1969 | R5.12 | Bill Hayhoe | Defensive Tackle | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1969 | R6.08 | Bob Miller | Tight End | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.01 | Ron Yary | Offensive Tackle | Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.10 | Mike Taylor | Offensive Tackle |  Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.14 | Tim Rossovich | Linebacker | Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.16 | Mike Hull | Running Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1968 | R1.24 | Earl McCullouch | Wide Receiver |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1968 | R3.13 | Adrian Young | Linebacker | Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.11 | Dennis Crane | Defensive Tackle |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1968 | R4.18 | Gary Magner | Defensive Tackle | New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1967 | R4.09 | Ray May | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers | Estimated |
| 1967 | R5.01 | Don McCall | Running Back | New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1967 | R5.15 | Nate Shaw | Defensive Back | Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1966 | R2.16 | Estimated | |||
| 1966 | R4.51 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R4.47 | Estimated | |||
| 1965 | R4.52 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R1.05 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R2.19 | Estimated | |||
| 1964 | R3.32 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R3.31 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R5.67 | Estimated | |||
| 1962 | R6.78 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R1.04 | Estimated | |||
| 1961 | R4.51 | 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.
Transformer raised the program into the sport's top tier, or higher within it
2nd-best USC tenure of 17 by the numbers.
Followed Don Clark (1957–1959) · succeeded by John Robinson (1976–1982).
| Season | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||||||||||
| Record | 4-6 | 4-5-1 | 11-0 | 7-3 | 7-3 | 7-2-1 | 7-4 | 10-1 | 9-1-1 | 10-0-1 | 6-4-1 | 6-4-1 | 12-0 | 9-2-1 | 10-1-1 | 8-4 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W bowl | L bowl | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Selector agreement
The AP and Coaches’ polls split on the national champion in 1 season of this coach’s career — shown as each selector’s own pick, not a single consensus title.
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
most wins by a Pac-8 coach
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+32.9 pts at USC · #17 of 1290 · top quarter