John McKenna: coaching record and career

Now

Career arc

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.

Winless in 4 tries against Art Lewis.

One-score games

21-21-8

42.0% · margin ≤8

The toughest matchup

vs. Art Lewis0-4

4 meetings, 1953–1956

’53 L’54 L’55 L’56 L

0% win rate across a real, 4-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

Power Program

0-4 0.0%

National Program

2-11 15.4%

Regional Program

42-35 54.5%

Building the roster

One numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.

1Roster ownership

Roster ownership

This coach's entire tenure (1953-1965) 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.

Career

Coaching career

See VMI’s full coaching history →

The arc of his career is on Now.

Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder

1953–1965

VMI Steady

Regional Program III → Regional Program I (left at Regional Program III)

Closest comparable run: Pat Narduzzi’s Pittsburgh run (2015–now)

John McKenna moved VMI from Regional Program III to Regional Program I in 13 seasons.

+7.3 pts over 13 seasons · bottom 30% of 10+-season tenures (202 in sample)

1st-best VMI tenure of 3 by the numbers.

Followed Thomas Nugent (1949–1952).

62-60-8

Was he good?

Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.

Raised the program

+7.3 pts at VMI · #301 of 1290 · top quarter