Johnny Majors
Now
Career arc
Bowls and playoffs: 9-7
Iowa State’71L’72LPittsburgh’73L’75W’76WTennessee’79L’81W’82L’83W’84L’85W’86W’87W’89W’90W’91L
Show all 16 games
1971Sun BowlL 15-33
1972Liberty BowlL 30-31Pittsburgh
1973Fiesta BowlL 7-281975Sun BowlW 33-19
1976Sugar BowlW 27-3
Tennessee
1979Astro-Bluebonnet BowlL 22-27
1981Garden State BowlW 28-21
1982Peach BowlL 22-28
1983Florida Citrus BowlW 30-23
1984Sun BowlL 27-281985Sugar BowlW 35-7
1986Liberty BowlW 21-14
1987Peach BowlW 27-22
1989Cotton Bowl ClassicW 31-27
1990Sugar BowlW 23-22
1991Fiesta BowlL 17-42
Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
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 5 tries against Bob Devaney.
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.
4-4 against his rivals at Pittsburgh. Just 1-3 against Joe Paterno.
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.
30-15 against his rivals at Tennessee. Winless in 3 tries against Jim Young.
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.
0-4 against his rivals at Pittsburgh. Winless in 4 tries against Don Nehlen.
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.
34-23 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against Bob Devaney.
Building the roster
Three numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Followed him here
Iowa State→
Pittsburgh1973Players who transferred from his old program to his new one through the portal in the same year he made the move. Name-matching across data sources misses some, so every count is a floor, not an exact number.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1977-1992) 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. 14 went in the first round.
At least 47 — the draft class following his 1987 season is missing from this table entirely; and his 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | R1.27 | Todd Kelly | Defensive End |  San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1992 | R1.20 | Dale Carter | Defensive Back |  Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1992 | R1.23 | Chris Mims | Defensive End |  San Diego Chargers | Estimated |
| 1992 | R2.03 | Carl Pickens | Wide Receiver |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1992 | R2.23 | Chuck Smith | Defensive End |  Atlanta Falcons | Estimated |
| 1992 | R3.24 | Jeremy Lincoln | Defensive Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1992 | R4.25 | Tom Myslinski | Offensive Guard |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1991 | R1.07 | Charles McRae | Offensive Tackle |  Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | R1.08 | Antone Davis | Offensive Tackle |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1991 | R1.12 | Alvin Harper | Wide Receiver | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1991 | R3.26 | Chuck Webb | Running Back |  Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1991 | R5.17 | Harlan Davis | Defensive Back |  Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1991 | R5.23 | Anthony Morgan | Wide Receiver | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1990 | R2.05 | Reggie Cobb | Running Back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Estimated |
| 1990 | R3.21 | Marion Hobby | Defensive End |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1990 | R4.18 | Eric Still | Offensive Guard |  Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1990 | R7.09 | Tracy Hayworth | Linebacker |  Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1990 | R7.25 | Kent Elmore | Punter |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1989 | R1.28 | Keith DeLong | Linebacker | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1989 | R6.01 | Jeff Francis | Quarterback |  Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1987 | R2.24 | Bruce Wilkerson | Offensive Tackle | Los Angeles Raiders | Estimated |
| 1986 | R1.21 | Tim McGee | Wide Receiver |  Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1986 | R6.28 | Jeff Powell | Running Back |  Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1986 | R7.04 | Eric Swanson | Wide Receiver |  St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1986 | R7.24 | Tommy Sims | Defensive Back |  Indianapolis Colts | Estimated |
| 1985 | R1.24 | Alvin Toles | Linebacker |  New Orleans Saints | Estimated |
| 1985 | R2.15 | Carl Zander | Linebacker | Cincinnati Bengals | Estimated |
| 1985 | R5.25 | Johnnie Jones | Running Back | Seattle Seahawks | Estimated |
| 1985 | R7.27 | Fuad Reveiz | Place Kicker |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1984 | R1.17 | Clyde Duncan | Wide Receiver | St. Louis Cardinals | Estimated |
| 1984 | R4.01 | Mark Studaway | Defensive End | Houston Oilers | Estimated |
| 1984 | R6.27 | Curt Singer | Offensive Tackle |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1983 | R1.18 | Willie Gault | Wide Receiver | Chicago Bears | Estimated |
| 1983 | R2.19 | Darryal Wilson | Wide Receiver |  New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1983 | R3.11 | Mike Cofer | Defensive End | Detroit Lions | Estimated |
| 1983 | R4.20 | Mike Miller | Wide Receiver | Green Bay Packers | Estimated |
| 1982 | R1.11 | Anthony Hancock | Wide Receiver | Kansas City Chiefs | Estimated |
| 1982 | R4.28 | Brian Ingram | Linebacker | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1982 | R6.14 | Lemont Jeffers | Linebacker |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1981 | R3.18 | Tim Irwin | Offensive Tackle |  Minnesota Vikings | Estimated |
| 1981 | R5.26 | Danny Spradlin | Linebacker | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1981 | R7.08 | Alan Duncan | Place Kicker |  Philadelphia Eagles | Estimated |
| 1980 | R1.14 | Roland James | Defensive Back | New England Patriots | Estimated |
| 1980 | R3.21 | Craig Puki | Linebacker | San Francisco 49ers | Estimated |
| 1979 | R1.27 | Robert Shaw | Center | Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1979 | R3.02 | Jeff Moore | Wide Receiver |  Los Angeles Rams | Estimated |
| 1978 | R3.20 | Craig Colquitt | Punter |  Pittsburgh Steelers | 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 · Inheritor inherited a power and neither built it higher nor let it collapse · Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
8th-best Tennessee tenure of 16 by the numbers.
Followed Bill Battle (1970–1976) · succeeded by Phillip Fulmer (1992–2008).
| Season | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||||||||||
| Record | 4-7 | 5-5-1 | 7-5 | 5-6 | 8-4 | 6-5-1 | 9-3 | 7-4-1 | 9-1-2 | 7-5 | 10-2-1 | 5-6 | 11-1 | 9-2-2 | 9-3 | 5-3 | |
| Postseason | — | — | L bowl | — | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | W bowl | W bowl | — | W bowl | W bowl | L 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
6th-best Pittsburgh tenure of 23 by the numbers.
Followed Carl DePasqua (1969–1972) · succeeded by Jackie Sherrill (1977–1981) · returned in 1993, succeeding Paul Hackett (1990–1992) · succeeded by Walt Harris (1997–2004).
| Season | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||||
| Record | 6-5-1 | 7-4 | 8-4 | 12-0 | 3-8 | 3-8 | 2-9 | 4-7 | |
| Postseason | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
9 NFL Draft picks: Gary Burley (1975), Tom Perko (1976), Karl Farmer (1976), Tony Dorsett (1977), Larry Swider (1977), Jim Corbett (1977), Ruben Brown (1995), Curtis Martin (1995) + 1 more
5th-best Iowa State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Followed Clay Stapleton (1958–1967) · succeeded by Earle Bruce (1973–1978).
| Season | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 3-7 | 3-7 | 5-6 | 8-4 | 5-6-1 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | L bowl | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | |
5 NFL Draft picks: Otto Stowe (1971), Dean Carlson (1972), George Amundson (1973), Dave McCurry (1973), George Campbell (1973)
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.
2nd all-time at Tennessee
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+28.9 pts at Pittsburgh · #26 of 1290 · top quarter