The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Ken Cooper

Followed John Vaught. Ken Cooper held Ole Miss at Power Program II for 4 seasons.

19–25
1974–1977 · 1 stint
Ole Miss
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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 careerOLE MISSPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyOle Miss, 1974: 3-8, Power Program II1974Ole Miss, 1975: 6-5, Power Program III1975Ole Miss, 1976: 5-6, Power Program III1976Ole Miss, 1977: 5-6, Power Program III1977-9.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Ole Miss, 4 seasons
−9.6
Power Program II → Power 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.

3–8 against his rivals. Just 1–3 against Bear Bryant.

Rivalry record
3–8
27.3% · 3 rivals
One-score games
8–11
42.1% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
2–2
50.0%
Rivalry ledger
LSU1–325%
Mississippi State1–325%
Memphis1–233%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bear Bryant1–3
4 meetings, 1974–1977
’74 L’75 L’76 W’77 L
25% 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
Blue Blood
2–2 50.0%
Power Program
5–10 33.3%
National Program
5–6 45.5%
Regional Program
7–7 50.0%

Coaching career

1974–1977
Ole Misscaretaker
Power Program II → Power Program II
Ken Cooper held Ole Miss at Power Program II for 4 seasons.

5th-best Ole Miss tenure of 17 by the numbers.

Followed John Vaught (1947–1973) · succeeded by Steve Sloan (1978–1982).

5 NFL Draft picks: Norris Weese (1974), Butch Veazey (1974), Ben Williams (1976), Ken Coleman (1978), George Plasketes (1978)

19–25