The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Leon Fuller

Followed Sarkis Arslanian. Leon Fuller slid Colorado State from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 7 seasons.

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1982–1988 · 1 stint
Colorado State
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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 careerCOLORADO STATERegional Programthe building-block levelColorado State, 1982: 4-7, Regional Program IV1982Colorado State, 1983: 5-7, Regional Program IV1983Colorado State, 1984: 3-8, Regional Program IV1984Colorado State, 1985: 5-7, Regional Program IV1985Colorado State, 1986: 6-5, Regional Program IV1986Colorado State, 1987: 1-11, Regional Program III1987Colorado State, 1988: 1-10, Regional Program IV1988-0.5One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Colorado State, 7 seasons
−0.5
Regional Program IV → Regional Program IV.

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.

4–8 against his rivals. Winless in 5 tries against Fisher DeBerry.

Rivalry record
4–8
33.3% · 2 rivals
One-score games
11–17
39.3% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–2
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Wyoming3–443%
Colorado1–420%
The toughest matchup
vs. Fisher DeBerry0–5
5 meetings, 1984–1988
’84 L’85 L’86 L’87 L’88 L
0% win rate across a real, 5-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
0–2 0.0%
Power Program
1–10 9.1%
National Program
2–17 10.5%
Regional Program
20–25 44.4%

Coaching career

1982–1988
Colorado Statecaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program IV
Leon Fuller slid Colorado State from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 7 seasons.

12th-best Colorado State tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Followed Sarkis Arslanian (1973–1981) · succeeded by Earle Bruce (1989–1992).

7 NFL Draft picks: Kevin Call (1984), Terry Nugent (1984), Keli McGregor (1985), Terry Unrein (1986), Kelly Stouffer (1987), Steve Bartalo (1987), Steve DeLine (1987)

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