The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Steve Kragthorpe

Steve Kragthorpe held Louisville at Power Program II for 3 seasons.

The ascent
44–43
2003–2009 · 2 stints
TulsaLouisville
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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 careerTULSALOUISVILLEPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelTulsa, 2003: 8-5, Regional Program V2003Tulsa, 2004: 4-8, Regional Program V2004Tulsa, 2005: 9-4, Regional Program IV2005Tulsa, 2006: 8-5, Regional Program III2006+8.4Louisville, 2007: 6-6, Power Program II2007Louisville, 2008: 5-7, Power Program III2008Louisville, 2009: 4-8, National Program I2009-12.2One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 5th career season — faster than 30% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #251 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Tulsa, 4 seasons
+8.4
Regional Program V → Regional Program III.
Louisville, 3 seasons
−12.2
Power Program II → National Program I.

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.

1–5 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Kyle Whittingham.

Rivalry record
1–5
16.7% · 2 rivals
One-score games
15–17
46.9% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Kentucky0–30%
Cincinnati1–233%
The toughest matchup
vs. Kyle Whittingham0–3
3 meetings, 2006–2009
’06 L’07 L’09 L
0% win rate across a real, 3-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
0–1 0.0%
Power Program
1–7 12.5%
National Program
8–19 29.6%
Regional Program
29–16 64.4%

Coaching career

2007–2009
Louisvillecaretaker
Power Program II → Power Program II
Steve Kragthorpe held Louisville at Power Program II for 3 seasons.

2nd-best Louisville tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Charlie Strong (2010–2013).

Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
Grows Cornerback from high school
100%
#225 of 236 stints

11 NFL Draft picks: Amobi Okoye (2007), Michael Bush (2007), Kolby Smith (2007), William Gay (2007), Brian Brohm (2008), Harry Douglas (2008), Gary Barnidge (2008), Breno Giacomini (2008) + 3 more

15–21
2003–2006
Tulsacaretaker
Regional Program V → Regional Program III
Steve Kragthorpe moved Tulsa from Regional Program V to Regional Program III in 4 seasons.

19th-best Tulsa tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Keith Burns (2000–2002) · succeeded by Todd Graham (2007–2010).

2 NFL Draft picks: James Kilian (2005), Garrett Mills (2006)

29–22