The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Tiny Thornhill

Tiny Thornhill held Stanford at Power Program II for 4 seasons.

10–21

1936–1939 · 1 stint

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.

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).

Stanford, 4 seasons

+0.0

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.

0–4 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Stub Allison.

Rivalry record

0–4

0.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

5–10–5

25.0% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

California0–40%

The toughest matchup

vs. Stub Allison0–4

4 meetings, 1936–1939

’36 L’37 L’38 L’39 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

2–9 18.2%

National Program

8–8 50.0%

Coaching career

1936–1939

Stanfordcaretaker

Power Program II

Tiny Thornhill held Stanford at Power Program II for 4 seasons.

2nd-best Stanford tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Succeeded by Clark Shaughnessy (1940–1941).

10–21