The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Tom Craft

Followed Ted Tollner. Tom Craft slid San Diego State from National Program III to Regional Program I in 4 seasons.

19–29
2002–2005 · 1 stint
San Diego 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 careerSAN DIEGO STATENational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelSan Diego State, 2002: 4-9, Regional Program I2002San Diego State, 2003: 6-6, Regional Program I2003San Diego State, 2004: 4-7, Regional Program I2004San Diego State, 2005: 5-7, Regional Program I2005-2.5One 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).

San Diego State, 4 seasons
−2.5
Regional Program I → Regional 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.

0–1 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Rocky Long.

Rivalry record
0–1
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
5–9
35.7% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–3
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Fresno State0–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Rocky Long0–4
4 meetings, 2002–2005
’02 L’03 L’04 L’05 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
Blue Blood
0–3 0.0%
Power Program
1–7 12.5%
National Program
5–8 38.5%
Regional Program
10–9 52.6%

Coaching career

2002–2005
San Diego Statecaretaker
National Program III → Regional Program I
Tom Craft slid San Diego State from National Program III to Regional Program I in 4 seasons.

10th-best San Diego State tenure of 11 by the numbers.

Followed Ted Tollner (1994–2001) · succeeded by Chuck Long (2006–2008).

10 NFL Draft picks: Chester Pitts (2002), Larry Ned (2002), Michael Houghton (2002), J.R. Tolver (2003), Jeff Shoate (2004), Matt McCoy (2005), Kirk Morrison (2005), Marviel Underwood (2005) + 2 more

19–29