The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Tony Samuel

Followed Jim Hess. Tony Samuel moved New Mexico State from Regional Program VI to Regional Program V in 8 seasons.

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1997–2004 · 1 stint
New Mexico 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 careerNEW MEXICO STATERegional Programthe building-block levelNew Mexico State, 1997: 2-9, Regional Program VI1997New Mexico State, 1998: 3-8, Regional Program VI1998New Mexico State, 1999: 6-5, Regional Program VI1999New Mexico State, 2000: 3-8, Regional Program VI2000New Mexico State, 2001: 5-7, Regional Program V2001New Mexico State, 2002: 7-5, Regional Program V2002New Mexico State, 2003: 3-9, Regional Program V2003New Mexico State, 2004: 5-6, Regional Program V2004+3.7One 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).

New Mexico State, 8 seasons
+3.7
Regional Program VI → Regional Program V.

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.

3–5 against his rivals. Just 1–6 against Darrell Dickey.

Rivalry record
3–5
37.5% · 1 rival
One-score games
13–19
40.6% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
New Mexico3–538%
The toughest matchupNemesis
vs. Darrell Dickey1–6
7 meetings, 1998–2004
’98 L’99 W’00 L’01 L’02 L’03 L’04 L
Performance by opponent class
Power Program
1–9 10.0%
National Program
1–11 8.3%
Regional Program
24–34 41.4%

Coaching career

1997–2004
New Mexico Statecaretaker
Regional Program VI → Regional Program V
Tony Samuel moved New Mexico State from Regional Program VI to Regional Program V in 8 seasons.

10th-best New Mexico State tenure of 20 by the numbers.

Followed Jim Hess (1990–1996) · succeeded by Hal Mumme (2005–2008).

2 NFL Draft picks: Chris Barnes (2001), Siddeeq Shabazz (2003)

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