Dave McClain

Head coach, 1975–1985

Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.

Chemistry

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index in development

Seasons here—

Programs2

Stints2

Career path

Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016

1978–1985WisconsinHead Coach

1975–1977Ball StateHead Coach

As head coach

Rating—Peak65Career65

1975–1985 · 11 seasonsRecord 72-49National titles 0Great seasons 0 (top ~7% of all teams that year)

Rating 65: his whole career, recent seasons weighted most, measured as how far his teams stood above their era, crediting him with half of what each program already was when he arrived (about the share that, historically, follows a coach to his next job), fading as the program becomes his own.
Peak 65: best five-season stretch, 1981–1985 at Wisconsin (33-24), taking over an average program.
Career 65 (#270 since 1936): total accomplishment over 11 seasons (72-49), 0 national titles, 0 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.

Rating = who he is: his whole head-coaching career (since 1936), weighted toward recent years — how far his teams stood above their contemporaries, how much he lifted programs, his great seasons and titles. Form = the last two seasons. Career = the all-time ranking number.

Season	Team	Record	Season rank	vs contemporaries
1985	Wisconsin	5-6	#59	-0.13 SD
1984	Wisconsin	7-4-1	#42	+0.32 SD
1983	Wisconsin	7-4	#32	+0.72 SD
1982	Wisconsin	7-5	#35	+0.46 SD
1981	Wisconsin	7-5	#49	+0.25 SD
1980	Wisconsin	4-7	#67	-0.14 SD
1979	Wisconsin	4-7	#63	-0.13 SD
1978	Wisconsin	5-4-2	#66	-0.15 SD
1977	Ball State	9-2	#59	+0.07 SD
1976	Ball State	8-3	#67	-0.16 SD
1975	Ball State	9-2	#58	+0.05 SD

Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).