Coaches / Head coach / Don James
Career
85
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak88best 5 yrs
Career85whole career
confidence
Don James
Head coach, 1971–1992
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs2
Stints2
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating—Peak88Career85
1971–1992 · 22 seasonsRecord 175-79National titles 1Great seasons 5 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 88: 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 88: best five-season stretch, 1988–1992 at Washington (45-14, 3 top-10 seasons by team strength, 1 national title), taking over an average program.
- Career 85 (#31 since 1936): total accomplishment over 22 seasons (175-79), 1 national title, 5 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Won big at one of his 2 programs (Washington).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Washington | 9-3 | #5 | +1.82 SD |
| 1991 | Washington | 12-0 | #1 | +2.64 SD |
| 1990 | Washington | 10-2 | #2 | +1.98 SD |
| 1989 | Washington | 8-4 | #12 | +1.28 SD |
| 1988 | Washington | 6-5 | #28 | +0.66 SD |
| 1987 | Washington | 7-4-1 | #37 | +0.33 SD |
| 1986 | Washington | 8-3-1 | #4 | +1.71 SD |
| 1985 | Washington | 7-5 | #39 | +0.37 SD |
| 1984 | Washington | 11-1 | #4 | +1.44 SD |
| 1983 | Washington | 8-4 | #33 | +0.66 SD |
| 1982 | Washington | 10-2 | #16 | +1.23 SD |
| 1981 | Washington | 10-2 | #27 | +0.91 SD |
| 1980 | Washington | 9-3 | #19 | +1.07 SD |
| 1979 | Washington | 9-3 | #10 | +1.48 SD |
| 1978 | Washington | 7-4 | #11 | +1.52 SD |
| 1977 | Washington | 8-4 | #13 | +1.29 SD |
| 1976 | Washington | 5-6 | #34 | +0.44 SD |
| 1975 | Washington | 6-5 | #39 | +0.43 SD |
| 1974 | Kent State | 7-4 | #62 | -0.10 SD |
| 1973 | Kent State | 9-2 | #25 | +0.54 SD |
| 1972 | Kent State | 6-5-1 | #87 | -0.76 SD |
| 1971 | Kent State | 3-8 | #98 | -1.29 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).