Coaches / Head coach / Earle Bruce
Career
79
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak70best 5 yrs
Career79whole career
confidence
Earle Bruce
Head coach, 1973–1992
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs3
Stints3
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating—Peak70Career79
1973–1992 · 19 seasonsRecord 139-82National titles 0Great seasons 1 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 70: 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 70: best five-season stretch, 1976–1980 at Iowa State and Ohio State (44-15, 1 top-10 season by team strength).
- Career 79 (#72 since 1936): total accomplishment over 19 seasons (139-82), 0 national titles, 1 elite season; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Won big at one of his 3 programs (Ohio State).
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 | Colorado State | 5-7 | #76 | -0.53 SD |
| 1991 | Colorado State | 3-8 | #86 | -0.86 SD |
| 1990 | Colorado State | 9-4 | #46 | +0.07 SD |
| 1989 | Colorado State | 5-5-1 | #43 | +0.28 SD |
| 1987 | Ohio State | 6-4-1 | #24 | +0.67 SD |
| 1986 | Ohio State | 10-3 | #13 | +1.21 SD |
| 1985 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #16 | +1.17 SD |
| 1984 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #7 | +1.27 SD |
| 1983 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #10 | +1.26 SD |
| 1982 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #15 | +1.24 SD |
| 1981 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #31 | +0.71 SD |
| 1980 | Ohio State | 9-3 | #12 | +1.39 SD |
| 1979 | Ohio State | 11-1 | #4 | +1.91 SD |
| 1978 | Iowa State | 8-4 | #38 | +0.49 SD |
| 1977 | Iowa State | 8-4 | #25 | +0.81 SD |
| 1976 | Iowa State | 8-3 | #14 | +1.32 SD |
| 1975 | Iowa State | 4-7 | #55 | +0.07 SD |
| 1974 | Iowa State | 4-7 | #35 | +0.56 SD |
| 1973 | Iowa State | 4-7 | #22 | +0.71 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).