James Phelan

Head coach, 1936–1947

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

Stints3

Career path

Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016

1945–1947Saint Mary's (CA)Head Coach

1942–1943Saint Mary's (CA)Head Coach

1936–1941WashingtonHead Coach

As head coach

Rating—Peak66Career66

1936–1947 · 9 seasonsRecord 48-33National titles 0Great seasons 0 (top ~7% of all teams that year)

Rating 61: 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 66: best five-season stretch, 1936–1938 at Washington (17-9), taking over an average program.
Career 66 (#249 since 1936): total accomplishment over 9 seasons (48-33), 0 national titles, 0 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
1947	Saint Mary's (CA)	3-7	#94	-1.52 SD
1946	Saint Mary's (CA)	6-3	#57	-0.22 SD
1945	Saint Mary's (CA)	6-2	#23 (wartime)	+0.44 SD
1943	Saint Mary's (CA)	2-5	#25 (wartime)	+0.13 SD
1942	Saint Mary's (CA)	6-3-1	#50	-0.03 SD
1941	Washington	5-4	#25	+0.75 SD
1940	Washington	7-2	#9	+1.41 SD
1939	Washington	4-5	#66	-0.33 SD
1938	Washington	3-5-1	#38	+0.34 SD
1937	Washington	7-2-2	#28	+0.60 SD
1936	Washington	7-2-1	#14	+1.04 SD

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