Coaches / Head coach / Jess Neely
Career
84
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak75best 5 yrs
Career84whole career
confidence
Jess Neely
Head coach, 1936–1966
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—Peak75Career84
1936–1966 · 28 seasonsRecord 156-116National titles 0Great seasons 2 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 75: 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 75: best five-season stretch, 1942–1949 at Rice (37-12, 2 top-10 seasons by team strength), taking over an average program.
- Career 84 (#36 since 1936): total accomplishment over 28 seasons (156-116), 0 national titles, 2 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Proven at 2 programs: Clemson · Rice.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Rice | 2-8 | #39 | +0.35 SD |
| 1965 | Rice | 2-8 | #75 | -0.52 SD |
| 1964 | Rice | 4-5-1 | #34 | +0.47 SD |
| 1963 | Rice | 6-4 | #19 | +1.00 SD |
| 1962 | Rice | 2-6-2 | #54 | +0.15 SD |
| 1961 | Rice | 7-4 | #16 | +0.97 SD |
| 1960 | Rice | 7-4 | #7 | +1.36 SD |
| 1959 | Rice | 1-7-2 | #58 | -0.06 SD |
| 1958 | Rice | 5-5 | #16 | +0.89 SD |
| 1957 | Rice | 7-4 | #14 | +1.08 SD |
| 1956 | Rice | 4-6 | #39 | +0.33 SD |
| 1955 | Rice | 2-7-1 | #45 | +0.16 SD |
| 1954 | Rice | 7-3 | #15 | +1.06 SD |
| 1953 | Rice | 9-2 | #3 | +1.75 SD |
| 1952 | Rice | 5-5 | #40 | +0.28 SD |
| 1951 | Rice | 5-5 | #25 | +0.68 SD |
| 1950 | Rice | 6-4 | #39 | +0.30 SD |
| 1949 | Rice | 10-1 | #11 | +1.20 SD |
| 1948 | Rice | 5-4-1 | #35 | +0.51 SD |
| 1947 | Rice | 6-3-1 | #4 | +1.73 SD |
| 1946 | Rice | 9-2 | #8 | +1.26 SD |
| 1945 | Rice | 5-6 | #35 (wartime) | -0.01 SD |
| 1944 | Rice | 5-6 | #45 (wartime) | -0.42 SD |
| 1943 | Rice | 3-7 | #41 (wartime) | -0.70 SD |
| 1942 | Rice | 7-2-1 | #15 | +1.06 SD |
| 1941 | Rice | 6-3-1 | #37 | +0.44 SD |
| 1940 | Rice | 7-3 | #20 | +0.79 SD |
| 1939 | Clemson | 9-1 | #10 | +1.28 SD |
| 1938 | Clemson | 7-1-1 | #20 | +0.77 SD |
| 1937 | Clemson | 4-4-1 | #48 | +0.15 SD |
| 1936 | Clemson | 5-5 | #60 | -0.13 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).