Jimmy Johnson

Head coach, 1979–1988

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

1984–1988MiamiHead Coach

1979–1983Oklahoma StateHead Coach

As head coach

Rating—Peak83Career77

1979–1988 · 10 seasonsRecord 81-34National titles 1Great seasons 4 (top ~7% of all teams that year)

Rating 83: 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 83: best five-season stretch, 1984–1988 at Miami (52-9, 4 top-10 seasons by team strength, 1 national title), taking over a good program.
Career 77 (#94 since 1936): total accomplishment over 10 seasons (81-34), 1 national title, 4 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
Won big at one of his 2 programs (Miami).

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
1988	Miami	11-1	#1	+2.05 SD
1987	Miami	12-0	#2	+2.17 SD
1986	Miami	11-1	#2	+2.10 SD
1985	Miami	10-2	#4	+1.66 SD
1984	Miami	8-5	#19	+0.98 SD
1983	Oklahoma State	8-4	#15	+1.09 SD
1982	Oklahoma State	4-5-2	#55	-0.12 SD
1981	Oklahoma State	7-5	#44	+0.32 SD
1980	Oklahoma State	3-7-1	#64	-0.06 SD
1979	Oklahoma State	7-4	#51	+0.18 SD

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