Coaches / Head coach / John Ralston
Career
65
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak76best 5 yrs
Career65whole career
confidence
John Ralston
Head coach, 1959–1996
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—Peak76Career65
1959–1996 · 17 seasonsRecord 97-81National titles 0Great seasons 2 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 43: 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 76: best five-season stretch, 1967–1971 at Stanford (36-16, 2 top-10 seasons by team strength), taking over an average program.
- Career 65 (#259 since 1936): total accomplishment over 17 seasons (97-81), 0 national titles, 2 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Proven at 2 programs: Utah State · Stanford.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | San José State | 3-9 | #101 | -1.35 SD |
| 1995 | San José State | 3-8 | #99 | -1.51 SD |
| 1994 | San José State | 3-8 | #98 | -1.44 SD |
| 1993 | San José State | 2-9 | #77 | -0.57 SD |
| 1971 | Stanford | 9-3 | #16 | +1.12 SD |
| 1970 | Stanford | 9-3 | #8 | +1.57 SD |
| 1969 | Stanford | 7-2-1 | #5 | +1.62 SD |
| 1968 | Stanford | 6-3-1 | #19 | +0.98 SD |
| 1967 | Stanford | 5-5 | #53 | +0.01 SD |
| 1966 | Stanford | 5-5 | #44 | +0.20 SD |
| 1965 | Stanford | 6-3-1 | #41 | +0.31 SD |
| 1964 | Stanford | 5-5 | #25 | +0.75 SD |
| 1963 | Stanford | 3-7 | #57 | +0.02 SD |
| 1962 | Utah State | 8-2 | #61 | +0.06 SD |
| 1961 | Utah State | 9-1-1 | #22 | +0.76 SD |
| 1960 | Utah State | 9-2 | #41 | +0.32 SD |
| 1959 | Utah State | 5-6 | #82 | -1.25 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).