Coaches / Head coach / Johnny Majors
Career
83
not coaching now
Rating—recent
Peak79best 5 yrs
Career83whole career
confidence
Johnny Majors
Head coach, 1968–1996
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs3
Stints4
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating—Peak79Career83
1968–1996 · 29 seasonsRecord 185-137National titles 1Great seasons 2 (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 79: best five-season stretch, 1972–1976 at Iowa State and Pittsburgh (38-19, 1 top-10 season by team strength, 1 national title).
- Career 83 (#42 since 1936): total accomplishment over 29 seasons (185-137), 1 national title, 2 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
- Proven at 2 programs: Iowa State · Tennessee.
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 | Pittsburgh | 4-7 | #82 | -0.65 SD |
| 1995 | Pittsburgh | 2-9 | #65 | -0.29 SD |
| 1994 | Pittsburgh | 3-8 | #73 | -0.33 SD |
| 1993 | Pittsburgh | 3-8 | #84 | -0.94 SD |
| 1992 | Tennessee | 5-3 | #11 | +1.21 SD |
| 1991 | Tennessee | 9-3 | #15 | +1.06 SD |
| 1990 | Tennessee | 9-2-2 | #14 | +1.27 SD |
| 1989 | Tennessee | 11-1 | #15 | +1.21 SD |
| 1988 | Tennessee | 5-6 | #58 | -0.08 SD |
| 1987 | Tennessee | 10-2-1 | #16 | +1.08 SD |
| 1986 | Tennessee | 7-5 | #40 | +0.27 SD |
| 1985 | Tennessee | 9-1-2 | #3 | +1.78 SD |
| 1984 | Tennessee | 7-4-1 | #15 | +1.10 SD |
| 1983 | Tennessee | 9-3 | #21 | +0.99 SD |
| 1982 | Tennessee | 6-5-1 | #34 | +0.47 SD |
| 1981 | Tennessee | 8-4 | #61 | +0.03 SD |
| 1980 | Tennessee | 5-6 | #24 | +0.93 SD |
| 1979 | Tennessee | 7-5 | #28 | +0.82 SD |
| 1978 | Tennessee | 5-5-1 | #35 | +0.60 SD |
| 1977 | Tennessee | 4-7 | #38 | +0.50 SD |
| 1976 | Pittsburgh | 12-0 | #2 | +1.86 SD |
| 1975 | Pittsburgh | 8-4 | #13 | +1.29 SD |
| 1974 | Pittsburgh | 7-4 | #29 | +0.74 SD |
| 1973 | Pittsburgh | 6-5-1 | #36 | +0.37 SD |
| 1972 | Iowa State | 5-6-1 | #24 | +0.80 SD |
| 1971 | Iowa State | 8-4 | #20 | +1.01 SD |
| 1970 | Iowa State | 5-6 | #33 | +0.53 SD |
| 1969 | Iowa State | 3-7 | #50 | +0.09 SD |
| 1968 | Iowa State | 3-7 | #65 | -0.28 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).