Bernard Mertes
Bernard Mertes went 50–63–1 as a head coach, 1951–1964, at Bradley, Kansas State and Drake. Share
Seven seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1951–52 at Bradley; 1960–64 at Drake. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 50–63–1 career
- Seasons
- 12
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1955 4–6
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Bradley * | 4–5 | 7th | |||
| 1952 | Bradley * | 4–5 | ||||
| 1953–54: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1955 | Kansas State | 4–6 | T–3rd | |||
| 1956 | Kansas State | 3–7 | T–5th | |||
| 1957 | Kansas State | 3–6–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1958 | Kansas State | 3–7 | 5th | |||
| 1959 | Kansas State | 2–8 | 7th | |||
| 1960 | Drake * | 4–5 | ||||
| 1961 | Drake * | 5–4 | ||||
| 1962 | Drake * | 8–2 | ||||
| 1963 | Drake * | 4–4 | ||||
| 1964 | Drake * | 6–4 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 5 | 0–5 | 0% |
| Against top-10 teams | 5 | 0–5 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 30 | 10–20 | 33% |
| Conference games | 30 | 10–20 | 33% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 15 | 6–8–1 | 43% |
| At home | 22 | 5–17 | 23% |
| On the road | 28 | 10–17–1 | 38% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 19 | 8–11 | 42% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 31 | 7–23–1 | 24% |
His own 50 games on file, 1955–1959, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bud Wilkinson 1955–1959 | 0–5 | Oklahoma | 5 | |
| Cliff Speegle 1955–1959 | 0–4 | Oklahoma State | 4 | |
| Dallas Ward 1955–1958 | 0–4 | Colorado | 4 | |
| William Jennings 1957–1959 | 2–1 | Nebraska | 3 | |
| Chuck Mather 1955–1957 | 1–2 | Kansas | 3 | |
| Duffy Daugherty 1956–1958 | 0–3 | Michigan State | 3 |
Bernard Mertes’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Stateseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Nebraskaseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Missouriseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Kansasseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Coloradoseries | 5 | 0–5 |
| Oklahomaseries | 5 | 0–5 |
| Wyomingseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Oklahoma Stateseries | 4 | 0–4 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Bradley | Backfield coach | |
| 1951–52 | Bradley | Head coach | |
| 1953–54 | Kansas State | Backfield coach | |
| 1955–59 | Kansas State | Head coach | |
| 1960–64 | Drake | Head coach | |
| 1965–66 | Denver Broncos NFL | Assistant coach | |
| 1967–84 | Minnesota Vikings NFL | Assistant coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bill MeekKansas State
- Les SteckelMinnesota Vikings
Assistants who became head coaches
- Ed CavanaughArmy, Idaho State
- Ellis RainsbergerKansas State, Washburn, Southern Illinois, Pittsburgh Maulers
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Meek | Kansas State | 1953–54 | Backfield coach | |
| Les Steckel | Minnesota Vikings NFL | 1984 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Cavanaugh | Kansas State, 1955–58: assistant coach | Army, Idaho State | |
| Ellis Rainsberger | Drake, 1960: assistant coach | Kansas State, Washburn, Southern Illinois, Pittsburgh Maulers |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.