Bill Doolittle
Bill Doolittle went 58–49–2 as a head coach, 1964–1974, at Western Michigan. Share
- Record
- 58–49–2 career
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1965 6–2–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Western Michigan | 3–6 | 5th | |||
| 1965 | Western Michigan | 6–2–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1966 | Western Michigan | 7–3 | T–1st | |||
| 1967 | Western Michigan | 5–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1968 | Western Michigan | 3–6 | 5th | |||
| 1969 | Western Michigan | 4–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1970 | Western Michigan | 7–3 | 4th | |||
| 1971 | Western Michigan | 7–3 | T–3rd | |||
| 1972 | Western Michigan | 7–3–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1973 | Western Michigan | 6–5 | T–5th | |||
| 1974 | Western Michigan | 3–8 | 6th |
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.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 19 | 8–11 | 42% |
| Conference games | 61 | 25–34–2 | 43% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 39 | 23–14–2 | 62% |
| At home | 57 | 35–20–2 | 63% |
| On the road | 52 | 23–29 | 44% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 61 | 41–19–1 | 68% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 48 | 17–30–1 | 36% |
His own 109 games on file, 1964–1974, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Hess 1964–1974 | 6–5 | Ohio | 11 | |
| Frank Lauterbur 1964–1970 | 2–5 | Toledo | 7 | |
| Don Nehlen 1968–1974 | 1–5–1 | Bowling Green | 7 | |
| Bo Schembechler 1964–1968 | 1–4 | Miami (OH) | 5 | |
| Bill Mallory 1969–1973 | 0–5 | Miami (OH) | 5 | |
| Jack Lengyel 1971–1974 | 4–0 | Marshall | 4 | |
| Jerry Ippoliti 1971–1974 | 4–0 | Northern Illinois | 4 | |
| Charlie Snyder 1964–1967 | 3–1 | Marshall | 4 | |
| Leo Strang 1964–1967 | 3–0–1 | Kent State | 4 | |
| Don James 1971–1974 | 2–2 | Kent State | 4 |
Bill Doolittle’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Marshallseries | 11 | 10–1 |
| Kent Stateseries | 11 | 7–3–1 |
| Ohioseries | 11 | 6–5 |
| Bowling Greenseries | 11 | 3–7–1 |
| Toledoseries | 11 | 3–8 |
| Miami (OH)series | 11 | 1–10 |
| Central Michiganseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Northern Illinoisseries | 6 | 6–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Grandview HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1949–50 | Brown | Backfield coach | |
| 1951 | Lincoln HS (OH) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1952–53 | Owosso HS (MI) high school | Head coach | |
| 1954–59 | Flint Central HS (MI) high school | Head coach | |
| 1960–61 | Mansfield HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1962–63 | Army | Backfield coach | |
| 1964–74 | Western Michigan | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Rip EngleBrown
- Gus ZitridesBrown
- Paul DietzelArmy
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jim HarkemaEastern Michigan, Triton, Grand Valley State
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Engle | Brown | 1949 | Backfield coach | |
| Gus Zitrides | Brown | 1950 | Backfield coach | |
| Paul Dietzel | Army | 1962–63 | Backfield coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (1)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Harkema | Western Michigan, 1966: graduate assistant | Eastern Michigan, Triton, Grand Valley State |
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.