Bob Thalman
Bob Thalman went 46–70–3 as a head coach in the games on file: 1971 at VMI, 1972 at VMI, 1973 at VMI, 1974 at VMI, 1975 at VMI, 1976 at VMI, 1977 at VMI, 1978 at VMI, 1979 at VMI, 1980 at VMI and 1981 at VMI. His full head-coaching career isn’t in our records. Share
- Record
- 46–70–3 games on file
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1981 6–3–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | VMI | 1–10 | ||
| 1972 | VMI | 2–9 | ||
| 1973 | VMI | 3–8 | ||
| 1974 | VMI | 7–4 | ||
| 1975 | VMI | 3–8 | ||
| 1976 | VMI | 5–5 | ||
| 1977 | VMI | 7–4 | ||
| 1978 | VMI | 3–8 | ||
| 1979 | VMI | 6–4–1 | ||
| 1980 | VMI | 3–7–1 | ||
| 1981 | VMI | 6–3–1 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 43 | 17–26 | 40% |
| Conference games | 56 | 24–30–2 | 45% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 40 | 18–19–3 | 49% |
| At home | 46 | 24–20–2 | 54% |
| On the road | 66 | 19–46–1 | 30% |
| At neutral sites | 7 | 3–4 | 43% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 51 | 29–21–1 | 58% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 68 | 17–49–2 | 26% |
His own 119 games on file, 1971–1981, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Baker 1973–1981 | 5–4 | Furman, The Citadel | 9 | |
| Jim Root 1972–1979 | 3–5 | William & Mary | 8 | |
| Sonny Randle 1972–1981 | 3–4 | East Carolina, Virginia, Marshall | 7 | |
| Jim Tait 1974–1979 | 3–3 | Richmond | 6 | |
| Pat Dye 1974–1979 | 1–5 | East Carolina | 6 | |
| Bobby Ross 1973–1977 | 4–1 | The Citadel | 5 | |
| Dick Bestwick 1976–1981 | 3–2 | Virginia | 5 | |
| Jimmy Sharpe 1974–1977 | 1–3 | Virginia Tech | 4 | |
| Bill Dooley 1978–1981 | 1–3 | Virginia Tech | 4 | |
| Dave Fagg 1971–1973 | 2–1 | Davidson | 3 |
Bob Thalman’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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Citadelseries | 11 | 5–6 |
| William & Maryseries | 11 | 5–6 |
| Richmondseries | 11 | 4–7 |
| Furmanseries | 10 | 6–4 |
| Virginia Techseries | 10 | 3–7 |
| Virginiaseries | 9 | 3–6 |
| East Carolinaseries | 8 | 1–7 |
| Davidsonseries | 6 | 5–1 |
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bob BrushGeorgetown (KY), Wingate
- Mike Sanford Sr.UNLV, Indiana State
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Brush | VMI, 1971–74: running backs coach | Georgetown (KY), Wingate | |
| Mike Sanford Sr. | VMI, 1981: quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends coach | UNLV, Indiana 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.