Dan McCarney
Dan McCarney went 78–117 as a head coach, 1995–2015, at Iowa State and North Texas. Share
- Record
- 78–117 career
- Seasons
- 17
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2000 9–3, No. 25
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Iowa State | 3–8 | T–7th | |||
| 1996 | Iowa State | 2–9 | 6th (North) | |||
| 1997 | Iowa State | 1–10 | 6th (North) | |||
| 1998 | Iowa State | 3–8 | T–5th (North) | |||
| 1999 | Iowa State | 4–7 | T–5th (North) | |||
| 2000 | Iowa State | 9–3 | 3rd (North) | Insight.com Bowl W | 25 | |
| 2001 | Iowa State | 7–5 | 3rd (North) | Independence Bowl L | ||
| 2002 | Iowa State | 7–7 | 3rd (North) | Humanitarian Bowl L | ||
| 2003 | Iowa State | 2–10 | 6th (North) | |||
| 2004 | Iowa State | 7–5 | T–1st (North) | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2005 | Iowa State | 7–5 | T–2nd (North) | Houston Bowl L | ||
| 2006 | Iowa State | 4–8 | 6th (North) | |||
| 2007–10: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2011 | North Texas | 5–7 | 5th | |||
| 2012 | North Texas | 4–8 | T–6th | |||
| 2013 | North Texas | 9–4 | T–2nd (West) | Heart of Dallas Bowl W | ||
| 2014 | North Texas | 4–8 | 5th (West) | |||
| 2015 | North Texas coached five of 12 games | 0–5 | ||||
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.
Players he coached
Troy DavisSecond in the 1996 Heisman vote
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 48 | 3–45 | 6% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 1–20 | 5% |
| Against rivals | 60 | 23–37 | 38% |
| Conference games | 129 | 42–87 | 33% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 6 | 3–3 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 59 | 29–30 | 49% |
| At home | 100 | 55–45 | 55% |
| On the road | 88 | 20–68 | 23% |
| At neutral sites | 7 | 3–4 | 43% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 69 | 52–17 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 126 | 26–100 | 21% |
His own 195 games on file, 1995–2015, 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 Snyder 1995–2012 | 2–10 | Kansas State | 12 | |
| Kirk Ferentz 1999–2015 | 5–4 | Iowa | 9 | |
| Gary Barnett 1999–2005 | 2–5 | Colorado | 7 | |
| Frank Solich 1998–2013 | 1–6 | Nebraska, Ohio | 7 | |
| Larry Smith 1995–2000 | 3–3 | Missouri | 6 | |
| Gary Pinkel 2001–2006 | 3–3 | Missouri | 6 | |
| Mark Mangino 2002–2006 | 2–3 | Kansas | 5 | |
| Mack Brown 1998–2006 | 0–5 | Texas | 5 | |
| Bob Simmons 1995–2000 | 2–2 | Oklahoma State | 4 | |
| Terry Allen 1997–2000 | 2–2 | Kansas | 4 |
Dan McCarney’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Iowaseries | 13 | 6–7 |
| Kansas Stateseries | 13 | 2–11 |
| Missouriseries | 12 | 6–6 |
| Kansasseries | 12 | 5–7 |
| Coloradoseries | 12 | 2–10 |
| Nebraskaseries | 12 | 2–10 |
| Oklahoma Stateseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Baylorseries | 6 | 4–2 |
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Florida’s 2008 staff (assistant head coach, defense, defensive line) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Other roles
- Team captain, Iowa 1974
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–78 | Iowa | Graduate assistant | |
| 1979–89 | Iowa | Defensive line coach | |
| 1990–94 | Wisconsin | Defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| 1995–2006 | Iowa State | Head coach | |
| 2007 | South Florida | Assistant head coach and defensive line coach | |
| 2008–10 | Florida | Assistant head coach and defensive line coach | |
| 2011–15 | North Texas | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bob CommingsIowa
- Hayden FryIowa
- Barry AlvarezWisconsin
- Jim LeavittSouth Florida
- Urban MeyerFlorida
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jay NorvellNevada, Colorado State
- Jody SearsWeber State, Sacramento State
- Paul RhoadsIowa State
- Steve LoneyMorehead State, Drake
- Charlie PartridgeFlorida Atlantic
- Nick QuartaroDrake, Fordham
- Chris AshRutgers
- Marty FineSonoma State, Naval Academy Prep (RI), Bryant, New Mexico Highlands
- Terry AllenKansas, Northern Iowa, Missouri State
- Barney CottonNebraska, Hastings
- Todd FitchVanderbilt
- Clint BowenKansas
- and 3 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Commings | Iowa | 1977–78 | Graduate assistant | |
| Hayden Fry | Iowa | 1979–89 | Defensive line coach | |
| Barry Alvarez | Wisconsin | 1990–94 | Defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| Jim Leavitt | South Florida | 2007 | Assistant head coach and defensive line coach | |
| Urban Meyer | Florida | 2008–10 | Assistant head coach and defensive line coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (15)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Norvell | Iowa State, 1995–97: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | Nevada, Colorado State | |
| Jody Sears | Iowa State, 1995–96: graduate assistant | Weber State, Sacramento State | |
| Paul Rhoads | Iowa State, 1995: inside linebackers coach; 1996–99: defensive backs coach | Iowa State | |
| Steve Loney | Iowa State, 1995–97, 2000–01: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Morehead State, Drake | |
| Charlie Partridge | Iowa State, 1998–99: graduate assistant | Florida Atlantic | |
| Nick Quartaro | Iowa State, 1998–2001: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach; North Texas, 2011: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach; 2012–15: assistant head coach and tight ends coach | Drake, Fordham | |
| Chris Ash | Iowa State, 2000–01: graduate assistant; 2002–05: defensive backs coach; 2006: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator | Rutgers | |
| Marty Fine | Iowa State, 2002–03: offensive line and special teams coach | Sonoma State, Naval Academy Prep (RI), Bryant, New Mexico Highlands | |
| Terry Allen | Iowa State, 2002–05: associate head coach and tight ends and special teams coach | Kansas, Northern Iowa, Missouri State | |
| Barney Cotton | Iowa State, 2004–06: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Nebraska, Hastings | |
| Todd Fitch | Iowa State, 2004–06: quarterbacks coach | Vanderbilt | |
| Clint Bowen | North Texas, 2011: defensive coordinator and safeties coach | Kansas | |
| Mike Canales | North Texas, 2011–15: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | North Texas | |
| Ryan Walters | North Texas, 2013: cornerbacks coach | Purdue | |
| Kevin Patrick | North Texas, 2014–15: defensive line coach | South Florida |
Other assistants under him (7)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Larry Coyer | Iowa State, 1995–96: defensive coordinator | |
| John Skladany | Iowa State, 1997–2006: defensive coordinator; North Texas, 2012–14: defensive coordinator | |
| Pete Hoener | Iowa State, 1998–99: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| DeMontie Cross | Iowa State, 2001–05: outside linebackers coach | |
| Steve Brickey | Iowa State, 2002–03: offensive coordinator | |
| Wayne Bolt | Iowa State, 2006: defensive coordinator | |
| Chris Cosh | North Texas, 2015: defensive coordinator |
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.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | North Texas | head coachbonuses up to $945,000 | $721,600 USA Today | |
| 2014 | North Texas | head coachbonuses up to $945,000 | $711,600 USA Today | |
| 2006 | Iowa State | head coachbonuses up to $375,000 | $1,107,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
McCarney’s teams went for it on 19% of fourth downs and on 30% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 46% of plays and took 23.2 seconds a play, 2004–2015.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | Iowa State | 25 of 119 21% | 36% | 43% | 21.0 | −0.10 | |
| 2005 11 g | Iowa State | 14 of 96 15% | 28% | 46% | 26.3 | −0.10 | |
| 2006 11 g | Iowa State | 22 of 82 27% | 45% | 52% | 26.1 | −0.05 | |
| 2011 12 g | North Texas | 20 of 109 18% | 28% | 44% | 21.3 | −0.14 | |
| 2012 12 g | North Texas | 22 of 108 20% | 24% | 45% | 22.0 | −0.04 | |
| 2013 13 g | North Texas | 15 of 101 15% | 21% | 42% | 22.7 | 0.00 | |
| 2014 11 g | North Texas | 11 of 95 12% | 21% | 46% | 24.7 | −0.08 | |
| 2015 12 g | North Texas | 27 of 114 24% | 34% | 51% | 22.1 | −0.14 | |
| All 94 g | 156 of 824 19% | 30% | 46% | 23.2 | −0.08 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.