Don James
Don James went 175–79–3 on the field as a head coach, 1971–1992, at Kent State and Washington; 176–78–3 officially, with 1977 (9–3) after forfeits. His 1991 Washington team claims the national title. Share
- Record
- 176–78–3 official; 175–79–3 on the field
- Seasons
- 22
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1991
- Hall of Fame
- 1998 inducted
- Best season
- 1991 12–0, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Kent State | 3–8 | 6th | |||
| 1972 | Kent State | 6–5–1 | 1st | Tangerine Bowl L | ||
| 1973 | Kent State | 9–2 | 2nd | |||
| 1974 | Kent State | 7–4 | T–4th | |||
| 1975 | Washington | 6–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 1976 | Washington | 5–6 | T–4th | |||
| 1977 | Washington | 8–4 (9–3 official) | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1978 | Washington | 7–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1979 | Washington | 9–3 | 2nd | Sun Bowl W | 11 | |
| 1980 | Washington | 9–3 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 16 | |
| 1981 | Washington | 10–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1982 | Washington | 10–2 | 2nd | Aloha Bowl W | 7 | |
| 1983 | Washington | 8–4 | 2nd | Aloha Bowl L | ||
| 1984 | Washington | 11–1 | 2nd | Orange Bowl W | 2 | |
| 1985 | Washington | 7–5 | T–4th | Freedom Bowl W | ||
| 1986 | Washington | 8–3–1 | T–2nd | Sun Bowl L | 18 | |
| 1987 | Washington | 7–4–1 | T–2nd | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 1988 | Washington | 6–5 | T–6th | |||
| 1989 | Washington | 8–4 | T–2nd | Freedom Bowl W | 23 | |
| 1990 | Washington | 10–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 5 | |
| 1991 | Washington | 12–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 2 | |
| 1992 | Washington | 9–3 | T–1st | Rose Bowl L | 11 |
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
Steve EmtmanFourth in the 1991 Heisman vote- Greg Lewis1990 Doak Walker Award
- Reggie RogersConsensus All‑American, 1986
- Ron HolmesConsensus All‑American, 1984
- Lincoln KennedyConsensus All‑American, 1992
- Chuck NelsonConsensus All‑American, 1982
- Mario BaileyConsensus All‑American, 1991
- Jeff JaegerConsensus All‑American, 1986
- Doug MartinNo. 9 pick, 1980
- Blair BushNo. 16 pick, 1978
- Curt MarshNo. 23 pick, 1981
- Bern BrostekNo. 23 pick, 1990
- Joe KellyNo. 11 pick, 1986
- Dana HallNo. 18 pick, 1992
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 | 68 | 36–31–1 | 54% |
| Against top-10 teams | 28 | 13–15 | 46% |
| Against rivals | 42 | 31–10–1 | 75% |
| Conference games | 157 | 107–48–2 | 69% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 15 | 10–5 | 67% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 82 | 43–36–3 | 54% |
| At home | 134 | 100–33–1 | 75% |
| On the road | 108 | 65–41–2 | 61% |
| At neutral sites | 15 | 10–5 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 179 | 144–33–2 | 81% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 78 | 31–46–1 | 40% |
His own 257 games on file, 1971–1992, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Brooks 1977–1992 | 13–3 | Oregon | 16 | |
| Terry Donahue 1976–1990 | 4–8–1 | UCLA | 13 | |
| Larry Smith 1980–1992 | 7–3 | Arizona, USC | 10 | |
| Jim Walden 1978–1986 | 6–3 | Washington State | 9 | |
| John Robinson 1976–1981 | 3–3 | USC | 6 | |
| Dick Tomey 1987–1992 | 2–3–1 | Arizona | 6 | |
| Fred Akers 1979–1990 | 5–0 | Texas, Purdue | 5 | |
| Joe Avezzano 1980–1984 | 5–0 | Oregon State | 5 | |
| Jack Elway 1984–1988 | 5–0 | Stanford | 5 | |
| Bruce Snyder 1988–1992 | 5–0 | California, Arizona State | 5 |
Don James’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oregonseries | 18 | 15–3 |
| Washington Stateseries | 18 | 13–5 |
| USCseries | 17 | 9–8 |
| Oregon Stateseries | 16 | 15–1 |
| Stanfordseries | 16 | 13–3 |
| Californiaseries | 14 | 12–2 |
| Arizona Stateseries | 14 | 8–6 |
| UCLAseries | 14 | 5–8–1 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1991 Washington: Bear Bryant Award and Eddie Robinson
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Washington’s 1991 staff (head coach) · 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.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956–57 | Kansas | Graduate assistant | |
| 1958 | Southwest Miami HS (FL) high school | Head coach | |
| 1959–61 | Florida State | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1962–65 | Florida State | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1966–67 | Michigan | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1968–70 | Colorado | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1971–74 | Kent State | Head coach | |
| 1975–92 | Washington | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Chuck MatherKansas
- Perry MossFlorida State
- Bill PetersonFlorida State
- Bump ElliottMichigan
- Eddie CrowderColorado
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bob StullUTEP, Missouri, Massachusetts
- Dennis FitzgeraldKent State
- Dick ScesniakKent State
- Ray DorrSouthern Illinois
- Skip HallBoise State
- Nick SabanToledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama, Miami Dolphins
- Gary PinkelToledo, Missouri
- Jim LambrightWashington
- Jim MoraOccidental, Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts
- Bob WagnerHawai’i
- Keith GilbertsonCalifornia, Washington, Idaho
- Chris TormeyIdaho, Nevada, Washington
- and 7 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Mather | Kansas | 1956–57 | Graduate assistant | |
| Perry Moss | Florida State | 1959 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Bill Peterson | Florida State | 1960–65 | 1960–61: defensive backs coach; 1962–65: defensive coordinator | |
| Bump Elliott | Michigan | 1966–67 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Eddie Crowder | Colorado | 1968–70 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (19)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Stull | Kent State, 1971–74: offensive line coach; Washington, 1975–78: wide receivers coach; 1979–83: offensive coordinator | UTEP, Missouri, Massachusetts | |
| Dennis Fitzgerald | Kent State, 1971–74: defensive coordinator | Kent State | |
| Dick Scesniak | Kent State, 1971–74: offensive coordinator; Washington, 1975–78: offensive coordinator | Kent State | |
| Ray Dorr | Kent State, 1971–74: quarterbacks coach; Washington, 1975–83: quarterbacks coach | Southern Illinois | |
| Skip Hall | Kent State, 1971–74: assistant coach; Washington, 1975–86: assistant coach | Boise State | |
| Nick Saban | Kent State, 1973–74: graduate assistant | Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama, Miami Dolphins | |
| Gary Pinkel | Kent State, 1974: graduate assistant; Washington, 1976: tight ends coach; 1979–83: wide receivers coach; 1984–90: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | Toledo, Missouri | |
| Jim Lambright | Washington, 1975–77: assistant coach; 1978–92: defensive coordinator | Washington | |
| Jim Mora | Washington, 1975–77: defensive coordinator | Occidental, Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts | |
| Bob Wagner | Washington, 1976: assistant coach | Hawai’i | |
| Keith Gilbertson | Washington, 1976: graduate assistant; 1989–90: offensive line coach; 1991: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | California, Washington, Idaho | |
| Chris Tormey | Washington, 1980–81: graduate assistant | Idaho, Nevada, Washington | |
| Jeff Woodruff | Washington, 1980–82: graduate assistant; 1984–91: quarterbacks coach; 1992: offensive coordinator | Eastern Michigan | |
| Matt Simon | Washington, 1982–91: running backs and kickers coach | North Texas | |
| Jim Heacock | Washington, 1983–87: defensive line coach | Illinois State | |
| Jim Mora | Washington, 1984: graduate assistant | UCLA, UConn, Colorado State, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks | |
| Jay Niemann | Washington, 1986–88: graduate assistant | Simpson (IA) | |
| Dave Christensen | Washington, 1989–90: offensive line coach | Wyoming, Spokane Falls | |
| Jeff Mills | Washington, 1990–91: graduate assistant | New Mexico Highlands |
Other assistants under him (4)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| John Pease | Washington, 1978–82: defensive line coach | |
| Duane Akina | Washington, 1979–80: graduate assistant | |
| Ken Flajole | Washington, 1979: assistant coach | |
| Randy Hart | Washington, 1988–92: defensive line coach |
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.
Statues
Statues: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikimedia Commons; links only.