Don Morton
Don Morton went 76–51 as a head coach, 1979–1989, at North Dakota State, Tulsa and Wisconsin. Share
Six seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1979–84 at North Dakota State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 76–51 career
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1986 7–4
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | North Dakota State * | 6–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1980 | North Dakota State * | 6–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1981 | North Dakota State * | 10–3 | 1st | NCAA Division II Championship L | 6 | |
| 1982 | North Dakota State * | 12–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II Semifinal L | 2 | |
| 1983 | North Dakota State * | 12–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division II Championship W | 5 | |
| 1984 | North Dakota State * | 11–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division II Championship L | 1 | |
| 1985 | Tulsa | 6–5 | 1st | |||
| 1986 | Tulsa | 7–4 | ||||
| 1987 | Wisconsin | 3–8 | 10th | |||
| 1988 | Wisconsin | 1–10 | 10th | |||
| 1989 | Wisconsin | 2–9 | 9th |
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.
Players he coached
Paul GruberNo. 4 pick, 1988
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 | 14 | 0–14 | 0% |
| Against top-10 teams | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 8 | 2–6 | 25% |
| Conference games | 27 | 6–21 | 22% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 20 | 8–12 | 40% |
| At home | 30 | 15–15 | 50% |
| On the road | 25 | 4–21 | 16% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 17 | 12–5 | 71% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 38 | 7–31 | 18% |
His own 55 games on file, 1985–1989, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Peay 1987–1989 | 1–2 | Northwestern | 3 | |
| John Gutekunst 1987–1989 | 1–2 | Minnesota | 3 | |
| Bo Schembechler 1987–1989 | 0–3 | Michigan | 3 | |
| George Perles 1987–1989 | 0–3 | Michigan State | 3 | |
| Hayden Fry 1987–1989 | 0–3 | Iowa | 3 |
Don Morton’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwesternseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Minnesotaseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Michiganseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Illinoisseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Iowaseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Miamiseries | 3 | 0–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–70 | Moline HS (IL) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1971–76 | Augustana (SD) | Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| 1977–78 | North Dakota State | Backfield coach | |
| 1979–84 | North Dakota State | Head coach | |
| 1985–86 | Tulsa | Head coach | |
| 1987–89 | Wisconsin | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jim WackerNorth Dakota State
Assistants who became head coaches
- Mike DalySouth Dakota State
- Craig BohlWyoming, North Dakota State
- Chris ThurmondHouston
- Lovie SmithIllinois, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans
- L. C. ColeTennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman
- Jay NorvellNevada, Colorado State
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Wacker | North Dakota State | 1977–78 | Backfield coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (6)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Daly | North Dakota State, 1979–83: defensive coordinator; Tulsa, 1985–86: defensive coordinator; Wisconsin, 1987–89: defensive coordinator | South Dakota State | |
| Craig Bohl | North Dakota State, 1984: defensive backs coach; Tulsa, 1985–86: linebackers coach; Wisconsin, 1987–88: linebackers coach | Wyoming, North Dakota State | |
| Chris Thurmond | Tulsa, 1985–86: defensive backs coach | Houston | |
| Lovie Smith | Tulsa, 1985–86: linebackers coach; Wisconsin, 1987: linebackers coach | Illinois, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans | |
| L. C. Cole | Wisconsin, 1988–89: outside linebackers coach | Tennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman | |
| Jay Norvell | Wisconsin, 1989: offensive line, wide receivers and tight ends coach | Nevada, Colorado State |
Other assistants under him (2)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Dickinson | Tulsa, 1986: running backs coach | |
| Pat Simmers | Wisconsin, 1987–89: offensive 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.