Frank Burns
Frank Burns went 84–52–2 as a head coach, 1951–1983, at Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. Share
Two seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1951–52 at Johns Hopkins. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 84–52–2 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1976 11–0, No. 17
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Johns Hopkins * | 2–5–1 | 5th | |||
| 1952 | Johns Hopkins * | 4–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1953–72: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1973 | Rutgers | 6–5 | 1st | |||
| 1974 | Rutgers | 7–3–1 | 1st | |||
| 1975 | Rutgers | 9–2 | 2nd | |||
| 1976 | Rutgers | 11–0 | 17 | |||
| 1977 | Rutgers | 8–3 | ||||
| 1978 | Rutgers | 9–3 | Garden State Bowl L | |||
| 1979 | Rutgers | 8–3 | ||||
| 1980 | Rutgers | 7–4 | ||||
| 1981 | Rutgers | 5–6 | ||||
| 1982 | Rutgers | 5–6 | ||||
| 1983 | Rutgers | 3–8 | ||||
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.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 10 | 1–9 | 10% |
| Against top-10 teams | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 20 | 11–8–1 | 57% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 36 | 21–14–1 | 60% |
| At home | 61 | 43–18 | 70% |
| On the road | 60 | 35–24–1 | 59% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 88 | 67–21 | 76% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 34 | 11–22–1 | 34% |
His own 122 games on file, 1973–1983, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Hardin 1977–1982 | 3–3 | Temple | 6 | |
| Neil Wheelwright 1973–1979 | 4–1 | Colgate, Holy Cross | 5 | |
| Robert Casciola 1973–1977 | 3–1–1 | Princeton | 5 | |
| Frederick Dunlap 1976–1981 | 3–2 | Colgate | 5 | |
| Joe Paterno 1977–1983 | 0–5 | Penn State | 5 | |
| Frank Navarro 1973–1980 | 4–0 | Columbia, Princeton | 4 | |
| Jim Root 1974–1979 | 3–1 | William & Mary | 4 | |
| Don Nehlen 1980–1983 | 0–4 | West Virginia | 4 | |
| Bill Campbell 1975–1978 | 3–0 | Columbia | 3 | |
| Bob Blackman 1977–1981 | 3–0 | Cornell | 3 |
Frank Burns’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Colgateseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| UConnseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Princetonseries | 8 | 6–1–1 |
| William & Maryseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Templeseries | 7 | 3–4 |
| Bucknellseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Armyseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Lehighseries | 5 | 4–1 |
Also a player: Frank R. Burns’s playing career.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Rutgers | Freshmen backfield | |
| 1951–52 | Johns Hopkins | Head coach | |
| 1955–56 | Rutgers | Backfield coach | |
| 1957–60 | Chatham HS (NJ) high school | Head coach | |
| 1961–72 | Rutgers | Assistant coach | |
| 1973–83 | Rutgers | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Harvey HarmanRutgers
- John StiegmanRutgers
- John BatemanRutgers
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bob NasoColumbia
- Greg GigantinoIona
- George DeLeoneSouthern Connecticut State
- Dick CurlTrenton State, Frankfurt Galaxy
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey Harman | Rutgers | 1949–55 | 1949–50: freshmen backfield; 1955: backfield coach | |
| John Stiegman | Rutgers | 1956 | Backfield coach | |
| John Bateman | Rutgers | 1961–72 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (4)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Naso | Rutgers, 1973–79: defensive coordinator | Columbia | |
| Greg Gigantino | Rutgers, 1978–79: graduate assistant; 1980: centers coach; 1981–83: defensive line coach | Iona | |
| George DeLeone | Rutgers, 1980: defensive line coach; 1981–82: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 1983: special teams and offensive line coach | Southern Connecticut State | |
| Dick Curl | Rutgers, 1983: offensive coordinator | Trenton State, Frankfurt Galaxy |
Other assistants under him (1)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Speranza | Rutgers, 1977–78: 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.