Houston Nutt
Houston Nutt went 134–97 on the field as a head coach, 1993–2011, at Murray State, Boise State, Arkansas and Ole Miss; 128–97 officially, after the NCAA vacated six wins (2010 and 2011). Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (1997, 5–6); by them his record is 129–96. Share
Four seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1993–96 at Murray State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 128–97 official; 134–97 on the field
- Seasons
- 19
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2008 9–4, No. 14
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Murray State * | 4–7 | 4th | |||
| 1994 | Murray State * | 5–6 | 4th | |||
| 1995 | Murray State * | 11–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | ||
| 1996 | Murray State * | 11–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal L | ||
| 1997 | Boise State | 4–7 (Wikipedia: 5–6) | 3rd | |||
| 1998 | Arkansas | 9–3 | T–1st (Western) | Citrus Bowl L | 16 | |
| 1999 | Arkansas | 8–4 | 3rd (Western) | Cotton Bowl W | 17 | |
| 2000 | Arkansas | 6–6 | T–5th (Western) | Las Vegas Bowl L | ||
| 2001 | Arkansas | 7–5 | 3rd (Western) | Cotton Bowl L | ||
| 2002 | Arkansas | 9–5 | T–2nd (Western) | Music City Bowl L | ||
| 2003 | Arkansas | 9–4 | 4th (Western) | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2004 | Arkansas | 5–6 | 3rd (Western) | |||
| 2005 | Arkansas | 4–7 | 4th (Western) | |||
| 2006 | Arkansas | 10–4 | 1st (Western) | Capital One Bowl L | 15 | |
| 2007 | Arkansas | 8–4 | 3rd (Western) | Cotton (not coached) | ||
| 2008 | Ole Miss | 9–4 | 2nd (Western) | Cotton Bowl W | 14 | |
| 2009 | Ole Miss | 9–4 | 3rd (Western) | Cotton Bowl W | 20 | |
| 2010 | Ole Miss | 4–8 (0–8 official) | 6th (Western) | |||
| 2011 | Ole Miss | 2–10 (0–10 official) | 6th (Western) |
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
Peria JerryNo. 24 pick, 2009
Ahmad CarrollNo. 25 pick, 2004
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 60 | 20–40 | 33% |
| Against top-10 teams | 32 | 8–24 | 25% |
| Against rivals | 53 | 25–28 | 47% |
| Conference games | 117 | 55–62 | 47% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 9 | 4–5 | 44% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 61 | 28–33 | 46% |
| At home | 100 | 67–33 | 67% |
| On the road | 72 | 31–41 | 43% |
| At neutral sites | 12 | 5–7 | 42% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 96 | 75–21 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 88 | 28–60 | 32% |
His own 184 games on file, 1997–2011, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Tuberville 1998–2008 | 6–5 | Ole Miss, Auburn | 11 | |
| Nick Saban 2000–2011 | 2–8 | LSU, Alabama | 10 | |
| Les Miles 2005–2011 | 3–4 | LSU | 7 | |
| Phillip Fulmer 1998–2007 | 2–5 | Tennessee | 7 | |
| Jackie Sherrill 1998–2003 | 5–1 | Mississippi State | 6 | |
| Lou Holtz 1999–2004 | 4–2 | South Carolina | 6 | |
| David Cutcliffe 1999–2004 | 3–3 | Ole Miss | 6 | |
| Sylvester Croom 2004–2008 | 5–0 | Mississippi State | 5 | |
| Steve Spurrier 2005–2009 | 2–3 | South Carolina | 5 | |
| Mark Richt 2001–2011 | 0–5 | Georgia | 5 |
Houston Nutt’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Stateseries | 14 | 10–4 |
| Auburnseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| LSUseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| Alabamaseries | 14 | 5–9 |
| South Carolinaseries | 12 | 7–5 |
| Ole Missseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| Tennesseeseries | 9 | 3–6 |
| Kentuckyseries | 7 | 3–4 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–82 | Oklahoma State | Graduate assistant | |
| 1983 | Arkansas | Graduate assistant | |
| 1984 | Arkansas State | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1984–89 | Oklahoma State | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1990–92 | Arkansas | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1993–96 | Murray State | Head coach | |
| 1997 | Boise State | Head coach | |
| 1998–2007 | Arkansas | Head coach | |
| 2008–11 | Ole Miss | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jimmy JohnsonOklahoma State
- Lou HoltzArkansas
- Larry LacewellArkansas State
- Pat JonesOklahoma State
- Jack CroweArkansas
- Joe KinesArkansas
Assistants who became head coaches
- Kim DameronEastern Illinois
- Mark HutsonTulane
- Tony DeMeoIona, Mercyhurst, Washburn, Charleston (WV)
- Jerry PartridgeMissouri Western, Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Barry Lunney Jr.Arkansas
- Keith BurnsTulsa
- John ThompsonEast Carolina, Arkansas State
- David LeeUTEP
- Reggie HerringArkansas
- Alex WoodBuffalo, James Madison, Florida A&M
- Gus MalzahnArkansas State, Auburn, UCF
- Rhett LashleeSMU
- and 5 more
Worked under (6)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Johnson | Oklahoma State | 1981–82 | Graduate assistant | |
| Lou Holtz | Arkansas | 1983 | Graduate assistant | |
| Larry Lacewell | Arkansas State | 1984 | Quarterbacks coach | |
| Pat Jones | Oklahoma State | 1984–89 | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Jack Crowe | Arkansas | 1990–92 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Joe Kines | Arkansas | 1992 | Wide receivers coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (17)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kim Dameron | Murray State, 1993–95: defensive coordinator; Ole Miss, 2008–10: safeties coach | Eastern Illinois | |
| Mark Hutson | Murray State, 1993–96: special teams coordinator and tight ends coach; Boise State, 1997: special teams coordinator and tight ends coach; Arkansas, 1998–99: special teams coordinator and tight ends coach | Tulane | |
| Tony DeMeo | Murray State, 1993: offensive coordinator | Iona, Mercyhurst, Washburn, Charleston (WV) | |
| Jerry Partridge | Murray State, 1996: defensive backs coach | Missouri Western, Northwestern Oklahoma State | |
| Barry Lunney Jr. | Arkansas, 1998–99: graduate assistant | Arkansas | |
| Keith Burns | Arkansas, 1998–99: defensive coordinator; Ole Miss, 2011: defensive backs coach | Tulsa | |
| John Thompson | Arkansas, 2000: co-defensive coordinator; 2001: defensive coordinator | East Carolina, Arkansas State | |
| David Lee | Arkansas, 2001–02: quarterbacks coach; 2007: offensive coordinator; Ole Miss, 2011: offensive coordinator | UTEP | |
| Reggie Herring | Arkansas, 2005–07: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Arkansas | |
| Alex Wood | Arkansas, 2006–07: quarterbacks coach | Buffalo, James Madison, Florida A&M | |
| Gus Malzahn | Arkansas, 2006: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | Arkansas State, Auburn, UCF | |
| Rhett Lashlee | Arkansas, 2006: graduate assistant | SMU | |
| Kent Austin | Ole Miss, 2008–09: offensive coordinator | Saskatchewan Roughriders, Cornell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Ron Dickerson Jr. | Ole Miss, 2008–10: wide receivers coach | Gardner-Webb, Benedict | |
| Arthur Smith | Ole Miss, 2010: defensive assistant and admin. assistant | Atlanta Falcons | |
| David Rader | Ole Miss, 2010: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Tulsa | |
| Gunter Brewer | Ole Miss, 2011: assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach | Northeast Mississippi |
Other assistants under him (8)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Markuson | Murray State, 1993–96: offensive line coach; Boise State, 1997: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Arkansas, 1998–2007: offensive line coach; Ole Miss, 2008–11: offensive line coach | |
| Bobby Allen | Boise State, 1997: defensive coordinator; Arkansas, 1998–99: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Dave Wommack | Arkansas, 2001: defensive backs coach; 2002–04: defensive coordinator | |
| Roy Wittke | Arkansas, 2003–05: offensive coordinator | |
| Louis Campbell | Arkansas, 2007: defensive coordinator | |
| Derrick Nix | Ole Miss, 2008–11: running backs coach | |
| Tyrone Nix | Ole Miss, 2008–09: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2010–11: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Bryan Brown | Ole Miss, 2010: DAA; 2011: graduate assistant |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ole Miss | head coachbonuses up to $715,000 | $2,771,750 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Ole Miss | head coach | $2,509,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Ole Miss | head coachbonuses up to $715,000 | $2,509,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Ole Miss | head coach | $1,700,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $125,000 | $1,251,144 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Arkansas | head coachbonuses up to $125,000 | $1,049,644 USA Today via Leeds |
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
Nutt’s teams went for it on 21% of fourth downs and on 37% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 40% of plays and took 25.3 seconds a play, 2004–2011.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | Arkansas | 22 of 83 27% | 42% | 40% | 22.6 | +0.06 | |
| 2005 7 g | Arkansas | 15 of 66 23% | 41% | 41% | 25.4 | −0.12 | |
| 2006 13 g | Arkansas | 12 of 80 15% | 32% | 37% | 28.1 | −0.04 | |
| 2007 12 g | Arkansas | 17 of 95 18% | 28% | 35% | 25.3 | 0.00 | |
| 2008 13 g | Ole Miss | 14 of 85 16% | 29% | 41% | 27.4 | −0.01 | |
| 2009 13 g | Ole Miss | 20 of 94 21% | 41% | 45% | 25.4 | −0.08 | |
| 2010 12 g | Ole Miss | 27 of 105 26% | 42% | 42% | 22.3 | −0.06 | |
| 2011 12 g | Ole Miss | 20 of 102 20% | 41% | 44% | 24.9 | −0.20 | |
| All 93 g | 147 of 710 21% | 37% | 40% | 25.3 | −0.05 |
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.