Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger went 158–151–3 as a head coach, 1979–2011, at Miami, Louisville, Oklahoma and Florida Atlantic. His 1983 Miami team claims the national title. Share
Three seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 2001–03 at Florida Atlantic (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 158–151–3 career
- Seasons
- 27
- Schools
- 4
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1983
- Best season
- 1983 11–1, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Miami | 5–6 | ||||
| 1980 | Miami | 9–3 | Peach Bowl W | 18 | ||
| 1981 | Miami | 9–2 | 8 | |||
| 1982 | Miami | 7–4 | ||||
| 1983 | Miami | 11–1 | Orange Bowl W | 1 | ||
| 1984: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1985 | Louisville | 2–9 | ||||
| 1986 | Louisville | 3–8 | ||||
| 1987 | Louisville | 3–7–1 | ||||
| 1988 | Louisville | 8–3 | ||||
| 1989 | Louisville | 6–5 | ||||
| 1990 | Louisville | 10–1–1 | Fiesta Bowl W | 14 | ||
| 1991 | Louisville | 2–9 | ||||
| 1992 | Louisville | 5–6 | ||||
| 1993 | Louisville | 9–3 | Liberty Bowl W | 24 | ||
| 1994 | Louisville | 6–5 | ||||
| 1995 | Oklahoma | 5–5–1 | 5th | |||
| 1996–00: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2001 | Florida Atlantic * | 4–6 | ||||
| 2002 | Florida Atlantic * | 2–9 | ||||
| 2003 | Florida Atlantic * | 11–3 | NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal L | |||
| 2004 | Florida Atlantic coached 12 of 13 games | 9–3 | ||||
| 2005 | Florida Atlantic | 2–9 | T–7th | |||
| 2006 | Florida Atlantic | 5–7 | T–3rd | |||
| 2007 | Florida Atlantic | 8–5 | T–1st | New Orleans Bowl W | ||
| 2008 | Florida Atlantic | 7–6 | T–3rd | Motor City Bowl W | ||
| 2009 | Florida Atlantic | 5–7 | T–3rd | |||
| 2010 | Florida Atlantic | 4–8 | T–6th | |||
| 2011 | Florida Atlantic | 1–11 | 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
Cedric JonesNo. 5 pick, 1996
Joe JohnsonNo. 13 pick, 1994
Lester WilliamsNo. 27 pick, 1982- Ted WashingtonNo. 25 pick, 1991
- Bruce ArmstrongNo. 23 pick, 1987
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 | 53 | 13–39–1 | 25% |
| Against top-10 teams | 18 | 3–15 | 17% |
| Against rivals | 52 | 32–19–1 | 63% |
| Conference games | 59 | 26–33 | 44% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 6 | 6–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 98 | 61–34–3 | 64% |
| At home | 125 | 80–45 | 64% |
| On the road | 140 | 55–83–2 | 40% |
| At neutral sites | 13 | 7–5–1 | 58% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 128 | 100–28 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 150 | 42–105–3 | 29% |
His own 278 games on file, 1979–2011, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bowden 1979–1991 | 3–5 | Florida State | 8 | |
| Larry Blakeney 2004–2011 | 1–7 | Troy | 8 | |
| David Rader 1988–1994 | 5–2 | Tulsa | 7 | |
| Chuck Stobart 1989–1994 | 5–1 | Memphis | 6 | |
| Rickey Bustle 2005–2010 | 5–1 | Louisiana | 6 | |
| Steve Roberts 2005–2010 | 3–3 | Arkansas State | 6 | |
| Don Nehlen 1983–1993 | 2–4 | West Virginia | 6 | |
| Charlie Weatherbie 2004–2009 | 2–4 | UL Monroe | 6 | |
| Rick Stockstill 2006–2011 | 1–5 | Middle Tennessee | 6 | |
| Bill Yeoman 1980–1985 | 4–1 | Houston | 5 |
Howard Schnellenberger’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Memphisseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| North Texasseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| Cincinnatiseries | 10 | 6–4 |
| Western Kentuckyseries | 9 | 8–1 |
| Florida Internationalseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Tulsaseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Florida Stateseries | 8 | 3–5 |
| Floridaseries | 8 | 3–5 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1983 Miami (FL): Eddie Robinson
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959–60 | Kentucky | Wide receivers and tight ends coach | |
| 1961–65 | Alabama | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1966–69 | Los Angeles Rams NFL | Ends coach | |
| 1970–72 | Miami Dolphins NFL | Offensive coordinator and wide receivers and tight ends coach | |
| 1973–74 | Baltimore Colts NFL | Head coach | |
| 1975–78 | Miami Dolphins NFL | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1979–83 | Miami (FL) | Head coach | |
| 1985–94 | Louisville | Head coach | |
| 1995 | Oklahoma | Head coach | |
| 2001–11 | Florida Atlantic | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Blanton CollierKentucky
- Bear BryantAlabama
Assistants who became head coaches
- Ray CallahanCincinnati
- Kim HeltonHouston
- Mike ArcherLSU
- Rick LantzNavy, Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire
- Marc TrestmanMontreal Alouettes, Chicago Bears, Toronto Argonauts, Tampa Bay Vipers
- Danny HopePurdue, Eastern Kentucky
- Gary NordUTEP
- Jim CaldwellWake Forest, Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions
- John BoboArkansas State
- James BellJackson State, Taylor
- Jon TenutaGeorgia Tech
- Jeff BrohmWestern Kentucky, Purdue, Louisville
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanton Collier | Kentucky | 1959–60 | Wide receivers and tight ends coach | |
| Bear Bryant | Alabama | 1961–65 | Offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (12)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Callahan | Baltimore Colts, 1973: linebackers coach | Cincinnati | |
| Kim Helton | Miami, 1979–82: offensive coordinator | Houston | |
| Mike Archer | Miami, 1979–83: defensive backs coach | LSU | |
| Rick Lantz | Miami, 1979–80: defensive coordinator; Louisville, 1986–90: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Navy, Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire | |
| Marc Trestman | Miami, 1981–83: volunteer assistant coach; 1983: quarterbacks coach | Montreal Alouettes, Chicago Bears, Toronto Argonauts, Tampa Bay Vipers | |
| Danny Hope | Louisville, 1985–94: offensive line coach; Oklahoma, 1995: offensive line coach | Purdue, Eastern Kentucky | |
| Gary Nord | Louisville, 1985–86: running backs coach; 1987–88: wide receivers coach; 1989–94: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; Oklahoma, 1995: offensive coordinator; Florida Atlantic, 2004: quarterbacks coach; 2005–08: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | UTEP | |
| Jim Caldwell | Louisville, 1985: wide receivers coach | Wake Forest, Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions | |
| John Bobo | Louisville, 1991: assistant coach | Arkansas State | |
| James Bell | Louisville, 1993: defensive coordinator | Jackson State, Taylor | |
| Jon Tenuta | Oklahoma, 1995: defensive backs coach | Georgia Tech | |
| Jeff Brohm | Florida Atlantic, 2009: quarterbacks coach | Western Kentucky, Purdue, Louisville |
Other assistants under him (11)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Olivadotti | Miami, 1980–83: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Gary Stevens | Miami, 1983: offensive coordinator | |
| Ty Smith | Louisville, 1991–94: defensive coordinator | |
| Kurt Van Valkenburgh | Oklahoma, 1995: defensive coordinator; Florida Atlantic, 2010–11: defensive coordinator | |
| Merv Johnson | Oklahoma, 1995: assistant coach | |
| Fred O’Connor | Florida Atlantic, 2001–02, 2004: running backs coach; 2003: quarterbacks coach; 2004–06: specialist assistant to the head coach | |
| Kirk Hoza | Florida Atlantic, 2004–09: defensive coordinator | |
| Larry Seiple | Florida Atlantic, 2004: offensive coordinator | |
| Daryl Jackson | Florida Atlantic, 2009–11: offensive coordinator | |
| Dick Hopkins | Florida Atlantic, 2010–11: defensive backs coach | |
| Marvin Sanders | Florida Atlantic, 2011: 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.
How he coached
Schnellenberger’s teams went for it on 18% of fourth downs and on 27% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 53% of plays and took 23.5 seconds a play, 2005–2011.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 4 g | 6 of 38 16% | 14% | 43% | 28.0 | −0.15 | |
| 2006 3 g | 6 of 31 19% | 33% | 53% | 26.7 | −0.31 | |
| 2007 8 g | 15 of 71 21% | 31% | 54% | 23.4 | +0.01 | |
| 2008 13 g | 13 of 93 14% | 26% | 54% | 22.5 | −0.04 | |
| 2009 12 g | 19 of 83 23% | 38% | 53% | 25.5 | +0.07 | |
| 2010 10 g | 14 of 102 14% | 13% | 52% | 21.5 | −0.21 | |
| 2011 12 g | 22 of 111 20% | 30% | 52% | 22.2 | −0.28 | |
| All 62 g | 95 of 529 18% | 27% | 53% | 23.5 | −0.11 |
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.