Jess Neely
Jess Neely went 207–176–19 as a head coach, 1924–1966, at Southwestern, Clemson and Rice. Share
Four seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1924–27 at Southwestern. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 207–176–19 career
- Seasons
- 40
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 4 seasons
- Hall of Fame
- 1971 inducted
- Best season
- 1949 10–1, No. 5
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Southwestern * | 3–6 | ||||
| 1925 | Southwestern * | 7–2 | ||||
| 1926 | Southwestern * | 5–4–1 | ||||
| 1927 | Southwestern * | 5–5–1 | ||||
| 1928–30: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1931 | Clemson | 1–6–2 | 20th | |||
| 1932 | Clemson | 3–5–1 | T–21st | |||
| 1933 | Clemson | 3–6–2 | T–5th | |||
| 1934 | Clemson | 5–4 | 5th | |||
| 1935 | Clemson | 6–3 | 4th | |||
| 1936 | Clemson | 5–5 | 8th | |||
| 1937 | Clemson | 4–4–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1938 | Clemson | 7–1–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1939 | Clemson | 9–1 | 2nd | Cotton Bowl W | 12 | |
| 1940 | Rice | 7–3 | T–3rd | |||
| 1941 | Rice | 6–3–1 | 4th | |||
| 1942 | Rice | 7–2–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1943 | Rice | 3–7 | T–3rd | |||
| 1944 | Rice | 5–6 | T–4th | |||
| 1945 | Rice | 5–6 | T–3rd | |||
| 1946 | Rice | 9–2 | T–1st | Orange Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1947 | Rice | 6–3–1 | 3rd | 18 | ||
| 1948 | Rice | 5–4–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1949 | Rice | 10–1 | 1st | Cotton Bowl W | 5 | |
| 1950 | Rice | 6–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1951 | Rice | 5–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 1952 | Rice | 5–5 | 2nd | |||
| 1953 | Rice | 9–2 | T–1st | Cotton Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1954 | Rice | 7–3 | T–3rd | 19 | ||
| 1955 | Rice | 2–7–1 | 7th | |||
| 1956 | Rice | 4–6 | 5th | |||
| 1957 | Rice | 7–4 | 1st | Cotton Bowl L | 8 | |
| 1958 | Rice | 5–5 | T–2nd | |||
| 1959 | Rice | 1–7–2 | 6th | |||
| 1960 | Rice | 7–4 | T–2nd | Sugar Bowl L | ||
| 1961 | Rice | 7–4 | 3rd | Bluebonnet Bowl L | 17 | |
| 1962 | Rice | 2–6–2 | 6th | |||
| 1963 | Rice | 6–4 | 3rd | |||
| 1964 | Rice | 4–5–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1965 | Rice | 2–8 | T–7th | |||
| 1966 | Rice | 2–8 | 8th | |||
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
King HillNo. 1 pick, 1958- James “Froggy” WilliamsConsensus All‑American, 1949
- Dick ChapmanNo. 13 pick, 1954
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 | 74 | 23–46–5 | 34% |
| Against top-10 teams | 41 | 10–29–2 | 27% |
| Against rivals | 105 | 47–55–3 | 46% |
| Conference games | 201 | 104–89–8 | 54% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 7 | 4–3 | 57% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 146 | 63–66–17 | 49% |
| At home | 192 | 119–65–8 | 64% |
| On the road | 160 | 61–91–8 | 41% |
| At neutral sites | 11 | 7–3–1 | 68% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 185 | 129–49–7 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 178 | 58–110–10 | 35% |
His own 363 games on file, 1931–1966, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abe Martin 1953–1966 | 8–6 | TCU | 14 | |
| Dutch Meyer 1940–1952 | 8–4–1 | TCU | 13 | |
| Darrell Royal 1957–1966 | 3–6–1 | Texas | 10 | |
| Dell Morgan 1942–1950 | 8–1 | Texas Tech | 9 | |
| Frank Broyles 1958–1966 | 2–7 | Arkansas | 9 | |
| Bernie Moore 1940–1947 | 3–5 | LSU | 8 | |
| Homer Norton 1940–1947 | 3–4–1 | Texas A&M | 8 | |
| John Bridgers 1959–1966 | 1–7 | Baylor | 8 | |
| Dana Bible 1940–1946 | 4–3 | Texas | 7 | |
| Bob Woodruff 1947–1959 | 4–1–2 | Baylor, Florida | 7 |
Jess Neely’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Texas A&Mseries | 27 | 16–10–1 |
| TCUseries | 27 | 16–10–1 |
| Arkansasseries | 27 | 15–12 |
| SMUseries | 27 | 12–14–1 |
| Texasseries | 27 | 11–15–1 |
| Baylorseries | 25 | 12–12–1 |
| LSUseries | 24 | 9–13–2 |
| Texas Techseries | 17 | 13–3–1 |
Other roles
- Team captain, Vanderbilt 1922
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924–27 | Southwestern (TN) | Head coach | |
| 1928–30 | Alabama | Assistant coach | |
| 1931–39 | Clemson | Head coach | |
| 1940–66 | Rice | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Wallace WadeAlabama
Assistants who became head coaches
- Frank HowardClemson
- Dell MorganTexas Tech
- Harry StitelerTexas A&M
- Bill BeallBaylor
- Bo HaganRice
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace Wade | Alabama | 1928–30 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (5)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Howard | Clemson, 1931–39: line coach | Clemson | |
| Dell Morgan | Rice, 1940: line coach | Texas Tech | |
| Harry Stiteler | Rice, 1946: assistant coach | Texas A&M | |
| Bill Beall | Rice, 1956–60: assistant coach | Baylor | |
| Bo Hagan | Rice, 1956–66: backfield coach | Rice |
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.