Jim Donnan
Jim Donnan went 104–40 as a head coach, 1990–2000, at Marshall and Georgia. Share
Six seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1990–95 at Marshall. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 104–40 career
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Hall of Fame
- 2009 inducted
- Best season
- 1997 10–2, No. 10
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Marshall * | 6–5 | T–4th | |||
| 1991 | Marshall * | 11–4 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship L | ||
| 1992 | Marshall * | 12–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | ||
| 1993 | Marshall * | 11–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship L | ||
| 1994 | Marshall * | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal L | ||
| 1995 | Marshall * | 12–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship L | ||
| 1996 | Georgia | 5–6 | T–4th (Eastern) | |||
| 1997 | Georgia | 10–2 | T–2nd (Eastern) | Outback Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1998 | Georgia | 9–3 | 3rd (Eastern) | Peach Bowl W | 14 | |
| 1999 | Georgia | 8–4 | 3rd (Eastern) | Outback Bowl W | 16 | |
| 2000 | Georgia | 8–4 | T–2nd (Eastern) | Oahu Bowl W | 20 |
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
Robert EdwardsNo. 18 pick, 1998
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 | 20 | 7–13 | 35% |
| Against top-10 teams | 10 | 2–8 | 20% |
| Against rivals | 30 | 14–16 | 47% |
| Conference games | 40 | 25–15 | 63% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 4 | 4–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 20 | 14–6 | 70% |
| At home | 30 | 22–8 | 73% |
| On the road | 20 | 13–7 | 65% |
| At neutral sites | 9 | 5–4 | 56% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 40 | 31–9 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 19 | 9–10 | 47% |
His own 59 games on file, 1996–2000, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George O’Leary 1996–2000 | 2–3 | Georgia Tech | 5 | |
| Tommy Tuberville 1996–2000 | 2–3 | Ole Miss, Auburn | 5 | |
| Phillip Fulmer 1996–2000 | 1–4 | Tennessee | 5 | |
| Steve Spurrier 1996–2000 | 1–4 | Florida | 5 | |
| Hal Mumme 1997–2000 | 4–0 | Kentucky | 4 | |
| Woody Widenhofer 1997–2000 | 4–0 | Vanderbilt | 4 | |
| Brad Scott 1996–1998 | 2–1 | South Carolina | 3 |
Jim Donnan’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vanderbiltseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Kentuckyseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Ole Missseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| South Carolinaseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Auburnseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Georgia Techseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Floridaseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Tennesseeseries | 5 | 1–4 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–70 | NC State | Freshman coach | |
| 1971 | NC State | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1971 | North Carolina | Assistant coach | |
| 1972–73 | Florida State | Running backs and freshman coach | |
| 1974–75 | North Carolina | Freshman coach | |
| 1976–77 | North Carolina | Backfield coach | |
| 1978 | Kansas State | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1979–80 | Kansas State | Backfield coach | |
| 1981–84 | Missouri | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1985–89 | Oklahoma | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1990–95 | Marshall | Head coach | |
| 1996–2000 | Georgia | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Earle EdwardsNC State
- Bill DooleyNorth Carolina
- Al MichaelsNC State
- Larry JonesFlorida State
- Jim DickeyKansas State
- Warren PowersMissouri
- Barry SwitzerOklahoma
- Gary GibbsOklahoma
Assistants who became head coaches
- Brad LambertCharlotte
- Chris ScelfoTulane
- Mickey MatthewsJames Madison
- Tim BillingsSouthern Miss, Southeast Missouri State
- George BarlowNew Mexico
- Derek DooleyLouisiana Tech, Tennessee
- Joe KinesArkansas, Alabama
- Kevin RamseyClark Atlanta
- Kirby SmartGeorgia
- Mike BoboColorado State, South Carolina
- Doug MarroneSyracuse, Buffalo Bills
- Gary GibbsOklahoma
Worked under (8)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earle Edwards | NC State | 1969–70 | Freshman coach | |
| Bill Dooley | North Carolina | 1971–77 | 1971: assistant coach; 1974–75: freshman coach; 1976–77: backfield coach | |
| Al Michaels | NC State | 1971 | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Larry Jones | Florida State | 1972–73 | Running backs and freshman coach | |
| Jim Dickey | Kansas State | 1978–80 | 1978: quarterbacks coach; 1979–80: backfield coach | |
| Warren Powers | Missouri | 1981–84 | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Barry Switzer | Oklahoma | 1985–88 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Gary Gibbs | Oklahoma | 1989 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (12)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Lambert | Marshall, 1990: defensive ends coach; 1991–95: defensive backs coach; Georgia, 1996–98: special teams and defensive line coach; 1998–99: linebackers coach; 2000: defensive backs coach | Charlotte | |
| Chris Scelfo | Marshall, 1990–92: offensive line coach; 1993–95: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Georgia, 1996–98: assistant head coach and offensive line coach | Tulane | |
| Mickey Matthews | Marshall, 1990–95: defensive coordinator; Georgia, 1996–98: defensive backs and linebackers coach | James Madison | |
| Tim Billings | Marshall, 1990–91, 1994–95: defensive line and special teams coach; 1992–93: tight ends, linebackers and special teams coach | Southern Miss, Southeast Missouri State | |
| George Barlow | Marshall, 1991: graduate assistant; 1992–93: linebackers coach | New Mexico | |
| Derek Dooley | Georgia, 1996: graduate assistant | Louisiana Tech, Tennessee | |
| Joe Kines | Georgia, 1996–99: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach | Arkansas, Alabama | |
| Kevin Ramsey | Georgia, 1999: defensive coordinator | Clark Atlanta | |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia, 1999: administrative assistant | Georgia | |
| Mike Bobo | Georgia, 1999: graduate assistant | Colorado State, South Carolina | |
| Doug Marrone | Georgia, 2000: offensive line coach | Syracuse, Buffalo Bills | |
| Gary Gibbs | Georgia, 2000: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Oklahoma |
Other assistants under him (6)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Dickinson | Marshall, 1990: offensive coordinator | |
| Greg Adkins | Marshall, 1991–95: defensive line, tight ends and offensive line coach; Georgia, 1996: defensive line coach; 1997–2000: offensive line and tight ends coach | |
| Tony Petersen | Marshall, 1991: running backs coach; 1992: wide receivers coach; 1993–95: quarterbacks coach | |
| Darryl Drake | Georgia, 1996: wide receivers coach | |
| Greg Briner | Georgia, 1996–97: offensive coordinator | |
| Mark D’Onofrio | Georgia, 2000: defensive 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.