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Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel went 241–79–2 on the field as a head coach, 1986–2010, at Youngstown State and Ohio State; 229–79–2 officially, after the NCAA vacated 12 wins (2010). His 2002 Ohio State team claims the national title. Share
15 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1986–2000 at Youngstown State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 229–79–2 official; 241–79–2 on the field
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 2002
- Hall of Fame
- 2015 inducted
- Best season
- 2002 14–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Youngstown State * | 2–9 | 7th | |||
| 1987 | Youngstown State * | 8–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | ||
| 1988 | Youngstown State * | 4–7 | ||||
| 1989 | Youngstown State * | 9–4 | NCAA Division I-AA Second Round L | |||
| 1990 | Youngstown State * | 11–1 | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | |||
| 1991 | Youngstown State * | 12–3 | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | |||
| 1992 | Youngstown State * | 11–3–1 | NCAA Division I-AA Championship L | |||
| 1993 | Youngstown State * | 13–2 | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | |||
| 1994 | Youngstown State * | 14–0–1 | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | |||
| 1995 | Youngstown State * | 3–8 | ||||
| 1996 | Youngstown State * | 8–3 | ||||
| 1997 | Youngstown State * | 13–2 | 3rd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | ||
| 1998 | Youngstown State * | 6–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 1999 | Youngstown State * | 12–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship L | ||
| 2000 | Youngstown State * | 9–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | ||
| 2001 | Ohio State | 7–5 | 3rd | Outback Bowl L | ||
| 2002 | Ohio State | 14–0 | T–1st | Fiesta Bowl W | 1 | |
| 2003 | Ohio State | 11–2 | T–2nd | Fiesta Bowl W | 4 | |
| 2004 | Ohio State | 8–4 | T–5th | Alamo Bowl W | 20 | |
| 2005 | Ohio State | 10–2 | T–1st | Fiesta Bowl W | 4 | |
| 2006 | Ohio State | 12–1 | 1st | BCS National Championship L | 2 | |
| 2007 | Ohio State | 11–2 | 1st | BCS National Championship L | 5 | |
| 2008 | Ohio State | 10–3 | T–1st | Fiesta Bowl L | 9 | |
| 2009 | Ohio State | 11–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 5 | |
| 2010 | Ohio State | 12–1 (0–1 official) | T–1st | Sugar W (vacated) | 5 |
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
Troy Smith
James Laurinaitis
A.J. Hawk
Malcolm Jenkins
Mike Nugent
Matt Wilhelm
Will Allen
Donte Whitner
Ted Ginn Jr.
Bobby Carpenter
Santonio Holmes
Anthony Gonzalez
LeCharles Bentley2001 Rimington Trophy- Quinn PitcockConsensus All‑American, 2006
- Mike DossConsensus All‑American, 2002
- Vernon GholstonNo. 6 pick, 2008
- Cameron HeywardNo. 31 pick, 2011
- Michael JenkinsNo. 29 pick, 2004
6 more
Chris Gamble (No. 28 pick, 2004); Will Smith (No. 18 pick, 2004); Chris Wells (No. 31 pick, 2009); Joel Penton (2006 Wuerffel Trophy); B.J. Sander (2003 Ray Guy Award); Craig Krenzel (2003 William V. Campbell Trophy).
18 of the 24 players 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 | 47 | 33–14 | 70% |
| Against top-10 teams | 17 | 9–8 | 53% |
| Against rivals | 28 | 22–6 | 79% |
| Conference games | 80 | 66–14 | 83% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 10 | 6–4 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 40 | 26–14 | 65% |
| At home | 71 | 64–7 | 90% |
| On the road | 46 | 35–11 | 76% |
| At neutral sites | 11 | 7–4 | 64% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 114 | 99–15 | 87% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 14 | 7–7 | 50% |
His own 128 games on file, 2001–2010, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Paterno 2001–2010 | 7–3 | Penn State | 10 | |
| Lloyd Carr 2001–2007 | 6–1 | Michigan | 7 | |
| Joe Tiller 2001–2008 | 5–1 | Purdue | 6 | |
| Kirk Ferentz 2003–2010 | 5–1 | Iowa | 6 | |
| Ron Zook 2005–2010 | 5–1 | Illinois | 6 | |
| Randy Walker 2001–2005 | 4–1 | Northwestern | 5 | |
| Glen Mason 2001–2006 | 4–0 | Minnesota | 4 | |
| John Smith 2003–2006 | 4–0 | Michigan State | 4 | |
| Mark Dantonio 2004–2008 | 4–0 | Cincinnati, Michigan State | 4 | |
| Bret Bielema 2007–2010 | 3–1 | Wisconsin | 4 |
Jim Tressel’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Michiganseries | 10 | 9–1 |
| Penn Stateseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| Indianaseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Minnesotaseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Northwesternseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Illinoisseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Purdueseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Wisconsinseries | 8 | 4–4 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2002 Ohio State: Bear Bryant Award, Bobby Dodd Award and Eddie Robinson
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Ohio State’s 2002 staff (head coach) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–78 | Akron | Graduate assistant | |
| 1979–80 | Miami (OH) | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1981–82 | Syracuse | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1983 | Ohio State | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1984–85 | Ohio State | Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers coach | |
| 1986–2000 | Youngstown State | Head coach | |
| 2001–10 | Ohio State | Head coach | |
| 2011 | Indianapolis Colts NFL | Consultant |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jim DennisonAkron
- Tom ReedMiami (OH)
- Dick MacPhersonSyracuse
- Earle BruceOhio State
- Jim CaldwellIndianapolis Colts
Assistants who became head coaches
- Don TreadwellMichigan State, Miami (OH), Arkansas–Pine Bluff
- Mark DantonioCincinnati, Michigan State
- Mark ManginoKansas
- Jon HeacockYoungstown State
- Mark SnyderMarshall, Shawnee State
- Bob TuckerWooster
- Brian WrightFlorida Atlantic, Pittsburg State, Northern Arizona
- Jim HeacockIllinois State
- Mel TuckerColorado, Michigan State
- Luke FickellOhio State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin
- Alex GoleshSouth Florida, Auburn
- Darrell HazellKent State, Purdue
- and 5 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Dennison | Akron | 1975–78 | Graduate assistant | |
| Tom Reed | Miami (OH) | 1979–80 | Quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| Dick MacPherson | Syracuse | 1981–82 | Quarterbacks coach | |
| Earle Bruce | Ohio State | 1983–85 | 1983: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 1984–85: quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers coach | |
| Jim Caldwell | Indianapolis Colts NFL | 2011 | Consultant |
Coached under him, later head coaches (17)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Treadwell | Youngstown State, 1986–90: assistant coach; 1991: offensive coordinator | Michigan State, Miami (OH), Arkansas–Pine Bluff | |
| Mark Dantonio | Youngstown State, 1986–90: defensive coordinator; Ohio State, 2001–03: defensive coordinator | Cincinnati, Michigan State | |
| Mark Mangino | Youngstown State, 1986: assistant coach | Kansas | |
| Jon Heacock | Youngstown State, 1991: defensive backs coach; 1992–96: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; 2000: defensive coordinator | Youngstown State | |
| Mark Snyder | Youngstown State, 1991–96: outside linebackers, special teams and linebackers coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Ohio State, 2001–04: linebackers coach and defensive coordinator | Marshall, Shawnee State | |
| Bob Tucker | Youngstown State, 1997–99: defensive coordinator; 2000: special teams and linebackers coach; Ohio State, 2001–08: director of operations | Wooster | |
| Brian Wright | Youngstown State, 1997: graduate assistant | Florida Atlantic, Pittsburg State, Northern Arizona | |
| Jim Heacock | Ohio State, 2001–04: defensive line coach; 2005–10: defensive coordinator | Illinois State | |
| Mel Tucker | Ohio State, 2001–03: defensive backs coach; 2004: co-defensive coordinator | Colorado, Michigan State | |
| Luke Fickell | Ohio State, 2002–03: special teams coach; 2004: linebackers coach; 2005–10: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Ohio State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin | |
| Alex Golesh | Ohio State, 2004–05: student assistant | South Florida, Auburn | |
| Darrell Hazell | Ohio State, 2004: wide receivers coach; 2005–10: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach | Kent State, Purdue | |
| Joe Rudolph | Ohio State, 2004–06: graduate assistant | Pittsburgh | |
| Paul Haynes | Ohio State, 2005–10: defensive backs coach | Kent State | |
| Tim Beckman | Ohio State, 2005–06: cornerbacks coach | Toledo, Illinois | |
| P.J. Fleck | Ohio State, 2006: graduate assistant | Western Michigan, Minnesota | |
| Marcus Freeman | Ohio State, 2010: graduate assistant | Notre Dame |
Other assistants under him (3)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Bollman | Youngstown State, 1986–88: defensive coordinator; 1989–90: offensive coordinator; Ohio State, 2001–10: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| Mike Tressel | Ohio State, 2002–03: graduate assistant | |
| Taver Johnson | Ohio State, 2007–10: defensive backs coach |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $450,000 | $3,888,389 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $450,000 | $3,722,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Ohio State | head coach | $2,600,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $450,000 | $2,387,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Ohio State | head coachbonuses up to $375,000 | $2,012,700 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
Tressel’s teams went for it on 11% of fourth downs and on 21% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 40% of plays and took 27.7 seconds a play, 2004–2010.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | 5 of 95 5% | 11% | 43% | 25.5 | −0.14 | |
| 2005 12 g | 6 of 74 8% | 24% | 40% | 27.4 | +0.03 | |
| 2006 13 g | 11 of 73 15% | 19% | 44% | 28.6 | +0.08 | |
| 2007 13 g | 13 of 89 15% | 32% | 40% | 27.3 | +0.01 | |
| 2008 13 g | 9 of 95 9% | 17% | 36% | 29.5 | −0.02 | |
| 2009 13 g | 10 of 100 10% | 17% | 38% | 28.1 | −0.04 | |
| 2010 13 g | 11 of 83 13% | 30% | 41% | 27.6 | +0.10 | |
| All 89 g | 65 of 609 11% | 21% | 40% | 27.7 | 0.00 |
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.
Films and books
On film
Films: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia’s lists and categories (CC BY-SA). Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.