John Mackovic
John Mackovic went 95–82–3 as a head coach, 1978–2003, at Wake Forest, Illinois, Texas and Arizona. Share
- Record
- 95–82–3 career
- Seasons
- 16
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Best season
- 1989 10–2, No. 10
Season by season
1
8
5
6
1010
258
6
6
5
258
1410
238
4
5
4
1
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Wake Forest | 1–10 | 6th | |||
| 1979 | Wake Forest | 8–4 | 4th | Tangerine Bowl L | ||
| 1980 | Wake Forest | 5–6 | T–4th | |||
| 1981–87: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1988 | Illinois | 6–5–1 | T–3rd | All-American Bowl L | ||
| 1989 | Illinois | 10–2 | 2nd | Citrus Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1990 | Illinois | 8–4 | T–1st | Hall of Fame Bowl L | 25 | |
| 1991 | Illinois | 6–5 | 5th | John Hancock (not coached) | ||
| 1992 | Texas | 6–5 | T–2nd | |||
| 1993 | Texas | 5–5–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1994 | Texas | 8–4 | T–1st | Sun Bowl W | 25 | |
| 1995 | Texas | 10–2–1 | 1st | Sugar Bowl L | 14 | |
| 1996 | Texas | 8–5 | 1st (South) | Big 12 Championship Game W; Fiesta Bowl L | 23 | |
| 1997 | Texas | 4–7 | T–4th (South) | |||
| 1998–00: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2001 | Arizona | 5–6 | 8th | |||
| 2002 | Arizona | 4–8 | T–9th | |||
| 2003 | Arizona coached five of 12 games | 1–4 | ||||
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.
Players he coached
Jeff GeorgeNo. 1 pick, 1990- Moe GardnerConsensus All‑American, 1989 and 1990
Bryant WestbrookNo. 5 pick, 1997- Tony BrackensConsensus All‑American, 1995
- Dan NeilConsensus All‑American, 1996
- Blake BrockermeyerNo. 29 pick, 1995
- Henry JonesNo. 26 pick, 1991
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 | 59 | 18–39–2 | 32% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 3–17–1 | 17% |
| Against rivals | 67 | 39–27–1 | 59% |
| Conference games | 110 | 59–50–1 | 54% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 8 | 3–5 | 38% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 66 | 33–30–3 | 52% |
| At home | 88 | 54–33–1 | 62% |
| On the road | 77 | 34–42–1 | 45% |
| At neutral sites | 15 | 7–7–1 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 89 | 66–22–1 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 91 | 29–60–2 | 33% |
His own 180 games on file, 1978–2003, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spike Dykes 1992–1997 | 3–3 | Texas Tech | 6 | |
| R.C. Slocum 1992–1997 | 2–4 | Texas A&M | 6 | |
| John Cooper 1988–1991 | 4–0 | Ohio State | 4 | |
| Tom Rossley 1992–1995 | 4–0 | SMU | 4 | |
| Chuck Reedy 1993–1996 | 4–0 | Baylor | 4 | |
| Francis Peay 1988–1991 | 3–1 | Northwestern | 4 | |
| Pat Sullivan 1992–1995 | 3–1 | TCU | 4 | |
| George Perles 1988–1991 | 2–2 | Michigan State | 4 | |
| Ken Hatfield 1990–1997 | 2–2 | Clemson, Rice | 4 | |
| Bill McCartney 1989–1994 | 1–3 | Colorado | 4 |
John Mackovic’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Baylorseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Purdueseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Oklahomaseries | 6 | 3–2–1 |
| Texas Techseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| Texas A&Mseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Coloradoseries | 6 | 1–5 |
| Houstonseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Riceseries | 5 | 4–1 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1979 Wake Forest: Walter Camp Coach
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Miami (OH) | Graduate assistant | |
| 1969–70 | San Jose State | Assistant coach | |
| 1973–76 | Arizona | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1977 | Purdue | Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator | |
| 1978–80 | Wake Forest | Head coach | |
| 1981–82 | Dallas Cowboys NFL | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1983–86 | Kansas City Chiefs NFL | Head coach | |
| 1988–91 | Illinois | Head coach | |
| 1992–97 | Texas | Head coach | |
| 2001–03 | Arizona | Head coach | |
| 2007 | United States national team | Head coach | |
| 2014–23 | Italy national team | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bo SchembechlerMiami (OH)
- Joe McMullenSan José State
- DeWayne KingSan José State
- Jim YoungArizona, Purdue
John Mackovic
Assistants who became head coaches
- Vito RagazzoVMI, Shippensburg
- Jim HofherBuffalo, Cornell
- Ed ZaunbrecherUL Monroe
- Bud CarsonGeorgia Tech, Cleveland Browns
- Doug GraberRutgers, Montana State, Frankfurt Galaxy
- Richard WilliamsonMemphis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Frank GanszKansas City Chiefs
- Gene DahlquistScottish Claymores
- Greg ColbyMillersville
- Lou TepperIllinois, Edinboro, IU Pennsylvania
- Cleve BryantOhio
- Gary DarnellFlorida, Western Michigan, Texas A&M, Tennessee Tech
- and 3 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Schembechler | Miami (OH) | 1965 | Graduate assistant | |
| Joe McMullen | San José State | 1969–70 | Assistant coach | |
| DeWayne King | San José State | 1970 | Assistant coach | |
| Jim Young | Arizona | 1973–76 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Jim Young | Purdue | 1977 | Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (15)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vito Ragazzo | Wake Forest, 1978: assistant coach | VMI, Shippensburg | |
| Jim Hofher | Wake Forest, 1979–80: graduate assistant | Buffalo, Cornell | |
| Ed Zaunbrecher | Wake Forest, 1980: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | UL Monroe | |
| Bud Carson | Kansas City Chiefs, 1983: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Georgia Tech, Cleveland Browns | |
| Doug Graber | Kansas City Chiefs, 1983–86: defensive backs coach | Rutgers, Montana State, Frankfurt Galaxy | |
| Richard Williamson | Kansas City Chiefs, 1983–86: wide receivers coach | Memphis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Frank Gansz | Kansas City Chiefs, 1986: special teams coordinator | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Gene Dahlquist | Illinois, 1988–91: offensive coordinator; Texas, 1992–97: offensive coordinator | Scottish Claymores | |
| Greg Colby | Illinois, 1988–91: assistant coach | Millersville | |
| Lou Tepper | Illinois, 1988–89: defensive coordinator; 1990–91: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Illinois, Edinboro, IU Pennsylvania | |
| Cleve Bryant | Illinois, 1990–91: wide receivers coach; Texas, 1992–94: wide receivers coach | Ohio | |
| Gary Darnell | Texas, 1992–93: assistant head coach and special teams coach; 1994–96: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Florida, Western Michigan, Texas A&M, Tennessee Tech | |
| Leon Fuller | Texas, 1992–93: defensive coordinator | Colorado State | |
| Rob Ianello | Arizona, 2001–02: assistant coach | Akron | |
| Mike Hankwitz | Arizona, 2003: defensive coordinator | Arizona, Colorado |
Other assistants under him (9)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Denny Marcin | Illinois, 1988–91: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| Pete Hoener | Illinois, 1988: offensive line coach | |
| Bobby Jack Wright | Texas, 1992–96: assistant coach; 1997: defensive coordinator | |
| Rex Norris | Texas, 1992–93: defensive line coach | |
| John Butler | Texas, 1997: graduate assistant | |
| Larry Mac Duff | Arizona, 2001–02: defensive coordinator | |
| Rick Dykes | Arizona, 2001–02: offensive coordinator | |
| Jeff Hecklinski | Arizona, 2003: quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator | |
| Mike Deal | Arizona, 2003: offensive 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.