John McKay
John McKay went 127–40–8 as a head coach, 1960–1975, at USC. His teams claim four national titles: USC in 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974. Share
- Record
- 127–40–8 career
- Seasons
- 16
- Schools
- 1
- National titles
- 4 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1988 inducted
- Best season
- 1972 12–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | USC | 4–6 | 2nd | |||
| 1961 | USC | 4–5–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1962 | USC | 11–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1963 | USC | 7–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1964 | USC | 7–3 | T–1st | 10 | ||
| 1965 | USC | 7–2–1 | 2nd | 10 | ||
| 1966 | USC | 7–4 | T–1st | Rose Bowl L | 18 | |
| 1967 | USC | 10–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1968 | USC | 9–1–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 4 | |
| 1969 | USC | 10–0–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 3 | |
| 1970 | USC | 6–4–1 | T–6th | 15 | ||
| 1971 | USC | 6–4–1 | 3rd | 20 | ||
| 1972 | USC | 12–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1973 | USC | 9–2–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | 8 | |
| 1974 | USC | 10–1–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 2 | |
| 1975 | USC | 8–4 | 5th | Liberty Bowl W | 17 |
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
Anthony DavisSecond in the 1974 Heisman vote- Pete BeathardNo. 2 AFL pick, 1964
- Marlin McKeeverNo. 4 pick, 1961
- Richard WoodConsensus All‑American, 1973 and 1974
- Charle YoungConsensus All‑American, 1972
- Tim RossovichConsensus All‑American, 1967
- Al CowlingsNo. 5 pick, 1970
- Booker BrownConsensus All‑American, 1973
- Jimmy GunnConsensus All‑American, 1969
- Charlie WeaverConsensus All‑American, 1970
- Hal BedsoleConsensus All‑American, 1962
- Nate ShawConsensus All‑American, 1966
11 more
Artimus Parker (Consensus All‑American, 1973); Mike Taylor (No. 10 pick, 1968); Steve Riley (No. 25 pick, 1974); Earl McCullouch (No. 24 pick, 1968); Sam Cunningham (No. 11 pick, 1973); Bob Klein (No. 21 pick, 1969); Sid Smith (No. 26 pick, 1970); Pete Adams (No. 22 pick, 1973); Mike Hull (No. 16 pick, 1968); Tody Smith (No. 25 pick, 1971); Marv Montgomery (No. 12 pick, 1971).
18 of the 29 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 | 56 | 34–18–4 | 64% |
| Against top-10 teams | 37 | 21–13–3 | 61% |
| Against rivals | 56 | 37–16–3 | 69% |
| Conference games | 90 | 70–17–3 | 79% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 9 | 6–3 | 67% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 57 | 30–19–8 | 60% |
| At home | 88 | 65–17–6 | 77% |
| On the road | 78 | 56–20–2 | 73% |
| At neutral sites | 9 | 6–3 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 140 | 108–25–7 | 80% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 35 | 19–15–1 | 56% |
His own 175 games on file, 1960–1975, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Owens 1960–1974 | 11–3–1 | Washington | 15 | |
| Ara Parseghian 1964–1974 | 6–3–2 | Notre Dame | 11 | |
| Dee Andros 1965–1975 | 9–1 | Oregon State | 10 | |
| John Ralston 1963–1971 | 7–2 | Stanford | 9 | |
| Ray Willsey 1964–1971 | 7–1 | California | 8 | |
| Tommy Prothro 1960–1970 | 4–4 | Oregon State, UCLA | 8 | |
| Jim Sweeney 1969–1975 | 7–0 | Washington State | 7 | |
| Woody Hayes 1960–1974 | 3–4 | Ohio State | 7 | |
| Bill Barnes 1960–1964 | 4–1 | UCLA | 5 | |
| Marv Levy 1960–1963 | 4–0 | California | 4 |
John McKay’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stanfordseries | 16 | 13–3 |
| Californiaseries | 16 | 13–2–1 |
| Washingtonseries | 16 | 11–4–1 |
| UCLAseries | 16 | 10–5–1 |
| Notre Dameseries | 16 | 8–6–2 |
| Oregon Stateseries | 12 | 10–2 |
| Washington Stateseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Oregonseries | 8 | 6–2 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1972 USC: Eddie Robinson
- 1962 USC: Eddie Robinson
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–58 | Oregon | Assistant coach | |
| 1959 | USC | Assistant coach | |
| 1960–75 | USC | Head coach | |
| 1976–84 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jim AikenOregon
- Len CasanovaOregon
- Don ClarkUSC
Assistants who became head coaches
- Don CoryellSan Diego State, UBC, Wenatchee Valley, Whittier, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers
- Ray GeorgeTexas A&M
- Mike GiddingsUtah, Glendale (CA), The Hawaiians
- Craig FertigOregon State
- Bill SnyderKansas State
- Dick CouryCal State Fullerton, Portland Storm, Boston / New Orleans / Portland Breakers
- Phil KruegerUtah State, Fresno State
- John RobinsonUSC, UNLV, Los Angeles Rams
- Bruce SnyderUtah State, California, Arizona State
- Dennis FryzelTampa
- Jerry FreiOregon
- Richard VorisVirginia, Hartnell
- and 2 more
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Aiken | Oregon | 1950 | Assistant coach | |
| Len Casanova | Oregon | 1951–58 | Assistant coach | |
| Don Clark | USC | 1959 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Coryell | USC, 1960: assistant coach | San Diego State, UBC, Wenatchee Valley, Whittier, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers | |
| Ray George | USC, 1960–64, 1972–74: assistant coach | Texas A&M | |
| Mike Giddings | USC, 1961–65: assistant coach | Utah, Glendale (CA), The Hawaiians | |
| Craig Fertig | USC, 1965–73, 1975: assistant coach | Oregon State | |
| Bill Snyder | USC, 1966: graduate assistant | Kansas State | |
| Dick Coury | USC, 1966–68: defensive coordinator | Cal State Fullerton, Portland Storm, Boston / New Orleans / Portland Breakers | |
| Phil Krueger | USC, 1966–70: assistant coach; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976: offensive backs coach; 1977: linebackers coach; 1978–80: special teams coach | Utah State, Fresno State | |
| John Robinson | USC, 1972–74: offensive coordinator | USC, UNLV, Los Angeles Rams | |
| Bruce Snyder | USC, 1974–75: assistant coach | Utah State, California, Arizona State | |
| Dennis Fryzel | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976: special teams coach | Tampa | |
| Jerry Frei | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976–77: assistant coach | Oregon | |
| Richard Voris | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976: linebackers coach | Virginia, Hartnell | |
| George Chaump | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1979–81: assistant coach | Navy, IU Pennsylvania, Marshall | |
| Kim Helton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1983–84: offensive line coach | Houston |
Other assistants under him (3)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Al Saunders | USC, 1970–71: graduate assistant | |
| Frank Emanuel | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1982–83: special teams coach | |
| Greg Brown | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1984: assistant 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.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.