John Ralston
John Ralston went 97–81–4 as a head coach, 1959–1996, at Utah State, Stanford and San José State. Share
- Record
- 97–81–4 career
- Seasons
- 17
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 3 seasons
- Hall of Fame
- 1992 inducted
- Best season
- 1970 9–3, No. 8
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Utah State | 5–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1960 | Utah State | 9–2 | T–1st | Sun Bowl L | ||
| 1961 | Utah State | 9–1–1 | T–1st | Gotham Bowl L | 10 | |
| 1962 | Utah State | 8–2 | ||||
| 1963 | Stanford | 3–7 | 6th | |||
| 1964 | Stanford | 5–5 | 5th | |||
| 1965 | Stanford | 6–3–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1966 | Stanford | 5–5 | 8th | |||
| 1967 | Stanford | 5–5 | T–4th | |||
| 1968 | Stanford | 6–3–1 | T–3rd | 20 | ||
| 1969 | Stanford | 7–2–1 | T–2nd | 19 | ||
| 1970 | Stanford | 9–3 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 8 | |
| 1971 | Stanford | 9–3 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1972–92: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1993 | San José State | 2–9 | T–6th | |||
| 1994 | San José State | 3–8 | T–5th | |||
| 1995 | San José State | 3–8 | T–6th | |||
| 1996 | San José State | 3–9 | T–5th (Pacific) | |||
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
Greg SampsonNo. 6 pick, 1972
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 | 31 | 10–20–1 | 34% |
| Against top-10 teams | 18 | 6–11–1 | 36% |
| Against rivals | 73 | 35–36–2 | 49% |
| Conference games | 104 | 54–47–3 | 53% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 4 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 61 | 26–31–4 | 46% |
| At home | 85 | 53–29–3 | 64% |
| On the road | 93 | 42–50–1 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 4 | 2–2 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 93 | 68–22–3 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 89 | 29–59–1 | 33% |
His own 182 games on file, 1959–1996, 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 1963–1971 | 5–4 | Washington | 9 | |
| John McKay 1963–1971 | 2–7 | USC | 9 | |
| Ray Willsey 1964–1971 | 6–2 | California | 8 | |
| Tommy Prothro 1963–1970 | 2–5–1 | Oregon State, UCLA | 8 | |
| Dee Andros 1962–1971 | 4–2 | Idaho, Oregon State | 6 | |
| Jim Sweeney 1968–1996 | 2–3–1 | Washington State, Fresno State | 6 | |
| Jerry Frei 1967–1971 | 5–0 | Oregon | 5 | |
| Ben Martin 1965–1970 | 4–1 | Air Force | 5 | |
| Ray Jenkins 1959–1962 | 4–0 | Montana | 4 | |
| Harry Anderson 1965–1968 | 4–0 | San José State | 4 |
John Ralston’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Californiaseries | 13 | 7–6 |
| Washingtonseries | 12 | 5–7 |
| San José Stateseries | 10 | 9–1 |
| USCseries | 10 | 2–8 |
| Oregonseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| Washington Stateseries | 9 | 4–4–1 |
| UCLAseries | 9 | 2–6–1 |
| Oregon Stateseries | 7 | 4–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | San Lorenzo HS (CA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1956–58 | California | Assistant coach | |
| 1959–62 | Utah State | Head coach | |
| 1963–71 | Stanford | Head coach | |
| 1972–76 | Denver Broncos NFL | Head coach | |
| 1978 | Philadelphia Eagles NFL | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1981 | Toronto Argonauts CFL | Assistant coach | |
| 1983–84 | Oakland Invaders USFL | Head coach | |
| 1993–96 | San Jose State | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Pappy WaldorfCalifornia
- Pete ElliottCalifornia
- Dick VermeilPhiladelphia Eagles
- Tommy HudspethToronto Argonauts
Assistants who became head coaches
- Tony KnapUtah State, UNLV, Boise State
- Bill WalshStanford, San Francisco 49ers
- Rod RustNorth Texas, New England Patriots, Montreal Alouettes
- Mike WhiteCalifornia, Illinois, Oakland Raiders
- Dick VermeilUCLA, Napa, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs
- Jim MoraOccidental, Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts
- Jack ChristiansenStanford, San Francisco 49ers
- Roger ThederCalifornia
- Dave CurreyLong Beach State, Cincinnati
- Dick CouryCal State Fullerton, Portland Storm, Boston / New Orleans / Portland Breakers
- Doc UrichBuffalo, Northern Illinois
- Jerry FreiOregon
- and 3 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pappy Waldorf | California | 1956 | Assistant coach | |
| Pete Elliott | California | 1957–58 | Assistant coach | |
| Dick Vermeil | Philadelphia Eagles NFL | 1978 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Tommy Hudspeth | Toronto Argonauts pro | 1981 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (15)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Knap | Utah State, 1959–62: assistant coach | Utah State, UNLV, Boise State | |
| Bill Walsh | Stanford, 1963–65: defensive backs coach | Stanford, San Francisco 49ers | |
| Rod Rust | Stanford, 1963–66: assistant coach | North Texas, New England Patriots, Montreal Alouettes | |
| Mike White | Stanford, 1964–71: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | California, Illinois, Oakland Raiders | |
| Dick Vermeil | Stanford, 1965–68: assistant coach | UCLA, Napa, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Jim Mora | Stanford, 1967: linebackers coach | Occidental, Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts | |
| Jack Christiansen | Stanford, 1968–71: assistant coach | Stanford, San Francisco 49ers | |
| Roger Theder | Stanford, 1968–71: assistant coach; San José State, 1993–96: offensive coordinator | California | |
| Dave Currey | Stanford, 1970–71: assistant coach | Long Beach State, Cincinnati | |
| Dick Coury | Denver Broncos, 1972–73: wide receivers coach | Cal State Fullerton, Portland Storm, Boston / New Orleans / Portland Breakers | |
| Doc Urich | Denver Broncos, 1972–75: defensive line coach; 1976: offensive line coach | Buffalo, Northern Illinois | |
| Jerry Frei | Denver Broncos, 1972–75: assistant coach | Oregon | |
| Kay Dalton | Denver Broncos, 1974–76: wide receivers coach | Trinidad, Western Colorado, Montreal Alouettes, Northern Colorado | |
| Mike Giddings | Denver Broncos, 1976: director pro scouting and assistant offensive line | Utah, Glendale (CA), The Hawaiians | |
| Tom Gadd | San José State, 1993–94: defensive coordinator | Bucknell |
Other assistants under him (5)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Gambold | Stanford, 1963–71: assistant coach | |
| Ron Hudson | Stanford, 1971: graduate assistant | |
| Bill Laveroni | San José State, 1993–94: offensive line coach | |
| Mike Church | San José State, 1995–96: defensive coordinator | |
| Richard Rodgers Sr. | San José State, 1995–96: secondary and special teams 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.