Mike Gottfried
Mike Gottfried went 75–56–4 as a head coach, 1978–1989, at Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh. Share
Three seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1978–80 at Murray State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 75–56–4 career
- Seasons
- 12
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1989 8–3–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Murray State * | 4–7 | T–5th | |||
| 1979 | Murray State * | 9–2–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal L | ||
| 1980 | Murray State * | 9–2 | T–2nd | |||
| 1981 | Cincinnati | 6–5 | ||||
| 1982 | Cincinnati | 6–5 | ||||
| 1983 | Kansas | 4–6–1 | T–6th | |||
| 1984 | Kansas | 5–6 | 4th | |||
| 1985 | Kansas | 6–6 | 6th | |||
| 1986 | Pittsburgh | 5–5–1 | ||||
| 1987 | Pittsburgh | 8–4 | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl L | |||
| 1988 | Pittsburgh | 6–5 | ||||
| 1989 | Pittsburgh | 7–3–1 | John Hancock (not coached) |
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
Craig HeywardFifth in the 1987 Heisman vote- Tony WoodsConsensus All‑American, 1986
- Randy DixonConsensus All‑American, 1986
- Mark StepnoskiConsensus All‑American, 1988
- Burt GrossmanNo. 8 pick, 1989
- Tom RickettsNo. 24 pick, 1989
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 29 | 7–21–1 | 26% |
| Against top-10 teams | 19 | 4–14–1 | 24% |
| Against rivals | 32 | 17–14–1 | 55% |
| Conference games | 21 | 8–13 | 38% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 32 | 11–18–3 | 39% |
| At home | 56 | 37–19 | 66% |
| On the road | 43 | 15–25–3 | 38% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 1–1 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 54 | 37–16–1 | 69% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 47 | 16–29–2 | 36% |
His own 101 games on file, 1981–1989, 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 1981–1989 | 2–3 | Penn State | 5 | |
| Dick Anderson 1986–1989 | 4–0 | Rutgers | 4 | |
| Don Nehlen 1986–1989 | 2–1–1 | West Virginia | 4 | |
| Lou Holtz 1986–1989 | 2–2 | Notre Dame | 4 | |
| Dick MacPherson 1986–1989 | 1–3 | Syracuse | 4 | |
| Elliot Uzelac 1987–1989 | 3–0 | Navy | 3 | |
| Barry Switzer 1983–1985 | 1–2 | Oklahoma | 3 | |
| Bill McCartney 1983–1985 | 1–2 | Colorado | 3 | |
| Jim Criner 1983–1985 | 1–2 | Iowa State | 3 | |
| Bruce Arians 1986–1988 | 1–2 | Temple | 3 |
Mike Gottfried’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Templeseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Rutgersseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Penn Stateseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Navyseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Notre Dameseries | 4 | 2–2 |
| West Virginiaseries | 4 | 2–1–1 |
| Syracuseseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Missouriseries | 3 | 3–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | Cincinnati | Associate head coach | |
| 1977 | Arizona | Defensive backs | |
| 1978–80 | Murray State | Head coach | |
| 1981–82 | Cincinnati | Head coach | |
| 1983–85 | Kansas | Head coach | |
| 1986–89 | Pittsburgh | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Tony MasonCincinnati, Arizona
Assistants who became head coaches
- Ron ZookFlorida, Illinois
- Frank BeamerVirginia Tech, Murray State
- Mike MahoneyMurray State
- Mike ClarkBridgewater
- Bill SchmitzCoast Guard, Austin Peay
- John FoxCarolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears
- Mike SheppardLong Beach State, New Mexico
- Bob ValesenteKansas
- Bud CarsonGeorgia Tech, Cleveland Browns
- Steve HagenWartburg
- Chuck KlausingIndiana (PA), Carnegie Mellon
- John JenkinsHouston, Ottawa Renegades
- and 3 more
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Mason | Cincinnati | 1975–76 | Associate head coach | |
| Tony Mason | Arizona | 1977 | Defensive backs |
Coached under him, later head coaches (15)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Zook | Murray State, 1978–80: defensive backs coach; Cincinnati, 1981–82: defensive coordinator; Kansas, 1983: defensive coordinator | Florida, Illinois | |
| Frank Beamer | Murray State, 1979–80: defensive coordinator | Virginia Tech, Murray State | |
| Mike Mahoney | Murray State, 1979–80: assistant coach | Murray State | |
| Mike Clark | Murray State, 1980: defensive line and linebackers coach | Bridgewater | |
| Bill Schmitz | Cincinnati, 1981–82: assistant coach | Coast Guard, Austin Peay | |
| John Fox | Kansas, 1983: defensive backs coach; Pittsburgh, 1986–88: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears | |
| Mike Sheppard | Kansas, 1983: offensive coordinator | Long Beach State, New Mexico | |
| Bob Valesente | Kansas, 1984–85: assistant coach; Pittsburgh, 1989: defensive coordinator and assistant head coach | Kansas | |
| Bud Carson | Kansas, 1984: adviser | Georgia Tech, Cleveland Browns | |
| Steve Hagen | Kansas, 1985: graduate assistant | Wartburg | |
| Chuck Klausing | Pittsburgh, 1986: assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach | Indiana (PA), Carnegie Mellon | |
| John Jenkins | Pittsburgh, 1986: quarterbacks coach | Houston, Ottawa Renegades | |
| Sal Sunseri | Pittsburgh, 1986–89: defensive line and linebackers coach | Pittsburgh | |
| Jack Harbaugh | Pittsburgh, 1987–88: assistant coach | Western Michigan, Western Kentucky | |
| Paul Hackett | Pittsburgh, 1989: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Pittsburgh, USC |
Other assistants under him (4)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Solari | Cincinnati, 1981–82: offensive line coach; Kansas, 1983–85: offensive line coach; Pittsburgh, 1986: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| Mike Dickens | Pittsburgh, 1987–88: offensive coordinator | |
| Frank Cignetti Jr. | Pittsburgh, 1989: graduate assistant | |
| Nick Rapone | Pittsburgh, 1989: defensive coordinator and 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.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.