Pepper Rodgers
Pepper Rodgers went 73–65–3 as a head coach, 1967–1979, at Kansas, UCLA and Georgia Tech. Share
- Record
- 73–65–3 career
- Seasons
- 13
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Best season
- 1968 9–2, No. 7
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Kansas | 5–5 | T–2nd | |||
| 1968 | Kansas | 9–2 | T–1st | Orange Bowl L | 7 | |
| 1969 | Kansas | 1–9 | 8th | |||
| 1970 | Kansas | 5–6 | T–6th | |||
| 1971 | UCLA | 2–7–1 | 8th | |||
| 1972 | UCLA | 8–3 | 2nd | 15 | ||
| 1973 | UCLA | 9–2 | 2nd | 12 | ||
| 1974 | Georgia Tech | 6–5 | ||||
| 1975 | Georgia Tech | 7–4 | ||||
| 1976 | Georgia Tech | 4–6–1 | ||||
| 1977 | Georgia Tech | 6–5 | ||||
| 1978 | Georgia Tech | 7–5 | Peach Bowl L | |||
| 1979 | Georgia Tech | 4–6–1 |
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
Kermit JohnsonConsensus All‑American, 1973
John ZookConsensus All‑American, 1968- Bill SandiferNo. 10 pick, 1974
- Fred McNeillNo. 17 pick, 1974
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 | 33 | 7–25–1 | 23% |
| Against top-10 teams | 20 | 3–17 | 15% |
| Against rivals | 47 | 20–25–2 | 45% |
| Conference games | 48 | 25–22–1 | 53% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 39 | 13–23–3 | 37% |
| At home | 79 | 49–29–1 | 63% |
| On the road | 60 | 24–34–2 | 42% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 78 | 55–22–1 | 71% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 63 | 18–43–2 | 30% |
His own 141 games on file, 1967–1979, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Devine 1967–1979 | 3–6 | Missouri, Notre Dame | 9 | |
| Johnny Majors 1968–1979 | 3–4 | Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee | 7 | |
| Vince Dooley 1974–1979 | 2–4 | Georgia | 6 | |
| Bob Devaney 1967–1972 | 3–2 | Nebraska | 5 | |
| George Welsh 1974–1979 | 3–2 | Navy | 5 | |
| Jim Carlen 1970–1978 | 1–4 | Texas Tech, South Carolina | 5 | |
| Mike McGee 1974–1978 | 1–4 | Duke | 5 | |
| Jim Sweeney 1970–1973 | 4–0 | Washington State | 4 | |
| Vince Gibson 1967–1970 | 3–1 | Kansas State | 4 | |
| Doug Barfield 1976–1979 | 3–1 | Auburn | 4 |
Pepper Rodgers’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tulaneseries | 6 | 5–1 |
| Auburnseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| Nebraskaseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| Georgiaseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Dukeseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| Notre Dameseries | 6 | 1–5 |
| Navyseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| South Carolinaseries | 5 | 2–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59 | Air Force | Backfield coach | |
| 1960–64 | Florida | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1965–66 | UCLA | Backfield coach | |
| 1967–70 | Kansas | Head coach | |
| 1971–73 | UCLA | Head coach | |
| 1974–79 | Georgia Tech | Head coach | |
| 1984–85 | Memphis Showboats USFL | Head coach | |
| 1995 | Memphis Mad Dogs CFL | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Ben MartinAir Force
- Ray GravesFlorida
- Tommy ProthroUCLA
Assistants who became head coaches
- Dave McClainBall State, Wisconsin
- Dick TomeyHawai’i, Arizona, San José State
- Don FambroughKansas
- John CooperTulsa, Arizona State, Ohio State
- Terry DonahueUCLA
- Doug WeaverKansas State, Southern Illinois
- Lynn StilesSan José State
- Homer SmithDavidson, Pacific, Army
- Jim CrinerIowa State, Boise State, Scottish Claymores, Las Vegas Outlaws
- Charlie TaaffeThe Citadel, Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Dave FaggDavidson
- Dick BestwickVirginia
- and 5 more
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Martin | Air Force | 1958–59 | Backfield coach | |
| Ray Graves | Florida | 1960–64 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Tommy Prothro | UCLA | 1965–66 | Backfield coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (17)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave McClain | Kansas, 1967–68: assistant coach | Ball State, Wisconsin | |
| Dick Tomey | Kansas, 1967–70: defensive backs coach; UCLA, 1971–73: offensive line and defensive backs coach | Hawai’i, Arizona, San José State | |
| Don Fambrough | Kansas, 1967–70: assistant coach | Kansas | |
| John Cooper | Kansas, 1967–70: defensive coordinator | Tulsa, Arizona State, Ohio State | |
| Terry Donahue | Kansas, 1968–70: defensive line coach; UCLA, 1971–73: offensive line coach | UCLA | |
| Doug Weaver | Kansas, 1970: assistant coach; UCLA, 1971–72: assistant head coach and offensive coordinator | Kansas State, Southern Illinois | |
| Lynn Stiles | UCLA, 1971–73: linebackers and defensive line coach | San José State | |
| Homer Smith | UCLA, 1972–73: offensive coordinator | Davidson, Pacific, Army | |
| Jim Criner | UCLA, 1973: offensive line coach | Iowa State, Boise State, Scottish Claymores, Las Vegas Outlaws | |
| Charlie Taaffe | Georgia Tech, 1974: GA: wide receivers | The Citadel, Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Dave Fagg | Georgia Tech, 1974: offensive coordinator; 1978: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | Davidson | |
| Dick Bestwick | Georgia Tech, 1974–75: assistant coach | Virginia | |
| Bill Curry | Georgia Tech, 1976: offensive line coach | Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia State | |
| Barry Wilson | Georgia Tech, 1977–79: linebackers coach | Duke | |
| Ed Emory | Georgia Tech, 1978–79: defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator | East Carolina | |
| Steve Spurrier | Georgia Tech, 1979: quarterbacks coach | Duke, Florida, South Carolina, Tampa Bay Bandits, Washington Redskins, Orlando Apollos | |
| Bill Oliver | Memphis Showboats, 1984–85: defensive coordinator | Chattanooga |
Other assistants under him (7)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Sanders | Georgia Tech, 1979: assistant defensive line coach | |
| Jack Westbroook | Georgia Tech, 1979: defensive coordinator | |
| Larry Travis | Georgia Tech, 1979: offensive coordinator | |
| Bill Bradley | Memphis Showboats, 1985: assistant coach | |
| Chuck Dickerson | Memphis Showboats, 1985: defensive line coach | |
| Larry Coyer | Memphis Showboats, 1985: defensive coordinator | |
| Joe D’Alessandris | Memphis Mad Dogs, 1995: offensive line 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.