Rey Dempsey
Rey Dempsey went 73–57–3 as a head coach, 1973–1985, at Youngstown State, Southern Illinois and Memphis. Share
Two seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1973–74 at Youngstown State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 73–57–3 career
- Seasons
- 12
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1983 13–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Youngstown State * | 4–6 | ||||
| 1974 | Youngstown State * | 8–2 | NCAA Division II Quarterfinal L | |||
| 1975: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1976 | Southern Illinois | 7–4 | ||||
| 1977 | Southern Illinois | 3–8 | 7th | |||
| 1978 | Southern Illinois | 7–4 | 3rd | |||
| 1979 | Southern Illinois | 8–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1980 | Southern Illinois | 3–8 | 7th | |||
| 1981 | Southern Illinois | 7–4 | 3rd | |||
| 1982 | Southern Illinois | 6–5 | T–2nd | |||
| 1983 | Southern Illinois | 13–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | 1 | |
| 1984 | Memphis | 5–5–1 | ||||
| 1985 | Memphis | 2–7–2 | ||||
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
Derrick BurroughsNo. 14 pick, 1985
Terry TaylorNo. 22 pick, 1984
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 | 4 | 0–3–1 | 13% |
| Against top-10 teams | 3 | 0–2–1 | 17% |
| Against rivals | 7 | 4–2–1 | 64% |
| Conference games | 38 | 22–16 | 58% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 43 | 23–17–3 | 57% |
| At home | 55 | 34–18–3 | 65% |
| On the road | 57 | 26–31 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 68 | 48–18–2 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 45 | 13–31–1 | 30% |
His own 113 games on file, 1976–1985, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Shelton 1977–1983 | 4–3 | Drake | 7 | |
| Sam Robertson 1980–1985 | 3–2 | Louisiana | 5 | |
| Charlie Cowdrey 1977–1980 | 4–0 | Illinois State | 4 | |
| Gil Krueger 1978–1981 | 3–1 | New Mexico State | 4 | |
| Pat Culpepper 1976–1979 | 2–2 | Northern Illinois | 4 | |
| Bill Yung 1977–1980 | 1–3 | West Texas | 4 | |
| Bob Frederick 1976–1978 | 3–0 | Lamar | 3 | |
| Augie Tammariello 1977–1979 | 2–1 | Louisiana | 3 | |
| John Cooper 1980–1982 | 1–2 | Tulsa | 3 | |
| Bill Davidson 1976–1978 | 0–3 | Arkansas State | 3 |
Rey Dempsey’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana Stateseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| Illinois Stateseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Louisianaseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Drakeseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| West Texasseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Arkansas Stateseries | 7 | 2–5 |
| New Mexico Stateseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Northern Illinoisseries | 5 | 2–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–60 | Hopewell HS (PA) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1961–64 | East Palestine HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1965–70 | Central Catholic HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1971–72 | Bowling Green | Offensive line coach | |
| 1973–74 | Youngstown State | Head coach | |
| 1975 | Detroit Lions NFL | Special teams coach | |
| 1976–83 | Southern Illinois | Head coach | |
| 1984–85 | Memphis State | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Don NehlenBowling Green
- Rick ForzanoDetroit Lions
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jim CaldwellWake Forest, Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions
- Alex WoodBuffalo, James Madison, Florida A&M
- Shawn WatsonWofford, Southern Illinois
- Mike HenniganTennessee Tech
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Nehlen | Bowling Green | 1971–72 | Offensive line coach | |
| Rick Forzano | Detroit Lions NFL | 1975 | Special teams coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (4)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Caldwell | Southern Illinois, 1978–80: wide receivers coach | Wake Forest, Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions | |
| Alex Wood | Southern Illinois, 1981: defensive backs coach | Buffalo, James Madison, Florida A&M | |
| Shawn Watson | Southern Illinois, 1982: graduate assistant | Wofford, Southern Illinois | |
| Mike Hennigan | Memphis, 1984: linebackers coach | Tennessee Tech |
Other assistants under him (4)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Gerald Carr | Southern Illinois, 1982: graduate assistant | |
| Carl Angelo | Memphis, 1984–85: defensive coordinator | |
| Joe D’Alessandris | Memphis, 1984–85: offensive line coach | |
| Mike Wallace | Memphis, 1984–85: 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.