Todd Graham
Todd Graham went 106–72 as a head coach, 2006–2021, at Rice, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Arizona State and Hawai’i. Share
- Record
- 106–72 career
- Seasons
- 14
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Dec 5, 1964
- Alma mater
- East Central 1987
- Best season
- 2014 10–3, No. 12
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Rice | 7–6 | 2nd (West) | New Orleans Bowl L | ||
| 2007 | Tulsa | 10–4 | 1st (West) | GMAC Bowl W | ||
| 2008 | Tulsa | 11–3 | T–1st (West) | GMAC Bowl W | ||
| 2009 | Tulsa | 5–7 | 3rd (West) | |||
| 2010 | Tulsa | 10–3 | T–1st (West) | Hawai’i Bowl W | 24 | |
| 2011 | Pittsburgh | 6–6 | T–4th | BBVA Compass (not coached) | ||
| 2012 | Arizona State | 8–5 | T–2nd (South) | Fight Hunger Bowl W | ||
| 2013 | Arizona State | 10–4 | 1st (South) | Holiday Bowl L | 21 | |
| 2014 | Arizona State | 10–3 | T–2nd (South) | Sun Bowl W | 12 | |
| 2015 | Arizona State | 6–7 | 4th (South) | Cactus Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | Arizona State | 5–7 | T–4th (South) | |||
| 2017 | Arizona State | 7–6 | 2nd (South) | Sun Bowl L | ||
| 2018–19: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2020 | Hawai’i | 5–4 | 5th | New Mexico Bowl W | ||
| 2021 | Hawai’i | 6–7 | T–4th (West) | Hawaii (not played) | ||
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
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 | 14–19 | 42% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 3–8 | 27% |
| Against rivals | 31 | 19–12 | 61% |
| Conference games | 117 | 70–47 | 60% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 10 | 6–4 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 62 | 35–27 | 56% |
| At home | 87 | 64–23 | 74% |
| On the road | 78 | 36–42 | 46% |
| At neutral sites | 13 | 6–7 | 46% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 107 | 81–26 | 76% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 71 | 25–46 | 35% |
His own 178 games on file, 2006–2021, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Whittingham 2011–2017 | 4–3 | Utah | 7 | |
| Rich Rodriguez 2012–2017 | 4–2 | Arizona | 6 | |
| Jim Mora 2012–2017 | 3–3 | UCLA | 6 | |
| Mike MacIntyre 2013–2017 | 4–1 | Colorado | 5 | |
| Mike Price 2006–2010 | 3–2 | UTEP | 5 | |
| Chris Petersen 2009–2017 | 3–2 | Boise State, Washington | 5 | |
| Mike Leach 2012–2016 | 3–2 | Washington State | 5 | |
| Bob Toledo 2007–2010 | 4–0 | Tulane | 4 | |
| David Bailiff 2007–2010 | 4–0 | Rice | 4 | |
| George O’Leary 2006–2008 | 2–2 | UCF | 4 |
Todd Graham’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 |
|---|---|---|
| UCLAseries | 8 | 3–5 |
| Utahseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Coloradoseries | 6 | 5–1 |
| Arizonaseries | 6 | 4–2 |
| Houstonseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| USCseries | 6 | 2–4 |
| New Mexicoseries | 5 | 5–0 |
| Washingtonseries | 5 | 4–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–90 | Poteet HS (TX) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1991–93 | East Central | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1994 | Carl Albert HS (OK) high school | Head coach | |
| 1995–2000 | Allen HS (TX) high school | Head coach | |
| 2001 | West Virginia | Linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2002 | West Virginia | Co-defensive coordinator, safeties coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2003–05 | Tulsa | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| 2006 | Rice | Head coach | |
| 2007–10 | Tulsa | Head coach | |
| 2011 | Pittsburgh | Head coach | |
| 2012–17 | Arizona State | Head coach | |
| 2020–21 | Hawaii | Head coach | |
| 2024–present | TCU | Offensive assistant |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Rich RodriguezWest Virginia
- Steve KragthorpeTulsa
- Sonny DykesTCU
Assistants who became head coaches
- Keith PattersonPittsburgh, Abilene Christian
- David BeatyKansas
- Major ApplewhiteHouston, South Alabama
- Bill BlankenshipTulsa
- Gus MalzahnArkansas State, Auburn, UCF
- Mike NorvellMemphis, Florida State
- Jake SpavitalTexas State
- Chad MorrisSMU, Arkansas
- Van MaloneHampton
- Dan LanningOregon
- Todd DodgeNorth Texas
- Tony GibsonMarshall
- and 13 more
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Rodriguez | West Virginia | 2001–02 | 2001: linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2002: co-defensive coordinator, safeties coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Steve Kragthorpe | Tulsa | 2003–05 | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Sonny Dykes | TCU | 2024–26 | Offensive assistant |
Coached under him, later head coaches (25)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Patterson | Allen HS (TX), 1995–96, 2000: assistant coach; Tulsa, 2007–10: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Pittsburgh, 2011: defensive coordinator; Arizona State, 2014–17: defensive coordinator and DST | Pittsburgh, Abilene Christian | |
| David Beaty | Rice, 2006: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach | Kansas | |
| Major Applewhite | Rice, 2006: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Houston, South Alabama | |
| Bill Blankenship | Tulsa, 2007: wide receivers coach; 2008: special teams coach; 2009–10: special teams and running backs coach | Tulsa | |
| Gus Malzahn | Tulsa, 2007–08: assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Arkansas State, Auburn, UCF | |
| Mike Norvell | Tulsa, 2007–08: graduate assistant; 2009: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2010: passing game coordinator, wide receivers coach and DR; Pittsburgh, 2011: co-offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach and DR; Arizona State, 2012–13: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2014–15: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Memphis, Florida State | |
| Jake Spavital | Tulsa, 2008: offensive quality control coach | Texas State | |
| Chad Morris | Tulsa, 2010: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | SMU, Arkansas | |
| Van Malone | Tulsa, 2010: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator | Hampton | |
| Dan Lanning | Pittsburgh, 2011: graduate assistant; Arizona State, 2012: graduate assistant; 2013: recruiting coordinator | Oregon | |
| Todd Dodge | Pittsburgh, 2011: quarterbacks coach | North Texas | |
| Tony Gibson | Pittsburgh, 2011: passing game coordinator and safeties coach | Marshall | |
| Chris Ball | Arizona State, 2012–15: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Northern Arizona | |
| Larry Porter | Arizona State, 2012: running backs coach | Memphis | |
| Trent Figg | Arizona State, 2013: graduate assistant; Hawai’i, 2020: chief of staff; 2021: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | Calvin | |
| Kenny Dillingham | Arizona State, 2014–15: offensive assistant | Arizona State | |
| Brennan Marion | Arizona State, 2015: offensive quality control coach; Hawai’i, 2020: wide receivers coach | Sacramento State | |
| Ryan Silverfield | Arizona State, 2015: offensive assistant | Memphis, Arkansas | |
| Chip Lindsey | Arizona State, 2016: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Troy | |
| Jay Norvell | Arizona State, 2016: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach | Nevada, Colorado State | |
| Billy Napier | Arizona State, 2017: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Louisiana, Florida, James Madison | |
| Dave Christensen | Arizona State, 2017: consultant | Wyoming, Spokane Falls | |
| Phil Bennett | Arizona State, 2017: defensive coordinator | SMU, Pittsburgh, North Texas | |
| G.J. Kinne | Hawai’i, 2020: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Texas State, Incarnate Word | |
| Victor Santa Cruz | Hawai’i, 2020: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator; 2021: defensive ends coach | Azusa Pacific |
Other assistants under him (15)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Randolph | Rice, 2006: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Tulsa, 2007–10: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; Pittsburgh, 2011: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; Arizona State, 2012–14: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; 2015: associate AD | |
| Herb Hand | Tulsa, 2007–08: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2009: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| Ron West | Tulsa, 2009: co-defensive coordinator; Arizona State, 2012: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Jason Semore | Tulsa, 2010: outside linebackers coach | |
| Calvin Magee | Pittsburgh, 2011: assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Matt Caponi | Pittsburgh, 2011: graduate assistant | |
| Chip Long | Arizona State, 2012–15: tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Jordan Somerville | Arizona State, 2017: graduate assistant | |
| Rob Likens | Arizona State, 2017: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Rob Sale | Arizona State, 2017: offensive line coach and running game coordinator | |
| Abe Elimimian | Hawai’i, 2020: cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator; 2021: running backs coach | |
| Jacob Yoro | Hawai’i, 2020: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2021: linebackers coach | |
| Kim McCloud | Hawai’i, 2020–21: defensive analyst and quality control coach; 2021: interim cornerbacks coach | |
| Tony Hull | Hawai’i, 2020: co-offensive coordinator | |
| Bo Graham | Hawai’i, 2021: 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.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $3,906,000; $445,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $12,266,667 | $3,208,779 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $3,823,000; $375,000 in bonuses paid | $3,103,438 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $3,740,000; $627,000 in bonuses paid | $3,002,960 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $3,491,000 | $2,702,960 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $3,159,000 | $2,303,020 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Arizona State | head coachbonuses up to $2,050,000 | $3,000,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Graham’s teams went for it on 17% of fourth downs and on 28% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 50% of plays and took 22.7 seconds a play, 2006–2021.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 13 g | Rice | 18 of 98 18% | 35% | 55% | 25.5 | 0.00 | |
| 2007 8 g | Tulsa | 14 of 57 25% | 42% | 57% | 20.4 | +0.07 | |
| 2008 13 g | Tulsa | 21 of 65 32% | 48% | 41% | 23.9 | +0.19 | |
| 2009 12 g | Tulsa | 16 of 98 16% | 28% | 50% | 23.3 | −0.08 | |
| 2010 13 g | Tulsa | 10 of 82 12% | 27% | 50% | 19.6 | +0.10 | |
| 2011 13 g | Pittsburgh | 12 of 115 10% | 20% | 51% | 22.7 | −0.11 | |
| 2012 13 g | Arizona State | 20 of 106 19% | 27% | 44% | 21.5 | +0.02 | |
| 2013 14 g | Arizona State | 23 of 117 20% | 27% | 46% | 21.9 | +0.11 | |
| 2014 12 g | Arizona State | 18 of 108 17% | 31% | 50% | 22.8 | +0.04 | |
| 2015 13 g | Arizona State | 18 of 127 14% | 24% | 54% | 22.1 | +0.04 | |
| 2016 12 g | Arizona State | 16 of 110 15% | 25% | 52% | 23.1 | 0.00 | |
| 2017 13 g | Arizona State | 19 of 108 18% | 24% | 47% | 24.2 | +0.08 | |
| 2020 9 g | Hawai’i | 13 of 74 18% | 30% | 54% | 23.5 | +0.05 | |
| 2021 11 g | Hawai’i | 17 of 87 20% | 30% | 58% | 23.2 | 0.00 | |
| All 169 g | 235 of 1352 17% | 28% | 50% | 22.7 | +0.04 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.