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Troy Calhoun
Troy Calhoun went 144–98 as a head coach, 2007–2026, at Air Force. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (2026, 4–1); by them his record is 143–98. Share
- Record
- 144–98 career
- Seasons
- 20
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Sep 26, 1966
- Alma mater
- Air Force 1989
- Best season
- 2019 11–2, No. 22
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Air Force | 9–4 | 2nd | Armed Forces Bowl L | ||
| 2008 | Air Force | 8–5 | 4th | Armed Forces Bowl L | ||
| 2009 | Air Force | 8–5 | 4th | Armed Forces Bowl W | ||
| 2010 | Air Force | 9–4 | T–3rd | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2011 | Air Force | 7–6 | 5th | Military Bowl L | ||
| 2012 | Air Force | 6–7 | 4th | Armed Forces Bowl L | ||
| 2013 | Air Force | 2–10 | 6th | |||
| 2014 | Air Force | 10–3 | 4th | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl W | ||
| 2015 | Air Force | 8–6 | 1st | Armed Forces Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | Air Force | 10–3 | T–4th | Arizona Bowl W | ||
| 2017 | Air Force | 5–7 | T–4th | |||
| 2018 | Air Force | 5–7 | 4th | |||
| 2019 | Air Force | 11–2 | 2nd | Cheez-It Bowl W | 22 | |
| 2020 | Air Force | 3–3 | T–5th | |||
| 2021 | Air Force | 10–3 | T–1st | First Responder Bowl W | ||
| 2022 | Air Force | 10–3 | T–2nd | Armed Forces Bowl W | ||
| 2023 | Air Force | 9–4 | T–4th | Armed Forces Bowl W | ||
| 2024 | Air Force | 5–7 | T–5th | |||
| 2025 | Air Force | 4–8 | 8th | |||
| 2026 | Air Force | 5–1 (Wikipedia: 4–1) |
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
Trey Taylor2023 Jim Thorpe Award
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 | 22 | 3–19 | 14% |
| Against top-10 teams | 7 | 0–7 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 63 | 39–24 | 62% |
| Conference games | 150 | 86–64 | 57% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 13 | 8–5 | 62% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 83 | 38–45 | 46% |
| At home | 117 | 84–33 | 72% |
| On the road | 107 | 50–57 | 47% |
| At neutral sites | 18 | 10–8 | 56% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 157 | 115–42 | 73% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 85 | 29–56 | 34% |
His own 242 games on file, 2007–2026, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Niumatalolo 2008–2025 | 9–8 | Navy, San José State | 17 | |
| Jeff Monken 2014–2025 | 5–7 | Army | 12 | |
| Craig Bohl 2014–2023 | 4–5 | Wyoming | 9 | |
| Rocky Long 2007–2018 | 1–8 | New Mexico, San Diego State | 9 | |
| Bob Davie 2012–2019 | 4–4 | New Mexico | 8 | |
| Bryan Harsin 2014–2020 | 3–4 | Boise State | 7 | |
| Jay Norvell 2017–2024 | 4–2 | Nevada, Colorado State | 6 | |
| Brady Hoke 2009–2023 | 3–3 | San Diego State, Michigan | 6 | |
| Matt Wells 2013–2018 | 3–3 | Utah State | 6 | |
| Bronco Mendenhall 2007–2025 | 1–5 | BYU, New Mexico, Utah State | 6 |
Troy Calhoun’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Navyseries | 20 | 10–10 |
| Armyseries | 19 | 11–8 |
| Colorado Stateseries | 18 | 15–3 |
| New Mexicoseries | 18 | 11–7 |
| Wyomingseries | 18 | 10–8 |
| UNLVseries | 15 | 11–4 |
| San Diego Stateseries | 15 | 6–9 |
| Boise Stateseries | 13 | 4–9 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | Air Force | Graduate assistant | |
| 1993–94 | Air Force | Recruiting coordinator and junior varsity offensive coordinator | |
| 1995–96 | Ohio | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1997–2000 | Ohio | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2001–02 | Wake Forest | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2003–05 | Denver Broncos NFL | Assistant coach | |
| 2006 | Houston Texans NFL | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2007–present | Air Force | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Fisher DeBerryAir Force
- Jim GrobeOhio, Wake Forest
- Mike ShanahanDenver Broncos
Assistants who became head coaches
- Blane MorganLamar
- Brian KnorrOhio
- Clay HendrixFurman
- Tim DeRuyterTexas A&M, Fresno State
- Brad WhiteFlorida
- Ron VanderlindenMaryland
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher DeBerry | Air Force | 1989–94 | 1989–90: graduate assistant; 1993–94: recruiting coordinator and junior varsity offensive coordinator | |
| Jim Grobe | Ohio | 1995–2000 | 1995–96: quarterbacks coach; 1997–2000: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Jim Grobe | Wake Forest | 2001–02 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mike Shanahan | Denver Broncos NFL | 2003–05 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (6)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blane Morgan | Air Force, 2007–14: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Lamar | |
| Brian Knorr | Air Force, 2007, 2018–21: assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach; 2022–25: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Ohio | |
| Clay Hendrix | Air Force, 2007–09: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2010–13: co-offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and offensive line coach; 2014–16: assistant head coach and offensive line coach | Furman | |
| Tim DeRuyter | Air Force, 2007: defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2008–09: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach | Texas A&M, Fresno State | |
| Brad White | Air Force, 2010–11: inside linebackers coach | Florida | |
| Ron Vanderlinden | Air Force, 2014–20: inside linebackers coach | Maryland |
Other assistants under him (9)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Charlton Warren | Air Force, 2007: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator; 2008–11: co-defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator; 2012–13: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator | |
| Mike Thiessen | Air Force, 2007–08: wide receivers coach; 2009–10: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2011–14: assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2015–26: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Matt Wallerstedt | Air Force, 2009–11: co-defensive coordinator | |
| John Rudzinski | Air Force, 2010–11: defensive assistant; 2012–13: outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2014: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator; 2015–17: defensive backs coach; 2018–21: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Desmond Kitchings | Air Force, 2011: running backs coach | |
| Jake Moreland | Air Force, 2012–14: tight ends coach; 2016: wide receivers coach | |
| Steve Russ | Air Force, 2012: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; 2013: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach; 2014–17: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; 2024: special assistant to the head coach; 2026: defensive coordinator | |
| Terrance Jamison | Air Force, 2019: defensive line coach | |
| Bill Sheridan | Air Force, 2020–21: defensive 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.
How he coached
Calhoun’s teams went for it on 33% of fourth downs and on 50% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 18% of plays and took 26.6 seconds a play, 2007–2026.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 12 g | 23 of 91 25% | 41% | 26% | 24.2 | +0.03 | |
| 2008 11 g | 24 of 93 26% | 43% | 17% | 25.0 | −0.06 | |
| 2009 13 g | 38 of 119 32% | 40% | 17% | 23.4 | 0.00 | |
| 2010 13 g | 27 of 77 35% | 49% | 18% | 23.8 | +0.12 | |
| 2011 13 g | 32 of 85 38% | 52% | 23% | 23.1 | +0.12 | |
| 2012 13 g | 43 of 92 47% | 56% | 17% | 20.0 | +0.03 | |
| 2013 12 g | 28 of 90 31% | 41% | 22% | 22.5 | +0.09 | |
| 2014 13 g | 28 of 107 26% | 43% | 22% | 24.1 | +0.02 | |
| 2015 14 g | 23 of 96 24% | 32% | 18% | 27.1 | +0.13 | |
| 2016 12 g | 17 of 86 20% | 35% | 18% | 26.9 | +0.11 | |
| 2017 12 g | 26 of 78 33% | 59% | 18% | 26.0 | +0.13 | |
| 2018 12 g | 40 of 96 42% | 59% | 20% | 27.5 | +0.09 | |
| 2019 13 g | 20 of 64 31% | 58% | 15% | 30.2 | +0.17 | |
| 2020 6 g | 11 of 35 31% | 39% | 17% | 30.6 | +0.15 | |
| 2021 12 g | 38 of 89 43% | 68% | 13% | 30.3 | +0.14 | |
| 2022 12 g | 25 of 77 32% | 50% | 12% | 31.2 | +0.14 | |
| 2023 13 g | 25 of 83 30% | 48% | 14% | 30.5 | +0.10 | |
| 2024 12 g | 35 of 93 38% | 58% | 19% | 29.8 | −0.01 | |
| 2025 12 g | 34 of 71 48% | 69% | 22% | 29.1 | +0.21 | |
| 2026 6 g | 15 of 38 39% | 65% | 13% | 30.6 | +0.21 | |
| All 236 g | 552 of 1660 33% | 50% | 18% | 26.6 | +0.09 |
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.