Championship coaches records in year 3

#1

Flipdaddy

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#1
Saban - 14-0
Fulmer - 11-1
Miles- 12-2
Meyer - 9-4 after going 13-1 in year 2
Stoops - 11-2
Carroll - 12-1

Championship coaches don’t usually regress. The exception is Dabo. He went 6-7 in his third year and then his program took off but that’s the ACC.
 
#3
#3
Steve Spurrier was also 9-4 in year 3 at UF. Same as Meyer. That was a step back after his first two seasons but then he went on a dynastic run in the SEC winning the title 4 times in a row and playing for the national title twice.
 
#7
#7
Meanwhile, Pruitt is staring at a likely 16-19 career record at UT after year 3.

And I don’t see enough on the horizon to make me think year 4 will be this massive turnaround.
Sweet, no one cares about your opinion
 
#8
#8
The issue is that the majority of those weren’t first time head coaches at the place they became NCs. Even if they were, like Fulmer and Dabo, they were in an environment they were already familiar with.
Good point but still....
 
#11
#11
Steve Spurrier was also 9-4 in year 3 at UF. Same as Meyer. That was a step back after his first two seasons but then he went on a dynastic run in the SEC winning the title 4 times in a row and playing for the national title twice.
The key part of this is that 9-4 "was a step back" from his first two seasons. If this year we went 9-4 and that would be considered a step back JP would have no worries about his job and 99% of volnation would fully support him. However, that is very far from the case here.
 
#14
#14
Saban - 14-0
Fulmer - 11-1
Miles- 12-2
Meyer - 9-4 after going 13-1 in year 2
Stoops - 11-2
Carroll - 12-1

Championship coaches don’t usually regress. The exception is Dabo. He went 6-7 in his third year and then his program took off but that’s the ACC.

That was Dabo's second full year. His first fullyear he won a division and his third year, he won the ACC...His second full year was 6-7.
 
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#15
#15
The issue is that the majority of those weren’t first time head coaches at the place they became NCs. Even if they were, like Fulmer and Dabo, they were in an environment they were already familiar with.

Fulmer, Stoops, and Dabo were; Carroll had never been a college coordinator or head coach
 
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#16
#16
NC winning coaches in the 80s-2000s that haven't been named so far. Record in yr 3 at the school where they won the title.

Vince Dooley 10-1

Danny Ford 12-0 NC

Jimmy Johnson 11-1

Howard Schnellenberger 9-2

Barry Switzer 11-1 NC

Tom Osborne 10-2

Joe Paterno 11-0

Dennis Erickson 12-0 NC

Gene Stallings 13-0 NC

Pete Carroll 12-1 NC

Jim Tressel 11-2 (NC yr 2)

Larry Coker 11-2 (NC yr 1)

Mack Brown 9-3

Bob Stoops 11-2 (NC yr 2)

Lloyd Carr 12-0 NC

Don James 8-4 (won PAC and Rose Bowl)

Gene Chizik 8-5 (NC yr 2)

Lavell Edwards 7-4-1

Bobby Ross 7-4

Bill McCartney 1-10

So its basically all very good to great by year three or before except for McCartney. Chizik is a bit outside the pattern too but was fired very soon after winning the NC.
 
#17
#17
Dabo Swinney 6-7
Mack Brown 9-3
Gene Chizik 8-5
Bobby Bowden 8-3
Don James 8-4
Bobby Ross 7-4
Bill McCartney 1-10
Lavell Edwards 7-4-1
Danny Ford 6-5

Pruitt has been disappointing this year, but I get sick of these simplistic narratives that every great coach was "great" in Year 2 or Year 3. You're just not looking very hard at CFB history. In addition to these, there are plenty of others that were mediocre in their actual 3rd Year as head coach, who went on to win a national title with another program, such as:

Nick Saban 7-5
Gene Stallings 7-4 (but 3-7 in Year 4)

Also, it was a lot quicker to turn around a roster in earlier periods, particularly back in the 70s and 80s. But even in 2010 it was easier. There are so many scholarship restrictions now, that it makes it a lot more difficult to fix things quickly in the modern day game.

It's just not nearly as simple as a lot of people make it out to be. There are some things that Pruitt is doing that are great. He's a program-builder, similar to Johnny Majors. His recruiting the past 2 cycles (2020 and 2021) has been great. I've yet to hear a single bad thing about him from players and coaches. Recruits believe in him (listen to Kaidon Salter, our 2021 class QB, right now).

There are some things that I worry he'll never figure out, like how not to micromanage the offense. His insistence on an old-fashioned run-oriented offense is absolutely handicapping us right now. Even though Saban is Pruitt's mentor, I worry that he may not have Saban's adaptability. Saban's not an innovator, but when he sees innovation, he's willing to change his own game to incorporate that.

And why is QB play so awful? People keep blaming JG and I'm starting to as well, but then, the other QBs don't play any better. Hopefully, we see something soon from Harrison Bailey, but maybe JG isn't the real problem, as every QB has looked worse here.

Pruitt gets at least 1-2 more years regardless. Hopefully he figures it out. He has the right mentality, but we'll have to wait and see.
 
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#20
#20
Fulmer, Stoops, and Dabo were; Carroll had never been a college coordinator or head coach

He was a NFL head coach though. My point is it’s not easy to become a successful NC head coach without any prior experience. Regardless, I don’t think Pruitt will work out unless they’re going to allow him to learn on the job for a longer period of time.
 
#21
#21
NC winning coaches in the 80s-2000s that haven't been named so far. Record in yr 3 at the school where they won the title.

Vince Dooley 10-1

Danny Ford 12-0 NC

Jimmy Johnson 11-1

Howard Schnellenberger 9-2

Barry Switzer 11-1 NC

Tom Osborne 10-2

Joe Paterno 11-0

Dennis Erickson 12-0 NC

Gene Stallings 13-0 NC

Pete Carroll 12-1 NC

Jim Tressel 11-2 (NC yr 2)

Larry Coker 11-2 (NC yr 1)

Mack Brown 9-3

Bob Stoops 11-2 (NC yr 2)

Lloyd Carr 12-0 NC

Don James 8-4 (won PAC and Rose Bowl)

Gene Chizik 8-5 (NC yr 2)

Lavell Edwards 7-4-1

Bobby Ross 7-4

Bill McCartney 1-10

So its basically all very good to great by year three or before except for McCartney. Chizik is a bit outside the pattern too but was fired very soon after winning the NC.

So if I’m reading this correctly, it doesn’t sound as if 7 losses are going to get us to where we want to be. Of course I may have read it wrong.
 
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#22
#22
Johnny Majors -- 7-5 in his third season (then 5-6 in his fourth) at Tennessee. But before all of that, 5-6 in his third year as a head coach (Iowa State).


But hell, let's fahr em all!


BTW, @Flipdaddy, Saban's record in his third year as head coach was 6-6. And then 7-5 in his fourth season. And 6-6 again in his fifth.

Pruitt is a new head coach. Compare him to other new head coaches for valid results.
 
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#23
#23
We are playing an all SEC schedule this year, so I didn’t expect our record to be better than 6-4. But the real indictment is losing to Kentucky and Arkansas. That’s digressing. We need to finish the season with wins against Vandy and one more team to make up for those bad losses. Outside of Vandy, Auburn gives us the best chance out of those remaining games.
 
#24
#24
We are playing an all SEC schedule this year, so I didn’t expect our record to be better than 6-4. But the real indictment is losing to Kentucky and Arkansas. That’s digressing. We need to finish the season with wins against Vandy and one more team to make up for those bad losses. Outside of Vandy, Auburn gives us the best chance out of those remaining games.
I agree 4-6 and a bowl game is the goal at this point....5-5 would be a miracle, 3-7 or worse would place Pruitt on a do or die scenario for next season (although i think things will be more normal post COVID as well)
 
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