Top 25
25-33-1
- Games
- 59
- Win rate
- 43.2%
Back to Coaches
Peak DominatorBalancedLong Career
Coach Profile
Don James
1971-1992 • Kent State, Washington
2 schools coached, anchored by Washington.
Don James's coaching record is 175-79-3, highlighted by seasons at Washington from 1971 to 1992.
Don James coached 22 seasons, won 68.7%, and posted an average SRS of 12.3. Best season: 1991 Washington. The profile was balanced with a highly volatile profile. 2 stints shaped the career arc.
- Career record
- 175-79-3
- Career win rate
- 68.7%
- Average SRS
- 12.3
- Peak SRS
- 33.4
Career Dossier
One glance at the full arc.
The profile below keeps the headline numbers visible, then moves into tenure shape, school impact, and full season detail.
- Seasons coached
- 22
- Career span
- 22 years
- Best finish
- #2
- Consistency
- 10.5
Primary school anchor
Washington
Balanced profile with 2 program stops and a peak score of 98.3.
Quick Answers
Records fans search first
Headline records use countable season rows after completed-game fallback. Partial seasons and provisional placeholders are called out separately.
- Overall record
- 175-79-3
- Washington record
- 150-60-2
- Full-season record
- 175-79-3
- Vs AP Top 10
- 8-19
- Vs AP Top 5
- 2-11
- Vs Washington State
- 13-5
- Postseason / bowl record
- 10-5
- CFP record
- 0-0
- National titles
- 1
257 countable games, 68.7% win rate.
18 countable seasons at Washington.
22 full season rows; partial and backfilled current rows are separated.
27 games using AP ranking at game time.
13 games using AP ranking at game time.
Apple Cup games in this dataset.
15 scored postseason games in this dataset.
0 College Football Playoff-labeled games since 2014.
Matched by coach team-season against the national championship dataset.
Record definition and data status
Career records use countable coach-season rows. Zero-game placeholders are excluded from aggregates until a completed-game fallback can verify the record.
Completed-game fallback uses scored games joined by coach, team, and season; advanced ratings are left blank when the season summary has not supplied them.
Latest completed coached game in this dataset: Jan 1, 1993. Current and future zero-game placeholders are kept visible but excluded from headline records.
Career Arc
Track how the coach's season-to-season performance changed over time, where the peak landed, and where each school stint appears.
Focus on where peaks separate, where floors hold, and how the shape of each career changed over time.
Don James
EliteStrongAverageLean
Don James: 1975 Washington
1971Actual season year • SRS range -13.2 to 33.41992
Active comparison point
Don James • 1991
1991 Washington
Best season12-0 • SRS 33.4 • SP Overall 36.2
Win %
100.0%
YoY SRS
+7.0
SP Off / Def
46.7 / 12.1
Finish
#2
Comparison context
Focus a point to inspect how it stacks up against the rest of the field.
Ranked opponent record
Track career record against ranked opponents with switchable poll source and ranking timing.
Using AP Top 25 rankings at the time of each game; week-one games use the week-one ranking release when available.
Top 10
8-19
- Games
- 27
- Win rate
- 29.6%
Top 5
2-11
- Games
- 13
- Win rate
- 15.4%
View ranked game results59
| 1992 Regular Week 11 | Washington | Arizona | #12 | L3-16 |
| 1992 Regular Week 10 | Washington | Stanford | #15 | W41-7 |
| 1992 Regular Week 7 | Washington | California | #24 | W35-16 |
| 1992 Regular Week 6 | Washington | USC | #20 | W17-10 |
| 1992 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Nebraska | #12 | W29-14 |
| 1992 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Michigan | #5 | L31-38 |
| 1991 Regular Week 8 | Washington | California | #7 | W24-17 |
| 1991 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Nebraska | #9 | W36-21 |
| 1991 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Michigan | #6 | W34-14 |
| 1990 Regular Week 6 | Washington | Colorado | #12 | L14-20 |
| 1990 Regular Week 5 | Washington | USC | #18 | W31-0 |
| 1990 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Iowa | #18 | W46-34 |
| 1989 Regular Week 6 | Washington | USC | #9 | L16-24 |
| 1989 Regular Week 5 | Washington | Colorado | #5 | L28-45 |
| 1989 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Arizona | #23 | L17-20 |
| 1989 Regular Week 2 | Washington | Texas A&M | #15 | W19-6 |
| 1988 Regular Week 13 | Washington | Washington State | #19 | L31-32 |
| 1988 Regular Week 8 | Washington | USC | #3 | L27-28 |
| 1988 Regular Week 6 | Washington | UCLA | #2 | L17-24 |
| 1987 Regular Week 12 | Washington | UCLA | #5 | L14-47 |
| 1987 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Texas A&M | #16 | L12-29 |
| 1986 Regular Week 12 | Washington | UCLA | #18 | T17-17 |
| 1986 Regular Week 10 | Washington | Arizona State | #5 | L21-34 |
| 1986 Regular Week 5 | Washington | USC | #9 | L10-20 |
| 1986 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Alabama | #9 | L6-28 |
| 1985 Regular Week 5 | Washington | UCLA | #13 | W21-14 |
| 1985 Regular Week 3 | Washington | BYU | #16 | L3-31 |
| 1985 Regular Week 2 | Washington | Oklahoma State | #16 | L17-31 |
| 1984 Regular Week 12 | Washington | USC | #7 | L7-16 |
| 1984 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Michigan | #16 | W20-11 |
| 1984 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Oklahoma | #6 | W28-17 |
| 1983 Regular Week 5 | Washington | LSU | #16 | L14-40 |
| 1983 Regular Week 4 | Washington | Michigan | #17 | W25-24 |
| 1982 Regular Week 11 | Washington | Arizona State | #3 | W17-13 |
| 1982 Regular Week 10 | Washington | UCLA | #9 | W10-7 |
| 1982 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Maryland | #20 | W21-20 |
| 1981 Regular Week 12 | Washington | Washington State | #14 | W23-10 |
| 1981 Regular Week 11 | Washington | USC | #3 | W13-3 |
| 1981 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Iowa | #18 | W28-0 |
| 1980 Regular Week 12 | Washington | USC | #12 | W20-10 |
| 1980 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Michigan | #4 | L6-23 |
| 1979 Regular Week 11 | Washington | USC | #4 | L17-24 |
| 1979 Regular Week 8 | Washington | Pittsburgh | #12 | L14-26 |
| 1979 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Texas | #12 | W14-7 |
| 1978 Regular Week 11 | Washington | USC | #5 | L10-28 |
| 1978 Regular Week 6 | Washington | Alabama | #7 | L17-20 |
| 1978 Regular Week 2 | Washington | UCLA | #9 | L7-10 |
| 1977 Regular Week 2 | Washington | Mississippi State | #13 | L18-27 |
| 1977 Postseason Week 1 | Washington | Michigan | #9 | W27-20 |
| 1976 Regular Week 11 | Washington | USC | #3 | L3-20 |
| 1976 Regular Week 9 | Washington | UCLA | #3 | L21-30 |
| 1975 Regular Week 11 | Washington | USC | #13 | W8-7 |
| 1975 Regular Week 10 | Washington | California | #18 | L24-27 |
| 1975 Regular Week 9 | Washington | UCLA | #13 | W17-13 |
| 1975 Regular Week 6 | Washington | Alabama | #7 | L0-52 |
| 1975 Regular Week 3 | Washington | Texas | #8 | L10-28 |
| 1974 Regular Week 10 | Kent State | Miami (OH) | #13 | L17-19 |
| 1973 Regular Week 11 | Kent State | Miami (OH) | #17 | L10-20 |
| 1971 Regular Week 11 | Kent State | Toledo | #13 | L6-41 |
Tenure map
Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.
Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint
Washington
1975-1992 • 18 seasons
Avg SRS 15.6 • Win % 71.2%
Kent State
1971-1974 • 4 seasons
Avg SRS -2.4 • Win % 56.7%
- Longest tenure
- Washington • 18 seasons
- Best tenure
- Washington • 15.6 SRS
- Best tenure win rate
- Washington • 71.2%
Style and Strength Profile
Compare strength, identity, steadiness, and ceiling through normalized bars with raw SP and SRS context underneath.
These bars are normalized against the full coach dataset. Raw SP and SRS values stay visible so the profile reads as evidence, not decoration.
Overall Strength
Start with total quality before splitting style and variance.
Don James sets the reference point in overall strength.
Overall Strength
Decisive edgeDon James sets the reference point in overall strength.
Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.
Don James
Elite
- Raw avg SP Overall
- 15.2
- Percentile
- 94th pct
Elite
Normalized against the full tracked coach pool.
Impact by school
See how each stint compared with what that program usually looked like outside that same span.
Washington
1975-1992 • 150-60-2
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 15.6Win % 71.2%
Avg wins
Higher is better
8.3 during vs 5.8 baseline
+2.5
Avg SRS
Higher is better
15.6 during vs 9.0 baseline
+6.6
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
17.2 during vs 4.8 baseline
+12.4
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
61.1% during vs 20.0% baseline
+41.1%
Kent State
1971-1974 • 25-19-1
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS -2.4Win % 56.7%
Avg wins
Higher is better
6.3 during vs 3.6 baseline
+2.6
Avg SRS
Higher is better
-2.4 during vs -11.1 baseline
+8.7
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
6.2 during vs -9.6 baseline
+15.8
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
0.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+0.0%
Career highs and lows
High Points
Best Season
Washington 1991
12-0 • SRS 33.4
Biggest Improvement
Kent State 1973
9-2 • 19.3 SRS
Best Offensive Season
Washington 1991
12-0 • SP Off 46.7
Best Defensive Season
Kent State 1973
9-2 • SP Def 11.0
Setbacks
Lowest SRS Season
Kent State 1971
3-8 • SRS -13.2
Biggest Drop
Washington 1987
7-4-1 • -17.0 SRS
Season-by-season results
Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.
| Washington | 1992 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #2 | #11 | 20.9 | 25.3 | 38.5 | 13.9 | -12.5 | -25.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1991 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | #4 | #2 | 33.4 | 36.2 | 46.7 | 12.1 | +7.0 | +16.7% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1990 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 83.3% | #20 | #5 | 26.4 | 28.7 | 44.4 | 17.5 | +9.4 | +16.7% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1989 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | #23 | 17.0 | 20.5 | 37.8 | 18.3 | +7.8 | +12.1% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1988 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 54.5% | — | — | 9.2 | 12.0 | 31.9 | 20.5 | +4.6 | -8.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1987 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 62.5% | #13 | — | 4.6 | 8.8 | 31.5 | 24.3 | -17.0 | -8.3% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1986 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 70.8% | #16 | #18 | 21.6 | 23.5 | 39.7 | 17.8 | +16.3 | +12.5% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1985 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 58.3% | #12 | — | 5.3 | 7.6 | 26.6 | 19.8 | -11.3 | -33.3% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1984 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 91.7% | #18 | #2 | 16.6 | 23.0 | 35.7 | 13.5 | +8.1 | +25.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1983 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | #18 | — | 8.5 | 6.6 | 25.9 | 20.2 | -8.2 | -16.7% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1982 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 83.3% | #2 | #7 | 16.7 | 17.8 | 35.6 | 19.4 | +3.6 | 0.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1981 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 83.3% | #15 | #10 | 13.1 | 13.0 | 28.8 | 16.5 | -2.2 | +8.3% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1980 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #20 | #16 | 15.3 | 13.2 | 32.9 | 20.5 | -4.4 | 0.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1979 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #15 | #11 | 19.7 | 20.2 | 33.2 | 14.0 | -0.8 | +11.4% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1978 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.6% | #11 | — | 20.5 | 20.4 | 32.7 | 13.1 | +1.7 | -3.0% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1977 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | #10 | 18.8 | 20.7 | 36.7 | 17.4 | +11.9 | +21.2% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1976 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 45.5% | — | — | 6.9 | 1.4 | 25.1 | 24.0 | -0.1 | -9.1% | Season summary |
| Washington | 1975 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 54.5% | — | — | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.4 | 19.5 | +6.0 | -9.1% | Season summary |
| Kent State | 1974 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.6% | — | — | 1.0 | 7.6 | 25.9 | 19.2 | -9.9 | -18.2% | Season summary |
| Kent State | 1973 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 81.8% | — | — | 10.9 | 23.6 | 34.0 | 11.0 | +19.3 | +27.7% | Season summary |
| Kent State | 1972 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 54.2% | — | — | -8.4 | 4.6 | 21.0 | 17.5 | +4.8 | +26.9% | Season summary |
| Kent State | 1971 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 27.3% | — | — | -13.2 | -11.1 | 21.1 | 31.4 | — | — | Season summary |
Similar coaches
Popular comparisons are fan-facing matchups. Statistical comps are matched by style, strength band, volatility band, peak range, and career length.
Statistical comps
Les Miles
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.1
Avg SRS 12.4 • Peak SRS 29.9 • 18 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 10.6
Open profile →Brian Kelly
same balanced identity • volatility within 1.0
Avg SRS 10.3 • Peak SRS 22.0 • 23 seasons
Best finish #4 • Volatility 9.5
Open profile →Carl Snavely
same balanced identity • volatility within 0.8
Avg SRS 10.3 • Peak SRS 25.8 • 18 seasons
Best finish #3 • Volatility 9.7
Open profile →Red Blaik
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.9
Avg SRS 13.3 • Peak SRS 44.1 • 25 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 11.6
Open profile →John Cooper
same balanced identity • volatility within 0.4
Avg SRS 9.8 • Peak SRS 28.2 • 24 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 10.9
Open profile →Dennis Erickson
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 1.2
Avg SRS 11.1 • Peak SRS 28.4 • 19 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 11.7
Open profile →