Top 25
7-24
- Games
- 31
- Win rate
- 22.6%
Back to Coaches
Longevity CoachDefense-First
Coach Profile
Jim Carlen
1966-1981 • South Carolina, Texas Tech, West Virginia
3 schools coached, anchored by South Carolina.
Jim Carlen coached 16 seasons, won 60.4%, and posted an average SRS of 8.1. Best season: 1973 Texas Tech. The profile was defense-first with a mostly steady profile. 3 stints shaped the career arc.
- Career record
- 107-69-6
- Career win rate
- 60.4%
- Average SRS
- 8.1
- Peak SRS
- 20.0
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
- 16
- Career span
- 16 years
- Best finish
- #11
- Consistency
- 56.1
Primary school anchor
South Carolina
Defense-First profile with 3 program stops and a peak score of 84.2.
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.
Jim Carlen
EliteStrongAverageLean
Jim Carlen: 1970 Texas TechJim Carlen: 1975 South Carolina
1966Actual season year • SRS range -8.3 to 20.01981
Active comparison point
Jim Carlen • 1973
1973 Texas Tech
Best season11-1 • SRS 20.0 • SP Overall 20.5
Win %
91.7%
YoY SRS
+7.6
SP Off / Def
36.1 / 17.0
Finish
#11
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
3-13
- Games
- 16
- Win rate
- 18.8%
Top 5
1-11
- Games
- 12
- Win rate
- 8.3%
View ranked game results31
| 1981 Regular Week 12 | South Carolina | Clemson | #2 | L13-29 |
| 1981 Regular Week 8 | South Carolina | North Carolina | #3 | W31-13 |
| 1981 Regular Week 5 | South Carolina | Pittsburgh | #4 | L28-42 |
| 1981 Regular Week 4 | South Carolina | Georgia | #17 | L0-24 |
| 1980 Regular Week 10 | South Carolina | Georgia | #2 | L10-13 |
| 1980 Regular Week 4 | South Carolina | USC | #5 | L13-23 |
| 1980 Postseason Week 1 | South Carolina | Pittsburgh | #2 | L9-37 |
| 1979 Regular Week 13 | South Carolina | Clemson | #18 | W13-9 |
| 1979 Regular Week 11 | South Carolina | Florida State | #5 | L7-27 |
| 1979 Regular Week 9 | South Carolina | Notre Dame | #13 | L17-18 |
| 1978 Regular Week 13 | South Carolina | Clemson | #7 | L23-41 |
| 1977 Regular Week 12 | South Carolina | Clemson | #13 | L27-31 |
| 1976 Regular Week 8 | South Carolina | Notre Dame | #11 | L6-13 |
| 1976 Regular Week 4 | South Carolina | Georgia | #6 | L12-20 |
| 1975 Regular Week 5 | South Carolina | Baylor | #18 | W24-13 |
| 1975 Postseason Week 1 | South Carolina | Miami (OH) | #12 | L7-20 |
| 1974 Regular Week 7 | Texas Tech | Arizona | #9 | W17-8 |
| 1974 Regular Week 6 | Texas Tech | Texas A&M | #16 | L7-28 |
| 1974 Regular Week 4 | Texas Tech | Texas | #6 | W26-3 |
| 1973 Regular Week 5 | Texas Tech | Texas | #13 | L12-28 |
| 1973 Postseason Week 1 | Texas Tech | Tennessee | #19 | W28-19 |
| 1972 Regular Week 8 | Texas Tech | SMU | #18 | W17-3 |
| 1972 Regular Week 4 | Texas Tech | Texas | #12 | L20-25 |
| 1972 Postseason Week 1 | Texas Tech | North Carolina | #12 | L28-32 |
| 1971 Regular Week 11 | Texas Tech | Arkansas | #17 | L0-15 |
| 1971 Regular Week 3 | Texas Tech | Texas | #3 | L0-28 |
| 1970 Regular Week 13 | Texas Tech | Arkansas | #4 | L10-24 |
| 1970 Regular Week 5 | Texas Tech | Texas | #2 | L13-35 |
| 1970 Postseason Week 1 | Texas Tech | Georgia Tech | #13 | L9-17 |
| 1969 Regular Week 5 | West Virginia | Penn State | #5 | L0-20 |
| 1968 Regular Week 4 | West Virginia | Penn State | #3 | L20-31 |
Tenure map
Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.
Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint
South Carolina
1975-1981 • 7 seasons
Avg SRS 9.1 • Win % 55.5%
Texas Tech
1970-1974 • 5 seasons
Avg SRS 11.6 • Win % 64.4%
West Virginia
1966-1969 • 4 seasons
Avg SRS 1.9 • Win % 64.6%
- Longest tenure
- South Carolina • 7 seasons
- Best tenure
- Texas Tech • 11.6 SRS
- Best tenure win rate
- West Virginia • 64.6%
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.
Jim Carlen sets the reference point in overall strength.
Overall Strength
Decisive edgeJim Carlen sets the reference point in overall strength.
Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.
Jim Carlen
Elite
- Raw avg SP Overall
- 10.4
- Percentile
- 86th 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.
South Carolina
1975-1981 • 45-36-1
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 9.1Win % 55.5%
Avg wins
Higher is better
6.4 during vs 5.0 baseline
+1.4
Avg SRS
Higher is better
9.1 during vs 2.2 baseline
+6.9
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
10.5 during vs 2.0 baseline
+8.5
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
0.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+0.0%
Texas Tech
1970-1974 • 37-20-2
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 11.6Win % 64.4%
Avg wins
Higher is better
7.4 during vs 5.6 baseline
+1.8
Avg SRS
Higher is better
11.6 during vs 6.5 baseline
+5.1
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
10.4 during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
20.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+20.0%
West Virginia
1966-1969 • 25-13-3
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 1.9Win % 64.6%
Avg wins
Higher is better
6.3 during vs 5.8 baseline
+0.5
Avg SRS
Higher is better
1.9 during vs -0.6 baseline
+2.6
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
— during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
25.0% during vs 0.0% baseline
+25.0%
Career highs and lows
High Points
Best Season
Texas Tech 1973
11-1 • SRS 20.0
Biggest Improvement
West Virginia 1967
5-4-1 • 11.3 SRS
Best Offensive Season
South Carolina 1980
8-4 • SP Off 36.2
Best Defensive Season
Texas Tech 1974
6-4-2 • SP Def 11.6
Setbacks
Worst Season
West Virginia 1966
3-5-2 • SRS -8.3
Biggest Drop
Texas Tech 1971
4-7 • -11.0 SRS
Season-by-season results
Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.
| South Carolina | 1981 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 50.0% | — | — | 8.5 | 9.2 | 26.6 | 18.1 | -6.8 | -16.7% |
| South Carolina | 1980 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | — | 15.3 | 19.5 | 36.2 | 18.7 | +4.0 | 0.0% |
| South Carolina | 1979 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | — | 11.3 | 16.0 | 29.9 | 15.0 | +4.1 | +16.7% |
| South Carolina | 1978 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 50.0% | — | — | 7.2 | 7.7 | 26.3 | 19.4 | +1.8 | +8.3% |
| South Carolina | 1977 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 41.7% | — | — | 5.4 | 6.8 | 23.6 | 17.7 | -5.1 | -12.9% |
| South Carolina | 1976 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 54.5% | — | — | 10.5 | 8.9 | 22.0 | 13.9 | +5.0 | -3.8% |
| South Carolina | 1975 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 58.3% | — | — | 5.5 | 5.1 | 32.6 | 29.0 | -4.7 | 0.0% |
| Texas Tech | 1974 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 58.3% | — | — | 10.2 | 11.1 | 22.0 | 11.6 | -9.8 | -33.3% |
| Texas Tech | 1973 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 91.7% | #20 | #11 | 20.0 | 20.5 | 36.1 | 17.0 | +7.6 | +25.0% |
| Texas Tech | 1972 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | — | 12.4 | 12.8 | 29.6 | 17.4 | +10.2 | +30.3% |
| Texas Tech | 1971 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 36.4% | — | — | 2.2 | -0.7 | 13.1 | 14.0 | -11.0 | -30.3% |
| Texas Tech | 1970 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | — | 13.2 | 8.5 | 22.7 | 15.0 | +4.0 | -24.2% |
| West Virginia | 1969 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 90.9% | — | #17 | 9.2 | — | — | — | +5.4 | +20.9% |
| West Virginia | 1968 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.0% | — | — | 3.8 | — | — | — | +0.8 | +15.0% |
| West Virginia | 1967 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 55.0% | — | — | 3.0 | — | — | — | +11.3 | +15.0% |
| West Virginia | 1966 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | — | — | -8.3 | — | — | — | — | — |
Similar coaches
Related profiles are matched by style, strength band, volatility band, peak range, and career length.
Mark Dantonio
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.9
Avg SRS 7.2 • Peak SRS 20.0 • 16 seasons
Best finish #3 • Volatility 6.8
Open profile →Bobby Collins
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.8
Avg SRS 7.3 • Peak SRS 16.6 • 12 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 6.1
Open profile →Bill Peterson
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.4
Avg SRS 8.5 • Peak SRS 17.9 • 12 seasons
Best finish Unranked • Volatility 6.7
Open profile →Fran Curci
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.1
Avg SRS 8.2 • Peak SRS 21.8 • 11 seasons
Best finish #6 • Volatility 6.7
Open profile →Billy Murphy
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.5
Avg SRS 7.6 • Peak SRS 17.0 • 12 seasons
Best finish Unranked • Volatility 5.1
Open profile →Emory Bellard
same defense-first identity • volatility within 0.3
Avg SRS 10.4 • Peak SRS 21.5 • 14 seasons
Best finish #7 • Volatility 6.0
Open profile →