Top 25
27-21-4
- Games
- 52
- Win rate
- 55.8%
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Peak DominatorBalancedLong Career
Coach Profile
John McKay
1960-1975 • USC
One defining program at USC.
John McKay coached 16 seasons, won 74.9%, and posted an average SRS of 19.6. Best season: 1972 USC. The profile was balanced with a highly volatile profile. One primary stint defined the run.
- Career record
- 127-40-8
- Career win rate
- 74.9%
- Average SRS
- 19.6
- Peak SRS
- 35.0
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
- #1
- Consistency
- 30.1
Primary school anchor
USC
Balanced profile with 1 program stop and a peak score of 99.0.
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.
John McKay
EliteStrongAverageLean
1960Actual season year • SRS range 1.2 to 35.01975
Active comparison point
John McKay • 1972
1972 USC
Best season12-0 • SRS 35.0 • SP Overall 34.2
Win %
100.0%
YoY SRS
+15.9
SP Off / Def
45.6 / 12.5
Finish
#1
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
14-18-3
- Games
- 35
- Win rate
- 44.3%
Top 5
6-10
- Games
- 16
- Win rate
- 37.5%
View ranked game results52
| 1975 Regular Week 13 | USC | UCLA | #14 | L22-25 |
| 1975 Regular Week 8 | USC | Notre Dame | #14 | W24-17 |
| 1975 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Texas A&M | #11 | W20-0 |
| 1974 Regular Week 13 | USC | Notre Dame | #5 | W55-24 |
| 1974 Regular Week 4 | USC | Pittsburgh | #8 | W16-7 |
| 1974 Regular Week 2 | USC | Arkansas | #20 | L7-22 |
| 1974 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Ohio State | #4 | W18-17 |
| 1973 Regular Week 13 | USC | UCLA | #10 | W23-13 |
| 1973 Regular Week 9 | USC | Notre Dame | #5 | L14-23 |
| 1973 Regular Week 5 | USC | Oklahoma | #6 | T7-7 |
| 1973 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Ohio State | #2 | L21-42 |
| 1972 Regular Week 13 | USC | Notre Dame | #10 | W45-23 |
| 1972 Regular Week 11 | USC | UCLA | #14 | W24-7 |
| 1972 Regular Week 7 | USC | Washington | #18 | W34-7 |
| 1972 Regular Week 5 | USC | Stanford | #15 | W30-21 |
| 1972 Regular Week 1 | USC | Arkansas | #4 | W31-10 |
| 1972 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Ohio State | #9 | W42-17 |
| 1971 Regular Week 10 | USC | Washington | #19 | W13-12 |
| 1971 Regular Week 7 | USC | Notre Dame | #6 | W28-14 |
| 1971 Regular Week 6 | USC | Stanford | #15 | L18-33 |
| 1971 Regular Week 4 | USC | Oklahoma | #8 | L20-33 |
| 1970 Regular Week 14 | USC | Notre Dame | #6 | W38-28 |
| 1970 Regular Week 7 | USC | Stanford | #8 | L14-24 |
| 1970 Regular Week 4 | USC | Nebraska | #6 | T21-21 |
| 1969 Regular Week 11 | USC | UCLA | #11 | W14-12 |
| 1969 Regular Week 6 | USC | Notre Dame | #12 | T14-14 |
| 1969 Regular Week 5 | USC | Stanford | #18 | W26-24 |
| 1969 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Michigan | #9 | W10-3 |
| 1968 Regular Week 12 | USC | Notre Dame | #9 | T21-21 |
| 1968 Regular Week 10 | USC | Oregon State | #13 | W17-13 |
| 1968 Regular Week 9 | USC | California | #11 | W35-17 |
| 1968 Regular Week 5 | USC | Stanford | #18 | W27-24 |
| 1968 Regular Week 4 | USC | Miami | #13 | W28-3 |
| 1968 Regular Week 2 | USC | Minnesota | #16 | W29-20 |
| 1968 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Ohio State | #1 | L16-27 |
| 1967 Regular Week 11 | USC | UCLA | #4 | W21-20 |
| 1967 Regular Week 10 | USC | Oregon State | #8 | L0-3 |
| 1967 Regular Week 3 | USC | Texas | #8 | W17-13 |
| 1967 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Indiana | #4 | W14-3 |
| 1966 Regular Week 12 | USC | Notre Dame | #1 | L0-51 |
| 1966 Regular Week 11 | USC | UCLA | #6 | L7-14 |
| 1966 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Purdue | #7 | L13-14 |
| 1965 Regular Week 11 | USC | UCLA | #4 | L16-20 |
| 1965 Regular Week 7 | USC | Notre Dame | #4 | L7-28 |
| 1964 Regular Week 6 | USC | Ohio State | #1 | L0-17 |
| 1963 Regular Week 3 | USC | Oklahoma | #1 | L12-17 |
| 1962 Postseason Week 1 | USC | Wisconsin | #2 | W42-37 |
| 1961 Regular Week 5 | USC | Notre Dame | #6 | L0-30 |
| 1961 Regular Week 4 | USC | Iowa | #2 | L34-35 |
| 1960 Regular Week 9 | USC | Washington | #6 | L0-34 |
| 1960 Regular Week 4 | USC | Ohio State | #5 | L0-20 |
| 1960 Regular Week 2 | USC | Oregon State | #10 | L0-14 |
Tenure map
Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.
Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint
USC
1960-1975 • 16 seasons
Avg SRS 19.6 • Win % 74.9%
- Longest tenure
- USC • 16 seasons
- Best tenure
- USC • 19.6 SRS
- Best tenure win rate
- USC • 74.9%
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.
John McKay sets the reference point in overall strength.
Overall Strength
Decisive edgeJohn McKay sets the reference point in overall strength.
Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.
John McKay
Elite
- Raw avg SP Overall
- 22.9
- Percentile
- 99th 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.
USC
1960-1975 • 127-40-8
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 19.6Win % 74.9%
Avg wins
Higher is better
7.9 during vs 5.4 baseline
+2.5
Avg SRS
Higher is better
19.6 during vs 10.6 baseline
+9.0
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
22.9 during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
75.0% during vs 60.0% baseline
+15.0%
Career highs and lows
High Points
Best Season
USC 1972
12-0 • SRS 35.0
Biggest Improvement
USC 1962
11-0 • 24.5 SRS
Best Offensive Season
USC 1972
12-0 • SP Off 45.6
Best Defensive Season
USC 1971
6-4-1 • SP Def 11.3
Setbacks
Worst Season
USC 1961
4-5-1 • SRS 1.2
Biggest Drop
USC 1973
9-2-1 • -12.5 SRS
Season-by-season results
Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.
| USC | 1975 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | #5 | #17 | 13.7 | 12.6 | 25.1 | 12.5 | -10.8 | -20.8% |
| USC | 1974 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 87.5% | #5 | #2 | 24.5 | 26.0 | 37.8 | 12.3 | +2.0 | +8.3% |
| USC | 1973 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 79.2% | #1 | #8 | 22.5 | 22.1 | 36.6 | 15.6 | -12.5 | -20.8% |
| USC | 1972 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | #8 | #1 | 35.0 | 34.2 | 45.6 | 12.5 | +15.9 | +40.9% |
| USC | 1971 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 59.1% | #5 | #20 | 19.1 | 20.0 | 30.5 | 11.3 | -6.8 | 0.0% |
| USC | 1970 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 59.1% | #3 | #15 | 25.9 | 22.5 | 41.7 | 21.5 | +1.4 | -36.4% |
| USC | 1969 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 95.5% | #5 | #3 | 24.5 | — | — | — | +4.5 | +9.1% |
| USC | 1968 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 86.4% | #2 | #4 | 20.0 | — | — | — | -1.1 | -4.5% |
| USC | 1967 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 90.9% | #7 | #1 | 21.1 | — | — | — | +3.3 | +27.3% |
| USC | 1966 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.6% | #9 | — | 17.8 | — | — | — | -6.0 | -11.4% |
| USC | 1965 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 75.0% | #7 | #10 | 23.8 | — | — | — | +5.6 | +5.0% |
| USC | 1964 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.0% | — | #10 | 18.2 | — | — | — | +1.4 | 0.0% |
| USC | 1963 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.0% | #1 | — | 16.8 | — | — | — | -8.9 | -30.0% |
| USC | 1962 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | — | #1 | 25.7 | — | — | — | +24.5 | +55.0% |
| USC | 1961 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 45.0% | — | — | 1.2 | — | — | — | -2.1 | +5.0% |
| USC | 1960 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40.0% | #6 | — | 3.3 | — | — | — | — | — |
Similar coaches
Related profiles are matched by style, strength band, volatility band, peak range, and career length.
Urban Meyer
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 1.1
Avg SRS 18.5 • Peak SRS 33.9 • 17 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 7.9
Open profile →Bud Wilkinson
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.4
Avg SRS 19.2 • Peak SRS 29.9 • 17 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 6.7
Open profile →Ara Parseghian
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.1
Avg SRS 19.6 • Peak SRS 32.2 • 19 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 9.3
Open profile →Darrell Royal
same balanced identity • avg SRS within 0.6
Avg SRS 18.9 • Peak SRS 35.4 • 23 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 7.8
Open profile →Dabo Swinney
same balanced identity • volatility within 0.2
Avg SRS 16.2 • Peak SRS 32.7 • 18 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 7.9
Open profile →Frank Leahy
same balanced identity • volatility within 1.1
Avg SRS 22.6 • Peak SRS 38.3 • 13 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 9.1
Open profile →