Top 25
11-36-1
- Games
- 48
- Win rate
- 24.0%
Back to Coaches
Peak DominatorDefense-FirstLong Career
Coach Profile
Charles McClendon
1962-1979 • LSU
One defining program at LSU.
Charles McClendon coached 18 seasons, won 68.2%, and posted an average SRS of 16.2. Best season: 1969 LSU. The profile was defense-first with a mostly steady profile. One primary stint defined the run.
- Career record
- 135-61-7
- Career win rate
- 68.2%
- Average SRS
- 16.2
- Peak SRS
- 26.1
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
- 18
- Career span
- 18 years
- Best finish
- #7
- Consistency
- 64.5
Primary school anchor
LSU
Defense-First profile with 1 program stop and a peak score of 93.8.
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.
Charles McClendon
EliteStrongAverageLean
1962Actual season year • SRS range 6.2 to 26.11979
Active comparison point
Charles McClendon • 1969
1969 LSU
Best seasonBiggest improvement9-1 • SRS 26.1 • SP Overall —
Win %
90.0%
YoY SRS
+17.1
SP Off / Def
— / —
Finish
#10
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
6-25-1
- Games
- 32
- Win rate
- 20.3%
Top 5
2-17
- Games
- 19
- Win rate
- 10.5%
View ranked game results48
| 1979 Regular Week 13 | LSU | Tulane | #16 | L13-24 |
| 1979 Regular Week 11 | LSU | Alabama | #1 | L0-3 |
| 1979 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Florida State | #6 | L19-24 |
| 1979 Regular Week 5 | LSU | USC | #1 | L12-17 |
| 1978 Regular Week 11 | LSU | Alabama | #3 | L10-31 |
| 1978 Regular Week 7 | LSU | Georgia | #18 | L17-24 |
| 1978 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Missouri | #15 | L15-20 |
| 1977 Regular Week 10 | LSU | Alabama | #2 | L3-24 |
| 1977 Regular Week 7 | LSU | Kentucky | #8 | L13-33 |
| 1977 Regular Week 5 | LSU | Florida | #20 | W36-14 |
| 1977 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Stanford | #15 | L14-24 |
| 1976 Regular Week 10 | LSU | Alabama | #10 | L17-28 |
| 1976 Regular Week 5 | LSU | Florida | #12 | L23-28 |
| 1976 Regular Week 2 | LSU | Nebraska | #8 | T6-6 |
| 1975 Regular Week 10 | LSU | Alabama | #5 | L10-23 |
| 1975 Regular Week 8 | LSU | South Carolina | #20 | W24-6 |
| 1975 Regular Week 6 | LSU | Tennessee | #19 | L10-24 |
| 1975 Regular Week 5 | LSU | Florida | #20 | L6-34 |
| 1975 Regular Week 3 | LSU | Texas A&M | #11 | L8-39 |
| 1975 Regular Week 2 | LSU | Nebraska | #6 | L7-10 |
| 1974 Regular Week 10 | LSU | Alabama | #3 | L0-30 |
| 1974 Regular Week 5 | LSU | Florida | #13 | L14-24 |
| 1973 Regular Week 14 | LSU | Tulane | #17 | L0-14 |
| 1973 Regular Week 13 | LSU | Alabama | #1 | L7-21 |
| 1973 Regular Week 3 | LSU | Colorado | #19 | W17-6 |
| 1973 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Penn State | #5 | L9-16 |
| 1972 Regular Week 10 | LSU | Alabama | #2 | L21-35 |
| 1972 Regular Week 6 | LSU | Auburn | #9 | W35-7 |
| 1972 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Tennessee | #8 | L17-24 |
| 1971 Regular Week 11 | LSU | Notre Dame | #7 | W28-8 |
| 1971 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Alabama | #4 | L7-14 |
| 1970 Regular Week 13 | LSU | Notre Dame | #6 | L0-3 |
| 1970 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Auburn | #10 | W17-9 |
| 1970 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Nebraska | #1 | L12-17 |
| 1969 Regular Week 8 | LSU | Ole Miss | #17 | L23-26 |
| 1969 Regular Week 7 | LSU | Auburn | #17 | W21-20 |
| 1968 Regular Week 2 | LSU | Texas A&M | #13 | W13-12 |
| 1967 Regular Week 8 | LSU | Tennessee | #3 | L14-17 |
| 1967 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Wyoming | #6 | W20-13 |
| 1966 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Alabama | #3 | L0-21 |
| 1966 Regular Week 7 | LSU | Florida | #7 | L7-28 |
| 1965 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Alabama | #5 | L7-31 |
| 1965 Regular Week 4 | LSU | Florida | #10 | L7-14 |
| 1965 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Arkansas | #3 | W14-7 |
| 1964 Regular Week 9 | LSU | Alabama | #2 | L9-17 |
| 1963 Regular Week 8 | LSU | Ole Miss | #3 | L3-37 |
| 1962 Regular Week 8 | LSU | Ole Miss | #4 | L7-15 |
| 1962 Postseason Week 1 | LSU | Texas | #4 | W13-0 |
Tenure map
Each stint expands by seasons coached. Deeper color signals a stronger average SRS over that stretch.
Length = seasons coachedDeeper color = stronger stint
LSU
1962-1979 • 18 seasons
Avg SRS 16.2 • Win % 68.2%
- Longest tenure
- LSU • 18 seasons
- Best tenure
- LSU • 16.2 SRS
- Best tenure win rate
- LSU • 68.2%
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.
Charles McClendon sets the reference point in overall strength.
Overall Strength
Decisive edgeCharles McClendon sets the reference point in overall strength.
Normalized score; raw SP overall stays underneath for reference.
Charles McClendon
Elite
- Raw avg SP Overall
- 15.6
- Percentile
- 95th 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.
LSU
1962-1979 • 135-61-7
Compared with this school's baseline outside that stint over the prior 5 seasons (5 baseline seasons found).
Avg SRS 16.2Win % 68.2%
Avg wins
Higher is better
7.5 during vs 8.0 baseline
-0.5
Avg SRS
Higher is better
16.2 during vs 20.2 baseline
-4.0
Avg SP Overall
Higher is better
15.6 during vs — baseline
—
Ranked finish rate
Higher is better
50.0% during vs 60.0% baseline
-10.0%
Career highs and lows
High Points
Best Season
LSU 1969
9-1 • SRS 26.1
Biggest Improvement
LSU 1969
9-1 • 17.1 SRS
Best Offensive Season
LSU 1971
9-3 • SP Off 36.8
Best Defensive Season
LSU 1970
9-3 • SP Def 6.9
Setbacks
Worst Season
LSU 1975
4-7 • SRS 6.2
Biggest Drop
LSU 1968
8-3 • -10.1 SRS
Season-by-season results
Full transparency into every season in the coaching record. Positive YoY values indicate improvement from the prior season.
| LSU | 1979 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 58.3% | — | — | 16.8 | 16.8 | 29.0 | 13.1 | +2.8 | -8.3% |
| LSU | 1978 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | #13 | — | 14.0 | 12.4 | 29.4 | 17.8 | +1.1 | 0.0% |
| LSU | 1977 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.7% | — | — | 12.9 | 6.5 | 33.5 | 28.9 | -0.3 | +7.6% |
| LSU | 1976 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 59.1% | — | — | 13.2 | 8.5 | 25.7 | 18.1 | +7.0 | +22.7% |
| LSU | 1975 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 36.4% | — | — | 6.2 | 8.9 | 23.5 | 15.2 | -4.1 | -13.6% |
| LSU | 1974 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 50.0% | #9 | — | 10.3 | 10.5 | 24.7 | 15.0 | -8.4 | -25.0% |
| LSU | 1973 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #16 | #13 | 18.7 | 22.2 | 32.2 | 10.9 | -0.1 | -4.2% |
| LSU | 1972 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 79.2% | #11 | #11 | 18.8 | 20.2 | 29.2 | 9.6 | -6.6 | +4.2% |
| LSU | 1971 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #9 | #11 | 25.4 | 24.2 | 36.8 | 13.2 | +0.2 | 0.0% |
| LSU | 1970 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 75.0% | #12 | #7 | 25.2 | 26.0 | 32.3 | 6.9 | -0.9 | -15.0% |
| LSU | 1969 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 90.0% | — | #10 | 26.1 | — | — | — | +17.1 | +17.3% |
| LSU | 1968 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 72.7% | #18 | #19 | 9.0 | — | — | — | -10.1 | +4.5% |
| LSU | 1967 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 68.2% | — | — | 19.1 | — | — | — | +7.9 | +13.2% |
| LSU | 1966 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 55.0% | — | — | 11.2 | — | — | — | -5.6 | -17.7% |
| LSU | 1965 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 72.7% | #8 | #8 | 16.8 | — | — | — | +5.0 | -4.5% |
| LSU | 1964 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 77.3% | — | #7 | 11.8 | — | — | — | -1.0 | +13.6% |
| LSU | 1963 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.6% | — | — | 12.8 | — | — | — | -9.7 | -22.7% |
| LSU | 1962 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 86.4% | #5 | #7 | 22.5 | — | — | — | — | — |
Similar coaches
Related profiles are matched by style, strength band, volatility band, peak range, and career length.
Duffy Daugherty
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 1.0
Avg SRS 17.1 • Peak SRS 30.7 • 19 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 7.2
Open profile →Frank Broyles
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 1.0
Avg SRS 15.2 • Peak SRS 26.1 • 20 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 7.7
Open profile →Vince Dooley
same defense-first identity • avg SRS within 0.2
Avg SRS 15.9 • Peak SRS 26.2 • 25 seasons
Best finish #1 • Volatility 5.4
Open profile →James Franklin
same defense-first identity • volatility within 1.3
Avg SRS 13.6 • Peak SRS 25.6 • 15 seasons
Best finish #5 • Volatility 7.0
Open profile →Doug Dickey
same defense-first identity • volatility within 1.5
Avg SRS 13.8 • Peak SRS 22.4 • 15 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 7.2
Open profile →Frank Thomas
avg SRS within 0.7 • volatility within 0.3
Avg SRS 16.9 • Peak SRS 31.5 • 15 seasons
Best finish #2 • Volatility 6.0
Open profile →