The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Jamey Chadwell

Followed Hugh Freeze. Jamey Chadwell moved Liberty from Regional Program III to Regional Program II in 4 seasons.

The journeyman
64–35
2017–now · 2 stints
← all coaches

In his own words

Now there's still some body, physical limitations I’m going through that I’m still working through, but as far as my mind and the way I was feeling compared to the last couple years, night and day.

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Coastal Carolina, 5 seasons
+0.0
Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.
Liberty, 4 seasons (active)
+2.9
Regional Program II → Regional Program II.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

30%40%Coastal Carolina2017–2022▲ 0.8ptLiberty2023–2026▲ 5.5pt
Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)
How much that is, against every other stint

Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.

Typical stint7.010.2 median13.9middle half of all stints
Coastal Carolina5.7pt#219 of 258 · less than most
Liberty7.6pt#178 of 258 · a typical amount

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

2–3 against his rivals. Just 1–3 against Shawn Elliott.

Rivalry record
2–3
40.0% · 2 rivals
One-score games
14–16
46.7% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
App State1–233%
Old Dominion1–150%
The toughest matchup
vs. Shawn Elliott1–3
4 meetings, 2017–2021
’17 L’19 L · blew a 3-pt lead’20 W · wire to wire’21 L · blew a 8-pt lead
25% win rate across a real, 4-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Power Program
0–2 0.0%
National Program
2–4 33.3%
Regional Program
41–21 66.1%

His own effect, isolated

A statistical estimate of this coach’s contribution to team performance, separated from that season’s roster talent, returning production, and his coordinators — pooled across his whole head-coaching career.

Offense marginal impact
+0.60
#14 of 319 · more than most
Defense marginal impact
+0.09
#101 of 325 · a typical amount

Model fit as of 2026-09-04.

Coaching career

2023–now
Libertycaretaker🏆 coach of the year
Regional Program III → Regional Program II
Jamey Chadwell moved Liberty from Regional Program III to Regional Program II in 4 seasons.

1st-best Liberty tenure of 4 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Outperforms his recruiting talent on offense and performs about as expected for his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent
+22.3 pts
#33 of 208 · more than most
Defense vs. talent
-5.4 pts
#128 of 208 · a typical amount
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed Hugh Freeze (2019–2022).

Season2023202420252026Trend
Record & result
Record13–18–44–80–0
PostseasonL bowlL bowl
Recruiting rank#110#105#86#109
Style — pass rate
Pass rate31.135.038.736.6
Coordinators
OCWilly Korn / Newland IsaacWilly Korn / Newland IsaacWilly Korn / Newland IsaacNewland Isaac
DCKyle Krantz / Skylor MageeKyle Krantz / Skylor MageeKyle Krantz / Skylor MageeShawn Quinn
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense96395642
Defense21652441
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%30.633.029.024.1
Red-zone pass%21.728.528.336.4
4th-down go%opp. territory32.042.438.333.3
Roster construction · portal era

A portal-built roster.

Portal arrivals
77
3.0★ avg rating
Portal departures
80
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-3
#44 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in

Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.

Recruits younger transfers than most — more of a development bet.

Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 232 lbs
across 60 of 77 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+3.9 lbs
#124 of 255 · a typical amount
Avg. class year
Jr
#234 of 255 · less than most
Top states: FL (10), VA (6), GA (6), TX (4), NC (4)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
54.4
position-weighted
Talent lost
58.7
position-weighted
Net
-4.3
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Michael Merdinger (QB) from North Carolina
Biggest loss: Kaidon Salter (QB) to the portal
Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
OC: co-Willy Korn / co-Newland Isaac → Newland Isaac · 2026
56th pct42nd pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 29.0% → 24.1% (-4.9 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 38% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
DC: co-Kyle Krantz / co-Skylor Magee → Shawn Quinn · 2026
24th pct41st pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
205 lbs
6′2″ avg · #600 of 767 · less than most
Running back
206 lbs
5′10″ avg · #427 of 791 · a typical amount
Wide receiver
196 lbs
6′1″ avg · #268 of 791 · a typical amount
Tight end
241 lbs
6′4″ avg · #523 of 731 · a typical amount
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
299 lbs
6′4″ avg · #704 of 779 · less than most
D-line
272 lbs
6′2″ avg · #628 of 753 · less than most
Linebacker
229 lbs
6′1″ avg · #343 of 772 · a typical amount
Cornerback
184 lbs
6′0″ avg · #645 of 771 · less than most
Safety
191 lbs
5′11″ avg · #302 of 346 · less than most
Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Buys Linebacker via the portal
67%
#23 of 225 stints
Buys Cornerback via the portal
73%
#32 of 236 stints
Postseason detail2023: Lost to Oregon 6–45 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl2024: Lost to Buffalo 7–26 Bahamas Bowl Presented by Atlantis Resorts

1 NFL Draft pick: Demario Douglas (2023)

Coach of the Year: Conference USA Coach of the Year (2023)

25–13
2017–2022
Coastal Carolinacaretaker🏆 coach of the year
Regional Program III
Jamey Chadwell held Coastal Carolina at Regional Program III for 5 seasons.

1st-best Coastal Carolina tenure of 6 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Outperforms his recruiting talent on offense and performs about as expected for his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent
+31.1 pts
#12 of 208 · more than most
Defense vs. talent
-6.9 pts
#132 of 208 · a typical amount
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Succeeded by Tim Beck (2023–2025).

Season201720182019202020212022Trend
Record & result
Record3–95–75–711–111–20–1
PostseasonL bowlW bowlL bowl
Recruiting rank#125#114#121#116#84#69
Style — pass rate
Pass rate40.534.039.135.638.741.3
Coordinators
OCJamey ChadwellJamey ChadwellWilly Korn / Newland IsaacWilly Korn / Newland IsaacWilly Korn / Newland IsaacWilly Korn / Newland Isaac
DCMickey MatthewsMarvin SandersChad StaggsChad StaggsChad StaggsChad Staggs
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense404145969969
Defense1071469654
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%35.628.238.433.239.338.1
Red-zone pass%37.825.834.929.031.419.4
4th-down go%opp. territory27.336.441.941.422.743.8
Roster construction · portal era

Barely touches the portal — recruits and develops his own.

Portal arrivals
8
2.9★ avg rating
Portal departures
27
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-19
#173 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in

Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.

A typical class-year mix of incoming transfers.

Avg. size (raw)
6′3″, 235 lbs
across 7 of 8 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+4.8 lbs
#96 of 255 · a typical amount
Avg. class year
Jr
#82 of 255 · a typical amount
Top states: FL (3), SC (2), GA (1), NC (1)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
27.5
position-weighted
Talent lost
42.3
position-weighted
Net
-14.8
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Zxaequan Reeves (CB) from Missouri
Biggest loss: Fred Payton (QB) to Mercer
Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
215 lbs
6′3″ avg · #323 of 767 · a typical amount
Running back
204 lbs
5′11″ avg · #508 of 791 · a typical amount
Wide receiver
199 lbs
6′1″ avg · #139 of 791 · more than most
Tight end
235 lbs
6′4″ avg · #655 of 731 · less than most
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
299 lbs
6′3″ avg · #712 of 779 · less than most
Linebacker
228 lbs
6′1″ avg · #393 of 772 · a typical amount
Cornerback
182 lbs
5′11″ avg · #720 of 771 · less than most
Safety
191 lbs
6′1″ avg · #294 of 346 · less than most
Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
83%
#155 of 188 stints
Grows Linebacker from high school
80%
#170 of 225 stints
Postseason detail2020: Lost to Liberty 34–37 FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl2021: Beat Northern Illinois 47–41 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl2022: Lost to East Carolina 29–53 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

4 NFL Draft picks: De'Angelo Henderson (2017), Tarron Jackson (2021), Isaiah Likely (2022), Jeffrey Gunter (2022)

Coach of the Year: Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2020)

1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Tarron Jackson (2020)

39–22