The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Major Applewhite

Followed Kane Wommack. Major Applewhite held South Alabama at Regional Program III for 3 seasons.

Peak, then fade
26–25
2016–now · 2 stints
HoustonSouth Alabama
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In his own words

Awaiting signal — no quotes collected from this staff yet this cycle.

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.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerHOUSTONSOUTH ALABAMAPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelHouston, 2016: 0-1, National Program I2016Houston, 2017: 7-5, National Program I2017Houston, 2018: 8-5, National Program I2018-2.3South Alabama, 2024: 7-6, Regional Program III2024South Alabama, 2025: 4-8, Regional Program III2025South Alabama, 2026: in progress, Regional Program III2026+0.4One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Houston, 3 seasons
−2.3
National Program I → National Program I.
South Alabama, 3 seasons (active)
+0.4
Regional Program III → Regional Program III.

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.

40%50%Houston2016–2018▼ 1.2ptSouth Alabama2024–2026▼ 9.4pt
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
Houston1.2pt#255 of 258 · less than most
South Alabama9.8pt#136 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.

3–1 against his rivals.

Rivalry record
3–1
75.0% · 2 rivals
One-score games
6–12
33.3% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Buyout owed
$1,844,267
bigger than 13% of FBS buyouts
Rivalry ledger
Rice2–0100%
Troy1–150%
Performance by opponent class
Blue Blood
0–1 0.0%
National Program
8–6 57.1%
Regional Program
12–14 46.2%

Coaching career

2024–now
South Alabamacaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program III
Major Applewhite held South Alabama at Regional Program III for 3 seasons.

2nd-best South Alabama 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
+21.5 pts
#35 of 208 · more than most
Defense vs. talent
+5.3 pts
#83 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 Kane Wommack (2021–2023).

Season202420252026Trend
Record & result
Record7–64–80–0
PostseasonW bowl——
Recruiting rank#84#118#77
Style — pass rate
Pass rate46.736.937.3
Coordinators
OCRob EzellPaul Petrino—
DCWill WindhamJason Washington / Will WindhamJason Washington / Todd Orlando
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense933618
Defense742520
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%45.634.537.9
Red-zone pass%31.718.530.4
4th-down go%opp. territory40.567.445.5
Roster construction · portal era

A typical amount of portal roster-building.

Portal arrivals
50
2.9★ avg rating
Portal departures
70
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-20
#61 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in

Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.

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

Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 233 lbs
across 36 of 50 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
-0.6 lbs
#238 of 255 · less than most
Avg. class year
Jr
#252 of 255 · less than most
Top states: AL (10), GA (7), FL (5), NC (2), LA (2)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
50.9
position-weighted
Talent lost
56.2
position-weighted
Net
-5.3
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Zach Pyron (QB) from Minnesota
Biggest loss: Gio Lopez (QB) to North Carolina
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: Rob Ezell → Paul Petrino · 2025
93rd pct36th pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 45.6% → 34.5% (-11.1 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 25% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
DC: Will Windham → co-Jason Washington / Will Windham · 2025
74th pct25th pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
DC: co-Jason Washington / Will Windham → co-Jason Washington / Todd Orlando · 2026
25th pct20th 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
208 lbs
6′1″ avg · #534 of 767 · a typical amount
Running back
205 lbs
5′10″ avg · #502 of 791 · a typical amount
Wide receiver
185 lbs
5′11″ avg · #692 of 791 · less than most
Tight end
248 lbs
6′4″ avg · #247 of 731 · a typical amount
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
304 lbs
6′4″ avg · #586 of 779 · less than most
D-line
280 lbs
6′3″ avg · #469 of 753 · a typical amount
Linebacker
231 lbs
6′2″ avg · #268 of 772 · a typical amount
Cornerback
183 lbs
5′11″ avg · #690 of 771 · less than most
Safety
195 lbs
6′0″ avg · #227 of 346 · a typical amount
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 Interior line via the portal
62%
#42 of 224 stints
Grows Quarterback from high school
75%
#164 of 206 stints
Grows Wide receiver from high school
70%
#192 of 243 stints
Postseason detail2024: Beat Western Michigan 30–23 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl

AI Narratives — “South Alabama — stat check”.

11–14
2016–2018
Houstoncaretaker
National Program I → National Program I
Major Applewhite held Houston at National Program I for 3 seasons.

5th-best Houston tenure of 16 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.

Offense vs. talent
+8.3 pts
#69 of 208 · a typical amount
Defense vs. talent
+3.7 pts
#85 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 Dana Holgorsen (2019–2024).

Season201620172018Trend
Record & result
Record9–37–58–5
PostseasonL bowlL bowlL bowl
Recruiting rank#36#69#73
Style — pass rate
Pass rate48.248.047.0
Coordinators
OCMajor ApplewhiteBrian JohnsonKendal Briles
DCTodd OrlandoMark D'Onofrio / Clay JenningsMark D'Onofrio
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense316091
Defense87775
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%49.046.446.6
Red-zone pass%33.336.247.4
4th-down go%opp. territory41.931.746.4
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
OC: Brian Johnson → Kendal Briles · 2018
60th pct91st pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 46.4% → 46.6% (+0.2 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 32% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
DC: Mark D'Onofrio / co-Clay Jennings → Mark D'Onofrio · 2018
77th pct5th pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
100%
#164 of 188 stints
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2016: Lost to San Diego State 10–34 Las Vegas Bowl Presented By Geico2017: Lost to Fresno State 27–33 Hawai'i Bowl2018: Lost to Army 14–70 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

10 NFL Draft picks: William Jackson III (2016), Elandon Roberts (2016), Demarcus Ayers (2016), Tyus Bowser (2017), Howard Wilson (2017), Brandon Wilson (2017), Matthew Adams (2018), Ed Oliver (2019) + 2 more

15–11
How to read this. Bands and archetypes come from the Zeitgeist List’s season-by-season stature model, and only apply once a stint clears 3 coached seasons in our ledger — a newer stint shows its real record with no stature judgment yet.