Georgia Southern: a football coaching history
See Georgia Southern’s full 91-year Zeitgeist History →← all coaches
Stature and coaches, 2014–2026
The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.
DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program
Run↔pass identity, by season
Every coach
Big movers show how many stature points they built or lost against what they inherited; steadier tenures show the tier they reached instead. A small blue arrow marks a real System Shift at that changeover — how hard the offense’s run/pass identity flipped.
2022–now
Clay Helton Steady
Clay Helton held Georgia Southern at Regional Program III for 5 seasons.
No outlier style signal this stint
−1.3 pts over 5 seasons · top 39% of 3-5-season tenures (717 in sample)
Closest comparable run: Kyle Flood’s Rutgers run (2012–2015)
2nd-best Georgia Southern tenure of 2 by the numbers.
Followed Kevin Whitley (2021).
System Shift, on arrival
| Season | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 6-7 | 6-7 | 8-5 | 7-6 | 4-4 | |
| Postseason | L bowl | L bowl | L bowl | W bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #108 | #100 | #91 | #80 | #89 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||
| Pass rate | 62.2 | 60.5 | 50.3 | 48.3 | 58.6 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||
| OC | Bryan Ellis | Bryan Ellis | Ryan Aplin | Ryan Aplin | Ryan Aplin | |
| DC | Will Harris | Brandon Bailey | Brandon Bailey | Brandon Bailey | Mike Mutz | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||
| Offense | 77 | 52 | 49 | 72 | 65 | |
| Defense | 11 | 12 | 32 | 14 | 67 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 59.7 | 58.0 | 50.0 | 45.7 | 54.1 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 49.2 | 57.5 | 45.9 | 36.0 | 39.2 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 23.9 | 29.5 | 25.0 | 37.9 | 31.2 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Outperforms his recruiting talent on offense and underperforms his recruiting talent on defense.
Offense vs. talent
+20.9 pts
#37 of 208 · top quarter
Defense vs. talent
-25.1 pts
#189 of 208 · bottom quarter
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.
Roster construction · portal era
A typical amount of portal roster-building.
Portal arrivals
71
2.9★ avg rating
Portal departures
88
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-17
#82 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in
Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 227 lbs
across 55 of 71 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+0.2 lbs
#230 of 255 · bottom quarter
Avg. class year
Jr
#29 of 255 · top quarter
Top states: GA (20), FL (6), NC (5), CA (4), TX (3)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
54.3
position-weighted
Talent lost
56.9
position-weighted
Net
-2.6
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Kyle Toole (QB) from Troy
Biggest loss: James Graham (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: Bryan Ellis → Ryan Aplin · 2024The system held
2-season window either side.
1st-down pass rate: 58.8% → 47.9% (-11.0 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 41% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
DC: Will Harris → Brandon Bailey · 2023
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
DC: Brandon Bailey → Mike Mutz · 2026
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
209 lbs
6′2″ avg · #495 of 767 · middle half
Running back
203 lbs
5′10″ avg · #558 of 791 · middle half
Wide receiver
188 lbs
5′11″ avg · #606 of 791 · bottom quarter
Tight end
232 lbs
6′3″ avg · #695 of 731 · bottom quarter
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
296 lbs
6′3″ avg · #740 of 779 · bottom quarter
D-line
267 lbs
6′2″ avg · #694 of 753 · bottom quarter
Linebacker
221 lbs
6′1″ avg · #682 of 772 · bottom quarter
Cornerback
188 lbs
6′0″ avg · #490 of 771 · middle half
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 Athlete via the portal
12%
#36 of 146 stints
Grows Edge from high school
90%
#189 of 208 stints
Grows Running back from high school
100%
#196 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2022: Lost to Buffalo 21-23 Camellia Bowl2023: Lost to Ohio 21-41 Myrtle Beach Bowl2024: Lost to Sam Houston 26-31 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl2025: Beat App State 29-10 JLab Birmingham Bowl
−1.3
31-29
2021
Kevin Whitley Short tenure
No outlier style signal this stint
2-6
2017–2021
Chad Lunsford Steady
Chad Lunsford slid the Eagles from National Program III to Regional Program II in 5 seasons.
Averaged a 23% pass rate — among the most run-heavy stretches in FBS since 2004
−7.0 pts over 5 seasons · bottom 25% of 3-5-season tenures (717 in sample)
Closest comparable run: George Chaump’s Navy run (1990–1994)
1st-best Georgia Southern tenure of 2 by the numbers.
Followed Tyson Summers (2016–2017) · succeeded by Kevin Whitley (2021).
| Season | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 2-4 | 10-3 | 7-6 | 8-5 | 1-3 | |
| Postseason | — | W bowl | L bowl | W bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #106 | #90 | #120 | #98 | #91 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||
| Pass rate | 23.2 | 15.4 | 18.9 | 21.4 | 33.9 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||
| OC | Bryan Cook | Bob DeBesse | Bob DeBesse | Bob DeBesse | Doug Ruse | |
| DC | Lorenzo Costantini | Scot Sloan | Scot Sloan | Scot Sloan | Scot Sloan | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||
| Offense | 29 | 73 | 33 | 74 | 13 | |
| Defense | 38 | 46 | 54 | 93 | 27 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 13.7 | 14.0 | 18.4 | 19.8 | 30.5 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 14.1 | 9.0 | 12.4 | 15.6 | 23.7 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 32.5 | 25.7 | 25.5 | 34.9 | 50.0 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
+5.6 pts
#85 of 208 · middle half
Defense vs. talent
+11.6 pts
#61 of 208 · middle half
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.
Roster construction · portal era
Barely touches the portal — recruits and develops his own.
Portal arrivals
4
3.0★ avg rating
Portal departures
14
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-10
#173 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in
Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
Avg. size (raw)
6′0″, 208 lbs
across 3 of 4 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
-5.5 lbs
#254 of 255 · bottom quarter
Avg. class year
Sr
#1 of 255 · top quarter
Top states: FL (1), TX (1), GA (1)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
15.4
position-weighted
Talent lost
37.4
position-weighted
Net
-21.9
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: James Graham (QB) from Georgia Tech
Biggest loss: Anthony Fieldings (CB) 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.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
194 lbs
5′11″ avg · #745 of 767 · bottom quarter
Running back
211 lbs
6′0″ avg · #245 of 791 · middle half
Wide receiver
194 lbs
5′11″ avg · #367 of 791 · middle half
Tight end
222 lbs
6′1″ avg · #728 of 731 · bottom quarter
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
298 lbs
6′4″ avg · #721 of 779 · bottom quarter
D-line
279 lbs
6′2″ avg · #486 of 753 · middle half
Linebacker
226 lbs
6′1″ avg · #507 of 772 · middle half
Cornerback
192 lbs
5′11″ avg · #290 of 771 · middle half
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 Kicker from high school
100%
#52 of 56 stints
Grows Running back from high school
86%
#187 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2018: Beat Eastern Michigan 23-21 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl2019: Lost to Liberty 16-23 Fbc Mortgage Cure Bowl2020: Beat Louisiana Tech 38-3 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
2 NFL Draft picks: Kindle Vildor (2020), Tyler Bass (2020)
−7.0
28-21
2016–2017
Tyson Summers Short tenure
Averaged a 27% pass rate — among the most run-heavy stretches in FBS since 2004
5-13
2014–2015
Willie Fritz Short tenure
Averaged a 18% pass rate — among the most run-heavy stretches in FBS since 2004
17-7