The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Brian Smith.
Defensive coordinator · 8 seasons · 2 stints · 2 programs1 season ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.19#372 of 458 · less than most
The tenure clock
Every stop re-aligned to its own first year, so the stops stack instead of scrolling past each other. The gray dashed line is a reference, not a path: each point is the median of whoever was still in the job that year, across every real OC/DC stint since 2014 at that role, and the pool shrinks year over year because surviving to a later year means not having been fired.
Rice 2018–2024
Temple 2025–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Rice, 7 years
+46.0
8.8 to 54.9 percentile.
Median defensive coordinator
+1.0
first season to last, across 239 stints of 3+ years. 52.3% improve at all.
Every stop on the calendar
| Years | Program | Walked into | Year 1 | Best | Vs. talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2024 | Rice | 5.8 | 8.8 | 90.2 | −2.6 |
| 2025–2026 | Temple | 27.2 | 7.0 | 7.0 | −32.8 |
Temple 2025–2026: ranked 27th the year before he arrived, 7th at its best — went backwards.