The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Brian VanGorder.
Defensive coordinator · 6 seasons · 3 stints · 3 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.53#457 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.
Notre Dame 2014–2016
Louisville 2018–2018
Bowling Green 2019–2020
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Notre Dame, 3 years
+53.1
10.5 to 63.7 percentile.
Bowling Green, 2 years
+8.0
5.0 to 13.0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | Notre Dame | no record | 10.5 | 63.7 | −12.7 |
| 2018–2018 | Louisville | 51.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | −53.6 |
| 2019–2020 | Bowling Green | 14.2 | 5.0 | 13.0 | −24.3 |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Notre Dame, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Louisville 2018–2018: ranked 52nd the year before he arrived, 2nd at its best — went backwards.
Bowling Green 2019–2020: ranked 14th the year before he arrived, 13th at its best — went backwards.