The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach

Brian Williams.

Defensive coordinator · 4 seasons · 3 stints · 2 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.25#64 of 458 · more 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.

100th — best in the country90th — elite — top 10%75th — top quarter50th — national median25th — bottom quarter0 — worst in the countryHis defense’s national rank, by year of tenureYear 1Year 2Year 3Year of that tenure, not calendar yearn=659n=400n=218median still in the jobnot a pathMaryland, year 1: 87th percentileMaryland, year 2: 85th percentileMaryland, year 3: 43rd percentileMarylandJacksonville State, year 1: 52nd percentileJacksonville State
Maryland 2022–2024
Jacksonville State 2025–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Maryland, 3 years
−43.7
86.6 to 42.9 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

YearsProgramWalked intoYear 1BestVs. talent
2022–2023Maryland28.886.686.6+30.1
2024–2024Maryland84.642.942.9−10.5
2025–2026Jacksonville State48.951.851.8+11.4

Maryland 2024–2024: ranked 85th the year before he arrived, 43rd at its best — went backwards.

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