The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
D. J. Eliot.
Defensive coordinator · 9 seasons · 5 stints · 5 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.31#422 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.
Kentucky 2014–2016
Colorado 2017–2018
Kansas 2019–2020
Temple 2022–2022
NC State 2025–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Kentucky, 3 years
−18.8
36.3 to 17.6 percentile.
Colorado, 2 years
+27.7
25.8 to 53.5 percentile.
Kansas, 2 years
+12.8
8.8 to 21.7 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 | Kentucky | no record | 36.3 | 58.2 | −18.4 |
| 2017–2018 | Colorado | 84.8 | 25.8 | 53.5 | −12.8 |
| 2019–2020 | Kansas | 35.0 | 8.8 | 21.7 | −33.5 |
| 2022–2022 | Temple | 18.1 | 28.6 | 28.6 | −19.5 |
| 2025–2026 | NC State | 26.5 | 46.7 | 46.7 | −8.0 |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Kentucky, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Colorado 2017–2018: ranked 85th the year before he arrived, 53rd at its best — went backwards.
Kansas 2019–2020: ranked 35th the year before he arrived, 22nd at its best — went backwards.