The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Erik Chinander.
Defensive coordinator · 10 seasons · 4 stints · 3 programs1 season ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.15#116 of 458 · a typical amount
model fit as of 2026-09-04
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.
UCF 2016–2017
Nebraska 2018–2022
Boise State 2024–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
UCF, 2 years
−42.3
96.5 to 54.2 percentile.
Nebraska, 5 years
−6.4
43.5 to 37.0 percentile.
Boise State, 3 years
−14.7
57.8 to 43.1 percentile.
Median defensive coordinator
−1.5
first season to last, across 239 stints of 3+ years. 48.1% improve at all.
Every stop on the calendar
| Years | Program | Walked into | Year 1 | Best | Vs. talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | UCF | 7.4 | 96.5 | 96.5 | +24.6 |
| 2018–2022 | Nebraska | 4.2 | 43.5 | 65.0 | −10.2 |
| 2024–2025 | Boise State | 53.8 | 57.8 | 73.2 | +17.6 |
| 2026–2026 | Boise State | 73.2 | 43.1 | 43.1 | — |
Boise State 2026–2026: ranked 73rd the year before he arrived, 43rd at its best — went backwards.