The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach

Jeff Schmedding.

Defensive coordinator · 5 seasons · 3 stints · 3 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.06#271 of 458 · a typical amount

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 of that tenure, not calendar yearn=659n=400median still in the jobnot a pathBoise State, year 1: 58th percentileBoise State, year 2: 62nd percentileBoise StAuburn, year 1: 56th percentileAuburnWashington State, year 1: 67th percentileWashington State, year 2: 14th percentileWashington St
Boise State 2019–2020
Auburn 2022–2022
Washington State 2023–2024
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Boise State, 2 years
+3.7
58.1 to 61.8 percentile.
Washington State, 2 years
−53.5
67.3 to 13.8 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
2019–2020Boise State58.858.161.8+10.3
2022–2022Auburn85.856.156.1−5.8
2023–2024Washington State36.367.367.3−8.0

Auburn 2022–2022: ranked 86th the year before he arrived, 56th at its best — went backwards.

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