The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach

John Rudzinski.

Defensive coordinator · 8 seasons · 2 stints · 2 programs1 season ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.17#98 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 4Year of that tenure, not calendar yearn=659n=400n=218n=122median still in the jobnot a pathAir Force, year 1: 36th percentileAir Force, year 2: 70th percentileAir Force, year 3: 68th percentileAir Force, year 4: 48th percentileAir ForceVirginia, year 1: 71st percentileVirginia, year 2: 33rd percentileVirginia, year 3: 20th percentileVirginia, year 4: 91st percentileVirginia
Air Force 2018–2021
Virginia 2022–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Air Force, 4 years
+12.3
35.8 to 48.1 percentile.
Virginia, 5 years
+20.2
70.6 to 90.8 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
2018–2021Air Force13.535.870.4+30.4
2022–2026Virginia15.870.690.8+2.4
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