The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Kelly Poppinga.
Defensive coordinator · 5 seasons · 2 stints · 2 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
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.
Virginia 2018–2021
BYU 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Virginia, 4 years
−56.2
71.9 to 15.8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2021 | Virginia | 41.2 | 71.9 | 71.9 | −16.5 |
| 2026–2026 | BYU | 76.1 | 59.1 | 59.1 | — |
BYU 2026–2026: ranked 76th the year before he arrived, 59th at its best — went backwards.