The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Kevin Kane.
Defensive coordinator · 7 seasons · 4 stints · 3 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.17#352 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.
Northern Illinois 2016–2017
SMU 2018–2020
Purdue 2023–2024
Purdue 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Northern Illinois, 2 years
+80.7
5.1 to 85.8 percentile.
SMU, 3 years
−20.2
45.0 to 24.8 percentile.
Purdue, 2 years
−44.4
45.5 to 1.1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | Northern Illinois | 73.0 | 5.1 | 85.8 | +1.6 |
| 2018–2020 | SMU | 11.9 | 45.0 | 45.0 | −12.8 |
| 2023–2024 | Purdue | 19.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | −31.9 |
| 2026–2026 | Purdue | no record | — | — | — |
Purdue: just hired, no season coached yet.