The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Lyle Hemphill.
Defensive coordinator · 5 seasons · 4 stints · 4 programs1 season ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.20#84 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.
Wake Forest 2019–2021
Duke 2023–2023
James Madison 2024–2024
Texas A&M 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Wake Forest, 3 years
−4.6
41.9 to 37.3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2021 | Wake Forest | 41.9 | 41.9 | 50.0 | −7.1 |
| 2023–2023 | Duke | 55.3 | 55.3 | 55.3 | +5.1 |
| 2024–2024 | James Madison | 89.1 | 91.4 | 91.4 | +54.0 |
| 2026–2026 | Texas A&M | no record | — | — | — |
Duke 2023–2023: ranked 55th the year before he arrived, 55th at its best — went backwards.
Texas A&M: just hired, no season coached yet.