The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Mark Hagen.
Defensive coordinator · 7 seasons · 4 stints · 3 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.08#156 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.
Indiana 2017–2018
Purdue 2021–2022
Louisville 2023–2025
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Indiana, 2 years
−40.0
71.9 to 31.9 percentile.
Purdue, 2 years
−41.7
61.2 to 19.5 percentile.
Louisville, 3 years
+1.9
79.3 to 81.2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 | Indiana | 70.7 | 71.9 | 71.9 | +0.6 |
| 2021–2021 | Purdue | 42.1 | 61.2 | 61.2 | +7.0 |
| 2022–2022 | Purdue | 61.2 | 19.5 | 19.5 | −33.7 |
| 2023–2025 | Louisville | 97.3 | 79.3 | 81.2 | +17.6 |
Purdue 2022–2022: ranked 61st the year before he arrived, 19th at its best — went backwards.
Louisville 2023–2025: ranked 97th the year before he arrived, 81st at its best — went backwards.