The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Nathan Burton.
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.
Georgia Tech 2019–2021
Troy 2024–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Georgia Tech, 3 years
−21.5
28.1 to 6.5 percentile.
Troy, 3 years
+13.8
58.6 to 72.4 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 | Georgia Tech | 11.9 | 28.1 | 44.5 | −30.1 |
| 2024–2026 | Troy | 97.4 | 58.6 | 72.4 | +23.8 |
Troy 2024–2026: ranked 97th the year before he arrived, 72nd at its best — went backwards.