The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Robb Smith.
Defensive coordinator · 9 seasons · 5 stints · 4 programs1 season ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.26#403 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.
Arkansas 2014–2016
Minnesota 2017–2018
Rutgers 2020–2021
Duke 2022–2022
Rutgers 2025–2025
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Arkansas, 3 years
−67.2
91.8 to 24.6 percentile.
Minnesota, 2 years
+12.3
28.8 to 41.2 percentile.
Rutgers, 2 years
−2.9
27.2 to 24.2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | Arkansas | no record | 91.8 | 91.8 | −37.0 |
| 2017–2018 | Minnesota | 80.9 | 28.8 | 41.2 | −17.2 |
| 2020–2021 | Rutgers | 13.5 | 27.2 | 27.2 | −24.8 |
| 2022–2022 | Duke | 0.4 | 55.3 | 55.3 | +4.4 |
| 2025–2025 | Rutgers | 8.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | −51.9 |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Arkansas, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Minnesota 2017–2018: ranked 81st the year before he arrived, 41st at its best — went backwards.
Rutgers 2025–2025: ranked 9th the year before he arrived, 1st at its best — went backwards.