The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Rod Smith.
Offensive coordinator · 10 seasons · 4 stints · 4 programs2 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Offense+0.14#52 of 472 · 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.
Arizona 2014–2017
Illinois 2018–2020
Jacksonville State 2023–2024
Marshall 2025–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Arizona, 4 years
+42.3
52.7 to 95.0 percentile.
Illinois, 3 years
−12.2
51.2 to 39.0 percentile.
Jacksonville State, 2 years
+74.5
19.2 to 93.7 percentile.
Median offensive coordinator
+4.7
first season to last, across 222 stints of 3+ years. 52.7% improve at all.
Every stop on the calendar
| Years | Program | Walked into | Year 1 | Best | Vs. talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | Arizona | no record | 52.7 | 95.0 | +14.0 |
| 2018–2020 | Illinois | 4.2 | 51.2 | 51.2 | −18.6 |
| 2023–2024 | Jacksonville State | no record | 19.2 | 93.7 | +25.1 |
| 2025–2026 | Marshall | 58.6 | 57.0 | 57.0 | +11.7 |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Arizona, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Marshall 2025–2026: ranked 59th the year before he arrived, 57th at its best — went backwards.