The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach

Ron Roberts.

Defensive coordinator · 8 seasons · 6 stints · 5 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.11#311 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.

100th — best in the country90th — elite — top 10%75th — top quarter50th — national median25th — bottom quarter0 — worst in the countryHis defense’s national rank, by year of tenureYear 1Year 2Year 3Year of that tenure, not calendar yearn=659n=400n=218median still in the jobnot a pathLouisiana, year 1: 10th percentileLouisiana, year 2: 61st percentileLouisianaBaylor, year 1: 56th percentileBaylor, year 2: 53rd percentileBaylor, year 3: 26th percentileBaylorAuburn, year 1: 69th percentileAuburnFlorida, year 1: 86th percentileFlorida, year 2: 39th percentileFloridaArkansas: just hired
Louisiana 2018–2019
Baylor 2020–2022
Auburn 2023–2023
Florida 2024–2025
Arkansas 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Louisiana, 2 years
+51.5
9.6 to 61.2 percentile.
Baylor, 3 years
−29.9
55.5 to 25.6 percentile.
Florida, 2 years
−46.9
86.2 to 39.3 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

YearsProgramWalked intoYear 1BestVs. talent
2018–2019Louisiana3.59.661.2−6.4
2020–2022Baylor83.555.555.5−10.6
2023–2023Auburn56.168.868.8+7.1
2024–2024Florida32.086.286.2+22.1
2025–2025Florida86.239.339.3−24.8
2026–2026Arkansasno record

Baylor 2020–2022: ranked 83rd the year before he arrived, 56th at its best — went backwards.

Florida 2025–2025: ranked 86th the year before he arrived, 39th at its best — went backwards.

Arkansas: just hired, no season coached yet.

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