The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Tim Banks.
Defensive coordinator · 13 seasons · 5 stints · 4 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.07#167 of 458 · a typical amount
model fit as of 2026-09-04
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.
Illinois 2014–2015
Penn State 2016–2020
Tennessee 2021–2025
Auburn 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Illinois, 2 years
+57.8
19.1 to 77.0 percentile.
Penn State, 5 years
+5.3
67.6 to 72.8 percentile.
Tennessee, 5 years
−0.1
35.0 to 34.9 percentile.
Median defensive coordinator
−1.5
first season to last, across 239 stints of 3+ years. 48.1% improve at all.
Every stop on the calendar
| Years | Program | Walked into | Year 1 | Best | Vs. talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2014 | Illinois | no record | 19.1 | 19.1 | — |
| 2015–2015 | Illinois | 19.1 | 77.0 | 77.0 | +26.0 |
| 2016–2020 | Penn State | 62.9 | 67.6 | 85.0 | +9.1 |
| 2021–2025 | Tennessee | 36.6 | 35.0 | 87.6 | +1.3 |
| 2026–2026 | Auburn | 86.4 | 62.0 | 62.0 | — |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Illinois, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Auburn 2026–2026: ranked 86th the year before he arrived, 62nd at its best — went backwards.