The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Charlie Sadler

Followed Jerry Pettibone. Charlie Sadler held Northern Illinois at Regional Program III for 5 seasons.

18–37
1991–1995 · 1 stint
Northern Illinois
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerNORTHERN ILLINOISRegional Programthe building-block levelNorthern Illinois, 1991: 2-9, Regional Program III1991Northern Illinois, 1992: 5-6, Regional Program IV1992Northern Illinois, 1993: 4-7, Regional Program IV1993Northern Illinois, 1994: 4-7, Regional Program IV1994Northern Illinois, 1995: 3-8, Regional Program V1995-6.5One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Northern Illinois, 5 seasons
−6.5
Regional Program III → Regional Program V.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

0–2 against his rivals. Just 1–3 against Joe Peace.

Rivalry record
0–2
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
5–10
33.3% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
Toledo0–20%
The toughest matchup
vs. Joe Peace1–3
4 meetings, 1991–1995
’91 L’93 L’94 W’95 L
25% win rate across a real, 4-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Power Program
0–3 0.0%
National Program
1–9 10.0%
Regional Program
11–23 32.4%

Coaching career

1991–1995
Northern Illinoiscaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program III
Charlie Sadler held Northern Illinois at Regional Program III for 5 seasons.

11th-best Northern Illinois tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Followed Jerry Pettibone (1985–1990) · succeeded by Joe Novak (1996–2007).

1 NFL Draft pick: LeShon Johnson (1994)

18–37