The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Maurice Linguist

Followed Lance Leipold. Maurice Linguist slid Buffalo from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 4 seasons.

14–23

2021–2024 · 1 stint

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.

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).

Buffalo, 4 seasons

−4.0

Regional Program IV → Regional Program IV.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)

How much that is, against every other stint

Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.

Typical stint7.010.2 median13.9middle half of all stints

Buffalo7.8pt#175 of 258 · a typical amount

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.

2–0 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Chuck Martin.

Rivalry record

2–0

100.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

7–6

53.8% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

Akron2–0100%

The toughest matchup

vs. Chuck Martin1–2

3 meetings, 2021–2023

’21 L’22 W · erased a 3-pt deficit’23 L

33% win rate across a real, 3-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

0–1 0.0%

National Program

1–3 25.0%

Regional Program

11–16 40.7%

Coaching career

2021–2024

Buffalocaretaker

Regional Program III → Regional Program IV

Maurice Linguist slid Buffalo from Regional Program III to Regional Program IV in 4 seasons.

8th-best Buffalo tenure of 11 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent on offense and outperforms his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent

-6.8 pts

#138 of 208 · a typical amount

Defense vs. talent

+19.1 pts

#32 of 208 · more than most

Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed Lance Leipold (2015–2020).

Season	2021	2022	2023	2024
Record & result
Record	4–8	7–6	3–9	0–0
Postseason	—	W bowl	—	W bowl
Recruiting rank	#97	#81	#84	#110
Style — pass rate
Pass rate	40.5	45.0	47.5	39.7
Coordinators
OC	Shane Montgomery	Shane Montgomery	DJ Mangas	Dave Patenaude
DC	Joe Cauthen	Brandon Bailey	Robert Wright	Joe Bowen
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense	27	34	8	38
Defense	17	50	70	79
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%	36.3	43.8	46.1	40.3
Red-zone pass%	25.0	33.1	33.3	34.6
4th-down go%opp. territory	47.2	40.4	52.3	46.3

Roster construction · portal era

A typical amount of portal roster-building.

Portal arrivals

2.8★ avg rating

Portal departures

left via the portal

Net portal flow

-24

#88 of 187 FBS stints

Who they bring in

Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.

Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.

Avg. size (raw)

6′2″, 229 lbs

across 39 of 54 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix

Size vs. position-typical

+3.4 lbs

#138 of 255 · a typical amount

Avg. class year

#10 of 255 · more than most

Top states: NY (7), FL (4), CA (3), IL (3), VA (3)

Who won the portal our read

Talent added

52.5

position-weighted

Talent lost

54.6

position-weighted

Net

-2.1

arrivals minus departures

Best addition: CJ Ogbonna (QB) from Southeast Missouri State

Biggest loss: Cole Snyder (QB) to Eastern Michigan

Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.

Does the system survive a coordinator change?

OC: Shane Montgomery → DJ Mangas · 2023

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

1st-down pass rate: 43.8% → 46.1% (+2.2 pts)

Confound, shown not hidden: only 57% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.

DC: Joe Cauthen → Brandon Bailey · 2022

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

DC: Brandon Bailey → Robert Wright · 2023

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

Roster size, by position

Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)

Quarterback

216 lbs

6′3″ avg · #304 of 767 · a typical amount

Running back

207 lbs

6′0″ avg · #407 of 791 · a typical amount

Wide receiver

195 lbs

6′1″ avg · #296 of 791 · a typical amount

Tight end

250 lbs

6′4″ avg · #206 of 731 · a typical amount

Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters

Interior line

310 lbs

6′5″ avg · #358 of 779 · a typical amount

D-line

290 lbs

6′2″ avg · #244 of 753 · a typical amount

Edge

240 lbs

6′4″ avg · #171 of 188 · less than most

Linebacker

236 lbs

6′2″ avg · #79 of 772 · more than most

Cornerback

194 lbs

6′0″ avg · #192 of 771 · more than most

Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.

Where the roster comes from, by position

Buys Interior line via the portal

78%

#13 of 224 stints

Buys Cornerback via the portal

69%

#45 of 236 stints

Grows D-line from high school

82%

#196 of 239 stints

Grows Tackle from high school

100%

#198 of 223 stints

Postseason detail2022: Beat Georgia Southern 23–21 Camellia Bowl2024: Beat Liberty 26–7 Bahamas Bowl Presented by Atlantis Resorts

1 NFL Draft pick: Malcolm Koonce (2021)

1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Shaun Dolac (2024)

14–23