The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Michael Desormeaux

Michael Desormeaux moved Louisiana from Regional Program II to National Program III in 6 seasons.

29–25

2021–now · 1 stint

Louisiana

← all coaches

In his own words

Awaiting signal — no quotes collected from this staff yet this cycle.

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 National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Louisiana, 6 seasons (active)

+3.9

National Program III → Regional Program I.

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

Louisiana9.2pt#148 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.

3–1 against his rivals.

Rivalry record

3–1

75.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

8–13

38.1% · margin ≤8

Buyout owed

$1,847,708 (est.)

bigger than 14% of FBS buyouts

Rivalry ledger

UL Monroe3–175%

Performance by opponent class

Power Program

0–4 0.0%

National Program

4–4 50.0%

Regional Program

18–16 52.9%

Coaching career

2021–now

Louisianacaretaker🏆 coach of the year ×2

Regional Program II → National Program III

Michael Desormeaux moved Louisiana from Regional Program II to National Program III in 6 seasons.

2nd-best Louisiana tenure of 9 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.

Offense vs. talent

+6.3 pts

#79 of 208 · a typical amount

Defense vs. talent

-4.3 pts

#125 of 208 · a typical amount

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.

Season	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Record & result
Record	12–1	6–7	6–7	10–4	6–7	0–0
Postseason	W bowl	L bowl	L bowl	L bowl	L bowl	—
Recruiting rank	#79	#109	#89	#117	#80	#91
Style — pass rate
Pass rate	41.8	49.1	43.9	46.3	39.9	40.8
Coordinators
OC	Michael Desormeaux / Tim Leger	Tim Leger	Tim Leger	Tim Leger	Tim Leger	Tim Leger
DC	Patrick Toney	LaMar Morgan	LaMar Morgan	Jim Salgado	Jim Salgado	Jim Salgado
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense	57	33	58	79	25	44
Defense	73	35	38	23	33	71
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%	39.7	46.1	38.2	40.5	32.7	33.3
Red-zone pass%	34.9	46.7	35.1	39.8	33.0	21.4
4th-down go%opp. territory	66.7	44.2	35.9	31.1	23.5	—

Roster construction · portal era

Barely touches the portal — recruits and develops his own.

Portal arrivals

3.0★ avg rating

Portal departures

left via the portal

Net portal flow

-25

#168 of 187 FBS stints

Who they bring in

Brings in bigger-than-position-typical players than most.

A typical class-year mix of incoming transfers.

Avg. size (raw)

6′3″, 241 lbs

across 23 of 29 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix

Size vs. position-typical

+8.2 lbs

#32 of 255 · more than most

Avg. class year

#126 of 255 · a typical amount

Top states: LA (10), TX (3), CA (1), AL (1), OK (1)

Who won the portal our read

Talent added

52.1

position-weighted

Talent lost

57.5

position-weighted

Net

-5.4

arrivals minus departures

Best addition: Walker Howard (QB) from Ole Miss

Biggest loss: Zeon Chriss (QB) to Houston

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?

DC: LaMar Morgan → Jim Salgado · 2024the system held

2-season window either side.

Roster size, by position

Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)

Quarterback

205 lbs

6′1″ avg · #600 of 767 · less than most

Running back

214 lbs

5′10″ avg · #143 of 791 · more than most

Wide receiver

195 lbs

6′2″ avg · #302 of 791 · a typical amount

Tight end

250 lbs

6′4″ avg · #203 of 731 · a typical amount

Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters

Interior line

317 lbs

6′5″ avg · #92 of 779 · more than most

D-line

285 lbs

6′2″ avg · #347 of 753 · a typical amount

Linebacker

229 lbs

6′2″ avg · #341 of 772 · a typical amount

Cornerback

185 lbs

5′11″ avg · #605 of 771 · less than most

Safety

200 lbs

6′1″ avg · #87 of 346 · 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 ATH via the portal

25%

#17 of 146 stints

Grows Tight end from high school

78%

#144 of 188 stints

Grows Edge from high school

73%

#160 of 208 stints

Postseason detail2021: Beat Marshall 36–21 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl2022: Lost to Houston 16–23 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl2023: Lost to Jacksonville State 31–34 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl2024: Lost to TCU 3–34 Isleta New Mexico Bowl2025: Lost to Delaware 13–20 68 Ventures Bowl

6 NFL Draft picks: Elijah Mitchell (2021), Max Mitchell (2022), Percy Butler (2022), Andre Jones (2023), Nathan Thomas (2024), Jaden Dugger (2026)

Coach of the Year: Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2021), Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2024)

2 player-seasons honored (All-America / national award): Kenneth Almendares (2024), Dalen Cambre (2024)

29–25