Old Dominion: a football coaching history
See Old Dominion’s full 91-year Zeitgeist History →← all coaches
Stature and coaches, 2014–2026
The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.
DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program
Run↔pass identity, by season
Old Dominion's highest stature since 2016
Every coach
Big movers show how many stature points they built or lost against what they inherited; steadier tenures show the tier they reached instead.
2020–now
Ricky Rahne Steady
Ricky Rahne moved Old Dominion from Regional Program IV to Regional Program II in 6 seasons.
Swung 19.9 points of pass rate — #36 of 449 FBS coaching stints since 2004
+5.0 pts over 6 seasons · top 33% of 6-9-season tenures (368 in sample)
Closest comparable run: Gus Malzahn’s Auburn run (2013–2020)
2nd-best Old Dominion tenure of 2 by the numbers.
Followed Bobby Wilder (2014–2019).
| Season | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||
| Record | 0-0 | 6-7 | 3-9 | 6-7 | 5-7 | 10-3 | 2-7 | |
| Postseason | — | L bowl | — | L bowl | — | W bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #94 | #99 | #104 | #121 | #125 | #102 | #96 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||||
| Pass rate | — | 46.0 | 57.4 | 43.2 | 41.3 | 37.4 | 43.1 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||||
| OC | Kirk Campbell | Kirk Campbell | Kevin Reihner | Kevin Decker | Kevin Decker | Kevin Decker | Kody Cook | |
| DC | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | Blake Seiler | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||||
| Offense | — | 45 | 32 | 35 | 78 | 77 | 0 | |
| Defense | — | 70 | 21 | 83 | 38 | 98 | 87 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||||
| 1st-down pass% | — | 41.5 | 53.2 | 40.1 | 35.5 | 38.7 | 43.9 | |
| Red-zone pass% | — | 40.8 | 59.1 | 41.5 | 35.4 | 37.0 | 28.9 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | — | 34.1 | 35.4 | 38.5 | 25.8 | 28.6 | 30.4 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Outperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
+16.2 pts
#48 of 208 · top quarter
Defense vs. talent
+23.5 pts
#21 of 208 · top quarter
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.
Roster construction · portal era
A typical amount of portal roster-building.
Portal arrivals
58
3.0★ avg rating
Portal departures
130
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-72
#128 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in
Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.
A typical class-year mix of incoming transfers.
Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 233 lbs
across 43 of 58 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+2.2 lbs
#184 of 255 · middle half
Avg. class year
Jr
#84 of 255 · middle half
Top states: VA (7), GA (7), CA (4), TX (3), KS (3)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
53.4
position-weighted
Talent lost
57.9
position-weighted
Net
-4.5
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Jaxon Potter (QB) from Washington State
Biggest loss: Colton Joseph (QB) to Wisconsin
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: Kirk Campbell → Kevin Reihner · 2022
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 41.5% → 53.2% (+11.6 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 79% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
OC: Kevin Reihner → Kevin Decker · 2023
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 53.2% → 40.1% (-13.0 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 21% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
OC: Kevin Decker → Kody Cook · 2026
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 38.7% → 43.9% (+5.3 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 9% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
216 lbs
6′3″ avg · #292 of 767 · middle half
Running back
195 lbs
5′10″ avg · #743 of 791 · bottom quarter
Wide receiver
184 lbs
6′0″ avg · #720 of 791 · bottom quarter
Tight end
242 lbs
6′6″ avg · #481 of 731 · middle half
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
306 lbs
6′5″ avg · #525 of 779 · middle half
D-line
283 lbs
6′2″ avg · #397 of 753 · middle half
Linebacker
222 lbs
6′1″ avg · #654 of 772 · bottom quarter
Cornerback
186 lbs
5′11″ avg · #593 of 771 · bottom quarter
Safety
188 lbs
5′11″ avg · #331 of 346 · bottom quarter
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
Grows Edge from high school
86%
#183 of 208 stints
Grows D-line from high school
79%
#186 of 239 stints
Postseason detail2021: Lost to Tulsa 17-30 Myrtle Beach Bowl Pres. by TaxAct2023: Lost to Western Kentucky 35-38 Famous Toastery Bowl2025: Beat South Florida 24-10 StaffDNA Cure Bowl
3 NFL Draft picks: Nick Saldiveri (2023), Tre Hawkins III (2023), Zack Kuntz (2023)
1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Jason Henderson (2023)
AI Narratives — “Old Dominion — stat check”.
+5.0
32-40
2014–2019
Bobby Wilder Steady
Bobby Wilder held Old Dominion at Regional Program I for 6 seasons.
2019 offense ranked in the 3th percentile nationally — historically bad
1st-best Old Dominion tenure of 2 by the numbers.
Succeeded by Ricky Rahne (2020–now).
| Season | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||||||
| Record | 6-6 | 5-7 | 10-3 | 5-7 | 4-8 | 1-11 | |
| Postseason | — | — | W bowl | — | — | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #77 | #110 | #120 | #124 | #126 | #115 | |
| Style — pass rate | |||||||
| Pass rate | 55.7 | 51.9 | 42.8 | 43.2 | 53.0 | 46.8 | |
| Coordinators | |||||||
| OC | Brian Scott | Brian Scott | Brian Scott | Brian Scott | Brian Scott | Brian Scott | |
| DC | Rich Nagy | Rich Nagy | Rich Nagy | Rich Nagy | Rich Nagy | David Blackwell / Grady Brown | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | |||||||
| Offense | 78 | 32 | 74 | 12 | 32 | 3 | |
| Defense | 8 | 30 | 46 | 34 | 40 | 41 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | |||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 50.2 | 49.1 | 39.1 | 38.2 | 52.4 | 46.3 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 53.1 | 42.9 | 40.9 | 27.9 | 42.0 | 33.8 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 69.0 | 35.1 | 43.9 | 35.7 | 39.1 | 32.6 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
-5.8 pts
#133 of 208 · middle half
Defense vs. talent
+0.4 pts
#99 of 208 · middle half
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.
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
DC: Rich Nagy → David Blackwell (co) / Grady Brown (co) · 2019
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
100%
#164 of 188 stints
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2016: Beat Eastern Michigan 24-20 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
2 NFL Draft picks: Oshane Ximines (2019), Travis Fulgham (2019)
Regional Program I
31-42