The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Jay Bateman.
Defensive coordinator · 11 seasons · 4 stints · 4 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense+0.12#136 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.
Army 2014–2018
North Carolina 2019–2021
Texas A&M 2024–2025
Kentucky 2026–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Army, 5 years
+45.9
16.8 to 62.7 percentile.
North Carolina, 3 years
−50.0
75.0 to 25.0 percentile.
Texas A&M, 2 years
+7.9
63.8 to 71.7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2018 | Army | no record | 16.8 | 71.5 | +18.2 |
| 2019–2021 | North Carolina | 33.5 | 75.0 | 75.0 | −15.5 |
| 2024–2025 | Texas A&M | 77.1 | 63.8 | 71.7 | +1.2 |
| 2026–2026 | Kentucky | 53.3 | 37.3 | 37.3 | — |
No prior-season record for the first stop (Army, 2014) — the data floor starts there.
Texas A&M 2024–2025: ranked 77th the year before he arrived, 72nd at its best — went backwards.
Kentucky 2026–2026: ranked 53rd the year before he arrived, 37th at its best — went backwards.