The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Jonathan Patke.
Defensive coordinator · 4 seasons · 2 stints · 2 programs0 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Defense−0.05#257 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.
Texas State 2023–2023
Duke 2024–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Duke, 3 years
−4.4
50.4 to 46.0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–2023 | Texas State | 63.0 | 65.8 | 65.8 | +21.2 |
| 2024–2026 | Duke | 55.3 | 50.4 | 50.4 | −20.3 |
Duke 2024–2026: ranked 55th the year before he arrived, 50th at its best — went backwards.