The Zeitgeist List · coordinators · never a head coach
Rob Likens.
Offensive coordinator · 8 seasons · 5 stints · 3 programs2 seasons ranked in the national top 10%
Own effect on the unit
Offense−0.24#466 of 472 · less than most
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.
Kansas 2015–2016
Arizona State 2018–2019
SMU 2023–2026
Median of those still in the job, that year of a tenure. A shrinking pool, not a path.
Kansas, 2 years
+1.6
2.0 to 3.5 percentile.
Arizona State, 2 years
−53.1
70.4 to 17.3 percentile.
SMU, 4 years
+2.6
87.6 to 90.2 percentile.
Median offensive coordinator
−0.6
first season to last, across 222 stints of 3+ years. 48.6% improve at all.
Every stop on the calendar
| Years | Program | Walked into | Year 1 | Best | Vs. talent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | Kansas | 15.2 | 2.0 | 3.5 | −45.9 |
| 2018–2019 | Arizona State | 73.5 | 70.4 | 70.4 | −14.4 |
| 2023–2023 | SMU | 78.2 | 87.6 | 87.6 | +30.1 |
| 2024–2025 | SMU | 87.6 | 66.8 | 90.1 | +18.4 |
| 2026–2026 | SMU | 90.1 | 90.2 | 90.2 | — |
Kansas 2015–2016: ranked 15th the year before he arrived, 4th at its best — went backwards.
Arizona State 2018–2019: ranked 73rd the year before he arrived, 70th at its best — went backwards.