Alabama average coaching tenure; 2007 until present

#1

Shades

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#1
Here is a view of Bama's average coaching position tenure since Saban took over in 2007.

He brought in a whole new staff with him in 2007, so the average tenure was 1 year in 2007.

The yearly averages include all positions except the head coach, so it does not include Saban's tenure in each year's average.

If a coach was promoted from within from one position to a higher position, then that was treated as year#1 for that position.

Tenure peaked in 2015 and has steadily decreased since then.

As a comparison, as of the 2018 season, Clemson's average coaching tenure is 6.5 years (excluding Dabo).


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#3
#3
Excluding or including 1 coach who has been there the entire tenure doesn't actually do anything but shift the entire line up or down one.
 
#5
#5
Ignoring the general premise of the OP to make a generalized statement doesn't shift anything. Enjoy hiring new coaches as the ones leaving publicly cite being berated.

The premise is fine. The second chart was simply redundant.
 
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#8
#8
Excluding or including 1 coach who has been there the entire tenure doesn't actually do anything but shift the entire line up or down one.

Not redundant. It is good to look for biases, outlier data points, and anomalies in data. Cochran was the only long-tenured coach left on Saban's staff.

Adding or not adding Cochran didn't just change the avg tenure in some of the later years by ~1 year, it nearly halved the avg tenure in 2018, that's a pretty big deal. What it does is help shed light on on the true nature of the avg tenure of the rest of the staff in 2018; it is nearly back to the level back in 2007.
 
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#9
#9
I honestly think little nicky is done after 2019.
What makes you say that? I would be shocked depending on the outcome of next year if he walked away. A 3rd NC loss in 4 years might just do it....but they might not get there next year anyhow. Nothing is guaranteed...
 
#10
#10
The interesting thing about this chart is that there are declines after they win titles, which you'd expect because his assistants/coordinators look attractive to other schools. However, tenure actually increased after the 2011 and 2012 back to back titles.

This year's coaching turnover I think does feel a little different than previous years. It is a little more widespread in that it goes further down the chain of command. That could be simply because Saban is actively retooling the staff, although both Enos and Gattis got promoted. If you're told you won't be returning, you usually don't end up taking a better position at another school. I think he pretty obviously told Lupoi to find another job. I know it's an NFL job, but I'm not sure Lupoi got promoted. That's a lateral move at best, and his biggest asset as a coach (recruiting) is irrelevant at his new job.
 
#11
#11
The interesting thing about this chart is that there are declines after they win titles, which you'd expect because his assistants/coordinators look attractive to other schools. However, tenure actually increased after the 2011 and 2012 back to back titles.

This year's coaching turnover I think does feel a little different than previous years. It is a little more widespread in that it goes further down the chain of command. That could be simply because Saban is actively retooling the staff, although both Enos and Gattis got promoted. If you're told you won't be returning, you usually don't end up taking a better position at another school. I think he pretty obviously told Lupoi to find another job. I know it's an NFL job, but I'm not sure Lupoi got promoted. That's a lateral move at best, and his biggest asset as a coach (recruiting) is irrelevant at his new job.

Enos is odd. Not really sure what happened there. If you have the same offer on the table at Bama, it is a risky move to hitch your wagon to a first year HC. That said, maybe he wasn't actually offered the OC role.

Lupoi was obviously canned. He's losing 300-400k per year with this move.
 
#12
#12
Enos is odd. Not really sure what happened there. If you have the same offer on the table at Bama, it is a risky move to hitch your wagon to a first year HC. That said, maybe he wasn't actually offered the OC role.

Lupoi was obviously canned. He's losing 300-400k per year with this move.
I don't think Enos was. The OC job at Bama is a better job than the OC job at Miami even if Miami had an established coach. Gattis probably wasn't either. Didn't know that big of a pay cut for Lupoi, yes, definitely canned.

The coordinators leaving isn't what is different. That happens every year. The coordinators leaving combined with many assistants leaving, some of whom you think would be in position to take the coordinator spot, is kind of surprising. To my knowledge it hasn't happened before to this extent at Saban's Alabama. To the disappointment of my fellow VFLs on here I think it is Saban actively retooling the staff as opposed to rats leaving a ship. If he's retooling, I don't think that is indicative of a guy who's about to retire himself.

Longtime coaches on the verge of retirement, or coaches who are about to leave, sometimes start mailing it in for a period of time before stepping away. Think Bowden, Spurrier at South Carolina, Jimbo at FSU, etc. They stop recruiting, their staff starts to atrophy, etc. Not sure that's happening here.
 
#13
#13
What makes you say that? I would be shocked depending on the outcome of next year if he walked away. A 3rd NC loss in 4 years might just do it....but they might not get there next year anyhow. Nothing is guaranteed...
Because this is an odd amount of coaching turnover even for bama. When your best recruiter actually takes a downgrade to coach the browns dline it's pretty telling. Just go read their forums, some of them are worried about that very thing.
 
#14
#14
Because this is an odd amount of coaching turnover even for bama. When your best recruiter actually takes a downgrade to coach the browns dline it's pretty telling. Just go read their forums, some of them are worried about that very thing.
The really interesting thing to me about Lupoi is the exact job he took. He pretty clearly was canned, but he went to the NFL, where his supposed recruiting prowess is a non-factor.
 
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#15
#15
Because this is an odd amount of coaching turnover even for bama. When your best recruiter actually takes a downgrade to coach the browns dline it's pretty telling. Just go read their forums, some of them are worried about that very thing.
And bringing Sark back makes little sense to me.
 
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#17
#17
The coordinators leaving isn't what is different. That happens every year. The coordinators leaving combined with many assistants leaving, some of whom you think would be in position to take the coordinator spot, is kind of surprising.

To my knowledge it hasn't happened before to this extent at Saban's Alabama. To the disappointment of my fellow VFLs on here I think it is Saban actively retooling the staff as opposed to rats leaving a ship. If he's retooling, I don't think that is indicative of a guy who's about to retire himself.

Longtime coaches on the verge of retirement, or coaches who are about to leave, sometimes start mailing it in for a period of time before stepping away. Think Bowden, Spurrier at South Carolina, Jimbo at FSU, etc. They stop recruiting, their staff starts to atrophy, etc. Not sure that's happening here.

Not sure if it is a complete retool and rebuild or the start of a bigger demise, since this is not a one-year anomaly.

During the first 8 years of Saban at Alabama, the staff tenure steadily increased to about 5 years on avg, and the avg tenure has been rapidly decreasing in the three years after that.

Since Swinney took over at Clemson in 2008/2009: nine years later in 2018, his avg staff tenure has an average of about 6.5 years.

It will be interesting to see if the Bama coaching tenure rebounds or stays volatile, and if the Clemson coaching tenure stays strong or follows the same path of decline as Bama. I would be surprised if we see a decline though, given the reports of the Clemson culture that coaches seem to enjoy.

More importantly, since coaching continuity is important for strong programs, let's hope to see a good pattern in the coming years under Pruitt.
 
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#18
#18
Edit: Put both graphs on one graph in original post, and cleaned up one minor error in the 2015 data point.
 
#19
#19
Enos is odd. Not really sure what happened there. If you have the same offer on the table at Bama, it is a risky move to hitch your wagon to a first year HC. That said, maybe he wasn't actually offered the OC role.

Lupoi was obviously canned. He's losing 300-400k per year with this move.

What's your thoughts on Sark II: The Sequel?

If you don't mind opining.
 
#22
#22
As a comparison, as of the 2018 season, Clemson's average coaching tenure is 6.5 years (excluding Dabo).

Clemson has lucked into a dream situation with Brent Venables. He's a top 3 DC in the country and appears to have no desire to be a Head Coach. Though, also amazing how long they've kept Jeff Scott, Tony Elliott, and many position coaches. You'd think some other schools would start to poach them.

Either Clemson has the happiest coaching staff in the nation or Dabo Swinney is secretly the world's greatest blackmailer.
 
#25
#25
Not sure if it is a complete retool and rebuild or the start of a bigger demise, since this is not a one-year anomaly.

During the first 8 years of Saban at Alabama, the staff tenure steadily increased to about 5 years on avg, and the avg tenure has been rapidly decreasing in the three years after that.

Since Swinney took over at Clemson in 2008/2009: nine years later in 2018, his avg staff tenure has an average of about 6.5 years.

It will be interesting to see if the Bama coaching tenure rebounds or stays volatile, and if the Clemson coaching tenure stays strong or follows the same path of decline as Bama. I would be surprised if we see a decline though, given the reports of the Clemson culture that coaches seem to enjoy.

More importantly, since coaching continuity is important for strong programs, let's hope to see a good pattern in the coming years under Pruitt.
I think a big part of Clemson's coaches staying there a while is Venables repeatedly turning down head coaching jobs. Venables staying alone helps boost their tenure numbers, and I imagine the defensive assistants underneath him might be more likely to stay longer because he stays. They stay longer, holding out for a truly great job, instead of jumping at the first promotion they are offered.

The thing about Saban is that offensively, he seems to pick OCs who seem more likely to leave after a short period of time than not. I think it is an intentional decision on his part. Since McElwain, who was there for 4 years (that seems like an eternity relatively speaking), Saban has had 5 OCs (counting Sark's one game). The Daboll hire was the one that seemed the most odd - he's a northeastern guy and basically all of his coaching experience was in the NFL, and it isn't shocking he left after just a year to return to the NFL. Nobody is shocked Kiffin eventually left or Sark wasn't retained. That's just how those guys roll. Saban surely hired those guys know they'd stick around for just a couple years tops.

He's had more stability on the defensive side, but that's because Kirby held out for the Georgia job. Since Kirby left, he's already had 2, going on 3, DCs.
 

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