The New York Yankees of the 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s had the Core Four. Short stop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte and closer Mariano Rivera played together from 1995 through 2010 (save for three years when Pettitte was a Houston Astro) and served as the nucleus for clubs that won five World Series rings. Others came and went, but the Core Fore were there to set the baseline -- the Yankees won a minimum of 89 games in those seasons -- and maintain the culture. The other players followed the Core Four's lead, or they didn't wear pinstripes for very long.
Each college football program has its own Core Four, only reaching the level of continuity enjoyed by those Yankees teams has proven exceptionally difficult.
In fact, 56 of the 136 Football Bowl Subdivision schools return the four most important members of any college football staff -- the head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and head strength coach. That's roughly 40 percent. Of those 56, 38 are entering just their second season with each Core Four members in place.
That means, if my iPhone calculator math is correct, only 18 FBS staffs (13 percent) have a head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, and strength coach that have been in their current roles* at their current schools for longer than two seasons. Of those 18, 13 are in their third seasons, three are in their fourth, and one apiece in their fifth and sixth seasons. Only 4 percent have a braintrust in place as long as a presidential administration.
* We used a strict definition of new here. Internal promotions, even from a co-coordinator to a sole coordinator, count as new in our book.
Why is that? While every school is different, there are largely two explanations. The first is that talented coordinators are tough to keep; the moment they start winning, opportunities arise to move up the professional ladder. The second explanation is the ultimate chicken-egg scenario in coaching: in general, it takes continuity to win, but only winning staffs get to enjoy the many benefits of continuity.
2nd SEASON
Akron | Arizona State | Arkansas | Army | Auburn | Baylor | Boston College | Buffalo | Cincinnati | Connecticut | Delaware | Duke | Georgia Southern | Indiana | Iowa | Iowa State | Kentucky | Louisiana | LSU | Memphis | Michigan State | Middle Tennessee | Mississippi State | Missouri | Missouri State | Navy | Nebraska | Northwestern | Oregon State | Pitt | San Jose State | Syracuse | Texas A&M | TCU | Troy | Tulane | ULM | Wyoming
3rd SEASON
BYU | Eastern Michigan | Georgia | Illinois | Liberty | Louisville | Old Dominion | Ole Miss | Oregon | South Florida | Tennessee | UTSA
4th SEASON
Air Force | SMU | Virginia
5th SEASON
Texas
6th SEASON
Toledo
Toledo's championship in the continuity rankings is even more impressive considering their Core Four is actually a Core Five: head coach Jason Candle (10th season), co-offensive coordinators Mike Hallett (10th season on staff, sixth as co-coordinator) and Robert Weiner (sixth season), defensive coordinator Vince Kehres (sixth season) and strength coach Brad Bichey (10th season), plus co-defensive coordinator Ross Watson (10th season on staff, sixth as co-coordinator).
Is it any wonder why Toledo is the winningest program in the MAC over the last decade?