What is the CRI [Coach Rating Index]
Matrix Analytical Solutions Coach Rating Index was developed in 2009 to measure the career of all on-field staff ranging from a Tight End Coach to the Head Coach. It gives insight on a coach’s true level of performance given the results of the position group or on field responsibilities he has had over the course of his career. So what does that mean? Here’s everything you need to know about Matrix Analytical Solutions and their Coach Rating Index (CRI):
Which Coaches are in the Matrix Analytical CRI?
The NCAA allows for 11 designated ‘on-field staff’ for every FBS/FCS program. This includes the head coach and coordinators with each of these 11 allowed to communicate via headset during the games.The CRI includes every coach designated in an “on-field” position role. The FBS database goes back to 2010, while the FCS database goes back to 2012. It is a massive grading system with over 30,000 individual unit profiles and over 250,000 annual coaching result reports. If a coach was designated in an on-field role in that time span in either the FBS or FCS levels; he is in our database with a career number rating & accompanying career star rating. For coaches with both FCS and FBS experience at a single unit,career grade is a composite of all experience in that position at every program. For a coach with multiple positions, he will have multiple grades. Example: Coach Hugh Freeze in the CRI with a career grade as an Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and as a QB coach. The CRI system is coaching results ONLY. The Recruiting Index is a separate system of coach ranking.
What goes into the CRI?
Coaches are rated yearly on the success of their units. One rating is given per title, so if a coach has multiple duties, he will have multiple ratings. For example, a coach who is a RB coach and Special Team Coordinator would have two separate ratings; one for each position.● Position Coaches are graded on the cumulative play by play effectiveness of their unit. In a play that directly involves their unit (i.e. a pass play for a WR coach or DB coach) how well or how poorly does their unit affect the outcome. All these small play by play pieces of data make up the yearly rating and in sequence the career rating of a position coach.
● Coordinators are graded on the per play efficiency of their play calling. Some coordinators are
not designated as play callers; so in that instance the grade falls to who is known as the designated play caller (usually the Head Coach). Think of per play efficiency of how much
‘effort’ an offense must exude to score a single point. The opposite is true for defensive per play efficiency; it’s a measure of how much effort the opposing offense must utilize to score a single point.
● Head Coaches are graded on their win and loss records broken down and weighted by difficulty/importance in nine distinct categories ranging from ‘expected close margin’ games to how they perform in games with ‘equivalent talent’ profiles.
● Roster Talent Profile. Every coach rating is relative to talent. College Football has never been an equal playing field and our ratings don’t pretend it is. A coach’s rating is weighted by the talent profile he has had to work with in his career. Do more with less against rosters or units with more and the rating reflects that accordingly.
● Sample size of data: In the CRI coaches with less than 3 years of experience are not fully vested in their grade. We feel that no one can get a full grade with limited data. All too often we have coaches with one or two good years only to disappoint with down year. Coaches with a positive year 1 and year 2 grade are given a “rising star” ranking. This is like giving a High School freshman or sophomore a rising star ranking without a full star grade.
How does the CRI Star system work?
The CRI grades run from 0-100 and it is designed to be a bell curve distribution. 4, 4.5 and 5 star coach rankings are very hard to achieve, as are rankings under 2 stars. We started to use the star system to help simplify quick evaluations of coaching targets. Unlike the athlete recruiting ranking stars, the CRI career grade changes with each additional season, and regressing or progressing ability can be seen in annual performance reports that generates a career composite grade.
Who uses the CRI?
CRI has been used by personnel in every FBS conference. Athletic Directors use CRI for coaching searches and to create a better understanding of the career ability of their 11 on field coaches, Football Ops Personnel, and Head Coaches utilize CRI for staffing to be better prepared each year for positive and negative coaching movement. 3 star and better coaches have CRI for marketing and to enhance their resume profiles and separate themselves from other coaches.247 and CBS Sports use it as the largest source of coaching performance analytics in College Football.