When a head coach gets hired in college football it is standard for fans and analysts to grade the hires on a yearly curve. For instance, significantly more is expected from a coach in his third season with a team than one in his first year. By then the coach has “his” guys on the field and the results indicate clear success or failure.
For some coaches, however, analysts talk about a “year zero,” giving coaches an extra year to get things in order. This is typically done for coaches taking over programs in bad situations. Coaches that inherit a depleted roster that lacks much high-level skill.