Good article. I agree his success is primarily because he somehow manages to significantly turn things around within the first year of each tenure stop. That appears to be pretty remarkable, though I would like to see just how rare that really is when compared to all first year program hires over the last 30+ years. His sustained success thereafter is mostly a product of superior talent and depth acquisition, which reasonable minds can debate exactly how he managed to attract and keep said depth/talent.
If he really thought he was going to do that within one year at Jacksonville, then he did need his head examined. I would wager that most of his college stops had a few easy wins built into the schedule that he could build on throughout the season. Jacksonville, by design or luck, is the cupcake win for the rest of the league.