Smart for him. He got his name out, and didnt go to UNT...that's a place where coaches go to die, or at least take career steps in reverse.
My favorite website LOL, get outta here! Yeah, yeah, some supposed insider said Spurrier is coming as OC. Spavital hasn't even been fired yet.
Risky move by Georgia. Smart is walking into a great situation but Muschamps deal at Florida wasn't too shabby either. So much will depend on his staff, specifically his OC. Trying to change the identity of your team in year 1 without your own players has proven to be disaterous.
How do you guys feel about young DC's as head coaches in general? I feel like it's the riskiest possible scenario. For one, you don't know if they can recruit. But more importantly, you need a lot of system specific talent, depth, time and continuity to build a good defense. An offensive genius can manufacture offense with limited resources and is more or less free to hire the best available DC since the goal of all defenses are similar. The play-to-play goals of an offense aren't always so similar. Some guys go for it on 4th relentlessly, some guys gun downfield, others manage the game clock -- those things affect the defense drastically. That's why Saban goes through OC's and keeps them shackled. Kirby wont go out and hire the best possible OC, that'd affect the entire philosophy and identity of the team. I guess I really just don't like DC's becoming HC's in major conferences for major programs right off the bat. Muschamp seemed great because we knew he'd recruit and even that backfired. If that backfired I feel like they're all going to backfire.
This is a really interesting, nuanced discussion. In general, I think I'm with you, but one of my primary reasons is a little different than the ones you listed, and maybe someone who's more of an X's and O's guru can set me straight if I'm off-base. With coaches who move from OC to HC with a proven, established offensive system, I feel like it often takes just one player (usually a QB) to get them going in the right direction, whereas with a defensive guy, it's more about building an entire unit in his image or an entire defense made up of guys who can do what he's wanting to do. My mind immediately goes to Sonny Dykes. While I'm sure there were other factors involved below the surface, Dykes got Jared Goff to Cal, and after taking their bumps in their first season together, they were off and running, even as their defense continued to be one of the worst in FBS football. Sure, Cal is still a long way from being a finished product, but they are a heck of a lot closer than they were before he came on board.
I wonder if Pruitt comes over to Bama to coach the Defense? I hope Smart doesn't try to take away some of the staff with him over to Georgia. It's already rumored our Strength and Conditioning coach is heading with him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Word out of CoMO & B'more puts <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a> OC Marc Trestman as emerging candidate for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mizzou?src=hash">#Mizzou</a> head coaching gig. Interview today w/ top brass.</p>— Andrew Appleton (@AndrewAppleton) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewAppleton/status/672121513848344576">December 2, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a pretty fair assessment and it'd be interesting to see the records of OC/DCs to HC but obviously the situation they are walking into is the most important thing. The biggest mistake Muschamp made was hiring Weis and trying to fit Urban's players into a pro-style system. It's the same issue Strong had with Watson IMO. If Smart doesn't get the right guy with the right system, you will see a very competitive defense that will keep them in games but tire out from being on the field so much.
Georgia - Kirby Smart USC - Clay Helton Virginia Tech - Justin Fuente Miami - South Carolina - Missouri - Maryland - DJ Durkin Virginia - Central Florida - Scott Frost Minnesota - Tracy Claeys Iowa State- Matt Campbell Illinois - Bill Cubit Hawaii - Nick Rolovich Syracuse - North Texas - Tulane - Jason Candle LA Monroe - A little underwhelming so far considering the number and caliber of openings. Really like the hires for Va Tech and UCF. Miami has interviewed a nice little pool of candidates the past couple days including Richt, Mullin, Davis, and Schiano. Also sounds like South Carolina is targeting Muschamp and Lincoln Riley (OU OC). Should be interesting to see what direction they go as they almost polar opposites.
Muschamp would have had the SC job by now had he taken their original offer of coach-in-waiting. Miami really is interviewing quality guys, which surprises me, that is not a program I'd want to touch with a ten foot pole right now. But their list is mostly comprised of down & out guys which makes perfect sense.
I was actually going to come here earlier to post that, for whatever reason, it seemed that every program was hiring a coach 75% as good as who we assumed they would get. Then, of course, Miami went and hired Richt, which is a game-changer. On a side note, gucci, you have Jason Candle listed as the hire at Tulane. He was actually the hire at Toledo after Campbell took the job at Iowa State.
It's pretty set and stone he is going to South Carolina from what I've read and Schiano is going back to Rutgers.
Yup. I'm pissed. Auburn's defense was becoming solid again, and just like that it's over. Being an Auburn fan is not for the faint of heart.
This offseason may end up blowing the record out of the water for number of programs that end up either flirting with re-hiring or actually re-hiring coaches who have already had one stint with them. Hawaii apparently flirted with re-hiring June Jones. Butch Davis interviewed at Miami, and that guy did everything but actually offer to pay the school money to let him coach the team to express his interest. Greg Schiano to Rutgers seems to have legs. There has also been talk that if Sonny Dykes leaves Cal, which seems almost inevitable given that Dykes has been rumored to be a candidate for multiple openings, Jeff Tedford might be brought back. I guess this is a byproduct of the over-crowded carousel that we've been talking about for weeks now. If UNT brings back Darrell Dickey to revive the old Patrick Cobbs-era running back by committee approach or Syracuse turns to Paul Pasqualoni in hopes that he can find the next Donovan McNabb, though, we'll know that it's gone to the next level.
