Was wondering the same. There was some talk that Odom was being used as leverage but not sure for who or if true at all.
Great hire. Giles gets an underrated rap from Texas fans which I don’t really get. This also seems to indicate that Sark has his guy. And with no mention of interviews or hires, I tend to think it might be Golding. Seems to be some rumblings that Saban is looking to make some big changes.
Apparently we’ve made a big offer to LSU Corey Raymond. Doubt LSU lets him walk that easy but that would be a ridiculous pull.
Pretty sure he is considered one of the best, if not the best, DB coaches in the nation. From the LSU website: Under Raymond, LSU's secondary has produced nine NFL Draft picks, including Jamal Adams and Tre'Davious White, who were both selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Most recently, cornerback Greedy Williams was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, while Donte Jackson was taken in the second round in 2018. Raymond has coached three first-round draft picks at LSU, a list that also includes Eric Reid. Other LSU NFL Draft picks under Raymond's watch include: cornerback Tyrann Mathieu (third round in 2013), cornerback Tharold Simon (fifth round in 2013), safety Jalen Collins (second round in 2015), cornerback Rashard Robinson (third round in 2016) and safety Jalen Mills (seventh round in 2016). Raymond's secondary has produced seven first team All-Americans during his time at LSU, a list that includes Reid (2012), Mills (2015), Adams (2016), White (2016), Williams (2018), Grant Delpit (2018 and 2019) and Derek Stingley Jr. (2019).
Especially since it was the probably the best secondary in College Football during the entirety of tenure here. Strong literally fired a legend when he could have kept him. This would be like Dusty Baker firing Strom when he joined the Astros. It made no sense at all.
I don't think keeping him was an option for Strong. He was hired to clean house and burn the whole program down and rebuild, and there was a lot of rumored conflict with Akina being upset when Manny Diaz got hired and being a part of the culture problem. No idea the truth to the rumors, but it was said that he undermined Diaz quite a bit, by not coaching the DB's for Diaz's schemes/etc. Akina actually left when he wasn't picked as DC before returning in a lesser role under Diaz. The whole thing was pretty messy.
We’ll see how things finalize but stark difference in how Sark is assembling his staff vs Strong/Herman who walked off the plane with the rest of their old staff intact. Different circumstances obviously but like that he is pulling guys from the NFL, Bama, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, etc...with the latest rumored target being OU WR's coach, Dennis Simmons.
Agreed - that's one advantage of hiring a coordinator. Head Coaches have staff loyal to them that they are comfortable with, so its easy to just fall back on them since those guys had success together. Assistants, not so much - so they actually have to do research and find their own people.
Jay Valai is out. Guessing that means Ash is all but officially gone. Think he would’ve been out earlier if Sark was planning on a Joseph/Gideon tandem. CB coach will be crucial. Edit: Looks like Andre Coleman might be staying on as WR coach. Not sure how I feel about this as Wiggins was thought to follow Sark and WR play/recruiting hasn’t been much to write home about.
Watson was Strong’s QB/OC at Louisville. IIRC, he wasn’t part of the initial announcements giving UT fans hope for a splash hire. Even when the hire was made, Strong said he wouldn’t call plays. It was a mess from the start.
I forgot he was made to look good by Teddy Bridgewater. I keep remembering him from his Nebraska days.
