Facts are facts. Just here to shove'm. It's not like Spurrior is hated. There are just some difficulties there. Still doesn't change the fact he's older and never called plays. Leach was progressing Hollinghead up the ladder and thought highly of him, but he's only coached 1 year. That's not a good risk. Going to be a group effort in the bowl game.
That's right he was QB coach but in the same tree for a long time learning Meyer system
That may very well be the long-term play. But truth be known we really should be thinking short-term right now.
Yes, he was Meyer’s QB coach at Utah. But he worked with a successful HC for many years, had 4 year’s of SEC experience, and oh BTW, was part of a national championship.
I think that transfer portal minimizes recruiting class risks. Take your time, get the right guy, Arnett, if that is the right answer, and move forward. Ideally a younger Leach protege.
He was 35-40 at Texas Tech and 28-33-1 in the NFL. Maybe for offensive coordinator if the Cardinals fire him, but not head coach.
Between signing day, the portal, bowl prep (for us and other coaches), the time to do a search is way too late to yield any quality candidates, who may be hesitant to make a jump not knowing who their boss will be. And for Dykes and Aranda, they have good jobs that can pay as much as us (probably more) and can make the playoff much easier from the Big 12
You are wise, DS and I fully agree with this. Keep assistants. The players know them and we can afford to see what next year looks like with minimum change.
Not many P5 schools looking for coaches right now. That's a big difference from last time too. I, myself, prefer a national search. Im just concerned about the recruiting and current team situation. We've got a team to win 9 or 10 next year. Recruiting class has a few good ones I'd hate to lose. We aren't pulling a top P5 coach. Dykes is never leaving. Aranda has said he's happy at Baylor and declined other interest. Fitzgerald just had a horrible season and is at home. Fleck coming south? I don't know.
It's a terrible thing that happened but he is right. There aren't a lot of vacancies and a lot of coaches out there that might be willing to move up, move back up, or change of scenery
I'm for sticking with the Air Raid because for me, the games this year (and to some extent, last) where the offense sputtered always seemed obviously to do with Will locking up. When the LSU blitzers are all on the line of scrimmage and outside the tackles and he refuses to check to a run up the middle, it's not a system problem. We've seen that this system can regularly beat the ranked opponents on the road, which is something our previous best system (which didn't have as high of a standard for QB passing skills) couldn't do.
Disagree big time on this. We are going to have some of our better players transfer and go play in something not air raid. We have athletes that can adjust to a different system. We just need to go hire the best coach we can, regardless of system.
I don't think it's "so many married to the Air Raid" as it is not wanting to go thru the Mullen run first-Jomo whatever -Leach Air Raid transition again. I believe most of us want a modern offense with a passing/running combination.
Our standing in the new SEC is still better than any job in the new Big 12
Holgerson would not require a significant change to what CML was doing with the Air Raid, but I do not think the Golden Triangle is a place that would interest him. The rumor is, he likes gambling, drinking, and chasing tail too much.
We've got Silver Star 70 miles away and the Pony 5 miles away. He'd love it in Starkville.
Leach had been doing it for over 20 years. And it can be argued that he should've turned over at least some of the OC duties. Arnett is still very young. It's an unrealistic expectation.
Mullen had more experience at the time. And as I said with Leach, it can be argued that Mullen should have handed over OC duties to someone else.
Yeah, the part where I said I wasn't advocating for any of those guys...I meant it.
That's largely what a lot of the branches of Leach's coaching tree have done. I think he encouraged his assistants to "be themselves" and not worry about orthodoxy to the scheme.
Yeah, so let's not even bother asking them. They may not be interested at all, but make them say "No".
I don’t think any AD would take this job now without being able to make the call on the next HC, at least not any AD that has any self respect and confidence in himself. A winning football program is the most important ingredient to a happy alumni base and you don’t take a job with an opening in the football with the arrangement “do other things and don’t worry about football for a few years”
Disagree with this. I think its the opposite, I think we lose candidates if they know they have to come in and make a hire on day 1.
To a large degree, the success or failure of an AD is the football coach, especially in the SEC. Any AD is going to insist on making this hire. Do you not remember the power struggle with LT and Byrne over the direction of the football program. Byrne won out because it’s only right to let the AD make the call on that job. Id be about willing to bet anything we hire an AD first, then a coach and it’ll be a national search. We won’t let losing one recruiting class deter us from making the best possible hire, especially given the transfer portal. You can make up a recruiting class with good transfers.
I don't think that's the way they'll look at it in this situation. I think it's the opposite actually because if Keenum makes the call before the AD it's like a freebie. If the new guy succeeds the AD faces no pressure...if he fails then it's not the AD's guy that failed....this would be a huge win for a new AD.
I agree on the importance of football to the AD's success. However, you are putting your new AD in a very tough spot to ask them to make this hire on the first day on the job. No pressure on that person if you hire Arnett know and there is a manageable "rip cord" in a year or two.
Nah. Coming in with a football hire already made is the equivalent of a 6 or 7 year guarantee of employment. Unless the hire is a total bomb that has to be fired in two years, and you follow up with another bomb that has to be fired in 2 years. If they hang around a typical 3 to 4 years, and you make a non-terrible hire that makes it at least 2 to 3 years, that's a pretty good leash. If you come in and make a bad hire, you could be gone in 4 or 5.
If I’m Keenum, I’m telling the finalist for the AD job to come to the next interview with a short list of football coaches. And if I’m an AD candidate, my first question to Keenum is who makes this hire? And if Keenum tells me that it’s anyone other than me, I’d probably not take the job.
