And the importance that a head coach should be an "X's & O's" EXPERT in EITHER Offense OR Defense... One or the other... Me? I prefer offense, because after four years of The Onion and over four years of FoldenZook, I'm just about tired of vanilla personality defensive coaches... I want some sexiness back at The U again... Some fire power man. Some real value. I want to get the scoreboard going- some electrifying offense that really and truly utilizes our athletes' speed and natural skill sets. That's why I originally pushed for Chud, but now that Chud is likely to stay in the NFL, I have recently been pushing for Herman.
If Blake wants to hire an "X's & O's" EXPERT in DEFENSE, then I'm all for it. You want to give me Charlie Strong, Paul Williams, and Ed Orgeron or Soldy as a Head Coach, Secondary Coach, and D-Line Coach, then I'm all for it and we'll shut opposing offenses down and punch them in the face. Fine... I'd rather go OFFENSE this time around, but I am more than fine with a proverbial "Defensive Guru"...
What I am NOT fine with and would think is a bad idea is hiring a coach who does NOT specialize in EITHER offense OR Defense... Some of you guys keep pushing the Butch name, and that is all well and good, and he is a bona fide fallback option in my opinion as I've stated for God knows how long now... But do we really want to roll the dice on Butch coming back now at this point in his career and just assume that he can strike gold and assemble the all-star staff that he had 1998-2001 with guys like Chud/Coker and Shannon/Schiano...? Maybe Butch could do that again, but I would much rather hire a head coach who IMMEDIATELY takes care of ONE SIDE OF THE BALL. Rather than hire Butch and have a mere $750,000 - $1,000,000 for coordinators, I say you hire a BONA FIDE "X's & O's" EPXERT for $3.5M to $4.0M and KNOW you'll be DOMINANT on AT LEAST ONE SIDE OF THE BALL.
Every team in the top-15 has a coach who is either a stud at OFFENSE, or a stud at DEFENSE... You don't see these proverbial "Managers of Programs" as head coaches of top-20 schools, which is why I do NOT like either Mario OR Butch as front line guys to get this gig... Mario is a POSITIONAL COACH... He does not SCHEME- he doesn't put together game plans and playcalling sequences, and he's not a "X's & O's" guy who immediately takes care of one side of the ball. He's a "CEO GUY" with lights out recruiting skills... So is Butch... So what- any coach should be able to come down here and get a top-15 class in his sleep. It's South Florida- top-20 classes come standard here.
You know what else recruits...??? WINNING, and we neeed to really make an effort to win again by hiring a head coach who really knows and understands whichever side of the ball he coaches. I want SCHEMERS, "X's & O's" guys- someone who can crack the code on Saban's defense, and build a wall against Clemson's offense... I would want a Mark Dantonio type coach in the event we pursue a defensive "X's & O's" guy, or I would want a Herman/Rich Rod/Chip Kelly type guy on offense in the event we pursue an offensive "X's & O's" guy... What I think we SHOULD avoid are these "in betweener" coaches- guys who do not have a SPECIALTY in anything. I want a head coach who can be an EXPERT in either offense or defense. Period. Does Mario do that? No...
Butch is a unique consideration because of how well he assembled a staff LAST TIME... However, THIS time...? I don't know- I don't see it... I think he's an option, Gary, but neither he nor Mario are options I see as highly as you do. Respectfully disagree with your Front Page Article, but I think it is a solid, well-written piece.
If Blake wants to hire an "X's & O's" EXPERT in DEFENSE, then I'm all for it. You want to give me Charlie Strong, Paul Williams, and Ed Orgeron or Soldy as a Head Coach, Secondary Coach, and D-Line Coach, then I'm all for it and we'll shut opposing offenses down and punch them in the face. Fine... I'd rather go OFFENSE this time around, but I am more than fine with a proverbial "Defensive Guru"...
What I am NOT fine with and would think is a bad idea is hiring a coach who does NOT specialize in EITHER offense OR Defense... Some of you guys keep pushing the Butch name, and that is all well and good, and he is a bona fide fallback option in my opinion as I've stated for God knows how long now... But do we really want to roll the dice on Butch coming back now at this point in his career and just assume that he can strike gold and assemble the all-star staff that he had 1998-2001 with guys like Chud/Coker and Shannon/Schiano...? Maybe Butch could do that again, but I would much rather hire a head coach who IMMEDIATELY takes care of ONE SIDE OF THE BALL. Rather than hire Butch and have a mere $750,000 - $1,000,000 for coordinators, I say you hire a BONA FIDE "X's & O's" EPXERT for $3.5M to $4.0M and KNOW you'll be DOMINANT on AT LEAST ONE SIDE OF THE BALL.
Every team in the top-15 has a coach who is either a stud at OFFENSE, or a stud at DEFENSE... You don't see these proverbial "Managers of Programs" as head coaches of top-20 schools, which is why I do NOT like either Mario OR Butch as front line guys to get this gig... Mario is a POSITIONAL COACH... He does not SCHEME- he doesn't put together game plans and playcalling sequences, and he's not a "X's & O's" guy who immediately takes care of one side of the ball. He's a "CEO GUY" with lights out recruiting skills... So is Butch... So what- any coach should be able to come down here and get a top-15 class in his sleep. It's South Florida- top-20 classes come standard here.
You know what else recruits...??? WINNING, and we neeed to really make an effort to win again by hiring a head coach who really knows and understands whichever side of the ball he coaches. I want SCHEMERS, "X's & O's" guys- someone who can crack the code on Saban's defense, and build a wall against Clemson's offense... I would want a Mark Dantonio type coach in the event we pursue a defensive "X's & O's" guy, or I would want a Herman/Rich Rod/Chip Kelly type guy on offense in the event we pursue an offensive "X's & O's" guy... What I think we SHOULD avoid are these "in betweener" coaches- guys who do not have a SPECIALTY in anything. I want a head coach who can be an EXPERT in either offense or defense. Period. Does Mario do that? No...
Butch is a unique consideration because of how well he assembled a staff LAST TIME... However, THIS time...? I don't know- I don't see it... I think he's an option, Gary, but neither he nor Mario are options I see as highly as you do. Respectfully disagree with your Front Page Article, but I think it is a solid, well-written piece.
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