To be clear, I'm not second guessing CPJ. He knows the players far better than I and if Shamire is 2nd string there's a reason for it. I am not lobbying for Shamire to be played. He's made similar comments about Days at B back and it's just been something I didn't really understand.
Oftentimes when CPJ says "we need to do x" like "get so and so in the game more" he is obliquely referring to assistants. He said similar things about Groh's defense of "we need to simplify." This is his manner of both allowing himself to voice an opinion on how his team is playing or things that they could try and do going forward and
not separating himself from the criticism he is voicing in a "throw assistant X under the bus" manner.
I think CPJ does two things I like in how he runs a program on this front.
First, he makes sure to put himself out there as the figurehead and voice of the program as well as also the lightning rod for criticism. You can argue over if he takes criticism well enough or not . . . fine, argue over that.
But he does set things up so that
he is the one getting the heat.
Second, he lets his assistants have actual responsibility and some freedom to do their jobs. I appreciate that he tries to find a balance. He values having a unified front and public voice as well as acknowledges the reality of a hierarchy of which he is the top and makes it clear that he is "in charge." But I also see his manner of speaking as a way to protect his assistants from criticism and include himself in the decisions of his underlings with that royal "we" even when he is actually giving them a lot more freedom than it may seem to the outside.
I prefer CPJ's approach to all those teams like VT where the defensive coordinator or OC has a larger-than-life stature even beyond the head coach and you end up with goofy "coach in waiting" scenarios (like recently at Texas or FSU, etc.). Maybe CPJ's approach means less notoriety and praise for an individual assistant but it clearly doesn't hamper their career prospects if you look at how many head coaches have come from his "tree." But where the assistants may get less praise they also are getting
less heat as well and I think that aspect is a more serious motivator for CPJ given that he clearly has bred loyalty in staff over the years. I consider all this an important element in leadership.