it was, but we also were blessed with no injuries. One of our best D's at tech has a 235 lb WDE, 265 lb SDE, and two tackles in the 290 range. If you recall, that was roberson, oliver at the ends and anoai and (i think richards) at tackle. That D was freaking salty in 2005 or 6 IIRC.
So weight is one thing, sure, and depth is too....but a good DC can do better than Roof has done IMO. Are we world beaters with talent no...was that 2014 D more talented than 110 in the country
damn right they were.
but some folks, not saying u, but maybe u, will defend roof no matter what maybe cuz he is a tech guy, or someone likes his slick hair or whatever. But his on field numbers don't lie. In a decade has a DC he has only had one D ranked above the top 45 once (penn state for one year, and the year prior they were top 30 too). That is really bad IMO. If you are a good or above avg coach in D1A football, after one decade you should have more D's ranked in the top 50. Over paul's tenure our O talent hasn't been great...yet always upper in offense numbers. Always....and when we have good talent...he is like 1 in the country.
Tenuta ranked in the top 30 every year here but one, which was like 35; with a crap offense. Paul's offense should help I would think...
anyway...i digress...maybe auburn takes him back.
Great on field results usually show an absence of bad or even just mediocre coaching. Less than great on field results do not IMO. Bama probably has the best talent in the country. I think their performances show they are well coached also. Less effective coaching of that talent would not yield, IMO, the high level of success they achieve year to year. If that same coaching staff were at.....Vanderbilt....it would almost certainly be tougher to judge the quality of coaching being done. Again that's just an opinion. Maybe Saban's staff cloud roll in there and start pumping out 10 win seasons from jump. I highly doubt it though.
With that being said.....and because I'm not at practices, in coaches meetings, or on the sidelines....I do not have the necessary information to judge the quality of coaching going on for the most part.
I think our results on Offense during CPJ's tenure have been outstanding. Especially considering the depth of talent we have played with. Great results again make it easier to acknowledge superior coaching. Results diminished on that side in 15. Did the coaching then also diminish? I find the logic in that stream of thought highly flawed.
Have we had similar results on D? Certainly not. So it would be foolhardy to say, with a certainty, that we had great coaching on that side. Is it possible we have though? I'd say yes, it is possible. Maybe we had great coaching that maximized every drop of talent we had in '14. There is little to point to quantitatively to prove that point however. But we haven't had Bama type talent on that side. If we had it would be far easier to measure the coaching on D. Without that you would have to be at practices, in coaching meetings, and on the sideline to garner the information needed to judge that fairly.
So my philosophy is to withhold damning condemnations of coaches. I think those condemnations are almost always made from ignorance. Everyone is entitled to their opinions however. Just don't expect me to jump on board the "coach X sucks" bandwagon every time results aren't what I'd like to see.
Do I think Roof is a great coach? I don't know. I do doubt he is a bad one. He does seem to be a pretty good recruiter. An awful lot of people in his industry, who have more expertise than me, seem to think highly of him.