Let's compare coaches, just for fun !

MikeJackets1967

MikeJackets1967

Helluva Engineer
Messages
14,844
Location
Lovely Ducktown,Tennessee
Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
I just talked to a mutt fan who heard from another mutt fan who claimed to have read on a Tech blog (no idea which one) on which someone (or maybe more than one) suggested Butch Jones to succeed Johnson. I literally laughed in his face. That is by far the stupidest suggestion I have ever heard. WOW Just to be clear, the mutt who told me this thought it was STUPID also and couldn't believe that Butch would even be talked about, much less considered or hired.
Click to expand...
If Todd Stansbury even thinks of hiring Botch Jones he should be fired immediately;):rolleyes:
 

TheTechGuy

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
922
Techster said:
I've been doing some research the past few days, and thinking about a coaching candidate that would be a fit for GT, but also excite the fan base and future recruits. In my mind, a coaching candidate must have certain qualities in order make it at GT:

1. Have a scheme that gives GT an advantage on the field, but will also attract recruits.
2. The ability to adapt to the talent (given the new coach will have an option based group of players at first, AND injuries/recruiting restraints in the future).
3. Production must be above where we recruit. NO coach will make it at GT if they don't know how get the most out of talent.
4. Although age shouldn't be a factor, a coach must be able to relate to players/coaches/and fans. This is a guy that must lead young men, but also inspire future GT SAs.
5. Must be willing to work within the constraints of GT academics and athletic budget.

After doing some research, one guy stood out to me: Mike Yurcich - Oklahoma State OC

In the last 4 years, Yurcich's OFEI rankings:

2017 - #2
2016 - #23
2015 - #34
2014 - #78

Yurcich made tremendous improvements as his offense became ingrained at OK State over the last 4 years. Some will say: Well, OK State is easy to recruit to. This is where things get interesting. If you don't know, OK State is backed by T Boone Pickens (among others) who is a WEALTHY businessman. Naturally, the thought is that kind of money makes recruiting easy. Well, OK State really doesn't recruit all that differently from GT. Last 5 recruiting classes (according to 247):

2018 - #33
2017 - #38
2016 - #45
2015 - #40
2014 - #27

The best recruiting class OK State has had was #27 in the last five years. For the most part, it's been in the 30's and 40's. Honestly, that's where GT should be. But, given that the average recruiting ranking is 36.6 (that's including defensive players), the output for the unit he's responsible for is pretty darn good, especially considering his offense is just now getting rooted. GT's average recruiting ranking the last 5 years is 52. If we can recruit the offensive side like we do the defensive, and I fully expect to if GT has an offense like Yurcich's, I think recruiting in the 30's and 40's should be routine.

Again, some might say OK State probably has a bigger budget, so it's easier there. Again, GT and OK State are VERY similar:

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

GT has total revenues of $81+million, OK State $91+ million. Yurcich was just given what Oklahoma papers termed "massive" raise to $600K. GT can definitely afford him.

IMO, any offense at GT MUST have some type of option component. ALL 11 offensive players must be accounted for on every play. It helps tilt any defensive talent gap closer to GT's favor. Every successful offense at GT (Fridge's offense, CPJ's offense) has had an option component. Yurcich offense, though it tilts to passing, also includes option:



Although OK State likes to pass, they make running a priority. This year, they are ranked #19 overall in rushing offense. Also, Yurcich likes to spread the ball around:

https://okstate.com/coaches.aspx?rc=23

• In 2017, Yurcich coordinated an Oklahoma State offense that became the first in Big 12 history with a 4,000-yard passer (Mason Rudolph), two 1,000-yard receivers (James Washington and Marcell Ateman) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Justice Hill).

• In 2016, the Oklahoma State offense was one of only two from Power Five conferences to produce a 4,000-yard passer (Mason Rudolph), a 1,000-yard rusher (Hill) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Washington).

What really sold me on Yurcich is this:

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/255510020/oklahoma-state-offense-mike-yurcich-background

Shippensburg welcomed a departure from the Wing-T attack that had been successful in the past but stagnated late in Rees' run. So it was time for Yurcich and the spread, and he turned to a former high school spread QB named Zach Zulli to run it. When Zulli couldn't get on the field ahead of more experienced passers, he worked as a punt returner and backup running back and receiver. With the arrival of the spread, Zulli returned to quarterback.

It didn't take long for Zulli to develop a comfort with the new offense, and it eventually progressed to mastery. The playbook checked in at around 500 pages and 250 plays, but in action, it was simple to learn. Yurcich would teach by playing every position on the field, demonstrating to his players exactly what he wanted. Sometimes it was showing the quarterbacks the right footwork on a drop-back, teaching a running back how to make a jump cut more lethal, sharpening a receiver's dull route or even refining his offensive linemen's kick slides.

Yurcich had his eye on building the best offensive in Division II.

"It was so easy the way he explained it," Zulli said. "I didn't have to think on the field. If I knew one player was out of line or on the hash, I knew I was going to that side. I had to make one read. It was super easy."

Every week, Yurcich would draw up new plays or wrinkles for that specific opponent, growing his offense. Shippensburg started just 3-4 but closed the season with four consecutive wins. In 2012, it went 11-2 and Zulli won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II. Along the way, the team scored at least 49 points nine times.

"I had so much success because of everyone getting a chance," Zulli said. "Our entire offense was so good, everyone touched the ball, everyone had fun."

The guy is a teacher. He's out there on his hands and knees teaching his guys what he wants, and how he wants it. On top of that, it's an offense that players love, and it's easy on the eyes for fans. He develops talent. Players are making a marked improvement from game 1 to game 12, from year 1 to year 4.

Given his background at a very small school, he knows how to look for "diamonds in the rough" and recruit to his system. Let's face it, at GT, you have to have the ability to look for players other schools may overlook. But I think it will actually be a LOT easier for him to recruit to GT than OK State given how loaded the state is with offensive players (especially QBs/WRs/RBs) and how friendly his system is for offensive players.

In terms of academics, I think that takes care of itself. What I mean is, a coach will know GT's constraints, and he will have a very good academic department backing him. Let's be honest, it's not CPJ at academic hall every day pushing pencils and punching calculators with the players.

Anyhow, just one candidate out there. On to Candidate #2...
Click to expand...

Tech already has an offense that scores points and a defense that struggles. We do not need to import folks from Oklahoma State to recreate what we already have.

Your statement that it would be "a LOT easier for him to recruit to GT than OK State," ignores a lot of factors beyond instate talent. Tech has higher academic standards, less fan base support (even in good years), and worse facilities than Oklahoma State. Additionally, out at Oklahoma State, they don't have Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State within a few hours of their campus. They just have Oklahoma.
 
RamblinWreck92

RamblinWreck92

Banned
Messages
746
TheTechGuy said:
Tech already has an offense that scores points and a defense that struggles. We do not need to import folks from Oklahoma State to recreate what we already have.

Your statement that it would be "a LOT easier for him to recruit to GT than OK State," ignores a lot of factors beyond instate talent. Tech has higher academic standards, less fan base support (even in good years), and worse facilities than Oklahoma State. Additionally, out at Oklahoma State, they don't have Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State within a few hours of their campus. They just have Oklahoma.
Click to expand...

OTOH, no kid in his right mind would rather live in Stillwater, OK than Atlanta, GA.

Our offense just got shutout in the first half vs miserable PITT and only scored 19 pts the entire game. It's a hindrance more than an advantage at this point. No kid in America wants to play in it, unless they're being recruited by Furman, Wofford, etc. At that point, it's an upgrade.
 

TheSilasSonRising

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,729
Cam said:
Prior to the season, Bruce Feldman at The Athletic ranked the top 10 coaches looking to move up. His top 10 was Neal Brown (Troy HC), Mel Tucker (UGA DC), Ryan Day (OSU OC), Jimmy Lake (Washington Co-DC), Manny Diaz (Miami DC), Tony Elliot (Clemson Co-OC), Jeff Brohm (Purdue HC), Lane Kiffin (FAU HC), Scott Satterfield (App State HC), and Jason Candle (Toledo HC). Greg Schiano (OSU DC), Seth Littrell (North Texas HC), and Mike Norvell (Memphis HC) weren't far behind.

In the event that CPJ is fired (although I think it's unlikely), the other P5 programs we'd have to compete with for one of these names (or any others) would likely include UNC, Illinois, Kansas, Texas Tech, USC, Rutgers, and Colorado. I see people projecting Brown to Texas Tech due to general fit and I feel Satterfield would be interested in UNC given the simple geographical transition. The question is if any of the remaining coaches would opt for GT over the other job openings. Personally, I think Mike Norvell might be the best fit for GT with his run-centric spread offense (here's a nice write-up), but he's currently making $2.6 million, so we'd likely need to pay him more than what we're paying CPJ ($2.97 million) to lure him here. Definitely won't happen unless something drastic happens.

Godsey might actually be interesting. It'd actually be similar to Kliff Kingsbury getting hired at Texas Tech - former team QB from the late 90's and early 2000's, offensively minded, no head coaching experience, etc. I wonder if our experiment would work better.
Click to expand...

Rather have Tee Martin or Major Applewhite.

Hiring another "Tech Man" is going to make us a bigger laughing stock to the public than we already are. Can not afford it.

Regardless of who we hire, they will have to get, imnediately, an extra 2 / 3 years to untangle this program as created now.

Need a coach that can put us in an O that qualified S/As will want to play in.

Will have to totally undue the damage done to our OL over last 10 + years. Have to be retaught they are good young men that do not have to ankle bite.

New coach will have to have time to transition our S/As into realizing that ST are important.

And (hopefully Woody is the man) we will have to have time to inculcate our S/As with the truth that championships are won with D.

And the new H/C will have to recruit.

Every game we do not try and accomplish these things is added on to the ending of the CPJ regime.
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,919
This whole thread is silly beyond belief. For reasons already laid above by several other fonts.

Here's what will happen. No matter what happens this year, Coach will be back if he wants and I suspect he does. We are in the initial throes of a program to catch up with others have been doing while we sat on our hands. Until we see the fruits of the present improvements and what Coach does with them, he is not going anywhere. Further, it would be unfair if he was forced to after the general neglect the program has faced over the last 10 years or so.

What is happening here is ye olde fan rebellion against a long standing coach who has run into some bad times. I.e. exactly the same kind of foolishness that led Texas A&M to fire R. C. Slocum and Tennessee to fire Phil Fulmer. And firing Coach at this stage - especially given our recruiting success in the last two years - would be just as stupid as those monumentally dumb decisions. Into every football program some rain must fall, but that is no excuse to get rid of a successful coach who has taken the program to new heights, despite some recent down years.

Btw, anyone thought of what a thread like this says to recruiters who would like to poach some of our present recruits? Apparently not.
 
okiemon

okiemon

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,755
takethepoints said:
Btw, anyone thought of what a thread like this says to recruiters who would like to poach some of our present recruits? Apparently not.
Click to expand...

It probably says very little. This board and others like it are for fans and alums who like to think they know a lot about the game when in fact most of us — not all, so don’t get your nose out of joint if you played or coached — know very little about the game or about evaluating talent. The only ones who take these boards seriously are probably the fans of other schools.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
UgaBlows

UgaBlows

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,412
Whiskey_Clear said:
Sorry not bothering to read past the 3rd post in this moronic thread. I find it distasteful for players’ family members calling for coaching changes on a fan forum after game three.

Carry on whiners.
Click to expand...

Agree, this thread should be moved/hidden into the swarm lounge......do we even have mods here anymore?
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,472
I don't have a problem with any offense if it can be run effectively. This offense just needs a QB that can also pass the ball more effectively and a coach to use him. A stout defense that can make plays can create more opportunities for an offense and can help with field position advantages. Our O has limitations right now and a new D. We shouldn't be too surprised with our results.
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,919
g0lftime said:
I don't have a problem with any offense if it can be run effectively. This offense just needs a QB that can also pass the ball more effectively and a coach to use him. A stout defense that can make plays can create more opportunities for an offense and can help with field position advantages. Our O has limitations right now and a new D. We shouldn't be too surprised with our results.
Click to expand...
I agree with most of this. However, our problem right now is that we have lost a sure 1000+ yards RB and we're having to train up the replacements. This makes everything harder. We've done well with QBs who had about the same throwing talent as TaQuon (Nesbitt, for instance) but who run the ball well.
 
GT_EE78

GT_EE78

Banned
Messages
3,605
takethepoints said:
This whole thread is silly beyond belief. For reasons already laid above by several other fonts.

. And firing Coach at this stage - especially given our recruiting success in the last two years -
.
Click to expand...
Soooo, you're calling 54th and 48th (per 247) "recruiting success" ? are you auditioning for that AD position or something?
 
Top