Potential DC for Next Year

[Lotta Booze]

I was trying to think of which G5 teams had top defenses and the ones that jumped to mind were Marshall and Troy. Both of those teams had their previous DC poached and new ones this year. I totally forgot that Jason Semore was hired from GT to be the DC of Marshall. Could be an option since he has ties here but since they're under the previous regime not sure if it's a positive or a negative. And per DFEI, Marshall has shown some regression from last year to this year, though still ranking better than ours.

The Troy DC is Greg Gasparato who was previously on staff at Louisville under Satterfield and took the promotion to go to Troy. Again per DFEI, has them playing some tough D, ranked 11th in the country. Limited DC experience but an up and comer with ACC experience. Could be an option.

I tend to think, given we see decent defensive performances to close the year, it's Sherrer's job to lose going into next year.

 

[CEB]

Lets just see how it plays out with Sherrer in the next 3-4 games. Dude is interviewing for the job in real-time.

And if he wants it, this week presents a real opportunity for him to take it.
There is good reason to think that Clemson D can slow down our O….
It’s also evident that Clemson O has struggled this year.
If he can get our D off the field without giving TDs this week, we all may be looking at him very favorably for keeping us in the game.
I feel like this game is going to end up in the 30s but about the time I start thinking stuff like that, we find ourselves with 13 points in the 4th quarter. If Clemson has 14-17 at that point, tip o the cap to Sherrer. If they have 31, we’ll all be calling for other options (right or wrong)

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Is that consistent with his normal defensive performance? Newp.

Actually, it is when you factor in the talent he has to work with He had some good Ds here. There is a reason Roof keeps getting jobs as a DC at good schools. I agree having him as a retread here would be a mistake, but not because Roof is a bad DC.

@forensicbuzz hit the nail on the head in an earlier post. Roofs defensive style is one that a lot of us simply don't like. Add in the fact we've never given him the level of talent he has now at OU or that he had at PSU and he probably wouldn't have a top 25 defense here, but likely a top 40-50 on average.

 

[UgaBlows]

And if he wants it, this week presents a real opportunity for him to take it.
There is good reason to think that Clemson D can slow down our O….
It’s also evident that Clemson O has struggled this year.
If he can get our D off the field without giving TDs this week, we all may be looking at him very favorably for keeping us in the game.
I feel like this game is going to end up in the 30s but about the time I start thinking stuff like that, we find ourselves with 13 points in the 4th quarter. If Clemson has 14-17 at that point, tip o the cap to Sherrer. If they have 31, we’ll all be calling for other options (right or wrong)

If he can scheme a way to slow down their run game, get them to 3rd downs and put it on the qb then I like our chances, especially if they turn it over a few times.

 

[slugboy]

I was trying to think of which G5 teams had top defenses and the ones that jumped to mind were Marshall and Troy. Both of those teams had their previous DC poached and new ones this year. I totally forgot that Jason Semore was hired from GT to be the DC of Marshall. Could be an option since he has ties here but since they're under the previous regime not sure if it's a positive or a negative. And per DFEI, Marshall has shown some regression from last year to this year, though still ranking better than ours.

The Troy DC is Greg Gasparato who was previously on staff at Louisville under Satterfield and took the promotion to go to Troy. Again per DFEI, has them playing some tough D, ranked 11th in the country. Limited DC experience but an up and comer with ACC experience. Could be an option.

I tend to think, given we see decent defensive performances to close the year, it's Sherrer's job to lose going into next year.

Semore was respected and we hated to lose him

 

[UgaBlows]

Actually, it is when you factor in the talent he has to work with He had some good Ds here. There is a reason Roof keeps getting jobs as a DC at good schools. I agree having him as a retread here would be a mistake, but not because Roof is a bad DC.

@forensicbuzz hit the nail on the head in an earlier post. Roofs defensive style is one that a lot of us simply don't like. Add in the fact we've never given him the level of talent he has now at OU or that he had at PSU and he probably wouldn't have a top 25 defense here, but likely a top 40-50 on average.

Yall keep forgetting his defense at AU, even though they won a natty it was bad

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Yall keep forgetting his defense at AU, even though they won a natty it was bad

His defense at Auburn was 40th in DFEI in 2009. The MNC team at Auburn in 2010 was the 32nd ranked DFEI. His last year there dropped to 68th after Nick Fairley went to the NFL and others graduated. Even good DCs have a bad year here and there. Think about it this way, other than his one year at Vandy when the wheels fell off of the bus, Auburn 2011 was his worst season at 68th in DFEI. His worst season at Tech, with less talented athletes, was 67th in DFEI. He has always finished in the top half of FBS defenses in DFEI. For a career that has spanned two decades now, that's a pretty big accomplishment.

 

[Eli]

I agree. This convo needs to wait. However, since it's here, and been asked, the guy at Ohio University, Spence Nowinski, seems to have done a good job there and it his previous stop at Miami, O.

I mentioned him earlier he has the 4th ranked total D in the country

 

[stinger78]

His defense at Auburn was 40th in DFEI in 2009. The MNC team at Auburn in 2010 was the 32nd ranked DFEI. His last year there dropped to 68th after Nick Fairley went to the NFL and others graduated. Even good DCs have a bad year here and there. Think about it this way, other than his one year at Vandy when the wheels fell off of the bus, Auburn 2011 was his worst season at 68th in DFEI. His worst season at Tech, with less talented athletes, was 67th in DFEI. He has always finished in the top half of FBS defenses in DFEI. For a career that has spanned two decades now, that's a pretty big accomplishment.

Thank you. Again, pooping needlessly on one of our own I do not understand. CTR is not the best DC in college football today, but he far from the worst. He's mediocre to good, mediocre if he gets marginal talent and good to top-40 good if he gets better talent. I don't think - someone correct me if I'm mistaken - that he was fired by CPJ. I think he left on his own accord after the 2017 season... probably sensing that CPJ was getting near to pulling the ripcord. Indeed, after the 2018 season he retired.

I don't think that CBK needs to run out and try to hire him, he's been here twice, and Sherrer is the man now. Let's see how he does.

 

[Techwood Relict]

I agree. This convo needs to wait. However, since it's here, and been asked, the guy at Ohio University, Spence Nowinski, seems to have done a good job there and it his previous stop at Miami, O.

I don't have any good recommendations right now, but I do think if the offense continues to perform at a high level, we'd have half the problem addressed.

The floor for a DC should then be proven, successful at the P5 level. I don't think we'd need to consider high potential, but unproven DC coaches to pair with a high performing offense.

None of this should preclude conversation of our current DC as a candidate. The change should only be considered if it's thought of as an obvious upgrade.

 

[JacketOff]

The floor for a DC should then be proven, successful at the P5 level. I don't think we'd need to consider high potential, but unproven DC coaches to pair with a high performing offense.

We still have to be able to afford them, and somebody with this background is not cheap. We still have one of the lowest paid staffs in all of P5, (the least paid head coach in the ACC) and I’m worried because of that we will lose some key pieces of that high performing offense this off-season.

Just for reference, Clemson’s OC Riley is making $1.75M this year, more than double Buster Faulkner who’s making $750k. Dabo and Kirby are both making more than triple what Brent Key is. And if Ted Roof is a name people are seriously throwing out there, he’s making $1.15M at Oklahoma

 

[Techwood Relict]

We still have to be able to afford them, and somebody with this background is not cheap. We still have one of the lowest paid staffs in all of P5, (the least paid head coach in the ACC) and I’m worried because of that we will lose some key pieces of that high performing offense this off-season.

Just for reference, Clemson’s OC Riley is making $1.75M this year, more than double Buster Faulkner who’s making $750k. Dabo and Kirby are both making more than triple what Brent Key is. And if Ted Roof is a name people are seriously throwing out there, he’s making $1.15M at Oklahoma

Which is why the current DC has potential to still be that guy next year. I agree the decisions aren't made in a vacuum, budgets are real. I think the lever decision is can the position be upgraded? If so, then costs have to be considered.

 

[slugboy]

When we looked at head coaches, the typical hire for a P5 head coach seems to roughly go in this order

1. G5 head coach: most common
2. P5 coordinator
3. Internal promotion
4. P5 head coach
5. Other
6. NFL position coach
7. P5 assistant HC
8. P5 position coach

An Analysis Of College Basketball and Football Coaching Hires

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Somehow, we’re talking about hiring what should be a head coaching candidate for a DC position

Getting a P5 DC seems like the least likely place to hire a new DC—the good ones are usually going for head coaching jobs. I’m shocked Clemson got their OC (Riley)—he should have been going for a head coaching role

 

[Southern psu fan]

Thank you. Again, pooping needlessly on one of our own I do not understand. CTR is not the best DC in college football today, but he far from the worst. He's mediocre to good, mediocre if he gets marginal talent and good to top-40 good if he gets better talent. I don't think - someone correct me if I'm mistaken - that he was fired by CPJ. I think he left on his own accord after the 2017 season... probably sensing that CPJ was getting near to pulling the ripcord. Indeed, after the 2018 season he retired.

I don't think that CBK needs to run out and try to hire him, he's been here twice, and Sherrer is the man now. Let's see how he does.

Penn St defense ranked 16th in the country in 2012 when Ted Roof was DC would’ve been better if we had a good offense. Defense was on the field a lot that year. You give Ted Roof good talent and he’s as good as anybody. Penn States defense took a big step back after Ted Roof left I can tell you that. Penn St may have had the best defense in the big 10 the year he was there. Penn State fans hated seeing him leave.

 

[danny daniel]

Someone please remind me, why are we pooping on Ted Roof? He's had some good D's, but struggled a bit under CPJ. His D's under CPJ were as good as any CPJ had. He was DC at GA Tech for 5 seasons, from 2013-2017. Here are his points against by season:

2013 (7-6): 297 (22.8 ppg)
2014 (11-3): 360 (25.7 ppg)
2015 (3-9): 309 (25.8 ppg)
2016 (9-4): 318 (24.5 ppg)
2017 (5-6): 292 (26.5 ppg)

2018 (7-6): 381 (29.3 ppg)

2019 (3-9): 389 (32.4 ppg)
2020 (3-7): 368 (36.8 ppg)
2021 (3-9): 402 (33.5 ppg)
2022 (5-7): 341 (28.4 ppg)

2023 (5-4): 271 (30.1 ppg)

Looks pretty OK to me - a lot better than the previous 6 seasons since he left.

Not arguing Roof one way or another but your data is flawed. CPJ years time of D possession was small as were the number of opportunities for the opposition. After CPJ our O was so bad that our D TOP went way up along with more opportunities for the opposition.

 

[g0lftime]

I would take Woody back if he would be interested. I assume he is still at Army.

 

[stinger78]

Not arguing Roof one way or another but your data is flawed. CPJ years time of D possession was small as were the number of opportunities for the opposition. After CPJ our O was so bad that our D TOP went way up along with more opportunities for the opposition.

The data is not flawed, it is what it is. The data just needs to be normalized. Most folks do that by using points per possession (or drive) to show equivalency across different regimes. It was stated above that PPG is not the best metric, and I would agree. It's just one of the more accessible stats.

 

[slugboy]

Not arguing Roof one way or another but your data is flawed. CPJ years time of D possession was small as were the number of opportunities for the opposition. After CPJ our O was so bad that our D TOP went way up along with more opportunities for the opposition.

Roof’s efficiency numbers and other stats were also about the best we had under CPJ. I think Kelly’s half season might have been the best.

It’s weird we gripe about Roof when he outperformed the other defensive coaches

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Roof’s efficiency numbers and other stats were also about the best we had under CPJ. I think Kelly’s half season might have been the best.

It’s weird we gripe about Roof when he outperformed the other defensive coaches

Yes, Roof was the tallest midget under CPJ.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

This...not acknowledged enough.

This has been disproved over and over again. But the players being recruited believed it because the other teams sold it so hard