Coleman Feeley
On the line
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2013
- Messages
- 177
in Texas Longhorns Football By Coleman Feeley
Philosophy changes, dismissals, ‘internal investigations’, and a team’s evolution are all expected with a new coach. It’s also true a certain clause is unofficially written into every contract; “In year two all is forgiven, yet nothing is forgotten.†Assuming a coach doesn’t completely fall on his face in Year 1, his second year is guaranteed. However, that second year is laden with pressure, anxiety, and high expectations.
In Year 2 Coaches usually don’t have their jobs threatened by the administration, but job security in the court of public opinion is a different story. The second year is when judgment is laid. In Year 1, fans split in two groups: ‘Coach was the wrong hire’, or ‘I knew he’d get the program on track’. The public uses Year 2’s outcome to fit their narrative, and in their mind, the opinion becomes fact.
Players that lacked the ‘fine tuning’ to become All-League athletes when a new coach arrives are expected to have a fresh perspective and improved training after a year with new coaches. Superstars are expected to win the Heisman and the new coaches’ recruits are expected, by many fans and analysts, to be starters from day one.
That is all unrealistic.
For example, Texas’ biggest issue this season was, arguably, the offensive line. In the last two years Texas has only signed eight offensive linemen, one of whom has been dismissed and another has graduated. This lack of foresight created many of the problems that Texas fans have witnessed as of late.
This year’s signing class contains six offensive linemen, including several Junior College players who have potential to contribute right away. This commitment to linemen demonstrates that Coach Strong has identified problems with his team and is addressing those problems immediately as well as ensuring the solidity of the unit down the road. However, the majority of these commits will fill the role for which they were recruited several years from now after some essential development has occurred. From a long term perspective, fans should be excited that Coach Strong appears to be building a rock solid foundation for his team rather than taking quick shortcuts designed to win games right away.
When signing college recruits coaches prioritize positions and players years in advance – what is happening today has been planned for at least a year. As a college coach (especially at a program the caliber of Texas), the expectation is that only three or four of the current year’s signees will contribute on the field in the coming year, and furthermore, coaches expect none of the signees to start…that is if they are recruiting properly.
The NCAA and the NFL have an extremely close relationship due to the fact that the NCAA is essentially a farm league for the NFL. Unlike the NBA, MLB, or even the NHL, minor leagues do not carry much significance, nor do high school players make the jump to playing professionally. Professional football requires both technical and physical development, and those things are expected to happen while an athlete is in college. This development is ultimately overseen by, and most often accredited to, the program’s head coach.
However, unlike the NFL, most college recruits are signed to eventually fill gaps in a depth chart. Teams will always sign superb athletes regardless of how deep they are at any given position, yet they will be unlikely to sign athletes at a position where younger superstars currently reside.
With that said, of course there are always teams that start true freshman! Nonetheless, those freshmen are seldom held to the same standard as a junior, senior, or even a sophomore.
Coveted recruits (the college equivalent of a ‘first rounder’) don’t always need to come in and make a direct impact from the beginning, nor should they have to. The harsh reality is that most ‘five star athletes’ who walk onto a college campus are regarded as nothing more than rookies; rookies that are subject to hazing and public ridicule (in this writer's experience, singing “Umbrella†by Rhianna to the Women’s Soccer and Volleyball teams at lunch).
Joining a program with a new coaching regime is difficult. While it is understood that new recruits are coach’s “guysâ€, those players must understand that the team they joined is full of talented athletes - young men who already experienced being a rookie. Veteran players in a locker room are hungry to play, and exceedingly determined not to let “the rookie†take their spot.
Being the first recruiting class of a new coach is not only thrilling, it is uplifting. The thought that a coach wants to build his team’s foundation with his players is a truly amazing feeling, however, the reality is still that only contributors remain the ‘Coach’s Guys’.
