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Coaching Changes, Rumors, Misc.

primal defense said:
TOM HERMAN IS NO MACK BROWN,  BUY S SHIFT IN HIS FOCUS COULD POINT HIM IN THAT DIRECTION

Even as you’re reading this, Graham Harrell, Ennis’ favorite son, could well be on his way back to Texas to make sure the Longhorns’ offense runs every Saturday, not just semi-weekly.

Tom Herman also may lock up Chris Ash to be his defensive coordinator, part of a greater plan to keep Texas out of other people’s record books.

Once he makes his two big hires, Herman should then make an even bigger move:

Name himself CEO and get out of the way.

Before getting to Herman’s fitness for a job as big as Texas and whether he could even handle what Mack Brown managed so well, consider the obvious. Harrell might not take the job in Austin if he isn’t granted full autonomy. No big-time OC would settle for less. And make no mistake, Harrell has built himself a nice resume.

After playing for his father, Sam, at Ennis, then Mike Leach at Texas Tech, where he teamed with Michael Crabtree to blow up Texas’ 2008 national title hopes, Harrell hung around the NFL and CFL. Took a refresher course under Leach at Washington State. Made North Texas’ Mason Fine a Heisman topic. And in his first and maybe only season at USC, he took a third-string freshman quarterback and finished 18th in the nation in total offense.

Also managed to avoid being found guilty by association with Clay Helton, a neat trick at that.

And when I asked Hall of Famer Gil Brandt his opinion of Harrell, this is what he said:

“I like him a lot.”

Check.

Frankly, I don’t know as much about Ash, but by all accounts, the defenses have improved everywhere he’s gone. He believes in a simple concept requiring big corners who can play man coverage, freeing up safeties for run support. If Ash didn’t win much at Rutgers, well, not everybody’s a head coach.

Which brings us to Herman, maybe. Back when Texas actually had to fight off LSU for his services, which seems not a little ironic now, the new man showed up in Austin with impressive credentials. Not only did he direct Urban Meyer’s offense, he was an ace recruiter who’d posted two spectacular seasons as head coach at Houston.

Herman’s had his moments in his three years at Texas, but, other than beating Oklahoma and Georgia, few would dare call much of it spectacular.

Herman’s staff decisions have been questionable. For instance, if Tim Beck is good enough to be the OC, he ought to be good enough to call plays, or why carry the title? Herman’s ability to relate his message to his players has too often been a topic of concern. Along the way, he’s occasionally seemed less than presidential, if you will. Even silly. Mocking Drew Lock at a bowl game was not a good look.

Head-butting one of his own players looked like it really hurt.


 


Say what you want about Charlie Strong, but his players loved him and his dignity remained intact. Fred Akers was first class. Won a little, too. So did his eminent predecessor, whose qualifications need not be parsed here.

The only other coach to win a national title at Texas made his bones as a recruiter and CEO. Maybe no Texas coach, Darrell Royal included, was as well-equipped to handle everything the position of head coach at Texas entails. Mack Brown was good with boosters, good with the media, good in living rooms. He took care of everything up to and including the sideline. If Mack’s coordinators were good, Texas usually was golden.

This isn’t exactly going out on a limb, but it seems safe to say, three years in, that Tom Herman is no Mack Brown. A better offensive mind, probably. But not bright enough to dabble in the offense and still handle his head coaching duties. Few coaches at big-time schools can. Lincoln Riley comes to mind, obviously, but his defense hasn’t always pulled its weight, either. Head coaches who spend all their time looking over offenses generally neglect defenses as a result.

Anyway, Texas’ 7-5 record is one explanation for the turnover in coordinators. A better one is that this is what coaches do to give themselves another year.

Seven wins again won’t get it done for Herman. What’s the magic number? Eight? Nine? Matt Rhule just won 11, and he’s not done yet. Who knows where Baylor goes from here? Wherever it is, you’d better believe the Bears’ rapid rise from 1-11 three years ago will be a factor in Herman’s future. Especially if Rhule sustains what he’s started.

If Herman turns over the offense to his new OC, and the results are favorable, he can still be a success. As noted, he’s a good recruiter. But there’s a lot more to the job than he probably figured, a mistake common among most Texas coaches. Herman needs to see the big picture now, before he’s looking at it in his rear-view mirror.

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-longhorns/2019/12/03/tom-herman-is-no-mack-brown-but-a-shift-in-his-focus-could-point-him-in-that-direction/
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Good article but one thing they got wrong was Mack Brown being good with the media.

The media made fun of him for "protecting" Chris Simms, mocked him for losing to OU so badly and so often, then mocked him for the post-Alabama funk he got himself into.

 
MBHORNSFAN said:
No University.... No football..

Go follow the NFL...
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Gawd, your head still stuck in your academia? lol

Don't we have an academia board? . . . lol . . well, no, we don't.

I imagine academia is just as boring as your posts are. No football, University of what?

 
DBOOK23 said:
I’ve got a buddy whose a walk on at Missouri and he just told me that he’s the real deal. He’s super smart and prepares for everything, they always knew what the other team was going to do, but he’s super player friendly and he isn’t really a hard ass. We need a hardass.
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Just curious. Why do you think we need a hardass?

 
North Texas Golfer said:
Just curious. Why do you think we need a hardass?
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Ex UT player would know. Muschamp has been our most successful DC and he was hardass plus.

lwgpNP.gif


 
DBOOK23 said:
I’ve got a buddy whose a walk on at Missouri and he just told me that he’s the real deal. He’s super smart and prepares for everything, they always knew what the other team was going to do, but he’s super player friendly and he isn’t really a hard ass. We need a hardass.
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The days of being a hard ass like Bear Bryant and the Junction Boys were portrayed are a thing of the past. Kids now days are not motivated by that. More and more coaches are using positive re-enforcement to motivate players, along with accountability. Fleck and Swinney are good examples of this style of coaching. I can't remember the last time I saw a coach at a HS game grab a kid by the face mask and jerk him around. I watched a HS practice this summer and it was all up beat, high tempo, and cheering. I never heard one cuss word and water was readily available. Evidently, it is working because this particular team has a chance to play in their third consecutive state championship game this year. By the way, I used to think having a hard ass mentality made you better in sports. Maybe it did in my time, but I am 50 too.

 
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That is funny Swaha. I just finished my 9th year as a hs football coach at the age of 51 and there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t comment about how times have changed. Nowadays its clapping, cheering, and rarely tackling to the ground or even going full speed in practice. It does seem to work at our school with 19 straight playoff appearances but it sure is different than when we were young.

 
swaha said:
The days of being a hard ass like Bear Bryant and the Junction Boys were portrayed are a thing of the past. Kids now days are not motivated by that. More and more coaches are using positive re-enforcement to motivate players, along with accountability. Fleck and Swinney are good examples of this style of coaching. I can't remember the last time I saw a coach at a HS game grab a kid by the face mask and jerk him around. I watched a HS practice this summer and it was all up beat, high tempo, and cheering. I never heard one cuss word and water was readily available. Evidently, it is working because this particular team has a chance to play in their third consecutive state championship game this year. By the way, I used to think having a hard ass mentality made you better in sports. Maybe it did in my time, but I am 50 too.
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We need guys that will challenge our players and help them improve as men and football players. The buddy mentality does not work. That’s why we constantly underachieve because we have players that think that they are better than they actually are. In the words of Mike Singletary “I want winners!” The only way you become a winner is by being pushed to be your best each and everyday and that’s hard coaching. Sign me up for ash, sign me up for muschamp, sign me up for someone who isn’t satisfied with just being okay, we need a coach that’s going to expect us to be the best damn D in the country. This passive coaching bull crap is why we have a secondary full of 5 star talent with 1 star results. These types of coaches still exist. Go get one of them.

 
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NEOkHorn said:
That is funny Swaha. I just finished my 9th year as a hs football coach at the age of 51 and there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t comment about how times have changed. Nowadays its clapping, cheering, and rarely tackling to the ground or even going full speed in practice. It does seem to work at our school with 19 straight playoff appearances but it sure is different than when we were young.
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Congrats! You guys are doing something right! I will add not everyone knows how to coach like that. The ones that figure it out, are finding success. 

 
DBOOK23 said:
We need guys that will challenge our players and help them improve as men and football players. The buddy mentality does not work. That’s why we constantly underachieve because we have players that think that they are better than they actually are. In the words of Mike Singletary “I want winners!” The only way you become a winner is by being pushed to be your best each and everyday and that’s hard coaching. Sign me up for ash, sign me up for muschamp, sign me up for someone who isn’t satisfied with just being okay, we need a coach that’s going to expect us to be the best damn D in the country. This passive coaching bull crap is why we have a secondary full of 5 star talent with 1 star results. These types of coaches still exist. Go get one of them.
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You can get winners. It is not about being a "buddy" with the players. It is about the players respecting their coach. Do you think Fleck and Swinney are passive and not holding their players accountable? We both know that is not the case. They have figured out how to win with a different approach. 

 
swaha said:
You can get winners. It is not about being a "buddy" with the players. It is about the players respecting their coach. Do you think Fleck and Swinney are passive and not holding their players accountable? We both know that is not the case. They have figured out how to win with a different approach. 
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You are right. I just want us to be a tough football team and I want us to start developing our players and getting them to the league.

 
swaha said:
You can get winners. It is not about being a "buddy" with the players. It is about the players respecting their coach. Do you think Fleck and Swinney are passive and not holding their players accountable? We both know that is not the case. They have figured out how to win with a different approach. 
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Call me old school. Human beings are still made of the same ingredients, same motor responses, same motivators. The only thing thats changed is we're a fast food society now. Everything now. More for less.

While it may work, one must always wonder how good they could have been if they had truly been pushed. If you're smiling all the time, getting rah-rah'd all day, you're not being pushed.

Today, everybody gets a trophy. There's no glory in that. Easy come, easy go.

 
North Texas Golfer said:
Poster on OB says Graham Harrell was at Belmont today. No idea whatsoever it this is true or not.
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If it was Harrell I think he’d be hired by now. I think the staff will end up being Morris with Samples at WR coach and Beaty coaching the ST and TE

 
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