CC: Weis in at Florida means Loeffler is out

Submitted by dnak438 on

This was discussed briefly in another thread, but as expected Scot Loeffler won't be retained by Will Muschamp.  Sunday Muschamp announced five assistants and it seems that these assistants will be gone:

  • Steve Addazio, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach (head coach at Temple)
  • Teryl Austin, defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach (not retained)
  • Zach Azzanni, receivers coach (not retained)
  • Chuck Heater, safeties coach (not retained)
  • Dan McCarney, defensive line coach (head coach at North Texas) 
  • Scot Loeffler, quarterbacks coach

So if there is a change in offensive philosophy, Loeffler might be available as QB coach.  (I know Loeffler called some plays this year in Florida but I don't know if he's really qualified to be OC).

CRex

January 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 AM ^

Long career as a secondary coach, associate defensive coordinator at Florida and a Michigan alum.

Goodbye Gibson, hello Heater?

Also get Loefler back, all that man did was produce NFL talent.  

bigstick

January 3rd, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^

All that man did was recruit and coach Henne....unless you count the fact that he took over for Stan Parrish and coached Navarre for two years.  Maybe that's enough?

baorao

January 3rd, 2011 at 7:27 PM ^

was that Todd Haley worked as an assistant under Weiss in New England and there was friction, and now that the tables have turned there is even more.

So they thought (hoped?) the KC arrangement wouldn't result in ego battles, but there would have been if it had gone on longer.

Cope

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:26 AM ^

We do NOT want Florida's QB coach. I've watched every game they played this year, and that position is the number one reason they sucked this year. The passing QB, Brantley, couldn't throw. The running QB, Burton, who could run, couldn't throw and therefore got stuffed in the run, and their third QB, Reed (who is young), couldn't do much better. If there's one thing everyone has been griping about in Florida, it's QB. Their killer defense was the only reason they won games. And the only reason they won the bowl game (multiple interceptions, interceptions for touchdowns...).

Cope

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

Had no idea Loeffler worked with Henne, Brady, and Griese. Changed my tune entirely. The guy sounds pretty impressive. Guess there were other problems at Florida...

gobluesasquatch

January 3rd, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^

The Florida bio is very, very generous.

Loeffler coached 

Navarre and Henne at Michigan, not Brady (Stan Parrish - http://ballstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14200&ATCLID=1148…).

Loeffler played with Griese, and more importantly, got him away from Scorekeepers before he could do more damage after (Brian) had already smashed one window (Michigan Daily no longer has the article in archives - will link if I ever find it). 

So in summary - two of Michigan all-time leading passers, probably saved Griese from being removed permanently from the team and incarceration - which means 1997 never happens. 

Pretty damn good if you ask me. 

dnak438

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^

Loeffler wasn't the QB coach for Brady but he was very much involved in coaching him.  See, e.g., this and this, written by (I think) Dave Eklund:

Stan Parrish was our QB coach, but Loeffler worked hand in hand with him, and especially Tommy, during the 1999 season. He was officially in charge of the scout team, but those responsibilities were mainly delegated to Dennis Coyle, a lower level GA, so that Loeffler could continue to work with Brady and Henson.

bigstick

January 3rd, 2011 at 7:19 PM ^

...are VERY generous to Loeffler.  Facts often help, so here are the facts:

Loeffler was a UM freshman QB in 1993.  He was on the roster in 1994 and 1995, but he suffered a playing-career-ending injury; justifiably received one of those "medical scholarships" we all talk about; and continued with the team as a STUDENT assistant in 1996 and 1997. 

Griese was also a UM freshman (walk-on) QB in 1993.  He and Loeffler were CLASSMATES as well as teammates.  Brady joined the team in 1995 (redshirt); didn't play in 1996 and 1997; then started in 1998 and 1999.  Loeffler was Brady's teammate the first year, a student assistant during Brady's second and third years, and a graduate assistant during Brady's last two years.

Now, if you believe that teammates, student assistants and graduate assistants deserve credit for developing QBs over, say, the actual QB coach, actual offensive coordinator, and actual head coach - then have at it.  Give Loeffler all the credit you possibly can for developing Griese and Brady.  I think it's a stretch - a very big stretch probably measured in AUs or even light years - but what the heck do I know.

Loeffler left for CMU with DeBord for 2000 and 2001.  I'll save you the trouble of looking up the QBs that were developed there during that time.  None.

Loeffler returned to UM for Navarre's junior and senior seasons in 2002 and 2003 (after Navarre had been coached by Stan Parrish for three years).  Did Navarre get better?  Yeah, probably.  Did he get so much better that he developed into a solid NFL QB as did many of his predecessors?  No.  That doesn't mean that Loeffler did a bad job with Navarre, but it also doesn't mean that he did a great job developing Navarre.  It was Parrish who had the track record of developing NFL-ready QBs - not Loeffler.

Loeffler recruited Henne to UM and coached him all four years (2004-2007).  He deserves full credit for Henne's development.  Loeffler also deserves full credit for convincing Mallett that UM was a better fit than playing behind Mustain at Arkansas.

Loeffler took a place-holder job as QB coach of the Lions and its lame-duck coaching staff in 2008, then joined Florida for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  If you saw development in Tebow as a senior in 2009, then Loeffler deserves some credit for that.  As one of the other posters said, above, Bentley didn't develop much in 2010.

These facts lead many to the conclusion that Loeffler has a solid record as a recruiter, but not much of a track record as a coach.  Henne and Mallett were big-time recruiting catches.  Loeffler's been around big-name players, but really hasn't been around anyone but Henne long enough to prove he can develop them as QBs.

In re:  Brady's and Griese's comments about help from Loeffler:  Brady (an NFL MVP) and Griese (a successful NFL QB) say nice things and write nice letters about a classmate, teammate, and friend in an effort to help said friend recruit NFL-caliber players to their common alma mater.  Are those comments true?  Or are they just the kind of nice thing that anyone is happy to do for their friends - especially when it just might help your college team get better players.  You decide.

M-Wolverine

January 4th, 2011 at 1:48 PM ^

I know. And obviously you don't. Brady says Loeffler did more to develop him than the QB coach did.  (Sorry Stan...). You can twist it any way you want, but that's true. Sorry you want to spin it another way, but you're just flat out wrong. And you obviously know no one involved in the situation, because they'd tell you the same.

bigstick

January 5th, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^

....32 out of 32 NFL teams are equally skeptical.

Let's role play.....

1.  I'm any NFL head coach or executive at any time during the past decade, up to today.

2.  Brady is arguably the best NFL QB (maybe the best NFL player) of the past decade

3.  I just spent a top draft choice (rd 1-3) and big money on a new QB

4.  I need the best QB coach around to develop my new QB

5.  I go to the best QB in the NFL - Brady - and ask who helped him.  (This is incredibly easy to do because I'm an NFL head coach or executive.)

6.  Brady raves about Loeffler and says that, even as a GA, Loeffler did more to develop him than his QB coach.

7.  I immediately call Loeffler and offer him the job of developing my new QB at 2x-4x whatever he was making - which is a pittance compared to what I've already invested in my new QB and a nero zero delta over what I'm paying my current QB coach.

Now, here's some critical thinkin' for ya......

Steps 1-4 have actually happened 10-20 times in the past decade.

Why haven't Steps 5-7 happened? 

Here are some of the possible answers to that question:  (a) every single NFL head coach and executive involved in these 10-20 instances is a complete f'n idiot; (b) Step 6 isn't really true, it's an exaggeration of the facts.  As Joe Pesci said in the pool hall (My Cousin Vinny), "I think I'll take (b)".

Some more critical thinkin' exercises:

Why didn't the Lions keep Loeffler and his widely-reknowned talent to coach their latest billion dollar QB - Matt Stafford?  They were changing the entire coaching staff at the time, so it wouldn't have been difficult to keep him.  Didn't they recognize Scot's talent with young, franchise QBs?

Once the Lions passed on Loeffler, how did the other 31 NFL teams miss him?

We know how Florida fans feel about Brantley, but how do they feel about Tebow's progress during his senior season under Loeffler?  Why wasn't Denver interested in keeping the "team" together in the hopes of turing Tebow into the next Brady?

Let's keep an eye out for the next QB developed by Scot.  I'll meet you back here, but I won't hold my breath.

BTW, you should be careful on these message boards.  You'd be surprised by who you might be chatting with and who they might know that could have been "involved in the situation".

 

 

M-Wolverine

January 3rd, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^

There'd probably be more of a chance for those coaches to come to Michigan if Brady Hoke was named coach, than Harbaugh....

JC3

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

Loeffler and Harbaugh are not on good terms. When Loeffler was named QB Coach, Jim had been pursuing the job, and was pretty pissed about Scott getting it over him.

Plus, Jim is his own QB coach. 

WolvinLA2

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:55 PM ^

If Brady Hoke came and brought Loeffler, Austin and Heater as assistants, would that be such a bad thing? It's not as good as Harbaugh, but I could live with that.

WolvinLA2

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:55 PM ^

If Brady Hoke came and brought Loeffler, Austin and Heater as assistants, would that be such a bad thing? It's not as good as Harbaugh, but I could live with that.

Tater

January 3rd, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^

Meyer was under a lot of alumni pressure to play legacy recruit Brantley.  He was a great HS player, but the SEC appears to be a bit fast for him.  Since Muschamp can't walk in and blame the alumni when he hasn't accomplished anything yet, someone has to be a scapegoat.  That would be the QB coach.

The irony here is that Loeffler would probably fit Muschamp's system better than he did Meyer's.  I think he is getting a great deal here, though.  I would certainly not want to tie my reputation and market value directly to the performance of Charlie Weis.  The hiring of Weis is such a risky move that I bet people are still laughing about it in Tallahassee. 

The Gators are now a debacle waiting to happen.  And all it will do is make Urban Meyer even more of a legend.

Abe Froman

January 3rd, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^

is it me, or is this austin/heater/loeffler mix basically the dark horse in all this cc drama?

 

im suddenly very interested where this may lead.  seems more and more like RR is gone regardless of what harbaugh says.  i know lots re loefller, but would love more info on austin and heater.  anyone have more data/knowledge to contribute?