Defensive Coordinators
First off, I know we haven't fired anyone yet and personally, I can envision a scenario where Gerg stays on next year, but none of that is the point of this post.
I have a three part question for the board (it is a slow day so I figure it is a good time):
1) Who are the best DC's out there in the college football world (or perhaps even assistants that are in line for a promotion)?
2) Which of the best DC's do you think would be available (or I guess "take" would be the word I am after) the job at UM if offerred?
3) Who would want to see as our next DC?
To finish, please lets just keep this at hypothetical and not get into the "we need a new DC" or RR has to go....I would just like to know the opinions of my fellow UM fans as to who the best DC's are and whether they would want to jump on board.
It thanksgiving (at least for most of you on here) so lets just have a good natured discussion.
GO BLUE! Pound the bucks!
November 25th, 2010 at 2:11 PM ^
Throw money at TCU's Defensive staff until they get over here.
If that doesn't work, take Navy's defensive staff.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:48 PM ^
unless you offer Patterson the head coaching job.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^
>Ron Vanderlinded (PSU)
>Dick Bumpas (TCU)
>Casteel
And yes, I think Brandon should demand that RR give up the defense completely, and let the new DC bring in his own staff. And also hire a the best ST/kicking coach available, by the way..
November 25th, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^
I think the idea that Brandon is going to force RR to make changes on his staff is idiotic. RR has to see that changes need to be made. He has to be willing to let go of his friends in order for the program to be successful. If it takes Brandon forcing him to make changes, then RR isn't the right guy for the job. DB doesn't seem like the type that would meddle in coaching decisions. If a coach can't make good staff decisions on his own, he's not the coach for the job.
November 25th, 2010 at 3:16 PM ^
And also hire a the best ST/kicking coach available, by the way..
Which position coach would you delete? We are only permitted a certain amount of coaches total.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:27 PM ^
I want Holyfield!
November 25th, 2010 at 2:29 PM ^
a school like U of M with a history of football tradition will have any difficulty finding a good coach to take the job?
November 25th, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^
November 25th, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^
Maybe we could get a walk-on defensive coordinator. With 30,000+ students, faculty & staff, you'd think an open try-out would yield at least one decent defensive coordinator.
On second hand...open tryouts didn't really help our kicking this year so maybe that's not the best idea.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^
After reading about 10,000 of these posts, I just wonder where everyone is coming from...
We are constantly making excuses that we only have freshman playing in the secondary, our LBs are just not good enough, ect. ect.
We all give the excuse that we have to let the team grow up. Now I can't believe our defense is actually playing this poorly and a change would definitely be in order, but why not let greg robinson, turn this thing around?
Best case scenario would be to bring in a defensive course and coach rod basically giving him total control of the defense. Only thing that scares me is that once again our players will have to learn ANOTHER system on defense...
November 25th, 2010 at 2:56 PM ^
Good point MaizeyBlue. This defense will be better next year no matter who coaches it. If we fire GERG, the comments will be "see, GERG isn't the man for the job, the D is much improved. I say let GERG try and turn this around.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:31 PM ^
The guy plays with stuffed animals on national TV.
November 25th, 2010 at 9:58 PM ^
Only thing that scares me is that once again our players will have to learn ANOTHER system on defense...
this presumes of course that they have actually LEARNED this one
November 26th, 2010 at 7:54 AM ^
and for most of the year I was right there with you. I thought greg robinson needed another to get this young squad up to speed and thought he deserved that chance.
After watching the past 3 games, however, my mind has been changed. I don't want this thread to turn into a nasty debate about who should be fired and whatnot, so I will simply say that Greg Robinson lost me when we failed to see improvement of any sort on defense this year.
We have young guys, there is no question about that. The problem as I see it is this defense hasn't improved in any meaningful way the entire season. They still tackle poorly, they still take bad pursuit angles, they still don't know their assignments in zone coverage etc etc.
What I expected to see at the start of the season was exactly what we got and I think most people thought the same. No one expected this defense to be good if they knew anything about the state of the defense. I think, however, that expecting improvement from this unit throughout the season was a reasonable expectation as well.
I am not saying this squad should have even been an average defense by seasons end, but some improvement should have been made IMHE. From what I have seen, that hasn't happened.
Now who's fault it is....that's a whole other discussion I would rather not get into because I have no information on the subject.
November 27th, 2010 at 1:21 AM ^
Now I can't believe our defense is actually playing this poorly and a change would definitely be in order, but why not let greg robinson, turn this thing around?
I'll keep it short and sweet: because there is nothing in GERG's recent résumé that suggests he's capable of turning this thing around. RR made a colossal mistake in hiring him and would be insane to retain him.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:40 PM ^
Carl Pelini Nebraska's d coordinator. I don't know if we could land him but there d are always nasty and very good. Or Nebraska's d line coach John Papuchis. He would be a good fit to in my opinion. Also I don't think Rich Rod cares about keeping his WVU staff. He knows his defense is awful and will fire who needs to be fired.
November 25th, 2010 at 3:14 PM ^
This post is full of holes. Pelini won't leave his brother's side, letting a position coach become our new DC is ignorant on every level, and it's a known fact that RR is extremely loyal to his WVU buddies and WVU's inability to give them a pay raise was one of the many factors that led to his resignation. In summation I would say that everything in your post is wrong.
November 25th, 2010 at 3:50 PM ^
Really. So if no position coaches should ever be promoted to DC, just where in hell do DCs come from in the first place? Are they just born that way? Can you buy them at Walmart? Is there some magic DC lamp that RR has to rub?
In fact, I'd be willing to bet that virtually every DC you can name was, once upon a time, a position coach. Bill McCartney was a position coach before he was DC under Bo. Lloyd Carr was a position coach before he was DC under Moeller. Jim Herrman was a position coach before he became a DC under Carr.
Now, I'm not saying that elevating a position coach to DC is ideal for us; I think it would be preferable to bring somebody in who's already proven he can do it. The problem is whether a new guy can bring his own people in—a reasonable thing to want—and if not, whether he will be able to work with the position guys already here. From everything I've read, it seems like both DCs RR has hired have not been on the same page as the assistants.
November 25th, 2010 at 9:05 PM ^
The difference is McCartney and Herrman became coordinators on the same team they were position coaches. That is a natural progression. Moving a position coach to DC at a different, major, program is a significantly bigger leap.
November 25th, 2010 at 8:24 PM ^
Seeing as he is suspened for assaulting a cameraman I don't know if that helps the perception of RR. I think it would be a bad PR move. I also think the fact that he is already coaching with his brother at a school in the Big Ten who seems to be on track would keep him there. All around, just not a great idea.
November 25th, 2010 at 2:41 PM ^
Tim Beckman (ok state)
Matt Eberflus (Missouri)
Bud Foster (Virginia Tech)
Mark Stoops (Arizona)
Steve Brown (Kentucky)
Kirby Smart (Alabama)
Mike Trgovac (Carolina NFL)
November 25th, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
He's said many times he won't leave VT unless he gets a quality head coaching job-- he could have left for a Conference USA or Sun Belt-type job years ago. Plus, as someone who has met Bud Foster and follows the Virginia Tech program very closely, I get the sense that nobody on the VT staff was especially fond of Rich Rodriguez when he was at West Virginia, and it wasn't just because he was the head coach of a rival-- the VT staff always spoke very highly of Don Nehlen. I can't see any way Foster decides he wants to work for Rich Rodriguez.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^
Are you serious? I am hoping these suggestions are a joke and my sarcasm meter just isn't working today.
Beckman - head coach at Toledo
Foster - never going to leave VTech except for a head coaching gig
Stoops - now at Florida State (where have you been?)
Smart - why would he leave a great situation at Bama for a mess in AA?
November 25th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^
This from Brian on Jan 8:
"...This means that Heater is not going to be the defensive coordinator at Florida and suggests he might either be on the outs with the new guy—thus prompting the trial balloon rumor from Huntington—or amenable to a move back to his alma mater. FWIW, Heater and new AD David Brandon overlapped on a few teams in the 70s.
If they can add Heater it would be a coup. He's been coaching in college since two years after his Michigan career ended and has been a recruiting coordinator since 1998 (he lost that title for a promotion to assistant DC at Florida two years ago). He's almost always coached the secondary in his tenure, so it's a little bit of an awkward fit that would require Greg Robinson to handle all the linebackers, but Heater's positives seem to far outweigh that small negative. He has vast experience, excellent recruiting ties, and would be coming home. It remains to be seen whether there was any credibility in that newspaper report; here's hoping."
November 25th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^
1. Mike Trgovac
2. Chuck Heater
November 25th, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^
November 26th, 2010 at 7:59 AM ^
As I said, there could be the scenario where GERG stays. Who knows what will happen, but as a guy who knows very little about the inner workings of a football program I think something has to give in that defensive staff.
November 25th, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
Please do not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:31 PM ^
1. Jeff Casteel
2. Anybody else.
"Anybody else" hasn't much worked. And in that sense, Rich Rod's #1 choice has been the correct one all along.
I've been watching WVU with great interest all year. They are the exact opposite of Michigan. Their defense was good, and it has gotten better. The offense has deteriorated every year since Rich Rodriguez left, and is now in a state of near-disarray.
What scares me is that the folks in West Virginia could decide to make Casteel their head coach at the end of this year.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:00 PM ^
I hear there's a great DC, building a solid reputation at a school somewhere. RR has hired two of his associates, but Scape G. Oat is rumored to be the lead candidate for the next DC position under RR.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^
you and I would likely have some fundamental disagreements about RR, but one thing we might agree on is that he has screwed up the whole DC/defensive staff thing. I don't know what the hell he was thinking when he hired Robinson. Questions I'd like to ask RR:
• What were your expectations for Shafer and Robinson? Did you expect your assistants to do what they said, and back Shafer/Robinson if there were disagreements? Or did you side with your assistants?
• Did you ever discuss overall defensive philosophy with Shafer/Robinson? Did you discuss your experience and preference for the 3-3-5 with them?
• Were you aware of Robinson's defensive record at Syracuse? Were you aware that the general consensus he was a horrible recruiter and judge of talent? Why not?
• Did you interview any other candidates than Robinson? If not, why not? What was it that convinced you he was the right man for the job?
• Given your apparent preference for the 3-3-5 in most situations, did you try to find a DC with experience running that defense?
November 25th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^
Can't argue with that.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
I said it before, and I'll say it again: Mike Hankwitz from Northwestern.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:23 PM ^
November 25th, 2010 at 11:22 PM ^
I don't know much about Singletary, but I think it will be key to get a guy whose name makes a big splash, who commands the respect of his players, and who inspires confidence in recruits that he will shape them into NFL prospects.
November 25th, 2010 at 4:23 PM ^
Vic Fangio of Stanford is well-thought-of.
http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/fangio_vic00.html
November 25th, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^
November 25th, 2010 at 9:27 PM ^
Since most believe it is defense that wins titles, how about Casteel as head coach and RR as offensive coordinator. That would satisfy the jackals who want rr out as head coach and at the same time prove that we are serious about defense.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:06 PM ^
Currently lb coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Was DC at Clemson when RR was OC. Also was HC at Arkansas for a little while. Would be a good fit, and may be available.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:19 PM ^
Rocky Long at SanDiego State- was the head coach at New Mexico. Look him up. Phil Steele always speaks highly of him in his magazine.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:48 PM ^
Muschamp's Texas D looked terrible in a very familiar way tonight, with more experienced, 4 & 5 star talent flailing with failed arm tackles and stupid penalties and giving up huge runs. So has he all of a sudden become terrible, or are there aspects that are beyond the coordinator's ability to control?
November 26th, 2010 at 8:08 AM ^
I question whether he has ever been great to begin with I guess. It seems his track record shows a guy who is very capable of coaching talented, experienced players, but isn't so good at developing them.
In the NFL a player is already pretty developed and for his big year at Texas he coached a group of veteran players another guy left behind. It seems like 1) judging talent and 2) developing young talent are not the strongest aspects of the GERG. Those two things are something this teams is going to need going forward IMHE.
November 26th, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^
I thought the MGoCommunity was all high on Jeff Casteel. Is he out of the question now? I remember reading how we should "back a truckload of money" to his house.
November 27th, 2010 at 1:26 AM ^
RR has offered him the DC position twice, and he's turned it down both times. I'm not sure why he'd take it now. Maybe it's just as well - given how horrendous the Big East is, I don't even know how much stock to put in results achieved there.