Gatorsports has Borges listed as candidate for OC
Al Borges, offensive coordinator, University of Michigan Muschamp and Borges were assistant coaches on the same Auburn staff, so Muschamp knows exactly what kind of coordinator he would be getting. Borges runs a pro-style offense with excellent balance between the pass and the run. His Michigan offense this season is averaging 235.7 yards a game on the ground and 198.8 through the air. Borges was considered a possible candidate for the job a year ago before Muschamp hired Weis.
That's about all there is to the article. Its a pretty weak tie-in and I don't see the incentive for him to leave unless Florida were to offer him more money.
Title edit per suggestion.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
Thanks fur the laugh
December 9th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
There's a comment section to the article and I had to restrain myself from blasting them . . .
December 9th, 2011 at 3:50 PM ^
lol lol
December 9th, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^
I highly doubt Borges is going to leave senior Denard for Brantley (or whoever plays QB for Florida next year).
December 9th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^
You mean the QB that convinced Weis to trade down from Kansas City Chiefs to the Kansas Jayhawks in less than one season? Sounds like a good situation.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^
Florida offers more money...then we offer more money. You heard Dave Brandon talk about how he's willing to shell out the cash for coaches now.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
D Brandon's pimp hand will go to work fast.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^
December 9th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^
I think he is on the list because Florida's offense sucked and Michigan's was very good. It would be a similar situation to Michigan, with the personnel being more spread-friendly, but there would also be alumni pressure to turn John Braneley IV into a bona fide NFL QB.
In other words, it isn't going to happen.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
Can't see why he'd go, unless they offer him oodles of cash. And if they do...Gator Hunt!
December 9th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
I can see Florida offering him more money...
...but I can also see David Brandon ponying up to keep him. You don't want to mess with a good thing, and Denard seems to be grasping Borges's system right about now.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^
To me it feels like Borges has finally figured out how to use Denard and the rest of this personnel on offense. The offense took off at the end of the year when he started upping Fitz's carries, largely abandoned the I form looks for a shotgun based offense with an extra blocker or two at FB or H-Back, ditched the QB shuffle, went with more read/veer and less single wing designed runs for Denard, and cut Denard's throws to a minimum.
When you combine that with Denard's progression (and the receivers') in the new passing game, the sky is the limit for next year's offense with so many folk still coming back.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:53 PM ^
I think it was a hand-in-hand improvement throughout the year. In the running game, Borges definitely did some things to utilize Denard's legs better. In the passing game, Denard started to grasp the concepts and get his footwork down. The combination of getting the ground game going and completing passes, especially mid-range passes, has allowed them to continually move the ball down the field, so Denard doesn't have to throw a lot of passes. Think about it this way: If it's 2nd and 6 and Denard throws an incompletion, he's likely throwing a second pass after that. If he completes the pass or we run for a first down, he can keep his reps down.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^
I think the bulk of the leap came from simply realizing that running the ball on plays where either Denard or Fitz could carry the ball should be the bread and butter of the offense. For me the start of the Illinois game was a great example. On the first play Fitz got stopped for a one yard gain. Earlier in the year (specifically ND and MSU) I think this would have spawned two straight downfield pass attempts from Denard or maybe a QB Iso into the teeth of the defense. Instead Borges again ran a read play and Fitz hit a huge gain.
That "you're going to have to force us to throw the ball" mentality I think made a huge difference down the stretch. I also don't think there is a defense in the country that can consistently defend Denard or Fitz or a pass on every play if you force them to respect all three at the same time.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:58 PM ^
If you look at the two games we lost and compare them to the last three games of the season - minus the time Denard was injured - our offense is worlds different. 60% of our plays were passing against MSU, numerous snaps featured Devin Gardner, there was no Fitz - possibly injured - and many overthrown deep balls. Add in 28% I-formation snaps against Iowa and you see the same problem.
The offense looked like a juggernaut when Denard was putting in 20 carries a game, Fitz was handling his share, there weren't 6-10 deep balls being thrown each weekend, minimal undercenter sets and no Devin Gardner to disrupt the flow of the offense.
Borges' adapting to Denard got us into the BCS.
December 9th, 2011 at 8:35 PM ^
Dont say "folk". It sounds like Molk and he isn't coming back next year and that makes me sad. :'(
December 9th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^
December 9th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^
No reason to go. A year in with Denard. He found his go to back. I think if Florida wants him they're in an uphill battle to actually make it happen.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^
It seems like Borges really likes coaching with Hoke too. For the most part it looks like Borges has full control of what to call on offense.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^
Part of Hoke's success as a leader seems to be based on putting good people in charge and then getting out of their way.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:16 PM ^
That is clear given 4th and inces against MSU and his goal line series in Iowa City.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
What is your point? Are you saying that Hoke should have stepped in and changed the call?
Did you know that Hoke agreed with the call on 4th and inches? He said that it was just a blown assignment from our inexperienced TE.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
isn't leaving for anything but a HC job (IMO). And Mattison's not leaving until he retires or Brady is no longer HC, so I'm not worried much about anything.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
TroLOLo
December 9th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^
I'd rather we kept the bubble screen death stare in Ann Arbor.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^
Gainesville, FLA: Al, great to see you down here. Why'd you leave the Michigan job?
Al: I love Michigan, I love the players, I love Brady. But it was the constant harrassment about bubble screens that drove me away.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
for Alabama next year. Book it!
December 9th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
heiko may disagree...
December 9th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
Its amusing that they think Gainsville is better destination job than Ann Arbor. Maybe they think he's getting old and the warm weather would be easier on his joint pain?
December 9th, 2011 at 3:39 PM ^
It isn't actually the Gators saying this--Muschamp listed two other potential candidates. It's just a local sports guy coming up with a list. I can't see Borges leaving, but I'm sure the UF locals think anyone anywhere would jump for the chance to coach at UF (just as we assume the same for UM).
December 9th, 2011 at 3:42 PM ^
and yeah it is a local sports guy. I don't think its much different though so I let it ride. I'll see if I can tweak it a bit.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:45 PM ^
Local sports guy is an idiot, or lives in a bubble. Because no way Borges leaves after one fricking year to barely install his offense at Michigan for a job that is in no way "better" than the job he has now. I would be shocked (and frankly, appalled) if there was any seriousness to that notion. I like Borges, and I think he likes it here too.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:53 PM ^
Does Drew Sharp moonligt for the Gainesville paper?
December 9th, 2011 at 4:00 PM ^
Its been my experience that you'll find a ton of Drew Sharp's in the sportswriting world.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^
in Borges talking to Florida though. I get calls from headhunters 2 or 3 times a week but only follow up when its something that is a clear improvement or something that I might be passionate about. I think Borges could quite possibly be underpaid at 350k when you compare it to the other schools that carry as much water as UM (Texas, Ohio, Alabama, USC etc.). If he gets more money (from Michigan) good for him. How much was Weiss making at Florida? 765k.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^
What do you do?
December 9th, 2011 at 7:18 PM ^
But I tend to think (maybe irrationally, I suppose) that Michigan coaches care about Michigan, and wouldn't leave the program hanging like that. Borges has barely even started here, so I can't imagine he would ever seriously entertain the thought of leaving for Florida, even if the money was a bit better. Maybe he can use it as a tactic to coerse more money out of DB...but hey, if he keeps growing the offense and putting up 40+ ploints on OSU, somebody give that man a raise!
December 9th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^
Boy what a difference a few games make huh? After the Iowa performance there were many on the board (our glorious leader included) who weren't even 100% sure WE wented him and now he's the OC flavor of the month!
I'm not overtly worried but I am somewhat concerned. I would like to think that DB would open up his wallet to keep Al if necessary but until he's offered and we match/raise the offer then I'll worry a little bit.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:49 PM ^
While some people will always go off the deep-end, most rational people just hoped he'd realize putting Denard in the I-Formation for 28% of the snaps, throwing the ball 37 times and using Devin Gardner to spell Denard for no reason were hampering our offensive output. And he did. Props to Borges for realizing what he had to do to finish the season strong.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^
Just a thought (which may never get an answer) but knowing now how much Denard was injured during the year, I wonder if that was a contributing factor in giving Devin snaps during some of those games, especially when there was no apparent reason to do so.
Unlike previous years, it seems like there is rhyme and reason for most actions, and that one certainly lacked a certain amount of either.
Gives you a little more comfort when you don't understand a decision to believe that maybe there is an unknown factor or reasno at play which, if known, makes the decision seem completely reasonable.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
Denard (aside from the times he actually left the game against Illinois and Northwestern) was still in the game when Devin came in. He often got the ball as part of the play and if not he was used as a decoy to attract the defense.
The QB shuffle was just a gimmick Borges used to confuse defenses and make them prepare for something unusual but in the long run it probably hurt our offensive continuity more than it helped.
It was a mistake made by a good coach. It happens.
December 9th, 2011 at 3:52 PM ^
Or it didn't happen
December 9th, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^
I read somewhere the list of people Tulane has talked to for their HC job. They listed a few specific names and then said "an unnamed Big 10 OC." Aren't Borges and the Wiscy OC the only ones worth looking at for a head job?
December 9th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
Jim Bollman LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
December 9th, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^
That's almost certainly Paul Chryst, the media's slather and lather OC of the Big Ten. Maybe he can bring the snore on down to the bayou.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:05 PM ^
Only reason I said him was after I read the article I looked up Big 10 offensive stats and Wiscy was up there. Regardless, they are looking at a Big 10 OC as a candidate.
December 9th, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^
Hoke won't let him leave... fact. Just like Bo to Lloyd.