Shannon vs Heater

Submitted by fatbastard on

Let us assume that we retain coach Rodriguez. Most of the fanbase assumes that Gerg won't be. At the very least there will likely be two or three defensive coaches let go.

Candidates for the defensive coordinator position might include:

Bruce Tall:   I assume this is unlikely. The defense has been poor enough that it would be hard to justify elevatingthe best position coach on what seems to be a weak staff. On the other hand if rodriguez is going to want his dc to play a 335 regardless of experience with it, Tall is probably better suited to do that than gerg.  It would be hard to be worse. Ultimately, I believe that Brandon will want someone with a proven record and more appealing to the masses. So should rodriguez--he may only have one more year to prove himself.

Chuck Heater:   If he's available this would seem to be a good fit. Michigan ties. Florida plays a tough style of defense which we expect to play. The fans for mchigan would embrace him because he played here and has had good success in the ESS-EEE-SEE. The DC job for heater would be an upgrade for him and could be a stepping stone to a head coach consideration here or elsewhere depending on how thngs go.

Randy Shannon:   Probably a pipe dream since he will likely have a shot at a head coach position for a lower level major cnference school like Minnesota, Mississippi State, Maryland. It's likely he would choose that option if available. He'd be a good fit though. We already focus heavily on recruiting Florida and his ties there would further that connection. He's also the type of coach who could be hired and paid well and allow Rodriguez to continue to be very hands off with the defense. From the little I have read, Shannon places significant effort on kids going to class and staying out of trouble and would be a good fit with Rodriguez from that perspective.  With his defensive track record Brandon would approve and likely be willing to pay. He's recently mentioned that the coach here is gven a lot and a lot is expected. This would certainly fit hat description and potentially se up a solid defensive staff for a couple of years unless or until Shannon were offered a good head coachng position or Rodriguez let go. if we,re willing to pay LSU type assistant money there could be a chance toland him. Detractors would correctly say that he doesn't have Michigan or Big 10 experience, but his track record would appease most fans (at least for a year or two).

Jim Herman: doubtful. He'd be an improvement over what we have. He's familar with the program. That however may actually be a reason he wouldn't be cnsided. RR has spent a signifcant amount of effort and time changing the way thngs were done before him. RR would likely feel threatened by that move and it's probably an impossibility for that reason.

My choice would be Shannon. I doubt he'll be available. I'd take Heater. Either would appease the alums and donors for a year or two. By then well know if Rodriguez is the guy.

Tater

December 2nd, 2010 at 6:48 AM ^

I'm pretty sure nobody is suggesting one sentence per paragraph, like this one.

Anyway, a break before each "candidate's" name would flow very naturally and be a lot easier on the eyes.  I would then put two breaks in the "Shannon" supporting arguments, and one before the conclusion.  YMMV.

FWIW, computer screens are more difficult to read than pages, so shorter paragraphs are sometimes helpful.  Also, the internet, with its ability to deliver large amounts of information in small packages in a brief timespan, has affected the attention span of most people to a point where short paragraphs are often more effective than those of more "traditional" length. 

It's quite a bind; if a paragraph has one or two sentences, it is seen as "too short" or "choppy."  If it has six or seven, it becomes "tl;dr" for some, but "just right" for others.  The post in question, though, has thirty-three sentences with no paragraph break.  Also, the grammatical and spelling errors become more frequent as the post progresses, as though the poster started smoking a fat one at the beginning of the post and finished by the end.

I hope his eyes felt better than mine did by the last sentence.

st barth

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^

It is also worth noting that blog commentary is more of a discussion than traditional writing.   Even though many of us often have much to add to a subject, it is usually more effective to deliver that info in small pieces, wait for a response, and then deliver additional info.

In other words, it's more like talking than writing.

mGrowOld

December 2nd, 2010 at 7:23 AM ^

I don't know what you guys are talking about I think his formatting and punctuation is just fine thank you and while we're discussing DC's how about that Jeff Casteel guy in WV cause he coached with RR and ran the 3-3-5 really well and all that besides I don't think Shannon's going to take a step down and be a DC again while their are still good HC jobs he could get and then there is the guy from TCU he's pretty good too and I'd like us to give whoever we bring in control of both the sets and the assistants and let RR focus on the offense if you know what I mean

.

beangoblue

December 2nd, 2010 at 2:47 AM ^

Don't have extensive knowledge of either one but I think we could benefit from an upgrade on the defensive staff (obvious statement, i know). Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

psychomatt

December 2nd, 2010 at 3:49 AM ^

Heater was a teammate of Brandon's under Bo for several years in the early 70's and Brandon knows him well. Unfortunately, Heater has been with Urban Meyer since his days at Utah and it's unclear whether he would leave Urbie to come back to UM. I am sure he is on Brandon's short list of possible replacements for Gerg.

Another possibility is Mike Trgovac, though he recently moved to Green Bay and might not want to move again so soon with his kids. Trgovac, who also played for Bo, is about six years younger and has phenomenal NFL experience (including five years as DC for the Panthers). He would be my first choice, though Heater also would be excellent (I think Heater is Urbie's recruiting coordinator too).

wesq

December 2nd, 2010 at 6:46 AM ^

Mediocre to solid NFL coordinators do not automatically equal great college coordinators.  The guy hasn't coached at the college level in two decades, and his time as DC John Fox was the leader of that defense and Trgovac was eventually fired from that job.  I thought we learned the lesson about NFL success and college success with GERG.

superstringer

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:35 AM ^

Trgovac walked away from the Panthers DC job.  IIRC, he was being asked to come back but he said "No, thanks," and left on his own volition.  At that point he wound up in GB as the DL coach.  It was something of a mystery at the time, the Panthers were doing ok and Mortensen or King or someone was wondering why he'd leave.

Trgovac would probably be an upgrade in some "strategery" respects (of course that's what the Domers thought re The Whale); whether he can relate to kids and recruit is an unknown of course.

MWW6T7

December 2nd, 2010 at 7:26 AM ^

   Not  sure how much it is really going to matter who we bring in unless he is allowed to run the defense as he see's fit and bring in his own staff.  If you were to bring in another DC that has no experience with the 3-3-5 and force him to run it with thet same assistants that were here before your just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. 

   That being said , I would not mind either one. I dont know much about Heater but Shannon has always seemed to field well above competent defenses.

Jay-Z

December 2nd, 2010 at 5:44 AM ^

He seems like a good guy, but I don't think he is much of a coach. Look at the last DC we hired who was fired as a HC. Lets get someone who wasn't fired from a job.

MWW6T7

December 2nd, 2010 at 7:46 AM ^

Just because a person was not a good HC doesn't mean that they wouldn't make a good coordinator, just like a coordinator wouldn't necessarily make a good head coach. Ignore not saying is definitively the right person for the job but he was a DC before he took over at Miami.

MH20

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^

The scenarios between Gerg being fired from SU and Shannon being fired from Miami are on different levels.  I do agree that Shannon might not be a great HC (or even a good one), but his track record as the DC of Miami from 2001 to 2006 shows that he knows what he is doing when running a defense.  It wasn't just a year or two, it was six sustained years of success -- four of them with a top-10 defense and all six in the top 30.

Also, if you are looking to find someone who hasn't been fired from a job in today's CFB world of What Have You Done For Me In The Last 18 Seconds...good luck to you.

bronxblue

December 2nd, 2010 at 10:09 AM ^

Shannon is a far better (and younger) DC than GERG was at this time.  With Robinson, you were banking on success from nearly a decade prior, while Shannon was a very good DC even 4-5 years ago, and his Miami teams were always a top-40 units defensively.  Shannon won't be coming to A2, but he would undobutedly be a good DC here.

wesq

December 2nd, 2010 at 6:37 AM ^

Heater wouldn't leave a very stable job in Florida to come coach under someone who might not make it through the bowl season.  Unless it was for a significant salary bump, into the basically head coach range.  

fatbastard

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^

but, if Rodriguez is the coach on January 1, he will have been given the blessing of our administration, will have a pretty good recruiting class coming in, and it is an upgrade, at least in role, over what he has now at Florida.  I assume one of the reasons we might be able to land someone like him is the tie to Michigan, and the opportunity for him to be a serious candidate for head coach or stay on as a DC in the event Rodriguez is canned after a 4th year.

MEZman

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:47 AM ^

I feel like I just got hit in the head with a brick full of words.

 

Edit: And my comment makes no sense now that the OP fixed the formatting.

michiganfanforlife

December 2nd, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^

I think he might be interviewing for some head coaching jobs right now, but this guy would help our Defense AND our Special Teams. I think they need to fire all the Defensive staff, and make sure they get a kicking specialist  this time. I have never ever seen a team so bad that a 30 yd field goal is out of the question. We pretty much had to go for it all the time, and that can be a backbreaker. PLEASE hire someone who cares about Special Teams!!!

If we can't get Bud Foster, than I second the notion of the DC at TCU. I don't know his name, but that team is buttoned up on D. I agree that picking someone out of the NFL is a bad idea. We need a good DC with college experience who has a track record of dominating defenses.

Lastly, I think trying to snag a guy with Michigan ties is going to narrow the list down to quickly for no reason. We don't need someone who actually played for Michigan. We just need someone who excels at his job, and will come in and respect our program/tradition. Most coaches in Div. 1 that aren't at a top 20 (prestige) university would be very interested if UM called.