Arb lover

February 14th, 2018 at 4:48 PM ^

He was a head coach for a sec team we beat. At least he didn't cancel the game like Alabama did to msu.

I'm fine with more experience and eyes on the practice field for the offense, please, but coach really needs to button down on too many cooks in the kitchen for game time play calling.

His off field antics are cause for pause, but at the end if the day I'd rather have him on our sideline than at state or osu.

lhglrkwg

February 14th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^

It'd be a little embarassing to take on the shark humper mantle in Ann Arbor, but his record at Bama and Colorado State is impressive. Seems like the wise man would see that the dude may have been a crappy head coach, but was a great OC

DrMantisToboggan

February 14th, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^

So when he got to Bama in 2008, their previous 3 recruiting classes were ranked 3rd, 12th, and 13th (average of 9.33, coincidentally ours is nearly identical at average of 10th). They hadn't yet gotten to the level of recruiting they're at now, so he wasn't exactly winning with Tua, and Najee, and Ridley. His first team that he improved from 54th to 7th in S&P had John Parker Wilson at QB and Glen Coffee at RB. His second team that went undefeated with a top 4 offense had Greg McElroy at QB handing off to Mark Ingram and throwing to Julio Jones.

 

By McElwain's 2nd year at Bama they were starting to get to the ridiculous talent level that they boast now, but they weren't quite there yet, and they certainly weren't there in his first year under Saban. He took Bama's offense to a dramatic improvement in his first year, and also dramatically improved Colorado State in each year he was there. I don't think the talent at Bama is much of a confounding factor in his success there, I think the guy really knows offense. I can stand a "conservative" or slow-paced offense so long as it's efficient. I'm good with only averaging 30 a game if our opponents only average 12. 

Flying Dutchman

February 14th, 2018 at 4:44 PM ^

In the last 6 months or so, an old and close friend of mine has forged a personal friendship with Tom Crean.   My buddy is a pro baseball scout and lives in the Michiana region, and I think the connection is that he has scouted Tom's son as a baseball prospect, or something like that.  But he and Tom hang out (I guess Tom isn't all that busy right now).

Anyway, my buddy is an avowed Hawkeyes fan, so it's not an Indiana/Marquette thing, and he has met pro athletes and coaches all over for the last 20 years.   Tom Crean is one of his favorite people in sports.   It was weird hearing all this after all the grief we give Crean on this site.

I'll see if he has ever met Shark Fucker.  

Cranky Dave

February 14th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^

this has been discussed quite a bit over the past week.  to summarize:

-shark humper

-shitty head coach at FL so don't want

-great job improving offense at CSU so do want

-OC in early years of Saban regime so do want. 

 

 

MJ14

February 14th, 2018 at 7:25 PM ^

Nuss wasn't very good at 'Bama and got pushed out. McElwain helped build 'Bama before it was a powerhouse. McElwain moved on because he was moving up fast. He won his division in the SEC. He also lost his starting QB Will Grier. Had he kept Grier I guarantee he would have won his division again and more games over the last few years. It sucks losing your starting QB on a team your trying to rebuild the offense on. Just ask Jim Harbaugh.