John Baxter to return to USC as Special Teams Coordinator
#Michigan's John Baxter is returning to #USC as Trojans special teams coordinator.
Buzzkill...
UPDATE***
John Baxter to USC = opening for @CoachCPartridge
January 7th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
1. No clue @ Utah on how to execute on side kick
2. Roughing the kicker...once or twice?
3. No returns to the house on punt
4. Sparty..I'll leave it at that.
5. Good luck in the Holiday Bowl John.
January 7th, 2016 at 9:35 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 10:00 PM ^
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January 8th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
The td punt return by Indiana was bullshit, since there were 2 blocks in the back and a targeting call that somehow got overlooked. One of the other return TDs had everyone in position and we just missed a tackle. Our special teams consistently got is good field position and our punt return was pretty effective, even if they didn't manage a td
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January 8th, 2016 at 9:06 AM ^
There are well over 100 special teams plays in a season. Only a tiny percentage result in touchdowns. Special-teams touchdowns are outlier events.
Look more at how we performed on a play-by-play basis. How frequently did we down punts inside the opponent's 20? How frequently did we prevent opposing kickoff returners from advancing past the 30? How often did we return punts for 10+ yards?
This was the first year in quite a while in which I didn't feel that any aspect of special teams was a weakness. I was confident in quality play from every unit. In the first two-thirds of the season, this was huge for us as our offense struggled to sustain drives. My only disappointment was that we struggled to block punts despite regularly coming very close.
January 7th, 2016 at 11:00 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 9:14 PM ^
Regardless, wish him the best
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:48 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:56 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:57 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 11:22 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 9:35 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 9:49 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:52 PM ^
Really loved Baxter's work for M, both on and off the field.
#TrustHarbaugh, but I still feel bad about losing Baxter.
January 7th, 2016 at 9:54 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 9:55 PM ^
Minus the play that shall never be named (which really isn't on Baxter), I thought special teams took a good leap forward this Fall. I'm confident Harbaugh will find a great replacement, but still, Baxter definitely had that unit trending upwards.
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January 8th, 2016 at 7:38 AM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 9:57 PM ^
Wasn't Baxter the one responsible for the acedemic support program we heard so much about when this staff came on board a year ago. I might be wrong on that but if I am right that may be as big of a blow to Michigan football as losing him as our STC.
January 7th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^
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January 7th, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 10:13 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
After the effing disaster that was "special teams" under our previous head coach's tenure, Coach Baxter showed us The Way to Play Special Teams. For that we are eternally grateful, and wish him the best back in LA. I have the utmost confidence that the fundamentals, techniques and tactics of Baxter's coaching can be carried over and incorporated into the next coach's repertoire; and that Coach Harbaugh will make sure there is no fall-off going forward.
January 7th, 2016 at 10:53 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 11:11 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 10:35 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 10:40 PM ^
I agree. O'Neil said he reverted to his Australian rules football instincts in terms of just tryign to move the ball forward instead of falling on it. I see that as a coaching failure - he wasnt coached to develop new instincts. If they had practiced that over and over, or perhaps if he was simply even told what to do, that debacle might have not happened.
January 7th, 2016 at 11:16 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 10:35 PM ^
Lots of anchoring effect going on here. Yes he improved from 2014, but my blind grandma could have improved special teams from 2014. I dont think our special teams were any better than the same units on teams where they are coached by a position coach. Baxter was competent, but the bar should be higher.
January 7th, 2016 at 10:38 PM ^
Really sorry to see Coach Baxter go. Great teacher. Very good at breaking things down to simple tasks the players could easily master. Gave them great confidence and solid fundamentals.
I know this is just an excuse, but I thought some of the ST negatives, like the Rutgers punt return, were tied to personnel changes as much or maybe even more than the coaching. Chesson was pulled off punt coverage that week and his sub didn't make the play he should have.
Good luck to Coach Baxter. Really smart guy who will be missed.
January 8th, 2016 at 8:28 AM ^
I was a huge fan of his academic program.
Whats your opinion on what happened with the spread punt formation at the end of the MSU game?
Can't wait to see your son blowing kids off the line and doing his best Bennie Joppru impression!
January 14th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^
In the moment, I was fine with the formation. After the fact, yes, max protect. Or, once you see you didn't pull a Spartan out wide, a shift to max protect might've been wiser. Great thing, hindsight, eh? Though given what happened, it may not have made a difference.
When I saw 11 up I thought for a moment about a pass to the left wide out, who was uncovered. But then I thought, all we have to do is kick the ball over the LOS and we've won. Doesn't matter if we're in spread or max protect, just catch the ball, kick it over the line and let it roll until the clock runs out. For me, it was only hindsight that said go max.
Also, I didn't recognize it live, but saw on replays O'Neill was lined up a yard deeper than normal (16 yds instead of 15 yds). That made a low snap ever so slightly lower. In a game of inches, could Blake have handled a snap a fraction of an inch higher that arrived a split second sooner?
January 7th, 2016 at 10:47 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 11:05 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 11:12 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 11:30 PM ^
January 7th, 2016 at 11:55 PM ^
Baxter's time here may have always been temporary. He might of just agreed to come in and set up his academic program and be a mentor for the young Jay. I am guessing Jay will become ST/TE coach. Partridge most likely will coach linebackers. I would also guess that we still lose one of the defensive backfield coaches.
So the question is where will hire another current staff member or get someone outside of the program next?
January 8th, 2016 at 12:22 AM ^
May have said hit the road. I think overall he did a great job and the MSU miscue was just a fluke. I hope Partridge is just as good!
January 8th, 2016 at 2:59 AM ^
January 8th, 2016 at 7:23 AM ^
Didnt see this coming, hopefully JH wasn't totally blindsided by this. Our special teams were light years better than any Hoke produced, John Baxter will be missed.