Moore targeting Tony Alford as new RB coach?
https://footballscoop.com/news/sources-michigan-targeting-ohio-states-tony-alford
not sure how reliable this is, but figured it was worth sharing...
March 13th, 2024 at 10:52 AM ^
Born in Ohio (didn't play for OSU) and has been at OSU since 2015. Has never coached at Michigan.
Not sure what the offer would have to be to get him to move over. Can't imagine Michigan would significantly out-spend OSU and he won't get a promotion out of it.
March 13th, 2024 at 10:56 AM ^
Ryan Day's ship is sinking. What a shame.
Much too soon soul-less eyes!
March 13th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
ohio state guys on Twitter are saying he had to lobby Day for his job during their coaching purge. So maybe he’s bitter or maybe they’re saying stuff to cope
March 13th, 2024 at 11:38 AM ^
It's a conversation going on Reddit right now.
Is Alford the best RB coach and recruiter in the nation? Probably not. But this is turning into what happens when a program loses a commit. All the fans suddenly say "he wasn't a take, wasn't good enough anyways."
March 13th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
That’s Tom Loy’s song
March 13th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
Bullshit, OSU has churned out running back after running back. Henderson is also really really good and appears they dont know how to use him.
March 13th, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
Makes sense, Ryan Day prefers to pass the ball, Michigan prefers to run the ball.
Maybe Alford likes winning...hasn't happened in Columbus for quite a while.
How Far is Afar, since your analysis did not age well? I think hiring Chip Kelley had a lot to do with it. But the money is there also, they saved big bucks when JH did not return.
What about my analysis was wrong? I didn't say he wouldn't take the job or that he wouldn't be a good hire. I simply didn't know why he would take the job given it's a lateral move given those facts.
Michigan may outspend OSU for his services, but most of this seems like an OSU coaching staff experiencing turnover and him not being happy with his situation.
March 13th, 2024 at 10:53 AM ^
sam webb said today who they're targeting would be a jaw-dropping hire, but he wouldn't say who. This would definitely fit that bill
March 13th, 2024 at 11:14 AM ^
I had assumed the jaw-dropping hire would have been DeMarco Murray. Some overlap in playing at Oklahoma with Sherrone Moore. But he’s also the RB coach at Oklahoma, his alma mater.
I don’t really know how much of a “jaw dropping” hire you can really make at running back coach. So I just jumped to big name. DRob is too easy, has too little experience and makes too much sense to be a jaw dropping hire.
Alford wouldn’t be jaw dropping outside of the fact that he’d be jumping rivals.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:23 AM ^
Oklahoma RBs haven't been exactly lighting it up under Murray. I understand that their offense isn't close to what ours is, but IMO, that guy isn't close to jaw dropping.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
There’s no hire that is going to be jaw-dropping based on production. It’s going to be name-recognition and the attention that brings from a recruiting perspective. If you look at what Hart produced at Indiana, it wouldn’t have been considered a great hire. But it was an amazing hire to almost every fan for the simple fact that it’s Mike Hart and there was a name-recognition that came along with that.
I also hesitate to attribute running game production to a running backs coach. That is probably the position that is the most reliant on the natural abilities of a player. You can’t teach the type of cutting ability and explosiveness of Corum. You can’t teach power or speed. Aside from that it’s up to your blocking to create space for you to work and the back developing vision and patience. It is often considered the easiest position to coach in football.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:42 AM ^
Still gotta teach pass pro, blitz pickups, blocking techniques, be coordinated with the OL calls on pass plays, proper steps and footwork for different running plays really matters, timing, how to set up defenders, how to set up second level blocks... technique DOES matter it's not just athleticism. You can't teach speed, vision, and instinct but there is certainly plenty that you have to coach at the position still. Agreed that the OL makes or breaks the RB, obviously.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:52 AM ^
I’m not saying there’s no hands-on coaching involved, just that there’s significantly less in comparison with other positions. Which is why it’s widely considered the easiest position to coach and the easiest position for freshmen to see the field.
If you’re looking at production from the backs as a grading scale for the coach, you’re doing it wrong. The individual abilities of the back, the blocking he gets, and the playcalling/offensive scheme play a bigger role in production than what the running backs coach is going to be able to do.
March 13th, 2024 at 12:38 PM ^
pretty unimpressive take on a number of fronts here. The fact that Moore jumped the fence and snatched their second most tenured assistant shows balls beyond a measurable size and says he is one bad motherf**ker. This is the kind of killer you want running the show. Show everyone down the line that you're not afraid of anything.
As for Corum or any other running back that we've developed in the last few years, if you think Hart didn't have a SIGNIFICANT impact on their development, you don't really understand anything about coaching or college athletics. And if you think Hart didn't produce good results at Indiana, then you really are a clown and have no credibility in any of this.
I’m not sure what your first paragraph has to do with anything I said.
As for the development of our backs, that’s again attributed more to their natural abilities and the fact that they’ve played behind the best OL in the country 2 of the 3 seasons, and the year they DIDN’T, there was a significant drop off in efficiency. But nowhere did I say Hart (or any RB coach) doesn’t have a hand in development. I said it’s the least impactful of any of the coaching positions.
now let’s look at Hart’s tenure at Indiana, specifically his top two backs each year:
2017: 236 carries, 1,132 yards, 4.79 YPC, 7 TDs
2018: 260 carries, 1,278 yards, 4.91 YPC, 12 TDs
2019: 259 carries, 1,120 yards, 4.32 YPC, 13 TDs
2020: 188 carries, 657 yards, 3.49 YPC, 5 TDs
Where are the “good results” exactly? Those are pretty putrid running stats and they got worse the longer Hart was there, so he wasn’t improving things. Specifically in the context of judging a coach specifically on the production of his unit, which I brought Hart as an example of why NOT to do that. Because there are too many other factors.
Yeah those 4-5 yards per carry sound horrible /s
Hart was a key talent evaluator, he also coached them up to be very productive backs. Remember you are talking about Indiana's offense here...
Well for starters, 4-5 yards per carry from your top two backs is actually pretty bad. 127 players rushed for 5+ yards per carry this season alone. Indiana ranked 111th, 69th, 106th, and 114th in team yards per carry in Hart’s four seasons there. Again, the productivity of his units were not good.
Remember you are talking about Indiana's offense here...
Congrats, you circled back to the point I’ve been making from the start. You can’t judge a running backs coach on the productivity of the unit he coaches. Im not ragging on Hart as a coach, but you’re claiming he had productive units at Indiana and that’s just demonstrably false. He had pretty terrible production at Indiana but that doesn’t say much about him as a coach. Similar to how Oklahoma not having great production doesn’t say much about DeMarco Murray as a coach.
But you’re just completely off base if you’re arguing Hart had that running game looking productive. They had a power back that never improved after his freshman season and were amongst the worst rushing offenses in the country.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
Jaw dropping for me would be Barry Sanders. I believe he still lives in Detroit.
I have no idea if he would be a good coach or not, (“be like me,” while great in theory is hard to put into practice) but my jaw might break from dropping so fast.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
I love Barry (obviously) but I do not think he’d be a good recruiter. He seems like a very sweet man and I’ll bet the parents would be very taken with him but he’s not the kind of charismatic that wins over most high school kids
March 13th, 2024 at 12:46 PM ^
I think he could recruit talented, humble, team-oriented players. He might have trouble with the kids looking for the biggest bag. I appreciate the kids who score a touchdown and hand the ball to the official. We had a guy like that recently but my mind is drawing a blank.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
Barry is a Sparty fan. Couple that with the way he quit at the top of his game, and no thanks.
(FWIW, I don't blame Barry for leaving that organization one bit - I'm kinda surprised he stuck around so long, honestly. But I do not like the way he left, or the timing of it.)
March 13th, 2024 at 12:05 PM ^
I'm the opposite on viewing Barry's "quitting". Football is such a brutal game that anyone who decides they're not putting their body on the line for a team/management that isn't trying to win after putting their body on the line for years for that team...respect. It wasn't like a Mecole Hardman at the Jets situation.
Conceptually it's quite simple -- run (or even walk) past the goal line, hold onto the ball, and don't fall down.
March 13th, 2024 at 10:56 AM ^
Please let it be so, if for no other reason than to see the meltdown at 11W.
March 13th, 2024 at 10:58 AM ^
Cool. Bring the playbook and signs. Buckeyes will have a decade's worth of excuses.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:00 AM ^
Death Penalty!
- TONY P
March 13th, 2024 at 11:02 AM ^
Fingers crossed but nothing good has come out of these “leaks” for Michigan. Lots of pay raises for coaches on other teams tho…
March 13th, 2024 at 11:04 AM ^
This bit is interesting:
The vacancy stems from the recent exit of Mike Hart, a former Michigan star tailback who was not welcomed back to the program as Moore transitioned to his role at the helm.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:09 AM ^
I think it's kind of odd that there's no comment by anybody directly connected with the program about the departure of one of the most celebrated Michigan players of the past 25 years.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:19 AM ^
Was thinking same thing Don. The silence regarding his departure has been deafening.
First it was "personal reason" implying he was dealing with some sort of health issue
Then it transitioned to him being pissed off he wasn't promoted to another role once Harbaugh left
Then it moved to Hart having conflicts with Harbaugh (which has nothing to do with his relationship/job status with Moore)
And now it's basically "he was fired'.
There is DEFINITELY more to this story than we know right now.
March 14th, 2024 at 10:12 AM ^
Hart was in a role that's light on Xs and Os coaching and usually heavy on recruiting and he sucked at that aspect. It's really that simple. Moore seems to be extremely serious about upping our game in terms of talent attraction and that meant no more Indiana level recruiting at RB coach.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
To me that just comes across as an unconnected source looking at the fact that Hart’s contract expired and isn’t returning as him not being welcomed back.
The only way I can see him “not being welcomed back” is if Moore was looking at the timeline and not getting a straight answer from Hart on his return and Moore needing the position filled.
If it was just as simple as Hart not being welcomed back on the staff, I see no reason that Moore would have waited this long to try and fill the spot.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
Hart has always made it clear he wants to be the Michigan head coach. He was probably difficult to deal with after Moore got the job.
Yeah, if i had a guess, it would probably be this.
Does anyone remember why Wheatley is gone/not welcomed back? Did he straight up not get along with Harbaugh, or was it something else?
March 13th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
I'd say Tony Alford going to Michigan is a bigger middle finger than Greg Mattison to Ohio State was.
And I love it.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
this is the first thing that came to mind and...Mattison is 1-3 against Michigan, Zach Harrison went with him and was 1-2. Since 2011, Mattison is a John-Cooper-Like 2-10 in The Game.
haha the superstitious me is nervous for that reason
March 13th, 2024 at 11:48 AM ^
Huh? Mattison retired after the 2020 season.
March 13th, 2024 at 12:13 PM ^
Yeah. Who needs facts when you've got the vibe? I like it!
March 13th, 2024 at 12:16 PM ^
My bad. Damn it, it was a good stat until it wasn't true. Lies, damn lies, statistics, and statistics based on lies.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
There seems to be more rumblings at 11W.
Maybe with new OC, Chip Kelly's offense, Alford would have a reduced role and isn't happy about it. Sort of like Mike Hart? It would certainly add spice to the rivalry.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
Or, is it that Chips' offense doesn't fit Tony's style? Something like the zone/man distinctions that were highlighted in a post yesterday. I mean, when RR came in, his idea of "running the ball" was dramatically different from Carr (or, really, the entire B1G).
March 13th, 2024 at 12:09 PM ^
Thats not likely. Steve Alford was the RB coach at ND a long time under Brian Kelly, and thats a zone blocking offense.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:09 AM ^
there's no way OSU will let some guy leave for UM. They will (I bet) spend anything to stop it.
March 13th, 2024 at 11:11 AM ^
The only way I see this working out is if Alford doesn't feel like the right fit for the offense under Chip Kelly.