Rod Carey expected to be named Temple HC
Source: Rod Carey expected to be next Temple head coach https://t.co/SIQpaoMlrV
— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) January 10, 2019
January 10th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
What WI guy?
January 10th, 2019 at 10:22 AM ^
Sorry, got lazy. Larry Paged it and found what you were talking about!
January 10th, 2019 at 9:55 AM ^
Losing Mattison didn’t really matter. Losing Washington hurt a bit. Losing Brown would have been catostrophic. Thank god we are keeping him
January 10th, 2019 at 9:57 AM ^
I do like DB but to say catostrophic is a bit much. If one thing JH has proven while here, It's that he hires good DC's.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
Brown isn't irreplaceable, and he might even be upgradable but I'm not sure next year is the year you want to eat those transition costs.
Our interior DL sucked last year. Both ends are getting replaced. Our safety play depends on a freshman coming in and kicking ass. We're losing our best LB. You get the picture.
Adding a totally new scheme/staff on top of that seems like a good way lose a couple winnable games.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
So I have a question regarding your "interior DL sucked" statement. Is there a good place to find individual season grades? I'd like to see how guys graded out individually before I can decide whether to agree with you or throw an internet shit fit.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
It would be interesting to know what PFF or someone has to say, but we both watched the games. Our interior DL very rarely moved the OL back. That's one big reason why Chase and Rashan kept running into each other. If the interior DL had any push, the QB would have been within arms reach of the DE's when they got around their guys.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
The sucked at rushing the passer. And they weren't great against the better teams on the schedule.* They were pretty good against the run.
*many, many teams find themselves in this position. For example, what did world-eater Quinen Williams do against Clemson? "This defense/offense/team/lucky horse shoe doesn't perform well against the best teams on the schedule" is one of the laziest canards in sports. Most every thing does not perform well when going against the best other any thing because that thing is the best. No things perform well against them.
January 10th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
"Sucked" is probably not accurate.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
DB’s entire scheme is driven by pressuring the qb. That didn’t happen the last 2 games. Gotta put a lot of that on mattison. Totally OK bringing in a younger guy to change things up a bit.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
Everyone’s defense needs to pressure the QB. Look what happened to ‘Bama in the MNC game when they couldn’t get pressure.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
agreed
our issue late in the season was D-Line depth - too many guys banged up and unlike OSU which can overcome the loss of Bosa we aren't that deep yet
but we are getting there - we are solid with our starters, just need depth now
January 10th, 2019 at 10:22 AM ^
Depth was definitely an issue but not having a game-changing DT hurt too.
Hurst covered up for a lot because he was so good in 2017 and in 2016 we had Glasgow, Godin, and Hurst - all significantly better than the DT rotation we had this year. Being able to collapse the pocket or get instant pressure in the middle makes the rest of the lines job easier. We didn't have that in this year, for the first time under Brown.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Yep. 100%. Someone argued that DB's defense relies "inordinately" on pressuring the QB. I don't think that's true at all--it benefits as all defenses do. His defense (and we knew this when he came in, Seth wrote about it) puts an unusual level of pressure on the DBs due to his press man scheme. The press man scheme actually forms the foundation in part to allow him to dial up exotic blitzes without leaving huge holes in the back end.
However, DL had been a strength in the first two years, and was dominant at times this past year... and then absolutely disappeared in Columbus. The results show what that meant.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
I always read about exotic blitzes. What is an exotic blitz? How exotic is it to tell a LB to run after the guy with the ball?
January 10th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^
For example, Devin Bush's coming out party in 2017 started with Noah Furbush basically being a fullback coming in to eat up the blitz blocking while Devin Bush came on a delayed blitz. That is, until teams adjusted for it.
I'm not a huge football nerd, so I don't know if that's exactly groundbreaking, but that's what comes to mind when I think of "exotic" blitzes.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
Catastrophic is a bit strong, but I don't think people understand how difficult it is to have the #1 defense in America at Boston College with shit-ass recruits and no offense whatsoever. Brown is as good as they get. I'd like to see a little more zone mixed in against elite opponents, but anyone who is shrieking that Brown "can't" do that is an utter moron. He ran plenty of zone at his stops in the past. I think he may have just gotten a little drunk on power when he was able to obliterate 90% of opponents with exclusively press man coverage.
January 10th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
We just got carpet bombed by O$U and eviscerated by Florida. I don't think losing any coach would be catastrophic.
January 10th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
We probably won't find out the details, but I really hope what went down is DB was highly considering taking the Temple job, but Harbaugh and Warde came in, paid the DUDE what he is worth as a DC and began working on a plan to replace both Mattison and Washington.
I am sick of hearing lately just negative stuff out of this freaking football program. Surprise us Harbaugh and announce the stud new DL and LB coaches.
Go Blue!
January 10th, 2019 at 10:05 AM ^
I could see Brown wanting Mattison gone. The line wasn't great this year, Rashan didn't become what we would have liked, and Mattison isn't the great recruiter he was five years ago.
Washington was only on staff because Brown wanted him. Those guys had a long history. I'm sure Brown was bummed to lose him.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
This take seems reasonable, although I would stop short of saying DB "wanted" GM gone. I would soften that a bit and say that DB won't be upset that he is gone. On the lines of 'okay, see ya...' when told he was leaving.
Washington was a loss of a good recruiter to a school/region that doesn't need that kind of help. And it stings...
January 10th, 2019 at 10:19 AM ^
Not sure Washington is that big of a loss. His biggest recruiting achievement was getting us in bed with Zach Harrison, whom we ended up losing to OSU anyways. Not particularly upset with either coaching move, it's a good chance to upgrade both spots.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
Nick Baumgardner posited that OSU wanted both Mattision and Washington for recruiting purposes. M was making inroads into opening Ohio as a recruiting ground and they were the two primary Ohio connections. So OSU is trying to fence Ohio by taking these guys away from M.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
I believe this is the truth and the main reason.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
Ryan Day: We've beaten Michigan pretty much every year of your life including 2 months ago when my offense completely dismantled their top-ranked defense. We're back-to-back B1G champs; right now they have more questions than answers.
Recruit: Sure, but I'm still considering Michigan. It's a great school and a solid program.
Ryan Day: What if we hire a 70-year-old caretaker for our unproven DC and a new linebackers coach?
Recruit: Whatever.
Ryan Day: But wait, get this - the LB coach's dad used to play... AT OHIO STATE!! The very institution I am representing!
Recruit: Hot damn! You mean this new guy is coaching at his blood relative's alma mater? Just like Jay Harbaugh? That was my main concern! I will never talk to Michigan ever again.
January 10th, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^
This totally misses the point. It is not that these guys are ultra attractive to any individual recruit. It is that they have connections in Ohio and OSU wanted to take those connections away from M.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Is prioritizing and putting a fence around Ohio that big of a recruiting advantage? Meyer too OSU from good to great with recruits from outside the Big Ten footprint. Charles Woodson was a long time ago.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
I have no idea whether Washington is or is not a recruiting asset. Maybe he is, but I think that is the kind of thing that is consistently overblown by all college football fans.
Call me crazy, but if you hire a football coach in his 30s that has been around the block and can relate with high school kids, he's going to be a good recruiter at Michigan. And that's because he gets to sell the University of Michigan.
Throw Al Washington on the Rutgers staff and lets see how many Zach Harrisons of the world have the Scarlet Knights in their final 3. Probably none. That's because nobody wants to go to friggin' Rutgers.
But show kids the Big House and the block M and trips abroad and all-time wins leader and the Ross business school and beautiful Ann Arbor and a top-15 (sigh) program and Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown, and kids are going to be interested. I don't care if Al Washington is making that weekly phone call or Partridge or Zordich or Jay or our new Linebackers coach or whatever.
I'm sure Washington does a good job with it. So will the next guy. That's part of the job and the next candidate will have proven that ability at previous jobs or he won't get hired. We've had top-10 recruiting classes my entire life. That's not going to change because we lost Al Washington.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
I agree. I bet the people on this board having a pity party will be ecstatic. People were upset when Durkin left and he was replaced by someone better. I suspect that will be the same in this case.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
I think it's more a matter of being on a first-name basis with HS coaches in Ohio, having them respond with excitement when you call them or show up. . . because they knew your dad or have been watching you since a pup, etc.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:07 AM ^
Al Washington had a reputation as a strong recruiter before Harbaugh hired him. He earned it at places that aren't easy to recruit at a high level.
You have a point though. I've seen a lot of comments about how Saban just hires top recruiters. Anybody becomes a better recruiter when they're wearing an Alabama shirt. Saban, just like any other FBS coach, wants assistants that can teach and can recruit. Putting that Alabama shirt on doesn't make them a better teacher.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:30 AM ^
Rashan didn't become what we would have liked
I know Rashan was injured a lot, but I believe his development was far, far, less than it could/should have been. He was never coached to develop pass rush moves to take advantage of his athleticism and was consistently used to execute 'scheme' rather than to 'make plays'. I think a lot of this blame goes to Mattison as he did not know what to do with an elite athlete
January 10th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Agreed. I get that he was double and triple teamed a lot but guys like Clowney and Bosa also received a shitload of attention and they still managed to put up huge numbers. Gary's development was lacking here.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
I go back and forth on this. Bosa was a weakside end so Chase is a better comparison to him. While Gary didn't wow me the way I'd hoped he would I think we are gonna realize next season how well he held the edge. Teams either didn't run to his side or were unsuccessful when they tried. Florida was able to get the edge in his absence and think teams will be able to next year unless one of the DEs blows up. Limiting a team to only running to one side of the field is huge and Gary allowed that. That didn't show up on the stat sheet or make for big highlights though.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
There is a reason he is a first round pick. If fans here don't appreciate what Gary did for our team, the NFL scouts certainly do.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
I'd also argue he played the wrong spot his entire career.
Brian and everyone in the world compared him to Suh. One small problem - he never played a DT position at Michigan outside of a few third and long pass rush situations I recall. Huge mistake IMO. His pure athletic abilities would have translated better to that position, especially when you consider his pass rush moves against Tackles and Double Teams were not that strong.
And spare me the 'Michigan needed him to play DE for their scheme!'. That's a load of BS. It is pretty pathetic the coaching staff could not find one person to play SDE in the 3 years he was here to allow him to play where I think he would have the biggest impact.
Gary's career is going to go down as disappointment, given his injuries, skipping the bowl game and the feeling he was misused position wise.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^
I recall Gary insisting on playing end, not tackle during his recruitment. The other complication is that we had Hurst at 3 tech during Gary's first two years, so somebody had to play out of position.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
Why couldn't they have devised a scheme to play them both inside!?
January 10th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
I'll subscribe to this view. Not so much for 2016 and 2017 because Mo Hurst, but I half expected him to move inside this last year. This is something Brian (and Seth?) repeatedly said was likely to happen. I get that they aren't on the staff and don't really know, but those are informed opinions with a lot of football thought behind them. And it made sense - he's going to play DT in the NFL, and he's going to be good at it.
It would have been fun seeing him inside with Paye and Uche splitting time next to him. Why does the SDE have to be 300 lbs? Putting Paye/Uche speed opposite Winovich, with Gary in the middle, would have been devastating to most teams. Maybe not OSU.
But maybe even to OSU...
January 10th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
I don't know if it was only due to the injury (maybe), but both Rashan's playing and his body didn't seem to develop much while at Michigan. He basically left the same dude who came here out of high school, only with a lingering injury.
It's a damn shame that he couldn't just go to the NFL out of high school.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
The claims of regular "triple teams" seem a little hard to swallow. So he's getting blocked by either a TE, an OT, and a Gaurd, or an OT, a Guard, and the Center? Yeah... hard to belive.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
I just hope we can retain partridge. I think he will be a great dc someday and we can't afford to lose his recruiting.
I personally wonder how great a recruiter harbaugh is himself because he is a pretty weird guy. Seems like someone who would let a big fart out at the dinner table and make it awkward.
As a motivator I also question harbaugh. Watching the Amazon documentary, listening to him speak in team meetings was painful.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
He's a love him or hate him kind of guy. Logan Brown apparently thought he was awkward as hell and that's something that doesn't get talked about on here (everyone claims he was a Wisconsin fan since childhood). Harbaughs personality is going to get you guys like David Long and Aubret Solomon who appreciate the genuineness, and lose you guys like Logan Brown.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
Guess I need to watch. But if you add to these character issues the fact that Harbaugh has arguably mellowed, become a bit more detached. . . I'm interested in what we've got. Could be a good thing, with some adjustments, as he moves into more of a caretaker role. Continuity and stability CAN contribute to success, though, as we see at Clemson. And if he's having to hustle to get new leadership on board every season that's time out from other things.
January 10th, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
Just curious, why do you, and you're by no means alone here, think Partridge will be a great DC? I'm sure it's possible, but what has he done that's directly relevant?
January 10th, 2019 at 11:19 AM ^
Good question. The idea that Patridge should get moved into a DC role because he's an amazing recruiter is silly.
January 10th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
I said someday. He has had a chance to learn under a good DC. Players love him. He recruits his butt off. Half of a good defensive coach is getting guys to play for you. Every area of the defense that he has coached has seen improvement. He's not ready yet but when he gets his chance I can see him succeeding
January 10th, 2019 at 12:14 PM ^
How many years do you think Don Brown will keep coaching? That's probably the biggest factor. If he doesn't leave for a HC job (which despite the Temple thing seems increasingly unlikely) he'll probably be here a few more years before retiring or getting canned if we decide we need someone else to beat OSU or something.
While that plays out, Partridge will still be chased by top programs and I'm sure someone will dangle DC at him at some point, if not an elite program, then one who would take a flier on him.
If Brown leave/retires inside of 3-5 years, we might keep CP to groom him as heir-apparent, but if he doesn't, chances are he'll move on to a new role. Good-recruiting assistants who are decent-to-good coaches will always be in demand.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:11 AM ^
so... was this what all the cryptic tweets from the coaches were all about?
personally if the reason behind the cryptic tweets doesn't manifest within 12-18 hours i get a little antsy.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
Good. Now hopefully we hire a good DL coach and DB spends the next 10 months waking up in a cold sweat thinking about what OSU did to us.