Do any of the other Big 10 programs (except Rutgers, Illinois, Purdue — who cares about them), have head coaches who also are OC’s or DC’s? I get it that CTA likes defense, but I don’t see anyone can do both jobs. I love CTA’s enthusiasm, but IU is compounding his experiential challenge of learning to be a good head coach By requiring him to be the DC, too.
Big 10 head coaches who are coordinators
- Thread starter bdhman
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We are 2-0 and the young D is getting better. I'm not complaining about how we're doing things till we lose 5 in a row...
Not to mention, you negate the fact that TA is one of the top DC's in the country if you ask him to relinquish that job.
Why neuter one of your staff strengths?
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Do you feel this way about offensive coordinator/head coaches as well, or just defensive coordinators?
The head coaches that have simultaneoulsy been OCs/play callers at both the college and pro levels is almost too many to count. Didn't Coach Wilson call plays as OC as well when he was here? Was that distasteful to you?
I'm biased because I'm really, really proud of Coach Allen and what he is building here, but it seems like you're being a little nitpicky over something that hasn't really been a problem. The defense has been pretty good since he got here.
Yes, I feel the same whether the HC is an OC or DC. And yes, this was always a beef I had about Wilson, because he too, had no head coaching experience. I completely agree IU’s defense has been much better since HCTA has been in Bloomington, and am hoping he’s the HC for a long time. My point is, he’s being asked to do 2 full time jobs. If IU is all-in on football, he should have an adequate budget to hire quality coordinators.
I understand the logic behind your position and, who knows, over time, it may play out the way you want. If I believed it was a budgetary issue where the athletics department wasn't willing to pay a def coordinator I would likely side with you even more. I just don't think that's the case. It seems to me Coach Allen gets energized from being connected with the players, is coaching for the right reasons (he cares about the kids) and is doing a good job. The current setup seems more positive than it seems limiting/ineffective to me. That could change over time.
He's not being asked to be the DC in addition to head coach, he's chosen not to give up that responsibility. To claim otherwise makes no sense, and sounds like yet another attempt to throw stones at Fred Glass.
Given time, I'd hope that CTA grows into his position as head coach, and one day turns the DC responsibilities over to a quality successor full time. In the meantime, I'm going to let him do the job the way he sees fit.
I don't think Allen is being asked to do both jobs. I think he's choosing to do both jobs.
I think that some of this is simply semantics that people get worked up about. Realistically, on any football team, a staff is coaching the game with the head coach making final strategic decisions. It’s not like Allen is walking back to the bench when the offense is on the field. It’s why coaches wear headsets and coach TOGETHER.
As far as head coaches who act as a coordinator, you have:
- Phil Montgomery - HC and OC of Tulsa
- Paul Johnson - HC and OC of Georgia Tech
- Chip Kelly - HC and OC at UCLA
- Mike Leach - HC and OC at Washington State
