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Coaching Review

IndyIUFan66

All-Big Ten
Jun 23, 2013
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We know once again we will be naming a new Coordinator for 2021 on defense. Which allows Tom Allen to again make an impact on his staff by adding someone to the program (even if he promotes from within, a new coach will be added to the team.) Some thoughts/reviews and questions.

Offense:

Sheridan - I like him, his confidence and think he's a smart guy. From DeBoer to him points dropped from ave 31 to 29, hardly a dramatic slip. I do NOT think he had an A+ year, but nor would I give him lower than a B- either. Like Womack, I think his jump from year one to year two will be significant and that also like Womack, Allen sees the talent/skill set and is letting him develop into a good one.

Hart - love him as a recruiter (2 good looking prospects coming in this year). I never know which controls RB success: OC scheme, OL coaching/play, RB coaching RB's on reads/cutting, etc. S. Scott is a masterful pass blocker, which is a huge reason I think he plays the most. He also has great nose for end zone in red zone. James has talent, but haven't been able to see it great (outside of PU game year ago) due to injuries and/or lack of significant playing time. Like look of Baldwin a lot. Bullish on 2 FR coming in too. Hart is a keeper.

Heard - also seems to be a very good recruiter and we seem to have a very talented room returning and new FR coming in. Fryefogle had a breakout year, Whop is dynamic. But I still feel in the bowl game we saw a hard time getting open at times too. Overall, Heard too is a keeper.

TE coach - like his pedigree (Carmel/IMG HC). Hendershot "kind of" took a step back. The FR (Bremer?) looks to be a star in the making and got a great first year freebie under his belt. the Bloomington TE coming in seems good too and another 6'5 target. Keeper.

Hiller - As many see, he's a "unsure" vote to me. I'm not sure I'd ccall him an amazing recruiter nor have I seen amazing OL play. Pass protection is normally pretty good actually, clearly we haven't been blowing open holes for running game. I will trust Tom Allen to review everyone accordingly. IF he made a change here, I'd see it as an opportunity to pull in a top tier OL coach while IU program very much on the rise.

Defense:

Peoples DL - like what DL did this year, especially against the run and seemingly taking up space to allow LB's to make plays. Think we can agree straight up DL pass rush still not wreaking havoc on it's own yet, but not sure if that's scheme or still don't have the "thoroughbreds" yet. Hoping our new Valpo recruit coming in (at 6'6) and 2022 recruiting class may lead to some more big time DE rushers. Keeper.

Shelby Cornerbacks - like him! This year our top 3 CB's were sensational. We didn't see much of those behind them, but I'm hopeful the players we have and the FR coming in are developing a good pipeline underneath to replace the big 3 potentially after next season that we may lose to graduation/NFL. Keeper.

Jones Safety: Like Shelby, thought Safeties were tremendous this year too. Think it is a correlation with him as well. I wanted him to have Husky too as he seems like he can use a bigger role.

Coach T Special Teams: Our punting and kicking games were strong (but partially due to tremendous talents we have there.) But from a kick return or punt return perspective, I would NOT say we have lit the world on fire yet at all! Per Jones above: I wish they'd take Husky away from Coach T and let him be a 100% Special Teams Coordinator and make them truly special. Keep but tweak.

New DC: I'm open to Peoples or Shelby internal promotion. Both know the system and their position group truly excelled this year. Internal promotions are good for morale (usually as it shows one can rise) and yes, a black coordinator is something IU hasn't had prior. It should and surely will always be on merit and talent, but they've both been around awhile and helped lead nation in INT and blitz success this year.

New Hire: If either of the above (Shelby/Jones) were named DC, I would make them JUST DC! Then I'd make the one who didn't get the job the "Def Backfield" coach - a mini promotion and one I think a coach can do for coaching both Corner/Safety. I'd then make the new hire (hopefully a really good one) the LB coach and include Husky here. I could see a great recruiter for this LB coach position, someone who could hopefully bring in the stud LB's from the south like we've been getting, just more of it!

A little something for discussion in the early 2021 down time.
 
Anyone know the comparison of ppg this year vs last year when only including points scored by the offense? or when factoring points off turnovers where the defense pretty much gave the offense an easy score with a turnover and a short field?

I think that should probably be factored when comparing OC performance. If Deboer had this year's defense on last year's squad, then his scoring numbers might look better.

Don't like Jones as possible internal promotion to DC? Not sure who internally has the best shot but someone else had mentioned Jones as a possibility.
 
I agree with you evaluations but would be a bit harsher on coach Sheridan. IU ranked #94 in total yards and #52 in scoring with both declining despite a defense that give them more opportunities on offense. I did like Sheridan's red zone offense and I hope he makes good changes for the 2021 season.

I think Jones could be the new DC with his resume and experience with coach Allen.
 
I was not impressed with our offense at all this year. Couldn't run to save our lives and seemed like our passing game was hit or miss. Our receivers either looked like average joes or they looked like clark kent. Not much in between.

One thing we seem to do better at was pick up short yardage as needed. Wildcat at the goal line was especially effective.
 
I agree with much of your coaching analysis. Your grade on Sheridan is about what I would give him. Offense was decent but the execution was lacking at times. Run game needs to be reevaluated and revamped. Let's hope we will see that year one to two improvement we got from Womack. Most are quick to forget that many wanted him run out of town after year one.

I also feel that our new DC will be an internal hire. My guess is Jones. Shelby deserves an upgrade in his compensation and responsibility. Peoples did a great job in year one with the DL.

Like you Hiller is the wildcard. Not seeing the level of recruiting and player development out of the OL we are seeing in the other position rooms. Not sure if CTA will pull the trigger on making a charge there. I'm sure much of his focus is on replacing DC and bringing in a new top notch linebacker coach.

Coach T did a decent job with the special teams. Very few missteps compared to prior years. Should just continue to improve.
 
Per Sheridan & above follow ups, even those grading him lower ascknowledge: better in red zone and short yardage pick up when needed. To me those are building blocks that with spring/summer to prepare, should position him better for next year. As another posted, I was NOT a huge Womack fan after year one (not calling for his job, but thought he seemed over his head, called plays in late, etc.) Clearly he had a huge jump from year 1 to 2 and I would have been fine with him staying for awhile. So do think Sheridan has that potential and bet with continued OL improvement, IU can continue to rise again on offense. And the fact our coordinators start getting HC jobs is a testament to a great program, so we should never be mad/upset when they get opportunities b/c it only makes IU a more desirable place to coach.
 
The average fan probably is unable to determine if issues are execution or coaching

Given the improvement in D in year 2, it would appear that a lot of fans were wrong about Wommack.

Jury is still out on Sheridan but I don't think he looked as impressive as Deboer. I am not an expert on football, but with the apparent talent we have on offense, I would have thought we would have better consistency at moving the ball. One issue I had with playcalling is that I think we went back to plays that weren't working too often. If something isn't working then try something new. I am not one to run it up the middle most first downs if I'm only getting 1-2 yards and pile of dust.
 
Yes lack of run game was frustrating. But with Penix we were at the top of passing in the conference. People also need to remember this was a all BIG schedule there were no out of conference games like in the past.
Sheridan needs to add some counter plays that misdirect the defense on running plays. We need to reduce the splits like we do on the goal line where we get good running plays. His idea of wider splits hurts our OL players in the run and pass and if he saw how holes opened up on the goal line he would see the tighter splits work. I used to believe in wide splits with the coach I coached under then when I became HC we played Hobart that used narrow splits and was a great running team. I switched to narrow splits the next year.

I hope we see coach Sheridan take a hard look at the offense with what worked and what didn't also going to other teams to learn what they do so successfully. IU can't continue ranking so low on offense in the country and keep winning games as the defense had a special year that can't be counted on every year.
 
Yes for sure more counter more pin and pull more hat on a hat needs to be employed. We need to get some of these faster guys on the perimeter and in space. Not sure that is Stevie or Sampson strength. As far as splits I have never had big o linemen so I have not had the the luxury of tightening splits. We have always had skilled guys have coached mailto wing t so we use wide splits block down kick out at point of attack. We were a zone team this year and can see that wide splits hard to overtake defense or double team.
 
When it comes to a head coach releasing an assistant. I know that almost every coach will get fired in his career but how does this usually happen?

I mean almost all the coaches at IU were brought in due to their previous relationship with CTA. I can't imagine, if I were CTA, having one of those guys in my office and say "Sorry, I have to let you go.".

I have had to fire before and it wasn't pleasant but they were not "friends" which would seem to complicate things!
 
Sheridan needs to add some counter plays that misdirect the defense on running plays. We need to reduce the splits like we do on the goal line where we get good running plays. His idea of wider splits hurts our OL players in the run and pass and if he saw how holes opened up on the goal line he would see the tighter splits work. I used to believe in wide splits with the coach I coached under then when I became HC we played Hobart that used narrow splits and was a great running team. I switched to narrow splits the next year.

I hope we see coach Sheridan take a hard look at the offense with what worked and what didn't also going to other teams to learn what they do so successfully. IU can't continue ranking so low on offense in the country and keep winning games as the defense had a special year that can't be counted on every year.
That is an interesting point you make about the splits. Did Sheridan change what Deborer was doing with splits? How does that compare? Is one way better with zone blocking than hat on hat? You certainly have to be consistent with your splits between pass blocking and run blocking or you give the defense a tell. Are larger splits better for pass blocking? This is fun.
 
Yes lack of run game was frustrating. But with Penix we were at the top of passing in the conference. People also need to remember this was a all BIG schedule there were no out of conference games like in the past.
Very good point. Our stats could have been off the charts with our OOC schedule.
 
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That is an interesting point you make about the splits. Did Sheridan change what Deborer was doing with splits? How does that compare? Is one way better with zone blocking than hat on hat? You certainly have to be consistent with your splits between pass blocking and run blocking or you give the defense a tell. Are larger splits better for pass blocking? This is fun.
My experience is that smaller splits help in pass blocking as there aren't lanes for defensive players to run through. Now in college with wide DE it is tough but you can add a blocker to help in those situations. I don't think Sheridan changed the splits from coach DeBoer but remember the struggle IU had with the run game under coach DeBoer.
 
We know once again we will be naming a new Coordinator for 2021 on defense. Which allows Tom Allen to again make an impact on his staff by adding someone to the program (even if he promotes from within, a new coach will be added to the team.) Some thoughts/reviews and questions.

Offense:

Sheridan - I like him, his confidence and think he's a smart guy. From DeBoer to him points dropped from ave 31 to 29, hardly a dramatic slip. I do NOT think he had an A+ year, but nor would I give him lower than a B- either. Like Womack, I think his jump from year one to year two will be significant and that also like Womack, Allen sees the talent/skill set and is letting him develop into a good one.

Hart - love him as a recruiter (2 good looking prospects coming in this year). I never know which controls RB success: OC scheme, OL coaching/play, RB coaching RB's on reads/cutting, etc. S. Scott is a masterful pass blocker, which is a huge reason I think he plays the most. He also has great nose for end zone in red zone. James has talent, but haven't been able to see it great (outside of PU game year ago) due to injuries and/or lack of significant playing time. Like look of Baldwin a lot. Bullish on 2 FR coming in too. Hart is a keeper.

Heard - also seems to be a very good recruiter and we seem to have a very talented room returning and new FR coming in. Fryefogle had a breakout year, Whop is dynamic. But I still feel in the bowl game we saw a hard time getting open at times too. Overall, Heard too is a keeper.

TE coach - like his pedigree (Carmel/IMG HC). Hendershot "kind of" took a step back. The FR (Bremer?) looks to be a star in the making and got a great first year freebie under his belt. the Bloomington TE coming in seems good too and another 6'5 target. Keeper.

Hiller - As many see, he's a "unsure" vote to me. I'm not sure I'd ccall him an amazing recruiter nor have I seen amazing OL play. Pass protection is normally pretty good actually, clearly we haven't been blowing open holes for running game. I will trust Tom Allen to review everyone accordingly. IF he made a change here, I'd see it as an opportunity to pull in a top tier OL coach while IU program very much on the rise.

Defense:

Peoples DL - like what DL did this year, especially against the run and seemingly taking up space to allow LB's to make plays. Think we can agree straight up DL pass rush still not wreaking havoc on it's own yet, but not sure if that's scheme or still don't have the "thoroughbreds" yet. Hoping our new Valpo recruit coming in (at 6'6) and 2022 recruiting class may lead to some more big time DE rushers. Keeper.

Shelby Cornerbacks - like him! This year our top 3 CB's were sensational. We didn't see much of those behind them, but I'm hopeful the players we have and the FR coming in are developing a good pipeline underneath to replace the big 3 potentially after next season that we may lose to graduation/NFL. Keeper.

Jones Safety: Like Shelby, thought Safeties were tremendous this year too. Think it is a correlation with him as well. I wanted him to have Husky too as he seems like he can use a bigger role.

Coach T Special Teams: Our punting and kicking games were strong (but partially due to tremendous talents we have there.) But from a kick return or punt return perspective, I would NOT say we have lit the world on fire yet at all! Per Jones above: I wish they'd take Husky away from Coach T and let him be a 100% Special Teams Coordinator and make them truly special. Keep but tweak.

New DC: I'm open to Peoples or Shelby internal promotion. Both know the system and their position group truly excelled this year. Internal promotions are good for morale (usually as it shows one can rise) and yes, a black coordinator is something IU hasn't had prior. It should and surely will always be on merit and talent, but they've both been around awhile and helped lead nation in INT and blitz success this year.

New Hire: If either of the above (Shelby/Jones) were named DC, I would make them JUST DC! Then I'd make the one who didn't get the job the "Def Backfield" coach - a mini promotion and one I think a coach can do for coaching both Corner/Safety. I'd then make the new hire (hopefully a really good one) the LB coach and include Husky here. I could see a great recruiter for this LB coach position, someone who could hopefully bring in the stud LB's from the south like we've been getting, just more of it!

A little something for discussion in the early 2021 down time.

We went from 17th to 62nd in O efficiency with arguably way more experience on offense. That's really lousy no matter how you cut it.


Defense went from 58 to 6 by comparison. I'm concerned about talent on dline. They are basically unable to get a lick of pressure without blitzing. I saw the results in Tampa when an opposing QB could take a nap and picnic. I won't call anyone out, but i wonder how many of those guys are big ten level.
 
We went from 17th to 62nd in O efficiency with arguably way more experience on offense. That's really lousy no matter how you cut it.


Defense went from 58 to 6 by comparison. I'm concerned about talent on dline. They are basically unable to get a lick of pressure without blitzing. I saw the results in Tampa when an opposing QB could take a nap and picnic. I won't call anyone out, but i wonder how many of those guys are big ten level.
Correct. You can't use points as the defense created a ton of our points this year. I use FEI's efficiency stats and our offense went from 27th under Deboer to 78th under Sheridan. It was a serious regression and did not improve as the season went on. The Ole Miss game was a parade of errors. I think we had something like 25 dropped balls this year which is ridiculous considering it was the same receivers who caught the ball so well under Deboer. Hendershot I believe had six drops alone, and his production dropped off a cliff. None of the linemen had a good season and I don't think Hillier is cutting it. He's also not very strong on the recruiting trail. I would not be surprised to see a change from Hillier this season. The running game was a disaster, and it's not one lineman, none of them had particularly good years. Sheridan was a rookie so hopefully, he's better next year, but in a year that we had a lot of talented veteran skill players, we went backward rather dramatically.
 
The offense this year made me worried about Sheridan and he must improve this coming year or IU won't be able to play like they did this year. Being #78 in FEI isn't a place where we need to offense. I also worry if Hiller should be our OL coach with the way our running game is and the passing blocking. I hope coach Allen is looking at the scheme to see if it is the problem and if not then replace a coach or two because winning B1G won't happen with the way it is now.
 
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The offense this year made me worried about Sheridan and he must improve this coming year or IU won't be able to play like they did this year. Being #78 in FEI isn't a place where we need to offense. I also worry if Hiller should be our OL coach with the way our running game is and the passing blocking. I hope coach Allen is looking at the scheme to see if it is the problem and if not then replace a coach or two because winning B1G won't happen with the way it is now.
I am not convinced yet that Allen does not move on Hillier. When none of the lineman play particularly well you have to question things. It was not a case of a young guy like Katic struggling. Crider struggled any time he had a good nose tackle on him. Norwah struggled all season, Bedford struggled all season in pass protection and he's got twenty starts under his belt now. Powell was fairly consistent but he was developed at another program. Haggard might have been the bright spot. At only 275 he played pretty well at left tackle in pass pro. Our 6'9 guy struggled in pass pro all year at left tackle. He's probably a right tackle. The speed guys are too quick for him.
 
Are you guys kidding me? Nick Sheridan may have very well cost us a Big Ten Championship. His offense was eerily similar to his daddy Mike Debord. His playcalling in the Bowl Game alone was putrid. That defense was lousy. And we couldn’t do anything for 3 qtrs. His last drive to win the game he got us off schedule. The dude is a bust. When he coached the QBs, Lagow never got any better. Bad move by Allen. Extremely bad.

Hiller is flat out terrible. We have never been able to run the ball well under him. His scheme doesn’t work.

Promoting Jones would be another mistake. This program is hott and big name DCs may come here. Hiring your S coach seems like a last resort here.

I like the job Allen has done but he’s been the HC in 3 close bowl games and we didn’t win any of the 3. We are 0-4 in Bowl Games since Wilson started the build. That is bad. The University of Kentucky has won 3 in a row for goodness sakes.
 
Are you guys kidding me? Nick Sheridan may have very well cost us a Big Ten Championship. His offense was eerily similar to his daddy Mike Debord. His playcalling in the Bowl Game alone was putrid. That defense was lousy. And we couldn’t do anything for 3 qtrs. His last drive to win the game he got us off schedule. The dude is a bust. When he coached the QBs, Lagow never got any better. Bad move by Allen. Extremely bad.

Hiller is flat out terrible. We have never been able to run the ball well under him. His scheme doesn’t work.

Promoting Jones would be another mistake. This program is hott and big name DCs may come here. Hiring your S coach seems like a last resort here.

I like the job Allen has done but he’s been the HC in 3 close bowl games and we didn’t win any of the 3. We are 0-4 in Bowl Games since Wilson started the build. That is bad. The University of Kentucky has won 3 in a row for goodness sakes.
You continue to be a joke.
 
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