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td75

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The last two head coaches we've hired have been all or nothing in terms of offense/defense. Wilson was all offense, Allen is all defense. Allen is now looking for a "head coach of the offense" because he doesn't trust himself with having anything to do with that side of the ball.

Did Bill Mallory, Bo Schembechler, The Bear or others have such a strong knowledge of one side of the ball, or were they more well rounded?? I just don't remember those coaches knowing all or nothing...help me out, please.

FWIW, I knew Wilson didn't know defense after a few attempts to answer questions from the media regarding his swiss cheese unit.
 
CTA has been vocal about the kind of offense he wants to run since he was promoted to head coach. He based this on the things he found stressful to defenses over the years.

Hi tempo offense
Run the football
Stretch the field
For the love of God, protect the football!

Keep in mind the almighty Nick Saban was vocal he didn't believe hi tempo offenses were fair because it didn't give his team a lot of time to set up. That's the point, Nick. When you have better personnel, the other side will try to find a way to give themselves an advantage.

CTA has also been vocal about the culture he wants for IUFB. I think it is just as important to him to find a coach who fits this culture. Take the time and get it right. In the end, we'll all be happy!
 
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The last two head coaches we've hired have been all or nothing in terms of offense/defense. Wilson was all offense, Allen is all defense. Allen is now looking for a "head coach of the offense" because he doesn't trust himself with having anything to do with that side of the ball.

Did Bill Mallory, Bo Schembechler, The Bear or others have such a strong knowledge of one side of the ball, or were they more well rounded?? I just don't remember those coaches knowing all or nothing...help me out, please.

FWIW, I knew Wilson didn't know defense after a few attempts to answer questions from the media regarding his swiss cheese unit.
i wouldn't think wilson didn't know defense. how can you be an offensive guru otherwise? he has spent countless hours studying all manner of defenses in order to scheme against them. he must know every nuance of the defenses he played against. that's a lot of defense to know and understand. perhaps he did know fully know the game calls and strategy changes as they happened during games because he was preoccupied with running the offense
 
Maybe most coaches arent as open about their shortcomings. Most have a background in only offense or only defense
I don’t think coaches focus on one side of the ball or another because of shortcomings. I think it is because of preference. To be an effective playcaller you have to understand what the defense is trying to do to you to stop you. And vice versa to be an effective d coordinator needs to understand what offense is trying to do. You don’t get to these positions because you have shortcomings.
 
i wouldn't think wilson didn't know defense. how can you be an offensive guru otherwise? he has spent countless hours studying all manner of defenses in order to scheme against them. he must know every nuance of the defenses he played against. that's a lot of defense to know and understand. perhaps he did know fully know the game calls and strategy changes as they happened during games because he was preoccupied with running the offense
You scooped me on this point.
 
i wouldn't think wilson didn't know defense. how can you be an offensive guru otherwise? he has spent countless hours studying all manner of defenses in order to scheme against them. he must know every nuance of the defenses he played against. that's a lot of defense to know and understand. perhaps he did know fully know the game calls and strategy changes as they happened during games because he was preoccupied with running the offense
Not sure what Wilson knows or doesn't know about defense, but it took him five long years, and several attempts, to finally identify and hire a high quality defensive coordinator. Hopefully Allen nails the OC hire on this attempt.
 
Not sure what Wilson knows or doesn't know about defense, but it took him five long years, and several attempts, to finally identify and hire a high quality defensive coordinator. Hopefully Allen nails the OC hire on this attempt.
Pretty sure he knows about defense. What he was not good at was finding guy to coordinate the defense.
 
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Pretty sure he knows about defense. What he was not good at was finding guy to coordinate the defense.

I think the situation is that coaches are going to understand the schematic nuances on both sides of the ball. Where the differences are going to arise is their ability to communicate those nuances, and their understanding physical mechanics of particular positions. A defensive coach is going to have acquired skill communicating and teaching defensive schemes and skills to players. And on either side of the ball, those communication/teaching skills are probably more important than football knowledge itself.
 
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Not sure what Wilson knows or doesn't know about defense, but it took him five long years, and several attempts, to finally identify and hire a high quality defensive coordinator. Hopefully Allen nails the OC hire on this attempt.


I'm sure he "knew" all about D. But, he probably gave off the vibe that he wasn't all that interested in it. What he seemed to be really interested in was out-scoring the other team.

I remember in games that were close, sometimes the other team would go the length of the field in 2-4 plays. He wouldn't appear to be all upset.....he'd just get to organizing the O. What big-time DC would have been interested in that?

It wasn't until his seat got warmer that he appeared to take the D end of the game all that seriously........
 
Sidetracked and all, I just don't remember past coaches being so dependent on hiring a "head coach of offense" or "a head coach of defense" in an attempt to build programs. I guess I always thought if a guy got this far in his profession, his expertise covered all the bases...I was obviously wrong.
 
The last two head coaches we've hired have been all or nothing in terms of offense/defense. Wilson was all offense, Allen is all defense. Allen is now looking for a "head coach of the offense" because he doesn't trust himself with having anything to do with that side of the ball.

Did Bill Mallory, Bo Schembechler, The Bear or others have such a strong knowledge of one side of the ball, or were they more well rounded?? I just don't remember those coaches knowing all or nothing...help me out, please.

FWIW, I knew Wilson didn't know defense after a few attempts to answer questions from the media regarding his swiss cheese unit.
I tend to believe it is more a shift in titles than anything else. I am sure the guys you referenced had people on the staff that were “Defensive Coaches” and “Offensive Coaches”. I’m not sure when the Cordinator position or title came about but I would think it gave a team a way to pry a high quality coach away from another school with a promise to promote to this new cordinator position.... just a guess.

Everything is more specialized now. You see it in all walks of profession. I look at my old MOS in the military and what it is today. It has been divided up into 4 different specialty professions now.

I like the question. It deserves some thought.
 
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i wouldn't think wilson didn't know defense. how can you be an offensive guru otherwise? he has spent countless hours studying all manner of defenses in order to scheme against them. he must know every nuance of the defenses he played against. that's a lot of defense to know and understand. perhaps he did know fully know the game calls and strategy changes as they happened during games because he was preoccupied with running the offense
When CKW said that, I thought it was more of an opportunity to put Mallory on an island.... Mallory/admin owned that side is how I took it.
 
Sidetracked and all, I just don't remember past coaches being so dependent on hiring a "head coach of offense" or "a head coach of defense" in an attempt to build programs. I guess I always thought if a guy got this far in his profession, his expertise covered all the bases...I was obviously wrong.

I think you and others are getting hung up over semantics. In a case such as IU where the head coach has a defensive background, aren't most of those OCs in charge of the offense? In other words, they are the "head coach" of the offense.

I am sure that TA will have input to what the offense looks like but it is his preference to leave the implementation and details up to someone else. That surely can't be unusual.
 
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