II’ve raised issues with 2 coaches since before last season:
-Hiller - so obvious, so consistently bad. How Allen didn’t pull the trigger along with Sheridan, only Tom Allen knows. Been enough posts & input on OL for 2-3 yrs now. That’s how you lose support when nothing is changing on your watch.
-Coach T - Once again the special teams got exposed for a HUGE play under his watch as STC. I’ve never thought he has had great results here, and really it’s been as consistently as poor as the OL in terms of not good for 2-3 years.
Again, our punter can punt and our kicker can kick (and our snapper is definition of excellence). I’m talking about punt return game, kick off return game, # of big returns we have had (very, very few), # of blocking in back penalties (a lot), and # of back breaker plays by special teams: 2 Killer ones in loss last year to Cinci at home, then running into punter last week @ Cinci, catching ball inside 5, blocked punt for TE last night, offsides on a kickoff, personal foul on a kick off touchback!
As much as I wanted (& still do want) Tom Allen to be successful here, he, like any coach, needs a high quality staff around him. Instead of having to pay for ones he has to fire (Sheridan), he should have been smarter and said instead of $4.7M, I will be okay at 3.5M per, but let me disburse that $1.2M more across staff and be sure he could hired GREAT, PROVEN coordinators, OL coach and all others on staff. But he needs to have a good eye for that talent and be willing to be confident enough to have future HC’s on the staff who would be better at cleaning things up! ie don’t fear having strong, experienced leaders under you!
Imagine a staff of DeBoer level confidence and track record (at different stages of their career) at: all assistants and 3 coordinators. Ask now if across the board we have that type of quality in every assistant in the staff?
I’ve pointed out two who I don’t think are of that quality.
I do like TE coach, Witt (think he has been a rising coach, but I admit he hadn’t been a successful DC prior to this job yet). WR coach has a good resume. All others haven’t really seen consistently good results at their position groups.
The other candid concern is not sure how good Tom Allen’s organization and management skills are to help build and grow his staff? His high emotional qualities in sideline and pep talks don’t help show a guy who is methodical and detailed about overall game planning, a process for talent evaluation and hiring guys “smarter than me” as best leaders try to do.
Again, my sad concern is that Allen may be better as a DC, versus a HC. Less all around things to have to worry about, he loves defense and I do believe if that was all he had to focus on only he has shown an ability to turn two different defenses around. But for some of the same keystone cops mental mistakes and same OL woes to be happening in year six? At some point we can’t just keep saying “it will change.”
At some point people are going to have to change. That is the sad reality of major college, D1 sports and coaching. They get paid a lot bc they know they don’t have great long term stability guaranteed.
-Hiller - so obvious, so consistently bad. How Allen didn’t pull the trigger along with Sheridan, only Tom Allen knows. Been enough posts & input on OL for 2-3 yrs now. That’s how you lose support when nothing is changing on your watch.
-Coach T - Once again the special teams got exposed for a HUGE play under his watch as STC. I’ve never thought he has had great results here, and really it’s been as consistently as poor as the OL in terms of not good for 2-3 years.
Again, our punter can punt and our kicker can kick (and our snapper is definition of excellence). I’m talking about punt return game, kick off return game, # of big returns we have had (very, very few), # of blocking in back penalties (a lot), and # of back breaker plays by special teams: 2 Killer ones in loss last year to Cinci at home, then running into punter last week @ Cinci, catching ball inside 5, blocked punt for TE last night, offsides on a kickoff, personal foul on a kick off touchback!
As much as I wanted (& still do want) Tom Allen to be successful here, he, like any coach, needs a high quality staff around him. Instead of having to pay for ones he has to fire (Sheridan), he should have been smarter and said instead of $4.7M, I will be okay at 3.5M per, but let me disburse that $1.2M more across staff and be sure he could hired GREAT, PROVEN coordinators, OL coach and all others on staff. But he needs to have a good eye for that talent and be willing to be confident enough to have future HC’s on the staff who would be better at cleaning things up! ie don’t fear having strong, experienced leaders under you!
Imagine a staff of DeBoer level confidence and track record (at different stages of their career) at: all assistants and 3 coordinators. Ask now if across the board we have that type of quality in every assistant in the staff?
I’ve pointed out two who I don’t think are of that quality.
I do like TE coach, Witt (think he has been a rising coach, but I admit he hadn’t been a successful DC prior to this job yet). WR coach has a good resume. All others haven’t really seen consistently good results at their position groups.
The other candid concern is not sure how good Tom Allen’s organization and management skills are to help build and grow his staff? His high emotional qualities in sideline and pep talks don’t help show a guy who is methodical and detailed about overall game planning, a process for talent evaluation and hiring guys “smarter than me” as best leaders try to do.
Again, my sad concern is that Allen may be better as a DC, versus a HC. Less all around things to have to worry about, he loves defense and I do believe if that was all he had to focus on only he has shown an ability to turn two different defenses around. But for some of the same keystone cops mental mistakes and same OL woes to be happening in year six? At some point we can’t just keep saying “it will change.”
At some point people are going to have to change. That is the sad reality of major college, D1 sports and coaching. They get paid a lot bc they know they don’t have great long term stability guaranteed.
