Coaching Changes

[apaladin]

I would feel much better if this was a CCH decision and nit just someone deciding to do something different. The hire just seems like a convenience. Don’t have to look for a good, proven OL coach, just plug someone in thats already here. Hopefully it will turn out well.

Feel better. This was a Coach Hendrix decision.

No it wasn’t, if Lusk had not left nothing changes,

[FUBeAR]

No it wasn’t, if Lusk had not left nothing changes,

EVERYTHING changes. ALWAYS. It’s a Law of Nature. REJOICE in it!

[gman84]

Yes, everything changes! Except the response of some on this board. Lusk did not decide last week he was going to law school. A lot of preparation had to take place on Lusk’s part prior to applying. That said, CCH probably had prior knowledge and a plan in place for a while. I know coach Duke. We met when he was a student . Dru, my son, and others headed off for a spring break trip back in 2016. I was, and I’m still very impressed with the young man! Now, I know that doesn’t mean squat about his o-line coaching abilities, but I don’t think CCH is going to hinder his job with this change. If this proves to be a total disaster, feel free to fry my back side. Look, I’ll be the first to admit this spring was a total bust, but at least let this thing play out before you smear it.

[Furmanoid]

It isn’t necessarily a bad move. But it is really unusual. I wonder how many OL coaches in DI have no experience playing or coaching OL. It may turn out to be brilliant. This guy is obviously really smart and quantitatively oriented. He might be able to evaluate what works and what doesn’t better than traditional OL guys who may be a little stuck in their ways and tend to see what they want to see.

Or it may be he is just a place holder until they hire somebody and CH will be the real OL coach. Either is good. The status quo was not good.

[The Jackal]

It isn’t necessarily a bad move. But it is really unusual. I wonder how many OL coaches in DI have no experience playing or coaching OL. It may turn out to be brilliant. This guy is obviously really smart and quantitatively oriented. He might be able to evaluate what works and what doesn’t better than traditional OL guys who may be a little stuck in their ways and tend to see what they want to see.

Or it may be he is just a place holder until they hire somebody and CH will be the real OL coach. Either is good. The status quo was not good.

Criticizing Duke as an OL coach because he hasn't coached D1 OLs is archaic thinking, IMO.

There are female coaches in the NFL who never played football.

No one doubts George Quarles coaching bona fides, but he's coached two positions at Furman that he's never had D1 experience coaching (positions he did not play in college, either).

[Furmanoid]

It isn’t necessarily a bad move. But it is really unusual. I wonder how many OL coaches in DI have no experience playing or coaching OL. It may turn out to be brilliant. This guy is obviously really smart and quantitatively oriented. He might be able to evaluate what works and what doesn’t better than traditional OL guys who may be a little stuck in their ways and tend to see what they want to see.

Or it may be he is just a place holder until they hire somebody and CH will be the real OL coach. Either is good. The status quo was not good.

Criticizing Duke as an OL coach because he hasn't coached D1 OLs is archaic thinking, IMO.

There are female coaches in the NFL who never played football.

No one doubts George Quarles coaching bona fides, but he's coached two positions at Furman that he's never had D1 experience coaching (positions he did not play in college, either).

I didn’t criticize him. I just said it’s an unusual move because it is. OL just isn’t like coaching receivers or DB’s. It’s the most complex job on the staff. There are 5 guys with different jobs on every play and the actual toolbox of skills to be mastered is more diverse than any other position. There are all sorts of decision rules that have to be mastered or you just look stupid. It’s just a lot. So traditionally the guy coaching all that has more hands on experience than other position coaches.

BUT a super smart guy who throws himself into it can probably do it. This guy is a Furman math major I think which indicates to me that he IS super smart. So we had an awful offensive line, and now we have a math geek coming in who is maybe unfettered by OL folklore and can really analyze things with fresh eyes. That’s the kind of situation that can foster innovation. So it’s an odd move, but I like it (unless it doesn’t work, then I hate it).

[The Jackal]

Sure. Our head coach is an offensive line guy, too. So I'd be inclined to think that he'll be hands on in this regard.

[Affirm]

It isn’t necessarily a bad move. But it is really unusual. I wonder how many OL coaches in DI have no experience playing or coaching OL. It may turn out to be brilliant. This guy is obviously really smart and quantitatively oriented. He might be able to evaluate what works and what doesn’t better than traditional OL guys who may be a little stuck in their ways and tend to see what they want to see.

Or it may be he is just a place holder until they hire somebody and CH will be the real OL coach. Either is good. The status quo was not good.

Criticizing Duke as an OL coach because he hasn't coached D1 OLs is archaic thinking, IMO.

There are female coaches in the NFL who never played football.

No one doubts George Quarles coaching bona fides, but he's coached two positions at Furman that he's never had D1 experience coaching (positions he did not play in college, either).

I didn’t criticize him. I just said it’s an unusual move because it is. OL just isn’t like coaching receivers or DB’s. It’s the most complex job on the staff. There are 5 guys with different jobs on every play and the actual toolbox of skills to be mastered is more diverse than any other position. There are all sorts of decision rules that have to be mastered or you just look stupid. It’s just a lot. So traditionally the guy coaching all that has more hands on experience than other position coaches.

BUT a super smart guy who throws himself into it can probably do it. This guy is a Furman math major I think which indicates to me that he IS super smart. So we had an awful offensive line, and now we have a math geek coming in who is maybe unfettered by OL folklore and can really analyze things with fresh eyes. That’s the kind of situation that can foster innovation. So it’s an odd move, but I like it (unless it doesn’t work, then I hate it).

It would be more reassuring if someone would please provide a list of coaches who have been especially good because of having been math majors in college; and/or a list of schools which have listed a major in math as a preferred qualification when recruiting to hire a new coach.
I am not saying that this guy is not super smart! Just saying that I am wary of the leap from "math major" to "great, innovative football."
And I will not be surprised to read lists of coaches who were math majors.

[Furmanoid]

Look man, I’m just trying to positive.

Shula- math minor
Landry- engineering
Rockne- Chemistry
Lombardi- taught physics and chemistry

[The Jackal]

Mike Leach graduated from law school and never played college football.

[greenvegas]

Dick Sheridan never played college football.

[DeepPurple]

CCH would not put him in this position if he did not think he could do it. I would bet CCH spends a lot of time in OL group work this fall.

[The Jackal]

CCH would not put him in this position if he did not think he could do it. I would bet CCH spends a lot of time in OL group work this fall.

You make a point that I think the proletariat frequently misses.

No one - players, fans, parents, alums - have as much at stake in the success of the football team as the coaches do. It is their job. It is how they provide for their families. We can pontificate about things on a forum, but whether the team wins or loses truly has no impact on whether I have a paycheck tomorrow.

There is literally no incentive for Hendrix to give increased responsibilities to a coach on his staff if he didn't think he could handle the job.

[FUBeAR]

Dick Sheridan never played college football.

...and if he had, despite his decidedly-suited OL demeanor, his frame would have relegated him to a lowly “skill” position.

By the way, before he was named Furman’s Head Coach in 1978, following Art Baker’s departure for The Citadel, I believe (though I am not 100% sure), that Coach Sheridan had served as Furman’s OL Coach in the Spring of 1978, following Eddie Williamson’s departure to Coach the OL @ Duke. I believe the plan was for him to be the OL Coach going forward, but Coach Baker’s post-spring practice departure & Coach Sheridan’s elevation to HC, opened the door for the greatest OL Coach in the whole U-nited World, Robbie Caldwell, to return to his Alma Mater. Either that, or, as Head Coach, he coached the OL in the Spring because Coach Caldwell had to finish out the school year & Coach the Baseball Team at Hanahan HS. Regardless of the details, Coach Sheridan did do a little OL Coaching duty while at FU and I’ve heard from those OLmen who were Coached by him during that stint that he was a dang good’ un.

[Furmanoid]

Well, he might not have a lot of options for hiring somebody at this point in the year. A new guy might not even get here until July. And how attractive is this job for anybody who has a job? So he looks around the room to find the best guy for the job and sees him in the mirror. He's better than anybody he can hire. So if the OL needs fixed, it is smart for him to do it himself. Meanwhile he'll have a smart, motivated apprentice watching how he does it.

I also want to add Halas, the inventor of the modern QB, to my list (engineer).
So Rockne, the forward pass guy, was a chemist.
Landry (inventor of the 4-3, reinventor of the shotgun, first to use computers for draft evaluations, etc) was an engineer.
Shula who, among other things, perfected the new fangled 3-4 was a math guy.
And Lombardi who was the greatest was a physics and chem teacher before going to Army.

Maybe there is a STEM connection to really great coaching. But its not just STEM; its just general smartness. Leach is really smart. Osborn had a PhD. Paterno was planning for law school after graduating Brown. These guys, like maybe our young guy, were just way smarter than the average football coaching bear.