JessN: Assistant coach hiring tracker...

[Scobaman]

Yes he did but when CSS created the Fun-n-Gun it caught everyone by surprise and he had defenses backpedaling for several years because they had never seen anything like it.

But as great as Spurrier was I have to think that him calling plays took attention away from HC duties and possibly is a reason why other than ‘96 he was ‘close but no cigar’ at competing for and winning NC’s.

Being the play caller also takes a HC away from paying 100% attention to what his own defense is doing or not doing because he’s preoccupied with making adjustments to calling the Offense based on what the opposing Defense is doing.

There is just no way the HC can 100% perform his duties on Gameday while simultaneously being the real OC.

It’s not optimal.

Not optimal does not necessarily mean not good. Sometimes the head coach is much better because of the coordinators they have. At other times, the coordinators are much better because they have the right head coach tweaking their decisions. Johnny Majors was better at Pittsburgh because he had Jackie Sherrill, Franchione was better at TCU because he had Gary Patterson. On the other hand, Ken Donahue was a better defensive coordinator because Coach Bryant was there to tweak the defense. Coach Sheridan will almost certainly improve dramatically in his new position with CKD tweaking the offense. Change happens, coaches are in place to make plans and execute, and we fans have enough going on in our daily life to occupy us without worrying about things that are out of our control. Just raise the footrest on the recliner, relax, and trust the process.

 

[Scobaman]

No matter who’s in charge, failing to bring a coach to Alabama will always be viewed, and spun, as a failure. Simply put: if you don’t come to Alabama to learn to be a head coach, how can you learn to be a coordinator at Alabama? Indiana is not Alabama to be sure.

I’m a little pessimistic, but that’s my nature. The offensive line coach will be the most important hire of CKD’s tenure for a while to come. The lack of physicality on the offensive line has been the most glaring weakness for several years, and if CKD starts his time off here with a revolving door at that position we could be in trouble.

Because CKD is such a great offensive mind, I believe the most important hire he had to make was on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[Tidelines]

Well the deed is done for now. Sheridan is the OC. I'll set back and see how it shakes out. If it doesn't work out maybe Shepherd will get more play calling responsibility. I do think Deboer won't let things slide for long before he gets more involved on game day. All we can do is trust coach Deboer. I'm fine with that for now.

 

[BamaMoon]

I realize Indiana is not Alabama.

That doesn’t change the fact that going from 42nd to 123rd in Scoring Offense is concerning.

When we make hires like this I always go read forum posts from those former teams to get a better idea.

I went and read Indiana fans thoughts and they echoed each other in that Sheridan was the worst OC they have ever had.

They feel about him how we probably feel about Radar or Applewhite or BoB.

They said the scheme and play calling were atrocious and it really came down to asking Penix to bail them out with a miracle play.

On the flip side they have nothing but good things to say about Wommack as DC.

So I feel optimistic about where we are at DC.

I do not feel the same about OC.

I or we just have to hope it works out despite the ominous tea leaves.

Well, look how far we feel from 2020-2022 offensive output compared to 2023.

I'm more concerned about how we reinvigorate the Bama offense to be dangerous again in 2024 more than what happened with Indiana going from 43 to 123. So many variables that I don't care to really know.

I just feel like we HAVE to be better next year. I believe we will!

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

I realize Indiana is not Alabama.

That doesn’t change the fact that going from 42nd to 123rd in Scoring Offense is concerning.

When we make hires like this I always go read forum posts from those former teams to get a better idea.

I went and read Indiana fans thoughts and they echoed each other in that Sheridan was the worst OC they have ever had.

They feel about him how we probably feel about Radar or Applewhite or BoB.

They said the scheme and play calling were atrocious and it really came down to asking Penix to bail them out with a miracle play.

On the flip side they have nothing but good things to say about Wommack as DC.

So I feel optimistic about where we are at DC.

I do not feel the same about OC.

I or we just have to hope it works out despite the ominous tea leaves.

That is painting the picture with a very broad brush.

Was that with the same QB and OL? Who was coaching the OL? Were there a lot of injuries that second season? What was the talent that he was working with? Was that an offensive system that he was comfortable with?

There are so many factors there. If CKD feels confidant in him, let's give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Besides he is Co-OC, not the sole OC. Shepherd may be the guy calling the plays anyways...

 

[bamadwain]

I think Indiana problems happened because Penix got hurt, also we have not even seen the guy coach a practice or spring game so we need to wait on judging

 

[CoolBreeze]

Well the deed is done for now. Sheridan is the OC. I'll set back and see how it shakes out. If it doesn't work out maybe Shepherd will get more play calling responsibility. I do think Deboer won't let things slide for long before he gets more involved on game day. All we can do is trust coach Deboer. I'm fine with that for now.

Coach KD is the rock star. He has won everywhere he has been so that tells me all I need to know about him, his hires and the state of the program.

 

[HighlandOak]

I realize Indiana is not Alabama.

That doesn’t change the fact that going from 42nd to 123rd in Scoring Offense is concerning.

When we make hires like this I always go read forum posts from those former teams to get a better idea.

I went and read Indiana fans thoughts and they echoed each other in that Sheridan was the worst OC they have ever had.

They feel about him how we probably feel about Radar or Applewhite or BoB.

They said the scheme and play calling were atrocious and it really came down to asking Penix to bail them out with a miracle play.

On the flip side they have nothing but good things to say about Wommack as DC.

So I feel optimistic about where we are at DC.

I do not feel the same about OC.

I or we just have to hope it works out despite the ominous tea leaves.

Was that the year Penix got hurt?

 

[Bama Lee]

Any rumors on OL Coach?

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I realize Indiana is not Alabama.

That doesn’t change the fact that going from 42nd to 123rd in Scoring Offense is concerning.

When we make hires like this I always go read forum posts from those former teams to get a better idea.

I went and read Indiana fans thoughts and they echoed each other in that Sheridan was the worst OC they have ever had.

They feel about him how we probably feel about Radar or Applewhite or BoB.

They said the scheme and play calling were atrocious and it really came down to asking Penix to bail them out with a miracle play.

On the flip side they have nothing but good things to say about Wommack as DC.

So I feel optimistic about where we are at DC.

I do not feel the same about OC.

I or we just have to hope it works out despite the ominous tea leaves.

That didn't happen until year 2. DeBoer's offense was 47th in scoring offense in 2019. In 2020, Sheridan took over and they were 55th. They didn't drop off until 2021. I do think that's an important distinction, because then you have to look at why they dropped off in year 2, but not year 1.

College Football Stats - College FB Team Points per Game | TeamRankings.com

College Football points per game, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

 

[OneManBamaFan]

I realize Indiana is not Alabama.

That doesn’t change the fact that going from 42nd to 123rd in Scoring Offense is concerning.

When we make hires like this I always go read forum posts from those former teams to get a better idea.

I went and read Indiana fans thoughts and they echoed each other in that Sheridan was the worst OC they have ever had.

They feel about him how we probably feel about Radar or Applewhite or BoB.

They said the scheme and play calling were atrocious and it really came down to asking Penix to bail them out with a miracle play.

On the flip side they have nothing but good things to say about Wommack as DC.

So I feel optimistic about where we are at DC.

I do not feel the same about OC.

I or we just have to hope it works out despite the ominous tea leaves.

In 2021 Penix only played in 4 games because of a season ending injury. They literally had no other QB on the team that would play on a P5 team. Donovan McCulley was recruited as a QB and started a few games in 2021 but switched to WR the next year. Tuttle never played any meaningful snaps after 2021. Gremel never played another snap and left the team after 2021 and only played 2 years total. Things aren't always what they seem to be on the surface.

 

[CB4]

UPDATE...

Moved Nick Sheridan and JaMarcus Shephard up to Co-OC and Sheridan from TE coach to QB coach. We expect Jay Nunez to move up to the TE coach slot next, as well as coach special teams.

We've also added a couple of names to the OL board, Greg Frey and Alex Atkins. We've also been told the OL coaching position will likely not be filled as quickly as the OC position was, due to the time needed to evaluate several external candidates.

Jess wasn’t Alex Atkins the coach at FSU given the three game suspension and a two year show cause?

 

[TexasBama]

Scott Cochran has resigned at Georgia. Not that we need him, or would want him.

 

[HighlandOak]

Scott Cochran has resigned at Georgia. Not that we need him, or would want him.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!

 

[CoolBreeze]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!

Please, no, no, no, no!!!!

 

[Ledsteplin]

That is painting the picture with a very broad brush.

Was that with the same QB and OL? Who was coaching the OL? Were there a lot of injuries that second season? What was the talent that he was working with? Was that an offensive system that he was comfortable with?

There are so many factors there. If CKD feels confidant in him, let's give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Besides he is Co-OC, not the sole OC. Shepherd may be the guy calling the plays anyways...

I heard Sheridan will call the plays. He was part of the offense last year for the Huskies. I have no worries with the offense. My concern is a couple positions on defense we're depth thin at.

 

[TideFan in AU]

In 2020, Sheridan’s offense beat Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Maryland. Their only losses were to Ohio State 42-35 and Ole Miss in the game 26-20. Penix was also injured in 2020, and didn’t play against Ole Miss, and they were competitive with Jack Tuttle at QB.
Penix went 27/51 491 yards and 5 TDs against Ohio State in 2020, so I’m not as pessimistic about him as an OC as some seem to be.

As others have said, they lost numerous starters in 2021, including most importantly, Penix and later the backup QB that year.

He achieved the numbers he did in 2020 without CKD, so I’m honestly feeling pretty good about what he can do with him.

 

[Tideflyer]

I'm going to start this post and update it as names are added. It's not complete and for certain things (like will we have a DC, or co-DCs, etc.) we'll just have to wait until official announcements are made.

ON-FIELD STAFF (names in bold are those we have enough information on to believe they are part of the staff going forward, subject to formal introduction; names in italics are coaches we've heard are under firm consideration)

Co-OC/QB: Nick Sheridan
RB: Robert Gillespie
Co-OC/WR: JaMarcus Shephard
TE: Jay Nunez, Paul Creighton
OL: Stacy Searels, Brandon Jones, Saga Tuitele, Alex Atkins, Greg Frey
--
DL: Freddie Roach
Co-DC/LB1: Kane Wommack
LB2: William Inge
Co-DC/DB1: Maurice Linguist
DB2: Colin Hitschler

OFF-FIELD STAFF (names in bold are confirmed, names in Italics are coaches we've heard are under firm consideration):
GM: Courtney Morgan
ST/Other: Jay Nunez
RC/RA: Jatavis Sanders, David Cooper, Kevin Green, Jerret McElwain, Robbie Proano, Tony Jones
PD/PP: Matt Shadeed, Eron Hodges, Ali VandenBerghe
QC: Kurtiss Riggs, Tyson Prince
General staff: Josh Chapman, Denzel Devall, Jamey Mosley, Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, George Banko

Current as of 10:11 p.m., Feb. 13. We will continue to update as necessary.

Jess, any way we might get a synopsis of the experience/accomplishments of the OL potentials? Any thoughts of " favorites " would be thought provoking, I`m sure. Thanks. As always, we all appreciate what you do.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Scott Cochran has resigned at Georgia. Not that we need him, or would want him.

Georgia says he’s pursuing other opportunities, along with Darrell Dickey, who was also on that staff.

I wonder if he’s going back to S&C?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Literally the same "stuff" and type of "stats" were used when Saban hired Tommy Rees. No one wanted to pay attention to the context where there was a point where he had to run an offense for the majority of a season without his starting QB. He also was talent-deficient at several key positions yet somehow he was supposed to make a thoroughbred out of a pack mule.

In 2020, Sheridan’s offense beat Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Maryland. Their only losses were to Ohio State 42-35 and Ole Miss in the game 26-20. Penix was also injured in 2020, and didn’t play against Ole Miss, and they were competitive with Jack Tuttle at QB.
Penix went 27/51 491 yards and 5 TDs against Ohio State in 2020, so I’m not as pessimistic about him as an OC as some seem to be.

As others have said, they lost numerous starters in 2021, including most importantly, Penix and later the backup QB that year.

He achieved the numbers he did in 2020 without CKD, so I’m honestly feeling pretty good about what he can do with him.