Bama Coordinator Search Thread

[drwho]

Tosh is making 950k as co-DC. I think a raise keeps him around.

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[BamaMoon]

Could it be Chip Long?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.on...t-offensive-coordinator-at-alabama-nick-saban

I guess I've failed to keep up with this guy. If he could average 34 points a game at ND, I imagine he could find another 7 a game to get us around 40+ a game with our talent!

 

[BamaMoon]

I keep hearing Locksley from posters and have seen tweets from Damien Harris speaking favorably of him. Others seem very unsure.

What's the draw to him (other than his current role and popularity with some of the players) and what's the concern with him?

 

[Tideflyer]

Everybody knows CNS is the man. These are most obviously his decisions to make. Having said that, I find myself wondering if, particularly considering the current situation, he seeks and receives input from anyone else? Good leaders will do that if they have someone around them who can give input from another perspective and if it`s a decision that doesn`t have to be made immediately ( like, whether or not to change QB`s in the middle of a national championship game ! ).

 

[RedWave]

I am all for Locksley, if he is the best man for the job. Same for Lupoi as DC. However, I do worry about the idea of making a decision like this, one as important as it is, based on the popularity with the players or just to avoid having them leave for another school. I don't see Saban as one who would choose his coordinators this way, though. He will make what he thinks is absolutely the best hire for the team, and if it happens to cause him to lose an assistant, then he will replace that assistant with a better one.

 

[crimsonaudio]

I guess I've failed to keep up with this guy. If he could average 34 points a game at ND, I imagine he could find another 7 a game to get us around 40+ a game with our talent!

And that's in one season. The season before (2016) he was at Memphis with Norvell, and they scored 38.8 ppg - the same as Bama, minus all the NOTs...

 

[JTBama]

I keep hearing Locksley from posters and have seen tweets from Damien Harris speaking favorably of him. Others seem very unsure.

What's the draw to him (other than his current role and popularity with some of the players) and what's the concern with him?

Locksley is more of an rpo guy , not to say he can't call a different style but that's his background. He would give continuity as far as the plus side but I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. The million dollar question is offensive strategy going forward. If Locksley were not to get the job, I think the picture becomes maybe a little clearer on the style we may or may not be going forward in. I know he's popular with the players but that doesn't always equate to the right decision. This one will be interesting to say the least .
Background
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Locksley

 

[mlh]

I am all for Locksley, if he is the best man for the job. Same for Lupoi as DC. However, I do worry about the idea of making a decision like this, one as important as it is, based on the popularity with the players or just to avoid having them leave for another school. I don't see Saban as one who would choose his coordinators this way, though. He will make what he thinks is absolutely the best hire for the team, and if it happens to cause him to lose an assistant, then he will replace that assistant with a better one.

Obviously it helps if the players like their coordinators. But the players sometimes are too close and emotionally involved. I remember several years ago when the players made and impassioned plea to the AD to keep Mike Price.

I trust CNS to get input from the team, as well as other coaches, and make the decision he feels if best for the team.

 

[CrimsonForce]

I am all for Locksley, if he is the best man for the job. Same for Lupoi as DC. However, I do worry about the idea of making a decision like this, one as important as it is, based on the popularity with the players or just to avoid having them leave for another school. I don't see Saban as one who would choose his coordinators this way, though. He will make what he thinks is absolutely the best hire for the team, and if it happens to cause him to lose an assistant, then he will replace that assistant with a better one.

Especially considering a lot of the players who want him to get the job will only be here another year and then off to the NFL. Normally never works out to hire / promote a coach based on the popularity with the players..

 

[KrAzY3]

I will say this, it made me uneasy to hear how some players were behaving in regards to the quarterbacks. I understand it, and one could argue they were right, but their role isn't to pick who starts or who the coordinator is. So, the hire should be based entirely on who the best fit is for the job, not who the players want (didn't the players want Orgeron at LSU?).

 

[GrayTide]

Yeah, and he's got a list of candidates...no doubt.

I honestly can't tell if some of these suggestions are legit or folks just trying to get their post count up. Just glad CNS will be on top of it

Mine are for upping my post count. :cool2:. As for Locksley, all I know he was let go at New Mexico State and landed at Maryland as OC. He is widely recognized as an elite recruiter especially in the MD, NJ, VA area. His son died recently and he may want to start fresh somewhere else, just a thought. Rumors on here say he maybe headed to Tallahassee. IIRC he had some issues in the past that landed him in hot water but beyond that, that is all I know.

 

[UAH]

I am all for Locksley, if he is the best man for the job. Same for Lupoi as DC. However, I do worry about the idea of making a decision like this, one as important as it is, based on the popularity with the players or just to avoid having them leave for another school. I don't see Saban as one who would choose his coordinators this way, though. He will make what he thinks is absolutely the best hire for the team, and if it happens to cause him to lose an assistant, then he will replace that assistant with a better one.

We can see that there are no guarantees when it comes to selecting a coordinator. Daboll wasn't on the job long enough to make an imprint. Now he is off to Buffalo where Coaches go to never be heard from again. One strong advantage to hiring internally is obviously an understanding of the system, the coaching staff and players. It also builds a healthy ecosystem where the best and brightest look to work hard, learn and grow inside versus needing to go to a much lesser program for their career progression.

With this talent one does not need to be a proven offensive genius to take the existing playbook, hit the film room and come away knowing what will work.

 

[Tideflyer]

I will say this, it made me uneasy to hear how some players were behaving in regards to the quarterbacks. I understand it, and one could argue they were right, but their role isn't to pick who starts or who the coordinator is. So, the hire should be based entirely on who the best fit is for the job, not who the players want (didn't the players want Orgeron at LSU?).

And I`d be stunned if CNS looked at it any other way. Does that mean that the two perspectives ( player`s preferences and what`s best for the team ) are always mutually exclusive? Absolutely not. Yes, this will be most interesting! Organizational dynamics has always fascinated me.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I will say this, it made me uneasy to hear how some players were behaving in regards to the quarterbacks. I understand it, and one could argue they were right, but their role isn't to pick who starts or who the coordinator is. So, the hire should be based entirely on who the best fit is for the job, not who the players want (didn't the players want Orgeron at LSU?).

The social aspect of team chemistry is a real thing that can have a real impact on how the team plays. Especially with college kids. The NFL is a business and the players who play are grown men who don't approach the game like a fan does. They understand it's a job and they get paid millions of dollars to play it. They are also more mature and are able to put aside any personal issues they have with a teammate and play just as good with that teammate on the field as they are with the guy they really like (who plays the same position) sitting on the bench. They're more mature.

We saw this with Blake Barnett. There's no doubt in my mind the team didn't give the same type of effort with him under center as they did with Hurts. From reports I've heard not many liked the guy. When you lose the confidence of your teammates it effects their play. It shouldn't be that way, but unfortunately that's what normally happens. I think Jalen lost the confidence of his teammates and they were getting frustrated because they felt like as long as he stayed behind center the offense was going to sputter.

 

[KrAzY3]

The social aspect of team chemistry is a real thing that can have a real impact on how the team plays. Especially with college kids.

I think that played a role in how things played out. I have to provide the caveat that with the offense Alabama was running, they were right, Tua had to be the guy. So, I don't want to say those guys were wrong, don't listen to them. Even Saban has talked about winning the locker room and so on.

But, I also think at the same time you kind of have to fight that type of thing as well. If the players ever do reach the point they really only want to play with certain other guys or certain coordinators, or their influence becomes too strong it would be an issue. I would add that Saban has been pretty masterful at handling this, he hasn't had many players quit on him (look at what happened to FSU this year, and that's a Saban style team with Alabama level talent). I'd just hope that the players are able to see some of this stuff as clutter, rather than get caught up in their own preferences and creating consequences around that.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I think that played a role in how things played out. I have to provide the caveat that with the offense Alabama was running, they were right, Tua had to be the guy. So, I don't want to say those guys were wrong, don't listen to them. Even Saban has talked about winning the locker room and so on.

But, I also think at the same time you kind of have to fight that type of thing as well. If the players ever do reach the point they really only want to play with certain other guys or certain coordinators, or their influence becomes too strong it would be an issue. I would add that Saban has been pretty masterful at handling this, he hasn't had many players quit on him (look at what happened to FSU this year, and that's a Saban style team with Alabama level talent). I'd just hope that the players are able to see some of this stuff as clutter, rather than get caught up in their own preferences and creating consequences around that.

No doubt. I think the first and most important hurdle (in hiring a new OC) is "Is he qualified?". If he passes that hurdle then you get to if players like him or not. But that doesn't trump the qualification aspect of it.

 

[CajunCrimson]

other schools appear to have taken on the strategy of -- ripping our staff apart each year in order to "learn" the process or "steal" some talent (letting CNS do the vetting for them)....similar to waiting to see who Bama offers and then targeting those players.

Another sign that Saban is the best ever. It's insane how much he has to overcome each year.....

 

[Intl.Aperture]

I will say this, it made me uneasy to hear how some players were behaving in regards to the quarterbacks. I understand it, and one could argue they were right, but their role isn't to pick who starts or who the coordinator is. So, the hire should be based entirely on who the best fit is for the job, not who the players want (didn't the players want Orgeron at LSU?).

I agree wholeheartedly with you on the coaching side of things. On the players judging players side of things I think their say has a little more weight. There are elements that the staff can see that the players can not but the players can recognize the talent and ability and execution of a particular player about as well as the staff can in many scenarios.

There is a balance to be sure - and nothing happens in a vacuum, but as a whole I certainly think a team's feelings about the abilities of another player carry some weight.

 

[mlh]

I will say this, it made me uneasy to hear how some players were behaving in regards to the quarterbacks. I understand it, and one could argue they were right, but their role isn't to pick who starts or who the coordinator is. So, the hire should be based entirely on who the best fit is for the job, not who the players want (didn't the players want Orgeron at LSU?).

I don't know who the players wanted, but I sure wanted Orgeron at LSU. :tongue:

 

[CaliforniaTide]

Since the news about Daboll came out last night, I've never seen so many people on Twitter and on here push for Freeze as a legitimate option for a coaching position as I did this morning. I understand the success he had at Ole Miss and the fits his offenses gave CNS. All of that aside, I do not want him near my program in any official capacity (even as an analyst). I do not think CNS would consider him for an official position, but what do I know?