Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Michigan Tuesday: How Are 4 Offensive Coordinators Going To Work Together?

Quick question to the Big House Blog Fan base:  Why do you think most of Bill Belichick's coordinators fail when they get head coaching jobs?  The easy answer is: They can't take Tom Brady with them.    


The reason, I believe they fail most of the time, is because they are not brining Bill with them.  Yes, they are getting his process and his defensive plays, but those teams are buying a downgrade from the real thing.   Do you think the Detroit Lions brass, had this conversation?  Has New England's defense gotten better this year because of Matt Patricia or is it because of Bill Belichick?  Indy just hired Frank Reich the former OC for the Super Champs Philadelphia Eagles, does any of us really think that was Frank's offense or head coach Doug Pederson?


That is what makes hiring coaches so difficult.  How about one close to home.   Jim Harbaugh was a Michigan great and NFL Star.  Had any of you heard of John Harbaugh before he got the Baltimore job?  I sure hadn't.  He was the special teams and DB coach for the Eagles before getting the head coaching gig with the Ravens. 


Hiring coaches is more of an Art then a Science.  Jimmy 's view on the offense side of the ball is to get as many offensive coordinator minds as he can get.   That can either turn into beautiful music or a pot of stew that nobody wants to eat.   I think we all agree we got the stew last year. So what happens now?   The plan didn't work out and now you have a ton of high profile coaches on staff that are getting paid big bucks.  


The dream of Pep and Drevno getting new jobs is now dead.   They are not leaving their big pay check or their contract   They also want to try to amend for the disaster that was last year.    So we now need to start looking at what these guys roles should be for next season. 


The final decision will be Jimmy's of course but lets see what we have to work with:


Staff:

  • Former OSU and Minnesota OC Ed Warriner.  His job will not include on field coaching duties and will probably be in charge of prepping for future opponents. etc.   1 OC
On Field Coaches:
  • Former Stanford, Indy Colts, and Cleveland Browns OC Pep Hamilton.  He was Michigan's Pass Game Coordinator last year, a unit that grossly under preformed.  2 OC
  • Former Stanford, USC, and 49'ers offensive line coach Tim Drevno.   He has been the OC at Michigan and his offensive line unit has not preformed well since he as been in Ann Arbor.  3 OC
  • Former Alabama OC and former Colorado State and Florida head coach Jim McElwain.  His last job was an offensive nightmare at Florida.  4 OC
  • Jay Harbaugh, Jim's son has coached TE's, RB's, and special teams in Ann Arbor. 


That is a lot of cooks in the kitchen on the offensive side of the ball.  If you count Jimmy, that is 5 people with strong experience and voices trying to call plays and put game plans together.   (of course Ed will not be able to call plays).


So Jimmy has some figuring out to do.  There are too many voices in the room right now and he is going to need to find a way to split up some roles. 


Rumored changes:
  • Drevno offensive line coach
  • Pep QB coach
  • McElwain WR coach
  • Jay probably stays at RB and Special Teams. 
Who is going to get the OC title seems to be up for grabs.   I think Jimmy is considering McElwain for that job but it also could easily be Pep or Tim.     It's clear that Michigan does need a full time QB and WR coach and just can't have staff members fill those roles.  I also would love a full time offensive line coach as that unit has under preformed for 10+ years now. 


We will see if this is a good fit or just a bunch of offensive minds with a ton of experience that can't effectively run Jimmy's system.  


1 comment:

Goose said...

Seems like Jim is just throwing money at the problem and doesn't really have a plan. I hope I'm wrong.