Is it Rodriguez? What about his offense?
With the 90-minute Tuesday afternoon meeting between Mal Moore and the Rodriguez family does this mean the deal is almost consummated?
A face-to-face meeting indicates a major change in the Alabama coaching search. It doesn't mean a deal is imminent; however, the meeting has escalated the stakes for all parties involved. If it is going to be Rodriguez then expect something to happen within the next 48-hours. It seems unlikely Rodriguez would have a meeting and then just sit around waiting on a telephone call for days or weeks.
Offensive question mark
While most Alabama fans are not upset with courting Rodriguez, there is an element of fans who dislike Rodriguez. Complaints range from:
He doesn't play defense
His offense isn't smashmouth
It isn't ball control
Each of these complaints is a perfect example of what's wrong with not only Alabama football but all sports--Fans who think they know something, but actually know nothing at all.
I'll be the first to say I hate the spread option. I'm not convinced it works with the speed of the SEC. Florida's offense has been horrible this year; I'd point out Florida's offense was more incompetent than Mike Shula's or a Gene Stallings-era offense (as an example take a look at the Auburn game.) A lot of luck and a good defense helped Florida this year. In a couple of years when Urban's system and players are all in place at Florida, expect worse results than his first season. This year was an aberration, not a vindication of the spread option attack in the SEC. Contrary to most opinions, I believe the SEC was substantially weak this season (I expect the SEC to win no more than 4 of its bowl games.) When you consider the weakness of this year's SEC teams and all the breaks Florida caught during the season, you cannot say the spread option helped Florida. If anything it hurt.
With that said, Rodriguez has impressive credentials. His offenses at Tulane, Clemson and West Virginia showed great skill at understanding how to attack defenses.
Whatever football is, it is a game of one-on-one matchups. Therefore, exploiting the one-on-one matchups which favor your team is the secret of success in any offensive or defensive scheme. Rodriguez has shown an ability to utilize his strengths and attack the opposition's weaknesses. I agree there are questions and Rodriguez would be smart to immediately address his offensive plans, if hired, but his history is good and without a doubt next season's offense under Rodriguez would be 1,000-times better than Mike Shula simply because Rodriguez understands discipline and fundamentals. Shula's teams were horrible because they weren't tough and weren't disciplined.
That won't happen under a coach like Rodriguez.
The criticism of many of today's coaches by some Alabama fans centers on the "smashmouth" problem. These fans say "This is Al-uhhh-bamm-uhhhh, we play smushmouth footbull here."
Do these people even understand football?
Bryant's teams in the 1960's (while tough players) relied on a pro-style passing attack and featured luminaries like Joe Namath and Ken Stabler. When Bryant transitioned to the wishbone in the 1970's, the wishbone/option-style offense is a very dangerous offense since the ball is regularly unsecured for long periods of time during each play. The option is often considered a smashmouth-type offense, but it is not. The option is a finesse style offense that uses execution, misdirection and options to overcome defenses. That's why smaller schools like the service academies utilize this offense.
One thing observers of football should understand is the game is cyclical. Offensive styles come in and out of favor. However, there are certain constants. First, you must be able to run the football (and it is very important to be able to run between the tackles.) Second in my opinion, you must throw the ball deep to stretch the defense vertically. This stretching the defense helps your running game and also helps the short and intermediate passing games. Of course the most important elements of an offense is the ability to pass protect and run block. If you can accomplish those two important points, any style offense will work in any league.
A face-to-face meeting indicates a major change in the Alabama coaching search. It doesn't mean a deal is imminent; however, the meeting has escalated the stakes for all parties involved. If it is going to be Rodriguez then expect something to happen within the next 48-hours. It seems unlikely Rodriguez would have a meeting and then just sit around waiting on a telephone call for days or weeks.
Offensive question mark
While most Alabama fans are not upset with courting Rodriguez, there is an element of fans who dislike Rodriguez. Complaints range from:
He doesn't play defense
His offense isn't smashmouth
It isn't ball control
Each of these complaints is a perfect example of what's wrong with not only Alabama football but all sports--Fans who think they know something, but actually know nothing at all.
I'll be the first to say I hate the spread option. I'm not convinced it works with the speed of the SEC. Florida's offense has been horrible this year; I'd point out Florida's offense was more incompetent than Mike Shula's or a Gene Stallings-era offense (as an example take a look at the Auburn game.) A lot of luck and a good defense helped Florida this year. In a couple of years when Urban's system and players are all in place at Florida, expect worse results than his first season. This year was an aberration, not a vindication of the spread option attack in the SEC. Contrary to most opinions, I believe the SEC was substantially weak this season (I expect the SEC to win no more than 4 of its bowl games.) When you consider the weakness of this year's SEC teams and all the breaks Florida caught during the season, you cannot say the spread option helped Florida. If anything it hurt.
With that said, Rodriguez has impressive credentials. His offenses at Tulane, Clemson and West Virginia showed great skill at understanding how to attack defenses.
Whatever football is, it is a game of one-on-one matchups. Therefore, exploiting the one-on-one matchups which favor your team is the secret of success in any offensive or defensive scheme. Rodriguez has shown an ability to utilize his strengths and attack the opposition's weaknesses. I agree there are questions and Rodriguez would be smart to immediately address his offensive plans, if hired, but his history is good and without a doubt next season's offense under Rodriguez would be 1,000-times better than Mike Shula simply because Rodriguez understands discipline and fundamentals. Shula's teams were horrible because they weren't tough and weren't disciplined.
That won't happen under a coach like Rodriguez.
The criticism of many of today's coaches by some Alabama fans centers on the "smashmouth" problem. These fans say "This is Al-uhhh-bamm-uhhhh, we play smushmouth footbull here."
Do these people even understand football?
Bryant's teams in the 1960's (while tough players) relied on a pro-style passing attack and featured luminaries like Joe Namath and Ken Stabler. When Bryant transitioned to the wishbone in the 1970's, the wishbone/option-style offense is a very dangerous offense since the ball is regularly unsecured for long periods of time during each play. The option is often considered a smashmouth-type offense, but it is not. The option is a finesse style offense that uses execution, misdirection and options to overcome defenses. That's why smaller schools like the service academies utilize this offense.
One thing observers of football should understand is the game is cyclical. Offensive styles come in and out of favor. However, there are certain constants. First, you must be able to run the football (and it is very important to be able to run between the tackles.) Second in my opinion, you must throw the ball deep to stretch the defense vertically. This stretching the defense helps your running game and also helps the short and intermediate passing games. Of course the most important elements of an offense is the ability to pass protect and run block. If you can accomplish those two important points, any style offense will work in any league.
posted by CapstoneReport.com at 3:51 PM
26 Comments:
I am not concerned with his offense. I am more concerned with his defense. I know that he will adapt his system to the players we have and to exploit defensive mathchups. What I don't know is if he wants to keep Kines, or bring in someone like Shannon, or if he wants to keep his guy from WVU
From what I understand, he has been wanting to bring in a quality DC (possibly Shannon) at WV for a while now but the admins at WVU won't pony up the cash.
If his game last satuday night was
an example of what kind of team he will put on the field, I am excited, as Phylis would say Leave him the Hell along and let him coach... Maybe he will get some of the punks /thugs Shula had playing for him in line.
As for Florida's offense, they're number 2 in the SEC with 398.1 yds/gm. True, their redzone offense was 10th in the SEC. But when you dig a little deeper you see it's their kikcing game that failed them. They scored a TD 63.8% of the time in the redzone, trailing ony LSU and Arkansas. If their kikier could have kiked a little better they would have been in the top five in red zone scoring. They were fifth in 3rd down efficiency. With TT starting next year I would expect Florida to be even better offensively.
Wholly krap i cant'nt spull no mer
Get with it, BAMA FANS, Rodriguez is a winner (i.e. Tulane-Clemson-West Virginia) plus what he has accomplished as a man born to tough circumstances in mining town in WV>
Florida is a very good offense, they scored points on Arky, UT, and LSU..agaisnt the barn the only ran 37 plays and got cheated byt the refs....offensively they moved the ball but the AU game was a short one....
Urban Meyer is a good offensive coach, Rod is an excelelnt second to none offensive coach.
And the option is power running, escpeically with the FB Dive.
Eveyr offense uses misdirection, Broncos, etc. cut backs zone blocking etc....except for shulaball. he went just off center 5,000 times in a row....
"Fans who think they know something, but know nothing at all". My question to you is ......what are your credentials? Were you a college level player, coach, etc.? If not, then you have the same background as all the other fans you deride, so, I guess you don't know anything either, you just know your opinion. Thanks for sharing.
Bama will be able to get the skill players on the D side of the ball..I just think he is a smart coach who really tries to actually make adjustments and use the best possiable player available...
I think with the D we had this season, and his O,,,we would be a monster...
Wake up..We have the players,,,we need a leader who will smack you in the month for back talking ....
The reason Bear was so good is because he told you to STFU...
and guess wht,,,you did exactly that...
That is what we need and if Coach Rod has that intensity,,,,he will be here for a long time...and we will be better off for it...
So says Big Daddy Don
Roll Tide
Man, ya'll some dang freaks off in nis jiz'oint. Word weez out
Go Irish whoop LSU in ney on bak yahd
What the hell kind of gibberish is that?
What will be the plan for Coach Rod if he brings in some new life on defense? His wvu defense is not up to par for SEC caliber teams. Hopefully he will retain Kines or go after Randy Shannon or someone of comparable ability.
I just got off the phone with Saban, and they are going to finalize his contract first thing in the morning.
FMS your analysis of the Rodriguez situation is excellent. His offense, I believe, will be adapted to Bama's current personnel without any major issues. He is adept at mixing the run and pass when he has a slow qb that can pass accurately. RTR!!
By the way your blog is more interesting than memphistider, because you avoid outrageous speculation about Bob Stoops.
Expert analysis FMS,
Any offense coach R brings in (if he's the guy) would work with the skill we have. My personal favorite... wishbone! I love misdirection! Works great, and does wonders for a passing game. What the heck, give it a try!
Roll Tide Roll!
And we wonder why no good coach wants to stay. Rodriquez essentially created the offense that every school wants to utilize to keep defenses on their heels. It will work in the SEC, because he will adapt it. He didn't run the read option before Pat White. You can't run the read option unless you have a dual threat QB. We have a great QB in JPW. He'll adapt the system. Part of what makes RR a good coach is his ability to adapt his offense to not only his talent, but also the defenses he goes up against. So give the guy a break, especially since he's only the WVU coach right now.
Shula never even adapted his gameplan at halftime. He ran the same plays from Tampa Bay. Always.
In case anyone was wondering, on ESPN.com, their top story is "Bama to Decide on Rodriguez Within the Next 72 Hours".
someone please say something!!!!
SOMETHING
Kines is not a top-notch d-coordinator. He's very good at teaching fundamentals but bad with schemes. Our defense was good last year because of talent and good fundamentals. This year, his schemes couldn't make up for inexperience at all.
WTF! How can anyone say our defense was bad this year? Kines and the defense held most teams under 17 points. It is assine to expect anything better than that.
Does anyone have a good blog or forum page from WV to see what they are saying?
Sabin likes to move around too much from job to job. I don't want to see him do well on one hand and hear rumors about he is leaving at the same time. Forget him, he is not a "home run", maybe just a long ball that looks like it will stay fair, but then starts to hook a little foul, leaving you excited and in suspense until the last second when it finally barely limps over the right field fence but drops in foul by a foot.
Stoops is too expensive. He does well in a weaker overall conference, but still hasn't won a national championship with a team he fully recruited.
Rodriguez wants eventually to coach in the pros ( lower, not higher ambitions) and would probably stay at best 7 years at Alabama, maybe shorter if the Florida State job ( or another major college or a pro job) opens and it entices him.
Either Stoops or Rodriguez (or any suitable above average coach) would be a great hire and do well at Alabama and be a big improvement over the previous head coach.
The new head coach should keep both Coach Kines as the defensive coordinator and Randy Ross, the recruiting coordinator. The new coaches decision in respect to these two positions will have a big impact on his future success.
MJWJr.
Well lets face it. A monkey holding tin cup collecting coins while he dances would be a better coach than Mike Shula.
Why does so many people think Joe Kines is a good DC? Did these people see the poor tackling this year? Did they see the loss to UT two years ago? Last years defense was due to the leadership of this years NFL defensive player of the year not Kines..........
1. Bob Petrino–(40-9) bold and aggressive, no nonsense attitude is just what Bama needs, offensive guru who could immediately goad the Auburn powers and Tuberville, has a small one million dollar buyout clause. Major drawbacks: needs to get a defensive coordinator with an ability to stop the opponents pass, his family loves the Louisville area and he turned down the Raiders three times on a 20 million dollar offer.
2. Bob Stoops–(85-18) although he has recently denied interest, a friend of his stated that if the correct offer is made he “would take a long hard look at the deal and consider his options.” He is the best Big 12 coach since Osborne and houndstooth visors would sell rapidly, he runs a generally clean program, he will not put up with a losing attitude which has infested the Bama program (i.e., acceptance of low expectations). Drawbacks--has invested a lot of time and energy at OU and may not be ready to leave with a well-regarded recruiting class coming in this year, would probably only stay 3-6 seasons b/c he will not hang around like a Paterno or Bowden, may leap to the NFL.
3. Nick L. Saban–(91-42-1) proven collegiate head coach and NFL assistant, tremendous defensive mind that succeeded greatly at LSU. NFL career is on the brink of collapse and will need somewhere to go either at the end of this season or next.
4. Bill Parcells–perfect attitude to clean up the program from the lack of discipline of the Shula Error. Drawbacks--age, already has one of the top NFL jobs, yet four years ago he did call AD Moore about the job and Moore never bothered to return the call (this was reported in the Birmingham News by Kevin Scarbinsky and others).
5. Chris Peterson, Boise State–(12-0)probably the real genius behind Dan Hawkins great record at Boise and is an offensive whiz averaging around 45 points per game over the last six seasons, young up and coming coach much like Urban Meyer at Bowling Green and Utah. Drawbacks--must get a better defensive coordinator who teaches sound coverage skills.
6. Gary Patterson–(53-20) excellent coach and defensive minded. Drawbacks--Tide has already had one bad experience with a coach from TCU.
7. Paul Johnson, Navy–(99-34) more adaptable in his offense than many people think, has a 99-34 overall record so a lot of experience winning and not much in the losing category is always good. Drawbacks–no experience at a major program, may be involved in a major steroid scandal at Navy.
8. Gene Stallings–(70-16-1) could mentor a great offensive assistant to take over the head job after two or three seasons. The best replacement would be Jimbo Fisher. Drawbacks–obviously his age.
9. Frank Beamer–(almost 200 career victories when one counts his HC time at Murray State) has previously expressed interest in Tide job, great special teams and defense that would be very appreciated. Drawbacks--absolutely must bring Bud Foster (DC) with him and not leave him behind to take over the Va. Tech HC job or may end up like Dan Hawkins (rudderless at Colorado minus OC Chris Peterson), also runs a program that on the field edges towards dirty play and his players often demonstrate a lack of class.
10. Jimmy Johnson–(81-34-3 college; 89-68 w/Playoffs) complete pipedream but a great leader and unquestioned general over players, he may like to erase the bad taste left in his mouth after his Miami Dolphins experience. Drawbacks–very happily retired.
11. Larry Kehres–(222 career wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties). Just recently won his ninth Division III national championship in the last fifteen seasons and finished 15-0 (winning a second consecutive national title). Drawbacks–may not be prepared for Bama limelight.
12t. Bo Pelini or Jimbo Fisher–combine either with a great DC or OC and they could roll big at Alabama.
13. Jerry Moore–(183-116-2 overall career record; 158-68 at App. St.) Just recently won a second consecutive Division I-AA National Championship. Drawbacks–lack of major college experience and Moore is a little long in the tooth.
14. Chuck Martin–(38-3) Recently won second consecutive Division II National Championship with Grand Valley State. He has won 28 consecutive games and has the winningest quarterback in college football history. Drawbacks–has no experience in major college football and is unprepared for the Alabama fish bowl.
15. Jon Gruden–(81-68 including playoffs) Won a Super Bowl, as for qualifications that is enough said. He led a Raiders team that if not for the problem with the NFL tuck rule, would have went to the Super Bowl before he did that with the Bucs. Drawbacks–former Tennessee assistant coach and married to a former UT cheerleader and apparently owns hundreds of acres of land in Sevierville, TN. Also has been rumored to covet the Notre Dame job in college and possibly Tennessee.
DO NOT EVEN BOTHER:
1. Jim Grobe–people talk about him like he has answers, Wake Forest has only won this year because Miami and FSU and others are in the dumps, so what if he finishes 11-2 or 12-2 this year b/c Shula got lucky and finished 10-2 last year in a much tougher conference. Overall record is: 69-67-1 and at Wake he is 36-34, that is simply far too many losses. He has also had SEVEN losing/non-winning seasons out of twelve, if we wanted that why not keep Shula? This guy is a bum and may be fine for WF or other colleges but do not bring him to Bama.
2. Chan Gailey–(37-26)redneck who cannot beat his rival Georgia; Bama needs a coach who can beat rivals LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee at least every once in a while. Tech has lost SIX in row to Georgia, again if we wanted that why not just keep Shula. He may be fine for Tech or some other college but do not bring him, like Curry (0-for Auburn lifetime) to Alabama.
3. Steve Kragthorpe–a hot name the past two seasons, but realistically he is only 29 Wins to 21 Losses, Shula was 26-23 and that is unsatisfactory. Kraggy has no big time experience and went 4-8 in 2004, not good enough. He may be fine for Tulsa or some other small college but do not bring him to Alabama.
4. David Cutcliffe–(44-29) poor recruiter, does not excite the fan base or anyone else for that matter. Cannot get exited himself because he may have a heart attack at any minute. A graduate of Alabama but like Weis did not play there and he has too many ties to Fulmer. His Ole Miss teams also did not have a defense that would be needed to compete consistently. Did absolutely nothing without Eli Manning as QB. Again, fine for UT or as a HC somewhere else.
5. Art Briles–recently mentioned by some as a candidate but his overall record is 26-23 or the same record that Shula was just fired for having. He also has no big time background experience seeing as he was at Stephenville High School in Texas prior to Houston in Conference USA.
6. Jim Gush–mentioned lately as a candidate, has no proven ability at a major level of college or professional football.
7. Jeff Tedford–(42-20) already demonstrated that he was absolutely clueless when it came to playing in the SEC when Tennessee owned his talented Cal team 35-18 in Knoxville. His team was incapable of scoring until UT put in second and third string defensive players. Bama needs someone that can beat Auburn and Tennessee and/or has a proven ability to defeat major rivals and Tedford has not done that. Tedford simply cannot beat major rivals in the Pac 10.
8. Anyone named MIKE–at all costs avoid Mikes. Mike DumBose--scandalous, sexual controversies and infractions, Mike Price--scandalous, sexual controversies, Mike Sherman–has the personality of a baked clam and that reminds many of Mike Shula. Of course, this is in jest as I realize that Mike Stoops is decent and may be really good at a place like Alabama, Mike Shanahan, and Mike Holmgren would also be great. Not Mike Ditka as he slandered Alabama recently on the radio referring to them as possibly the third best team in their own state.
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