2021 Texas Offseason: Sark Attacks Austin

[Hookem2147 20934]

 

[Bodacious Bevo 3576]

23 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

 

I've been waiting for the bigger faster stronger reports but I guess different vibes will do 

[bejezuz 329]

21 hours ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

He's taking the spot of someone at USC who was able to transition from a recruiting role to an actual on-field coaching position:  

https://usctrojans.com/news/2021/1/29/usc-trojans-football-seth-doege-promoted-tight-ends-coach-clay-helton.aspx

Maybe he just really wants to be a football coach.  That would never have happened at Texas with his pedigree.  Four years ago this guy was working at UH part-time while still working as a home health aid.  Check out his LinkedIn, it's enlightening: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-carrington-aa0159107/.  The dude pulled himself up from nothing, so I don't blame him for taking a step up at USC when Helton has shown he's willing to launch a coaching career for a former recruiter.  We couldn't offer him an opportunity like this on this staff.  

[LTtxfan 48990]

Cross-posting... Thanks for this @Hiphopopotamos 

From Bobby this morning:

Quote

Lots of movement in the Longhorns’ player personnel department this week on the heels of national signing day.

- IT learned that Drew Hughes would not be the team’s next player personnel director as had been expected.

- Bryan Carrington, after making what could only be described as an “official visit” to USC over the weekend is now expected to take the Trojans up on their offer. I’m told Steve Sarkisian wasn’t exactly beat up about Carrington’s departure given Carrington’s outright overtures to another program just days before signing day.

- As IT expected, John Michael Jones and Jake Langi have been retained by Sarkisian. Jones has headed up the Longhorns’ resurgent walk-on program the last several years. Texas got several preferred walk-ons in this class, including two from state champion Westlake. But the real coup was landing QB Cole Lourd. Lourd had other D-I scholarship offers, but the UT legacy (the grandson of Jim Bob Moffett) opted for Texas.

- With Bob Shipley taking a step back from full-time work, the Horns attracted Lancaster head coach Chris Gilbert as the team’s new director of high school relations. Gilbert is a well-respected member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and a well-known figure in South Dallas.

**

Where will Texas go for a replacement for Hughes?

A name to watch is Cooper Pategna. Pategna is the former director of player personnel at Oregon.

However, he is just one of several possible candidates.

Whoever the hire ultimately is will likely be tied in some way to Ed Marynowitz, Nick Saban’s first personnel director who now works alongside Jimmy Sexton and helps college coaches fill out their personnel staffs.

**

I’m told Texas coaches have been reviewing practice film from last year, not just game film, to get an idea of the players who return to the team this season.

Sark is said to be pleasantly surprised with the talent on campus. “Better than expected,” he told an athletic department official

 

[texifornia 56551]

 

[Viper 12033]

2 hours ago, bejezuz said:

He's taking the spot of someone at USC who was able to transition from a recruiting role to an actual on-field coaching position:  

https://usctrojans.com/news/2021/1/29/usc-trojans-football-seth-doege-promoted-tight-ends-coach-clay-helton.aspx

Maybe he just really wants to be a football coach.  That would never have happened at Texas with his pedigree.  Four years ago this guy was working at UH part-time while still working as a home health aid.  Check out his LinkedIn, it's enlightening: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-carrington-aa0159107/.  The dude pulled himself up from nothing, so I don't blame him for taking a step up at USC when Helton has shown he's willing to launch a coaching career for a former recruiter.  We couldn't offer him an opportunity like this on this staff.  

not saying it doesn't happen, it's just that it's pretty rare to be successful for those who haven't played college ball like Seth and Rashaad have. I know Mike Leach did it but I'm not sure that many others have.

[Slacks 6791]

(Scipio Tex) Sarkisian's RB History: Get Ready For The Bijan Bell Cow

A few things strike an analyst when one evaluates Sarkisian's use of running backs.
1. Sark is not shy about having a #1 bell cow. He seems to prefer it.
2. He wants to throw the ball to receiving capable running backs. A lot. That desire is limited by the ability of his running backs (or his QB). If his best pure runner can't catch, other guys will earn snaps. The RB passing game is central to his beliefs.
3. When he has rotated backs in a true job share (rather than just spelling a guy for a series or two), it's because a single starter didn't take the job, because they offer complementary skill sets (the best pure runner can't catch), or the #1 runner suffered injuries.
I'll confine my analysis to the schools where he was either the head coach or offensive coordinator. There's no question that his upbringing at BYU influenced his perception of RBs in the passing game and he got to see the lethal Bush/White combo first hand early in his career at USC, but he wasn't determining snaps, playing time, or offensive direction. Sark's college RB track record:

In 2007/2008 at USC, Sarkisian had three man rotations at RB featuring a mix of Chauncey Washington, Joe McKnight, and Stafon Johnson. Necessity more than preference. In 2007, Sark threw the ball 66 times to running backs despite lead back Chauncey Washington only catching 7 balls. In 2008, Sark threw the ball 62 times to USC running backs despite lead back Stafon Johnson being a similarly negligible pass catcher. Over those two years, nifty tough guy fullback Stanley Havili caught an impressive 58 passes. Texas won't play much true fullback, but Sark likes dependable sure-handed guys on play action and in the red zone.
At Washington, Sark had two bell cows over 5 years: Chris Polk and Bishop Sankey. They combined for five consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons in Seattle. Why did Chris Polk trend up as a pass catcher in the last of his three years? Because heady Keith Price replaced Jake Locker at QB. Locker had the short passing game feel of a Highland Games competitor. Sarkisian worked Bishop Sankey like a draft horse in Central Park: in 2013, Sankey had 8 games with 25+ carries, including 40, 35, and 34 carry efforts. He had more than 20 carries in 11 of 13 contests, logging only 4 carries against Idaho State.
USC's Javorius Allen continued the bell cow tradition, amassing over 1400+ yards rushing while catching another 40+ balls out of the backfield. When Sark has an effective runner and pass catcher, those are the kinds of numbers one can expect. In 2015, Sarkisian coached only half of the season, but it's worth noting that Justin Davis also provided 900+ rushing yards in a 1-2 punch with Ronald Jones.  USC came very close to having two 1,000 yard rushers.
Jones wasn't utilized as a pass catcher due to a condition called "skillet hands." Davis job shared in part because he was a better asset as a pass catcher. Najee Harris' impressive two year run at Alabama demonstrates what happens when Sark gets his hands on a talented multipurpose back. Despite sitting out a lot of 4th quarters in Alabama blowouts, Harris caught 70 balls over two years and had 11 receiving touchdowns in addition to scoring 39 rushing touchdowns. That's 50 total touchdowns in two years.
The Texas Takeaways
Keaontay Ingram was wise to transfer. Sark is going to tighten up the rotation and create a feature spotlight.
Bijan Robinson is a dream running back for the Sarkisian offense. While I expect Bijan's overall workload to more resemble Najee Harris than Bishop Sankey, Sark will want Robinson to catch 35-45 balls and touch the ball 20 total times a game against top tier Texas opponents. Like a cross between Reggie Bush and Najee Harris, Robinson has the ability to split out, excel in the screen game, or hunt linebacker match ups releasing from the backfield. Unlike Reggie Bush, Robinson does that with a 220 pound frame and top tier tackle breaking ability.
Sark will also like the skill set of Roschon Johnson, who has always demonstrated pass catching ability, never-say-die tackle breaking, as well as a willingness to block. RoJo can not only spell Bijan and act as a late game volume finisher, but he might also offer some Stanley Havili-like attributes. Bottom line: Sark likes bell cows. Get ready to hear some ringing.
 

 
MACKovic is BACK!

[Machinator 32097]

 

[Machinator 32097]

 

[LTtxfan 48990]

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Chip Brown) The Insider: Texas football has 'a totally different vibe'

Quote

‘THERE’S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT VIBE’

I’ve been covering Texas football for nearly 30 years, and any time there’s a coaching change you immediately start hearing about how things are different. Right now, I can tell you Texas football players, one by one, and sometimes in small groups, are just dropping by the seventh floor of the north end of DKR, which is the interim location for the offices of UT’s football coaches (until the south end renovation is completed - by August).

The players are dropping by just to bond with their new head coach Steve Sarkisian or their coordinator or position coach. “There’s a totally different vibe,” said a UT source close to the situation. “There’s an openness between the players and coaches that is totally different.”

Before we go any further, let me be the first to say, too often, fans and followers of a program (including the media) can fall prisoner to recency bias or succumb to WANTING to believe any new changes are automatically for the better, so much so that we look down on whatever existed before. I do think it’s important to look back for a moment at what players such as sixth-year senior Denzel Okafor and fifth-year senior Derek Kerstetter experienced previously under Tom Herman to provide context for this “totally different vibe” currently going on.

And this is by no means to dump on Herman, who took over a program with three straight losing seasons under a coach (Charlie Strong) players liked but didn’t win for enough. Herman went 22-4 at Houston with a conference title and wins over Top 10 teams Florida State and Oklahoma. In four years at Texas, he won 64 percent of his games without a losing season while going 4-0 in bowl games.

When Herman walked into his first meeting with his Texas players as head coach, he had the voice of a drill sergeant and told everyone to sit up straight, backs against their chairs with their feet flat on the floor. Herman ended up shouting at Malcolm Roach, a tough-minded coach’s son, “Sit the (bleep) up,” after Herman believed Roach was still slouching in his chair. Herman vowed not to watch any previous tape on players, so he would start fresh with a new opportunity for everyone to prove themselves.

At the team’s first spring practice, Herman ripped into quarterback Shane Buechele and made him do up-downs in front of the team. Herman’s primary mentor was Urban Meyer, who has said fear is one of the most effective tools for motivation. Thus, Texas suddenly had a class system under Herman in which “champions” were rewarded and losers of morning workouts were given burnt biscuits and drank from a hose.

Pee charts emphasizing hydration levels posted all over UT’s football complex included, “YOU ARE A BAD GUY!!!” if their pee reached a certain color. A few former Texas players have told us about times they were in a one-on-one situations with Herman, either walking down a hallway or in an elevator, etc., and when they said hello to Herman, he didn’t acknowledge them. Someone close to Herman said Herman might’ve done that early on in his time at Texas, especially with players who hadn’t yet proven themselves to him.

It’s an old-school method of conveying the player must earn the coach’s respect at all times. NFL coaches Bruce Arians and Mike Zimmer have both talked about how they’ll show very little attention to rookies until those rookies prove themselves, and then the coaches will go through walls for those players once they do. Under Herman, his assistant coaches echoed their head coach’s drill sergeant mentality. And if you were a player in a position group in which that assistant was also a hard-to-approach drill sergeant, that player didn’t have anyone on the staff who felt like an ally.

In Herman’s first year, I had parents tell me horror stories about the way Herman and some assistants treated the players — crossing the line to make it personal. Some of those players went on to the NFL, and you’ve rarely seen those players back to campus the last three years. I had numerous high school coaches tell me early on in the Herman era, “You can’t treat kids like that. If you do, you better win, because if you don’t, they’ll turn on you.”

That happened, to a degree, when it came to recruiting over the past year. You need a handful of good recruiters on your staff to bring talented kids to campus, but eventually your players should be your best recruiters.

The COVID-19 pandemic started to expose that weakness for Herman right after changing out seven of his 10 assistant coaches. There was suddenly a lack of familiarity between Texas players and recruits with Herman’s new staff. In recruiting, Herman needed his players to help bridge the gap. Instead of hosting recruits on their official visits, players needed to be on Zoom calls with recruits — selling the program and Austin, while talking up the coaching staff.

It didn’t happen. Well, I take that back. I was told running backs coach Stan Drayton was able to get Bijan Robinson to get on FaceTime or Zoom calls to help in Drayton’s recruiting efforts. And that’s because Drayton, in addition to being one of the best running backs coaches in football, never followed in Herman’s drill sergeant footsteps. He was always a real person with his players, so they felt comfortable talking to Drayton about anything — not just football.

That’s also why Drayton is an effective recruiter. Sure, he coached Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State, and that’s a heck of a calling card for recruits these days. But players love playing for Drayton (ask Robinson or Roschon Johnson), and players at his position improve. That’s why Drayton has been approached by the Cowboys, Rams and Eagles in the past two seasons. One of the bigger pieces of news that flew under the radar this week (except to our members here at Horns247 who read the Morning Brew) is Drayton turned down the Eagles’ overture and is staying at Texas.

(In addition to Drayton wanting to be a college head coach eventually, I’m told another reason he’s stayed at Texas is his daughter, Amari, is an elite gymnast who does a lot of training all over the state, and I’m told he doesn’t want to disrupt her life right now.) Drayton was at it again on the recruiting trail this week, securing a commitment from Jaydon Blue, a Top 100 recruit (No. 60) in 2022 from Klein Cain, who has drawn comparisons to someone Sark knows well from their days together at USC — Reggie Bush.

The bottom line is when Herman should’ve been getting his players involved in recruiting, following the turnover of 70 percent of his on-field assistant coaches, he either didn’t or couldn’t, because he didn’t have the relationships. The more UT officials spoke with players in their post-season evaluation of Herman — and I’m told there was a multi-hour conversation with quarterback Sam Ehlinger after the season — the more of a disconnect UT officials were seeing between Herman and his players on a purely human level.

If you ask players, they’ll tell you they had more lunches with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte in the TANC (Texas Athletic Nutrition Center) than they did spending any meaningful time aside from football with Herman or his assistant coaches in 2020. Ask players who played for Urban Meyer, and they’ll tell you the exact same thing: that Meyer didn’t have an open-door policy or spend time around his players just getting to know them.

“The fun is in winning,” is a favorite line of Meyer’s that Herman adopted. One person close to Herman said his success in bowl games (4-0 at Texas) was, in part, because he tended to relax around the players more than he did during the season — and the players responded. Here’s where Herman deserves some credit. His teams were tough. They were physical. And Herman’s players fought for four quarters, keeping Texas in just about every game in Herman’s four seasons as head coach. (His worst loss was a 17-point defeat at TCU in his first season.)

On Halloween, they lifted Herman up and crowd-surfed him in the locker room at Oklahoma State after UT’s first road win over a Top 10 team since 2010. Herman’s players never quit — they fought for each other. And ironically enough, the appearance of his players quitting on him — after UT’s four-overtime loss to Oklahoma this past season — when the players weren’t gathered together for the post-game playing of the Eyes of Texas, was probably the beginning of the end for Herman.

That’s when UT officials started a conversation with Meyer that began as a consulting meeting and morphed into Texas courting Meyer to replace Herman. Meyer ultimately told Texas no, because Meyer was no longer sure his tough, demanding style of coaching would still work in college football in the age of the transfer portal. Meyer shifted his focus to the NFL, and now we’ll see if his style works on millionaires in a franchise with a reputation as one of the worst run in the league.

While UT was courting Meyer, Del Conte had one of his top lieutenants, Shawn Eichorst, a former athletic director at Miami and Nebraska, collecting intel on other possible candidates, including Steve Sarkisian. Del Conte is close with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne. They sort of grew up together in the AD business in the Pac-12. Word at Alabama was Sarkisian had really turned his life around after facing dependency issues that led to his humiliating firing as coach at USC in 2015.

Sarkisian has said when he got an opportunity to join Nick Saban’s staff as an analyst in 2016 — after wondering if he’d ever work in coaching again — he made his goal to simply be the best resource he could be at Bama. To accomplish that, Sarkisian said he went into the office each morning with the goal of “being the best version of myself that day.” Alabama sources say Sark’s attitude became contagious within the staff and ultimately trickled down to players.

UT officials were getting that kind of intel about Sarkisian at about the same time some Longhorn player interviews were beginning to paint a picture of Herman as not having meaningful connections with his own players. One UT official pointed out that a few Texas players on defense spoke out publicly in favor of keeping Chris Ash as defensive coordinator after Herman was let go — but nothing about Herman.

“No one has come to Herman’s defense. Not one,” the official said. “Herman was going to be fine if he was winning at a high level. Otherwise, he was going to be in trouble, because it seems he rubbed everyone he came in contact with the wrong way — at one point or another.”

Flash forward to the seventh floor of the north end of DKR this week, where players have started to matriculate before or after eating at the TANC. “You never saw players hanging around the coaches’ offices,” one team source said. “But this staff’s approach is totally different. They want you to hang out. They’ll joke with you, and they’re all pretty damn cool. But they’ll also say stuff like, ‘You ready to take everything we do to the next level?’ — letting you know that we’re about to really get to work.”

Some recent changes made in UT athletics this week include Vince Young returning to the Texas payroll (in athletics this time) and, as Mike Roach first-reported Wednesday, Sarkisian is hiring beloved Lancaster High School head coach Chris Gilbert, who has strong ties in Dallas, to take over Bob Shipley’s role as Director of High School Relations. Sarkisian said this week Shipley “has been a great resource for me” and that he wants to keep Shipley on his support staff.

A successful high school coach in the Dallas-Fort Worth area told Horns247, “At a school where the Eyes of Texas has been a concern, bringing back Vince Young and hiring Chris Gilbert shows a real keen awareness by Sark.” Sarkisian has worked under two of the most successful coaches of their generation in Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. Sark has said he’s learned plenty from both but knows his success or failure as a head coach will be determined by being himself.

And that starts with Sarkisian waking up each morning with the determination to be the best version of himself that day — something that became contagious at Alabama and has now arrived at Texas.

 

[texifornia 56551]

8 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

 

MAKE IT THE PRIMARY YOU FOOLS

[Viper 12033]

9 minutes ago, texifornia said:

MAKE IT THE PRIMARY YOU FOOLS

true, but then you couldn't have the "STATE on my front, FAMILY on my back" slogan

[Dijon Robinson 1511]

2 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Chip Brown) The Insider: Texas football has 'a totally different vibe'

 

This was an unusually good article by our friend Chip if you ask me

[taybo20 2815]

2 hours ago, texifornia said:

MAKE IT THE PRIMARY YOU FOOLS

PLEASE!!!!!

[UncleSonny 6563]

3 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

I thought the leaves behind the car were cash at first glance. Was ok with it.

[GoldAppleCorps 617]

Hah! The "I'm going to pretend to be a drill sergeant!" mentality. Surely if you act tough and behave like a jerk, people will respect you, right?

The truth is, you just can't fake that kind of thing if that's not who you are. Urban may have gotten away with it, but that's likely who he really is. Players understood that from him because it was real. Herman sounds like he was trying to play the tough guy. Texas players have seen tough guys in their lives, and Herman wasn't it. Instead of motivating out of fear, it just fell flat.

Sark seems like the enthusiastic sales guy. He's glad you're on the team! He'll smile and shake your hand. He'll show you the plan, give you everything you need to succeed, encourage you, give you tips when you're flagging, and still be smiling when he cuts you loose for not making your numbers 2 quarters in a row! If you're not getting it, there's three guys waiting for your job.

He emphasizes trust = time + consistency. I believe he's consistent because he's being his true self. Playing for Texas can be fun and enjoyable. You can build camaraderie with your teammates and position coaches. Ultimately, though, it's a privilege. If you don't do the hard work and produce at a championship level, you'll be "future endeavor"ed.

[ztejas 43266]

2 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Chip Brown) The Insider: Texas football has 'a totally different vibe'

 

I'm bullish on Sark but articles like this make me nervous. There was (reportedly) a different vibe from Mack to Charlie. There was (reportedly) a different vibe from Charlie to Herman. Now there's (reportedly) a different vibe... again. It's like Chip is saying "No no we promise it's different this time!"

I really hope it is.

[Hmmm 155]

6 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I'm bullish on Sark but articles like this make me nervous. There was (reportedly) a different vibe from Mack to Charlie. There was (reportedly) a different vibe from Charlie to Herman. Now there's (reportedly) a different vibe... again. It's like Chip is saying "No no we promise it's different this time!"

I really hope it is.

The most telling piece of that article was when players didn't "come to Herman’s defense. Not one.”  They certainly did for Charlie.  I'm sure they did for Mack as well, but social media wasn't as prevalent and I don't remember.   

[ztejas 43266]

3 minutes ago, Hmmm said:

The most telling piece of that article was when players didn't "come to Herman’s defense. Not one.”  They certainly did for Charlie.  I'm sure they did for Mack as well, but social media wasn't as prevalent and I don't remember.   

Which is in line with my feelings. We were worse on the field under Charlie.

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

8 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Cross-posting... Thanks for this @Hiphopopotamos 

From Bobby this morning:

 

"Sark is said to be pleasantly surprised with the talent on campus. 'Better than expected,' he told an athletic department official."

This means "wow, that last guy was a really fucking bad coach."

[stork642 4498]

19 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Which is in line with my feelings. We were worse on the field under Charlie.

Herman is a competent head coach.  He has the cognitive ability to handle a massive job like Texas.  Problem is he’s a very flawed human being and the players saw right through that.  Charley was liked by the players but just out of his depth trying to manage the Texas job.  Herman took the route of I’m going to be an asshole but that only works if you win big and he didn't.   

[ztejas 43266]

10 minutes ago, stork642 said:

Herman is a competent head coach.  He has the cognitive ability to handle a massive job like Texas.  Problem is he’s a very flawed human being and the players saw right through that.  Charley was liked by the players but just out of his depth trying to manage the Texas job.  Herman took the route of I’m going to be an asshole but that only works if you win big and he didn't.   

Well put.

[Bill Lumbergh 7171]

Herman is a competent head coach.  He has the cognitive ability to handle a massive job like Texas.  Problem is he’s a very flawed human being and the players saw right through that.  Charley was liked by the players but just out of his depth trying to manage the Texas job.  Herman took the route of I’m going to be an asshole but that only works if you win big and he didn't.   

The players wanted to play for charlie but weren't coached well enough to play well.

The players were better coached under Herman, but didn't give two shits about playing for him.

[LTtxfan 48990]

42 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

"Sark is said to be pleasantly surprised with the talent on campus. 'Better than expected,' he told an athletic department official."

This means "wow, that last guy was a really fucking bad coach."

Yeah usually when a coach is fired, the roster and current recruiting class (2021) is much worse than what SARK is walking into.

If the o-line can stay healthy, and PK can somehow generate a decent rush, the 2021 Longhorns might challenge blOU/Iowa State for the B12 Championship...

SARK has to be happy walking in to the current TEXAS QB room...  🤘😁

[LTtxfan 48990]

24 minutes ago, stork642 said:

Herman is a competent head coach.  He has the cognitive ability to handle a massive job like Texas.  Problem is he’s a very flawed human being and the players saw right through that.  Charley was liked by the players but just out of his depth trying to manage the Texas job.  Herman took the route of I’m going to be an asshole but that only works if you win big and he didn't.   

Herman is better suited to sit in a dark room and analyze football -- sucks at interacting with people...

[Thiefery 4969]

15 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Yeah usually when a coach is fired, the roster and current recruiting class (2021) is much worse than what SARK is walking into.

If the o-line can stay healthy, and PK can somehow generate a decent rush, the 2021 Longhorns might challenge blOU/Iowa State for the B12 Championship...

SARK has to be happy walking in to the current TEXAS QB room...  🤘😁

think Sarks approach to the game in terms of playcalling can help a young OL finding it's way early in the season.. or I hope he does.

[Machinator 32097]

 

[LTtxfan 48990]

Steve Sarkisian is excited about future of Longhorns’ program | College Football Live

[RGBIII 22798]

55 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Steve Sarkisian is excited about future of Longhorns’ program | College Football Live

Bitch, me too

[Vertigo 20267]

6 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

Just as a random observation, but Loreal is a really cool name.

[BigHorn'13 3356]

I'm sure a lot of us miss shampooing

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

4 hours ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

The players wanted to play for charlie but weren't coached well enough to play well.

The players were better coached under Herman, but didn't give two shits about playing for him.

Name me a player Tom Herman coached up beyond the expectations anyone had for him, at either UH or UT. 

[Machinator 32097]

Just now, MaybeACoordinator said:

Name me a player Tom Herman coached up beyond the expectations anyone had for him, at either UH or UT. 

Don't do this.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

4 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Don't do this.

wrong thread

Edited February 6, 2021 by MaybeACoordinator
see above

[Machinator 32097]

1 minute ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

IDGAF. Who did Tom Herman ever coach up? I won't mention any other coaches in UT history. 

Sam Cosmi is the name that comes to mind, but that's all in the past. There are better threads for this discussion.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

I'll move it to another thread. 

[Eskimohorn 5615]

IDGAF. Who did Tom Herman ever coach up? I won't mention any other coaches in UT history. 

You’re avatar is better than this

[UncleSonny 6563]

4 minutes ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

IDGAF. Who did Tom Herman ever coach up? I won't mention any other coaches in UT history. 

Unless you actually are Charlie I have no idea why you get all hot and bothered when someone suggests that the objectively worst coach in Texas history was a bad coach. 

Nobody here wants to defend Tom Herman,  but what you are saying is just dumb. Cosmi was a low 3 star, he’ll be drafted in the first two days in a few months. 

Edited February 6, 2021 by UncleSonny

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

9 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

Unless you actually are Charlie I have no idea why you get all hot and bothered when someone suggests that the objectively worst coach in Texas history was a bad coach. 

Nobody here wants to defend Tom Herman,  but what you are saying is just dumb. Cosmi was a low 3 star, he’ll be drafted in the first two days in a few months. 

Poona, and I'll shut up. 

[Cajun 11675]

Quote

when the players weren’t gathered together for the post-game playing of the Eyes of Texas, was probably the beginning of the end for Herman.

Good!

[UncleSonny 6563]

4 minutes ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Poona, and I'll shut up. 

I don’t have the slightest clue what point you are making. 

[Bill Lumbergh 7171]

Name me a player Tom Herman coached up beyond the expectations anyone had for him, at either UH or UT. 

[Bill Lumbergh 7171]

I don’t have the slightest clue what point you are making. 

I think his point is that poona ford is a tremendously talented football player who has been productive at every stop of his career but also underestimated at every stop of his career due to not fitting the expected measurables mold for his position.

The facts that 1) he was underrated out of highschool based on dumb emphasis on measurables and outperformed that ranking at UT and 2) he had his best season at UT under Todd Orlando and Tom Herman combine to prove that anything bad we've ever said about charlie Strong is wrong, and we should feel bad about it.

[bornbama1 106]

I enjoyed the article about Sark. I'm a fan, been pulling for him to get his life on track and seems to have done it. I doubt Saban would have put his trust in him if he wasn't getting it together. He seems like a genuine, likeable person and I hope he does well. The Sooners need some real competition in the Conference.

Do y'all think Herman would have been fired as late as he was in the season/year if his recruiting hadn't went so badly?

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1564]

23 minutes ago, bornbama1 said:

I enjoyed the article about Sark. I'm a fan, been pulling for him to get his life on track and seems to have done it. I doubt Saban would have put his trust in him if he wasn't getting it together. He seems like a genuine, likeable person and I hope he does well. The Sooners need some real competition in the Conference.

Do y'all think Herman would have been fired as late as he was in the season/year if his recruiting hadn't went so badly?

I don’t.  I honestly think if he had found a way to hold onto Ewers, that would’ve been close to enough to keep him. 
 

With that being said, I’m glad he’s out.   It kinda blows my mind that the last decade of Texas football coaches have used about 10% of the resources Texas has and Sark has come in and in a month, used as much of it as he can with staff selection.  Maybe he came at the right moment and caught the boosters in the right mood, but the staff he’s assembled already surpasses any staff the last two have put together, and it ain’t close. 

[Bevo14 8275]

9 minutes ago, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

I don’t.  I honestly think if he had found a way to hold onto Ewers, that would’ve been close to enough to keep him. 
 

With that being said, I’m glad he’s out.   It kinda blows my mind that the last decade of Texas football coaches have used about 10% of the resources Texas has and Sark has come in and in a month, used as much of it as he can with staff selection.  Maybe he came at the right moment and caught the boosters in the right mood, but the staff he’s assembled already surpasses any staff the last two have put together, and it ain’t close. 

Well Charlie didn't get the same resources because Steve Patterson was a moron. It's unlikely he would've pulled a staff like this anyway but he was handcuffed. 

Edited February 6, 2021 by Bevo14

[LTtxfan 48990]

16 hours ago, Dijon Robinson said:

This was an unusually good article by our friend Chip if you ask me

Friend??

Don't be fooled now...

[BurntOrange&White 39683]

18 hours ago, texifornia said:

MAKE IT THE PRIMARY YOU FOOLS

That and the obligated Big 12 logo is all we need. Same with the home uniform. 

[LTtxfan 48990]

Who is AJ Milwee? Ask his first boss, Terry Bowden

JJoe Cook    Feb 5, 2021     Inside Texas

Quote

In late 2008, Terry Bowden decided he wanted to get back into coaching. Ten years after stepping down at Auburn, Bowden returned to the sidelines at Division II North Alabama.

When he arrived, a graduate assistant who had just completed a stellar career was already in the football offices. AJ Milwee, a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy finalist (the Div. II Heisman) who compiled a 33-5 record for the UNA Lions, decided to become a graduate assistant after exhausting his eligibility.

Throughout Bowden’s career, he coached several quarterbacks who have gone on to become accomplished offensive coaches. Bowden, now the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe, named dropped Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, Aggie wide receiver coach Dameyune Craig, and former Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Patrick Nix as some of his former proteges. He was effusive in his praise for all of them, and even joked that a Texas-centric outlet might not look kindly on praise given to the head man in College Station.

“All that is being said as a preface to the fact that AJ is another one,” Bowden said of the new Texas quarterback coach. “He’s another guy that I’ve worked with that’s just phenomenal, just a phenomenal teacher. He’s a great teacher and will do a great job with your quarterbacks.”

Milwee was Bowden’s quarterback coach at UNA for two seasons, carrying full-time responsibilities on a graduate assistant’s salary (common for Division II). He left for East Mississippi Junior College for the 2011 season, then rejoined Bowden’s staff at Akron as quarterback coach in 2012.

After three combined seasons of Division II and junior college coaching, what led Bowden to hiring Milwee upon his return to Division I coaching at Akron?

“I’ve hired so many, either they can, or they can’t,” Bowden said. “I can tell early if they’re going to be a good coach. Are they grinders? Are they students of the game? Do they have a great football IQ? Do they have great work habits? Do they have intelligence? Those four or five things you identify, and you know they’re going to be good.”

Did Bowden identify those in Milwee?

“He’s everything I look for,” Bowden said. “He’s a son of a football coach, he’s a high school quarterback, a great quarterback, he’s a college quarterback, and he coaches quarterbacks. He comes with everything that I had when I was growing up except, I couldn’t play quarterback. He was everything I looked for, and I had some pretty good quarterbacks.”

Bowden enjoyed Milwee’s calm demeanor in how he handled the quarterback room. He believed it helped keep the entire position group on an even keel.

It led to successes on the field in Akron. Milwee and Bowden helped a middling-to-mediocre Akron program to two .500-or-better seasons and its third-ever MAC East division championship. Two of the top five passers in Zips’ history, Tommy Woodson and Kyle Pohl, played under Milwee.

But for Bowden, the most important thing a quarterback coach could do was to please the head coach. In order to please the head coach, the quarterback coach had to make sure the quarterback did exactly what the head coach wanted on a given play.

A similar dynamic now exists in Austin. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian will call the plays, but Milwee will oversee the quarterback room and make sure the game plan Sarkisian wants to execute is drilled into his players. Bowden believes Milwee will “make it perfect.”

“I called the plays for most of my career,” Bowden said. “Their job was to have that quarterback in tune with the play-caller. AJ comes in knowing that. That’s very important.”

There’s also trust in the head coach at Texas. Bowden said he believed Sarkisian did a great job against Ohio State in the CFP Championship of “allowing great players to win that game and not billion-dollar coaches on the sideline.”

Overall, he is excited to see the young coach he met in Florence, Ala. almost a decade ago to go to work under the bright lights of Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.

“AJ, he’ll do a great job,” Bowden said. “I know it not just by having been with me for seven years, and this is my 26th year as a head coach. I’ve had a lot of good quarterback coaches at every level. I’ve watched him do it, and I’ve watched my father do it with the ones he’s had, and Texas has got a good one. I think they identified that, and they’ve got one that I think will be a great asset for that program. I see great things happening.”