2022 Texas Coaching/Support Staff Thread

[General Specific 3261]

Can't speak for all of them, but this one, at least, is offended.

[BurntOrange&White 39932]

IT Scoop:

 

By: Justin, Eric, and Gerry

*Sark’s first couple of weeks of offseason seem about as perfectly scripted as his opening drives. The recruiting class finished incredibly strong, he’s poised to make staff upgrades, and groundwork is being laid to build momentum in the 2023 class.

*With the expected departure of wide receiver coach Andre Coleman, Steve Sarkisian appears to have his eyes on Pittsburgh wide receiver coach Brennan Marion. However, there could very well be other candidates IT is unaware of. On November 27th we wrote we were paying attention to TCU’s Malcolm Kelly. We do believe Kelly and Sark have talked, but are unsure what came of it. Very likely, nothing.

Marion is a Tulsa graduate well-known in Dallas/Fort Worth and East Texas as a volume recruiter. He coached with former Texas quarterback GJ Kinne in Hawaii in 2020 after stints as offensive coordinator at William and Mary and Howard.

One source described Marion as "relentless in pursuit of talent." The source said Marion, “holds his players accountable and they flourish when bought-in." His youthful energy would add a jolt on the recruiting trail and serve as a needed course correction from Andre Coleman.

Marion was instrumental in Pitt's Jordan Addison winning the 2021 Fred Biletnikoff Award, an award given to the nation's top wide receiver. That immediate success coupled with his personality would pair well on the trail.

The sophomore and All-ACC first teamer was sensational this season racking up 1,479 yards receiving on 93 catches, and 17 touchdowns.

Again, there could be other names we’re unaware of, but one thing is clear, Sark wants to get younger and more energetic with his position coaches. He proved that when he hired Tashard Choice, rather than chasing a big named veteran who expressed interest in the job.

*With changes on offense being set in motion, we turn our attention to defense. However, there is much less certainty what Sark intends to do, if anything, on that side of the ball. IT has heard he intends to sit down with every coach, player, and personnel member associated with the program to have frank discussions. As you know, those discussions with the players have already occurred, resulting in numerous players entering the transfer portal. We expect more still.

Sark is proving to be quite pragmatic, so it would be hard to fathom he would return the entire defense intact. However, we haven’t heard of any definitive moves he intends on making.

There was justified talk Brian Kelly wanted to reunite with Texas cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph at LSU. IT hears Jospeh is happy at Texas and would prefer to stay in Austin. Context for his job performance this year is more favorable to him than some of the conventional wisdom.

Along with defense, we’re unsure if or how Sarkisian intends to address strength and conditioning, but S&C falls under the umbrella of people he is going to have forthright discussions with.

Whatever Sark decides to do (even if it’s inaction), he has the full support and checkbook of the AD. The men in charge are big believers.

*There’s a good chance Texas won’t take an offensive lineman out of the portal given the O-line flourish over the last few weeks. If you don’t hear about a portal player at the position, it would be a good sign for UT’s chances with Devon Campbell.

[Tex-19 2872]

12 hours ago, Getafix said:

The streets have spoken!

Five candidates that would make sense for Texas wide receiver job

Mike Roach

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Five candidates that would make sense for Texas wide receiver job

Mike Roach
 

Brennan Marion – Pittsburgh

Marion has been working his way up through the lower levels, but he’s starting to gain some national acclaim for his work. A Hampton, Virginia native, Marion played at Tulsa and spent a little bit of time in the NFL before moving onto his coaching career. Marion spent time at the high school level before moving up to Arizona State as an analyst and then Oklahoma Baptist as a running back coach. After stints at Howard and William & Mary, Marion was hired at Hawaii in 2020. In 2021, Marion joined the Pittsburgh coaching staff and helped lead the Panthers to the ACC Title. Marion has been recruiting Texas and Oklahoma for quite a while, and he’s one of the best young innovative minds in the game. The creator of the Go Go Offense, Marion could add some new offensive ideas to Steve Sarkisian’s playbook.

Joe Price – Director of Player Personnel at UTSA

Price is one of the next rising stars in off-field personnel, but he would be at his best in an on-field role where he could be on the road recruiting. A native of Houston, Price played at Aldine Nimitz before playing wide receiver at Harding University in Arkansas. Price worked in the high school ranks as the recruiting coordinator at Galena Park High School before moving to North Shore in 2014 as Passing Game Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator. Price has deep ties to the Houston area where his father coached for over 30 years. He’s already gaining acclaim for his department’s ability to evaluate and recruit talent.

Kevin Cummings – Arizona

A Los Angeles native with a growing reputation as a coach and recruiter, Cummings played at Oregon State in college before a stint in the CFL. Cummings spent three years as a quality control coach at Oregon State before making a final play run at playing professionally during a short stint in the CFL. He returned to Oregon State as a graduate assistant and moved on to San Jose State as wide receivers coach. Cummings joined Arizona this year under first year coach Jedd Fisch. Seen as a major riser in the coaching ranks, Cummings landed elite wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at the end of the cycle after flipping him from Oregon.

Emmett Jones – Texas Tech

Any time there’s an opening at wide receivers, I will push the name of Emmett Jones. Jones played his high school ball at Seagoville and then walked on at Texas Tech before entering the coaching profession after graduating from North Texas. Jones rose to prominence as the offensive coordinator for legendary high school coach Reginald Samples at Dallas Lincoln and Dallas Skyline. Jones then moved on to accept the head coaching position at South Oak Cliff before taking a collegiate position at Texas Tech in 2015. When Kliff Kingsbury was fired, Jones took a position on Les Miles’ staff at Kansas. On the field, Jones was integral in the development of Texas Tech receivers Antoine Wesley, TJ Vasher, and Keke Coutee. Jones remains a top name to know for a few reasons. The former Dallas South Oak Cliff head coach is seen as a great recruiter and a strong position coach as well. Jones has ties to the staff through close friend Chris Gilbert and guys like Jeff Banks who recruited his area for years. One south Dallas coach I spoke with said, “He would win recruiter of the year at Texas. It wouldn’t even be close. He will shut down Dallas if they let him loose.”

Cortez Hankton – Georgia

It might take a lot, but Texas could look to try and pull Hankton away from Georgia. His brother Cordae is already on the Texas staff, and Cortez has been a strong recruiter in his time with the Bulldogs. A New Orleans native, Hankton would give Texas some more boots on the ground in Louisiana where they’ve made an effort to be a factor. A Texas Southern grad, Hankton had half a dozen stops at the professional level before moving into coaching. He does have the title of Pass Game Coordinator, so Texas might need to match titles and give him a raise. During his time at Georgia, Hankton helped the Dawgs land players like George Pickens, Lewis Cine and Sedrick Van Pran.

 

 

I hope it's Marion or Emmett Jones (yeah I know he just joined TTU but Choice says hi)

I don't really get the Hankton hype. I feel like UGA's bag game does the recruiting there and their WRs are nothing special. I'd put Malcolm Kelly ahead of Hankton.

[RomaVicta 29907]

44 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Blamed for every wrong; not responsible for any right.

Gray is an unpopular shade around here these days. 

 

28 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

[billfromlaketravis 11478]

18 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

IT Scoop:

 

By: Justin, Eric, and Gerry

*Sark’s first couple of weeks of offseason seem about as perfectly scripted as his opening drives. The recruiting class finished incredibly strong, he’s poised to make staff upgrades, and groundwork is being laid to build momentum in the 2023 class.

*With the expected departure of wide receiver coach Andre Coleman, Steve Sarkisian appears to have his eyes on Pittsburgh wide receiver coach Brennan Marion. However, there could very well be other candidates IT is unaware of. On November 27th we wrote we were paying attention to TCU’s Malcolm Kelly. We do believe Kelly and Sark have talked, but are unsure what came of it. Very likely, nothing.

Marion is a Tulsa graduate well-known in Dallas/Fort Worth and East Texas as a volume recruiter. He coached with former Texas quarterback GJ Kinne in Hawaii in 2020 after stints as offensive coordinator at William and Mary and Howard.

One source described Marion as "relentless in pursuit of talent." The source said Marion, “holds his players accountable and they flourish when bought-in." His youthful energy would add a jolt on the recruiting trail and serve as a needed course correction from Andre Coleman.

Marion was instrumental in Pitt's Jordan Addison winning the 2021 Fred Biletnikoff Award, an award given to the nation's top wide receiver. That immediate success coupled with his personality would pair well on the trail.

The sophomore and All-ACC first teamer was sensational this season racking up 1,479 yards receiving on 93 catches, and 17 touchdowns.

Again, there could be other names we’re unaware of, but one thing is clear, Sark wants to get younger and more energetic with his position coaches. He proved that when he hired Tashard Choice, rather than chasing a big named veteran who expressed interest in the job.

*With changes on offense being set in motion, we turn our attention to defense. However, there is much less certainty what Sark intends to do, if anything, on that side of the ball. IT has heard he intends to sit down with every coach, player, and personnel member associated with the program to have frank discussions. As you know, those discussions with the players have already occurred, resulting in numerous players entering the transfer portal. We expect more still.

Sark is proving to be quite pragmatic, so it would be hard to fathom he would return the entire defense intact. However, we haven’t heard of any definitive moves he intends on making.

There was justified talk Brian Kelly wanted to reunite with Texas cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph at LSU. IT hears Jospeh is happy at Texas and would prefer to stay in Austin. Context for his job performance this year is more favorable to him than some of the conventional wisdom.

Along with defense, we’re unsure if or how Sarkisian intends to address strength and conditioning, but S&C falls under the umbrella of people he is going to have forthright discussions with.

Whatever Sark decides to do (even if it’s inaction), he has the full support and checkbook of the AD. The men in charge are big believers.

*There’s a good chance Texas won’t take an offensive lineman out of the portal given the O-line flourish over the last few weeks. If you don’t hear about a portal player at the position, it would be a good sign for UT’s chances with Devon Campbell.

So tell us Campbell signed with Texas without telling us Campbell signed with Texas. 

[closetojumping 62720]

48 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Blamed for every wrong; not responsible for any right.

Gray is an unpopular shade around here these days. 

I'm legitimately interested in hearing about what you're defining as "gray" here for Sarkisian.

Texas signed a top 5 class. Credit to Sarkisian and staff, but they had a ton of help. Frankly, a confluence of events from late November to now turned this class into what it is, versus just good ol'earnest hard work from the staff. You know, just rollin' up the sleeves and really getting their grind on, the way it ought to be, right, Roma? 

Sarkisian chose to keep Coleman on staff. It impacted the WR play on the field and recruiting. Does Sarkisian only get credit for attempting to fix the problem? Or should that be tempered with the premise that he created the problem for himself in the first place?

Sarkisian's team went 5-7. They lost to Kansas, choked big leagues in 3 key games, got blown out and quit against Iowa State, and failed to make a bowl game. Is none of that on Sarkisian? Should we give him all of the credit for the first halves against OU, OSU, and Baylor, and blame the players and Tom Herman for the second halves? 

This seems to be the outlook from an emerging herd of fans. I get it. They want the HC at Texas to get the benefit of the doubt. Have at it. That isn't "gray" though. That's lily white Pollyanna hope at this point. Don't smear those of us who are from Missouri with regard to the guy, though. We're far darker than "gray" on this one until he can show us that the sun rises again on this program, but that's based on the history of his performance, which makes more sense to us than using hope as a strategy.

[ATLLonghorn 856]

Marion is a big time up-and-comer in the coaching industry, a high volume recruiter who is well respected in the industry and beloved by his players. It would be a big time hire. I also wonder if it happens if he'd be able to convince Jordan Addison to come with him. Pittsburgh would be replacing a first round pick QB, it's OC and the WR coach a lot of people thought might get that OC job. It's maybe a pipe dream, but nice to think about.

[RomaVicta 29907]

CTJ, TL;DR

I'm sorry you feel smeared in this season of joy and merriment. The last thing I would want to do is harsh your holiday.

Have a merry Christmas in the certainty that your opinion is pretty much fact. You're often damn close. Don't view any glint of optimism as a personal affront and your new year will be the happier for it.

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

12 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Passing the hat right now.  Daddy has to get Disney tickets for extended family that have decided to “surprise visit” us here in the oc

What or where is “the oc” of which you speak?

Edit: If it’s The Orange County that some of the later posts seem to indicate, that is a punchable offense. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by ImissWallyPryor

[closetojumping 62720]

1 minute ago, RomaVicta said:

CTJ, TL;DR

I'm sorry you feel smeared in this season of joy and merriment. The last thing I would want to do is harsh your holiday.

Have a merry Christmas in the certainty that your opinion is pretty much fact. You're often damn close. Don't view any glint of optimism as a personal affront and your new year will be the happier for it.

Check out the Stockdale Paradox when you have some time, Roma. Blind optimism provides zero value to anyone including the source. I'm an entrepreneur and a ceaseless fan of Texas football - those two things should be proof enough that I'm inherently optimistic. I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

[RomaVicta 29907]

Just now, closetojumping said:

I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

And no small part of self-congratulation.

I'll look into this reality thing when you open up the monopoly.

[closetojumping 62720]

16 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

And no small part of self-congratulation.

I'll look into this reality thing when you open up the monopoly.

I'm struggling to understand how mixing in facts with having a view that things will get better, and I can help make that happen, is self-congratulatory. Not sure what else you're implying but I'm happy to be enlightened.

[texasdago 7573]

22 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Check out the Stockdale Paradox when you have some time, Roma. Blind optimism provides zero value to anyone including the source. I'm an entrepreneur and a i ceaseless fan of Texas football - those two things should be proof enough that I'm inherently optimistic. I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

I loved Admiral Stockdale's zingers in his debate with Dan Quayle

[Teryor 4473]

Roach

Spoiler

— I spoke to a source that confirmed there has been some back and forth between Texas and Pittsburgh wide receiver coach Brennan Marion. Marion is one of the hottest assistants on the market this year, and I've been told he has significant interest in the Texas job. The only thing that would stop him from taking it is if he were offered an offensive coordinator position. Marion is supposed to meet with Pat Narduzzi about his open coordinator position, and I'm told he's also been approached by Stan Drayton regarding the same role at Temple. Marion is the creator of the Go-Go offense and wants to implement it at the major levels. If he can't find the opportunity to do that this year, Texas might have their man.  Sarkisian would likely need to give him some titles to get him to Austin.

— I heard some more feedback on new Texas running back coach Tashard Choice over the weekend. I spoke to someone who worked with Choice previously and raved about him. When I asked what stood out most about Choice, I was told it was his entire energy. This person told me Choice was a big juice guy who radiated a lot of positivity. He feels Choice is a go-getter on the recruiting trail and can evaluate running backs as well as anyone. This person also spoke highly of his coaching ability and praised the fact that Choice always seems to be learning. I haven't talked with anyone yet who dislikes the move Sarkisian made there.

 

[RabidM 2668]

That Pitt OC job could scuttle things, but I think we can get him over OC at Temple. 

[taybo20 2825]

29 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Check out the Stockdale Paradox when you have some time, Roma. Blind optimism provides zero value to anyone including the source. I'm an entrepreneur and a ceaseless fan of Texas football - those two things should be proof enough that I'm inherently optimistic. I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

I’m a freelancer and ceaseless Texas football fan that comes back every year just to get my hopes dashed and destroyed. Hope is a funny thing. It’s not like I don’t realize the realities, but the pure want to have something better just makes the realities of inadequacy hurt that much more. Sure it would be wise to temper expectations, step back and take a realistic look. This is precisely why last season wasn’t all Sark’s fault and wasn’t all the players’ fault. Things are changing and that’s good. So we will see. But I’m certainly not expecting a NC next year. It would be good to hold onto leads and win games we are supposed to win. 

[BurntOrange&White 39932]

Officially official.

 

 

 

[Scholz 11943]

7 minutes ago, taybo20 said:

But I’m certainly not expecting a NC next year.

Come back when you're a real fan.

[ATLLonghorn 856]

9 minutes ago, RabidM said:

That Pitt OC job could scuttle things, but I think we can get him over OC at Temple. 

Will be an all-time fuck up on Narduzzi's part if he doesn't give Marion the Pitt OC job so hopefully he fucks up.

[Bevo14 8311]

6 minutes ago, ATLLonghorn said:

Will be an all-time fuck up on Narduzzi's part if he doesn't give Marion the Pitt OC job so hopefully he fucks up.

Hold up didn't he hire Watson? He managed to survive that? Didn't realize he was the HC there still.

 

Maybe he'll target @closetojumping this time. The east-west coast offense would shine in Pittsburgh.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Bevo14

[UncleBuck 6454]

[taybo20 2825]

11 minutes ago, Scholz said:

Come back when you're a real fan.

Haha

[RomaVicta 29907]

39 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I'm struggling to understand how mixing in facts with having a view that things will get better, and I can help make that happen, is self-congratulatory. Not sure what else you're implying but I'm happy to be enlightened.

Quote

Blind optimism provides zero value to anyone including the source. I'm an entrepreneur and a ceaseless fan of Texas football - those two things should be proof enough that I'm inherently optimistic. I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

I'm not looking for a feud, but you don't see just a hint of arrogant self-congratulation in the above? 

Have the last word, CTJ.

[closetojumping 62720]

29 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I loved Admiral Stockdale's zingers in his debate with Dan Quayle

I was too young to give a shit about that election, but I do remember Phil Hartman playing him on SNL as a lifeless do-nothing. Was your post in sarcasm or did he really give it to Vice President Potatoe?

[texasdago 7573]

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

I was too young to give a shit about that election, but I do remember Phil Hartman playing him on SNL as a lifeless do-nothing. Was your post in sarcasm or did he really give it to Vice President Potatoe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk53qOhq40M 

Nah, just a joke.

Edited December 20, 2021 by texasdago

[Fondren & Main 6717]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I'm legitimately interested in hearing about what you're defining as "gray" here for Sarkisian.

Texas signed a top 5 class. Credit to Sarkisian and staff, but they had a ton of help. Frankly, a confluence of events from late November to now turned this class into what it is, versus just good ol'earnest hard work from the staff. You know, just rollin' up the sleeves and really getting their grind on, the way it ought to be, right, Roma? 

Sarkisian chose to keep Coleman on staff. It impacted the WR play on the field and recruiting. Does Sarkisian only get credit for attempting to fix the problem? Or should that be tempered with the premise that he created the problem for himself in the first place?

Sarkisian's team went 5-7. They lost to Kansas, choked big leagues in 3 key games, got blown out and quit against Iowa State, and failed to make a bowl game. Is none of that on Sarkisian? Should we give him all of the credit for the first halves against OU, OSU, and Baylor, and blame the players and Tom Herman for the second halves? 

This seems to be the outlook from an emerging herd of fans. I get it. They want the HC at Texas to get the benefit of the doubt. Have at it. That isn't "gray" though. That's lily white Pollyanna hope at this point. Don't smear those of us who are from Missouri with regard to the guy, though. We're far darker than "gray" on this one until he can show us that the sun rises again on this program, but that's based on the history of his performance, which makes more sense to us than using hope as a strategy.

 

[Wulaw Horn 19070]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

 

Sarkisian's team went 5-7. They lost to Kansas, choked big leagues in 3 key games, got blown out and quit against Iowa State, and failed to make a bowl game. Is none of that on Sarkisian? Should we give him all of the credit for the first halves against OU, OSU, and Baylor, and blame the players and Tom Herman for the second halves? 

 

I think that the HOPE for Sark (and it's somewhat plausible) is that his play calling and scheming is really good, and he called/schemed us into first half leads against those teams, and then shitty talent level (especially at QB), piss poor S&C, and general inability to respond to their counters b/c of our lack of talent was responsible for the second halves.  Is that real or just something I tell myself?  Probably a little of both. 

Sark has a track record.  It's pretty solid offensively and somewhere between underwhelming and average as a head coach. It's possible that not being a falling down drunk combined with age and maturity can make him a better head coach. Not everyone gets it right away. Going 5-7, even with whatever problems we have would militate toward me believing he doesn't get it, but I said if he got Ewers, finished with some quality recruits, upgraded the coaching staff and got the couple other missing pieces from the portal (WR #2 for sure- maybe a TE or offensive lineman) to be a really really top notch offense I would give him a fair shake and believe it's POSSIBLE he could still get it going, as opposed to if he didn't nail the entire checklist knowing it was absolutely futile to hope for anything other than misery. 

So far, so good with this offseason checklist.  He still needs to upgrade the defensive staff, and an edge rusher that's good and a linebacker or two would be manna from heaven, but the offseason isn't over and so far it's been all positive so I'm not going to shit on what I've seen so far. 

Sark seems like a likeable dude and seems like he knows his shit on offense. In this era of college free agency that should count for a lot as  long as we get someone good to own the defensive side of the ball, we shore up our NIL advantages for money on the recruiting front, and we demonstrate the ability to win at a decently high level.  I mean, it seems like, on paper, we can do all these things to make it work.  Ewers needs to be really good and that will take care of a lot of problems.  Clark field needs to crank out some big time checks with that initial 10 million.  More HWH in other position rooms.  Get some certainty out there on move to SEC in 2023 (hopefully) and get out of this lame duck status.  

Entering the new year in 2022 feels better in some ways than it did entering in 2021 from a having our shit together- which is an odd statement after 5-7 and shitting all over ourselves- but maybe that's just because I'm a myopic idiot.  

[Wulaw Horn 19070]

3 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I was too young to give a shit about that election, but I do remember Phil Hartman playing him on SNL as a lifeless do-nothing. Was your post in sarcasm or did he really give it to Vice President Potatoe?

His actual performance in the real life debates with the "who am I and why am I here?" was so bizarre/crazy (as I remember it- I think I was younger than you but paid more attention to that shit than any other 14 year old I knew) that it seemed like a parody or SNL spoof come to life.  Good times.  Good times. 

[MH BEVO 1265]

40 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Roach

  Hide contents

I'm told he's also been approached by Stan Drayton regarding the same role at Temple.

 

 

Get outta here Stan

[RomaVicta 29907]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

Check out the Stockdale Paradox when you have some time, Roma.

Quote

The Stockdale Paradox is a concept, along with its companion concept Confront the Brutal Facts, developed in the book Good to Great. Productive change begins when you confront the brutal facts. Every good-to-great company embraced what we came to call the "Stockdale Paradox": you must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Excellent.

Over on the politics board, I often opine that no country or operation of any kind is made better by constant self-congratulation (No, I'm not turning this on you in this thread, I mean generally as you intend in your reference). 

I'll take learning wherever I can get it. Thanks.

Edit to add: I don't really think blind optimism is an apt description of my position.

Edited December 20, 2021 by RomaVicta

[closetojumping 62720]

1 minute ago, RomaVicta said:

I'm not looking for a feud, but you don't see just a hint of arrogant self-congratulation in the above? 

Have the last word, CTJ.

No. The part about entrepreneurialism and being a fan of Texas football making me an optimist was self-deprecating. I guess also subtle. Claiming that I'm infusing facts into my optimism, which then continues to give me pause when it comes to Seven Loss Steve, is taking a position. Specifically, it was taking a position against the  position you'd previously taken.

It's okay to disagree. I get it. I'm not trying to take being excited about the future away from anyone. I'm merely looking to defend the critics regarding what we've seen so far. Your original post that I responded to was one of multiple posts from posters lately that feels like is conflating being excited with the new class with Sarkisian being some sort of bad ass that is making criticism look silly. 

Not a fair way of viewing your original take? Fine. Consider it the head on a spike that should sit atop this board until Texas is competing for at least a conference title under our current feckless leader. Call it a strawman being deployed by a rhetorical hack and I can live with it either way.

[Tex-19 2872]

48 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Roach

  Hide contents

— I heard some more feedback on new Texas running back coach Tashard Choice over the weekend. I spoke to someone who worked with Choice previously and raved about him. When I asked what stood out most about Choice, I was told it was his entire energy. This person told me Choice was a big juice guy who radiated a lot of positivity. He feels Choice is a go-getter on the recruiting trail and can evaluate running backs as well as anyone. This person also spoke highly of his coaching ability and praised the fact that Choice always seems to be learning. I haven't talked with anyone yet who dislikes the move Sarkisian made there.

 

That energy/juice may be an underrated benefit of these moves. Seems badly needed.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

Dumb question but would we fire Coleman without having a coach to replace him already as a done deal?  

[Sgt. Slaughter 2841]

19 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

It's okay to disagree. I get it. I'm not trying to take being excited about the future away from anyone. I'm merely looking to defend the critics regarding what we've seen so far. Your original post that I responded to was one of multiple posts from posters lately that feels like is conflating being excited with the new class with Sarkisian being some sort of bad ass that is making criticism look silly. 

I generally have the same disposition as you in regards to seeing the reality in most situations and keep my optimism grounded in order to keep from making decisions removed from practicality. 
 

However, I’ve never understood wanting to blunt those with hopeless optimism, especially on a message board where people go to escape the realities of their existence. If we were a forum of big money donors who had a say in the ongoings of the program (speaking for myself that I’m pretty sure I’d be tazed for coming within 50 feet of cdc) I could see where leveling expectations is important in order to maintain level-headedness, but if Roma wants to believe Sark can turn this around because he needs something to believe in, I say let him (and others).

[LTtxfan 49186]

2 hours ago, HenryJames said:

We should call him Anward from now on.

[closetojumping 62720]

1 minute ago, Sgt. Slaughter said:

I generally have the same disposition as you in regards to seeing the reality in most situations and keep my optimism grounded in order to keep from making decisions removed from practicality. 
 

However, I’ve never understood wanting to blunt those with hopeless optimism, especially on a message board where people go to escape the realities of their existence. If we were a forum of big money donors who had a say in the ongoings of the program (speaking for myself that I’m pretty sure I’d be tazed for coming within 50 feet of cdc) I could see where leveling expectations is important in order to maintain level-headedness, but if Roma wants to believe Sark can turn this around because he needs something to believe in, I say let him (and others).

Fair unto itself, but no position is an island on a dynamic bulletin board. 

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1566]

11 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Dumb question but would we fire Coleman without having a coach to replace him already as a done deal?  

Pretty sure it’s Marion.  

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by BurntOrangeBlooded15

[cafe society 2871]

1 hour ago, UncleBuck said:

Lucy, I'm home!

[Hiphopopotamos 20872]

Just now, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

Pretty sure it’s Marion.  

 

Others have mentioned - Marion might get the job as OC at Pitt - in which case he would not simultaneously be the Texas WR coach.  I would guess Sark would have a candidate in his back pocket if he misses out on Marion (yes I know we kept Coleman last year because Sark missed out on several candidates - by firing Coleman we're guaranteed he has to go out and hire someone new).

[TexasRenegade 2435]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I'm legitimately interested in hearing about what you're defining as "gray" here for Sarkisian.

Texas signed a top 5 class. Credit to Sarkisian and staff, but they had a ton of help. Frankly, a confluence of events from late November to now turned this class into what it is, versus just good ol'earnest hard work from the staff. You know, just rollin' up the sleeves and really getting their grind on, the way it ought to be, right, Roma? 

Sarkisian chose to keep Coleman on staff. It impacted the WR play on the field and recruiting. Does Sarkisian only get credit for attempting to fix the problem? Or should that be tempered with the premise that he created the problem for himself in the first place?

Sarkisian's team went 5-7. They lost to Kansas, choked big leagues in 3 key games, got blown out and quit against Iowa State, and failed to make a bowl game. Is none of that on Sarkisian? Should we give him all of the credit for the first halves against OU, OSU, and Baylor, and blame the players and Tom Herman for the second halves? 

This seems to be the outlook from an emerging herd of fans. I get it. They want the HC at Texas to get the benefit of the doubt. Have at it. That isn't "gray" though. That's lily white Pollyanna hope at this point. Don't smear those of us who are from Missouri with regard to the guy, though. We're far darker than "gray" on this one until he can show us that the sun rises again on this program, but that's based on the history of his performance, which makes more sense to us than using hope as a strategy.

I will agree excusing all Sarks mistakes and screwups this year(and they were numerable) is polyanna.  At the same time, refusing to give him or his staff any credit for anything or seeing the positives they achieved in recruiting and the possible hope it gives for the future, plus the fact that he seems to be actually addressing staff issues--- is satyanash. Yes, they had help but they also did the work and took advantage of the opportunities, Strong and Herman and their band of misfits doesn't pull off what just happened NIL and Coaching changes or not. Heck, I would argue Mack wouldn't have pulled it off either, because he would have already flown the white flag on those guys and gone else where to some low hanging easy to recruit target once they spurned him.  Not a high standard to measure against I will grant you, but it is what we currently have to compare to and they made the most of it.  Refusing to give them credit for it is akin to blaming them for no bag game to combat what other schools are doing.

 

Yes it remains to be seen if the issues get addressed and we see improvement in the fall, but just as there is nothing wrong with criticism( see my posts after Okie state  this year) there is nothing wrong with giving credit where it is due.  

Yes they benefitted from NIL and Coaching changes--primarily though NIL just leveled the playing field for them, and most of the flips related to coaching changes had been predicted long before the coaching change even occurred.

Hopefully the talent infusion on D and particularly Oline and QB bear the fruit that people are projecting(we shall have to wait and see), but having what is believed to be a competent QB under center should help with at least some of the offensive issues...

 

So no, Sark aint Bible, Royal, Akers, or even Brown yet, but the past week shows he isn't McWilliams, Mackovick, Strong, or Herman....

 

So in summation he currently sucks a lot less than he did at the end of the season but still has a long way to go and anyone being 100% polyanna or sataynash at this point is only deluding themselves....

[OB3 3620]

14 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Dumb question but would we fire Coleman without having a coach to replace him already as a done deal?  

You could miss on your top 5 replacements and still end up with someone better than Coleman 

[LTtxfan 49186]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

Check out the Stockdale Paradox when you have some time, Roma. Blind optimism provides zero value to anyone including the source. I'm an entrepreneur and a ceaseless fan of Texas football - those two things should be proof enough that I'm inherently optimistic. I just have a nasty habit of mixing in reality along with it.

 

Good info in link below...

https://ebizfacts.com/stockdale-paradox/

[Tex-19 2872]

2 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Others have mentioned - Marion might get the job as OC at Pitt - in which case he would not simultaneously be the Texas WR coach.  I would guess Sark would have a candidate in his back pocket if he misses out on Marion (yes I know we kept Coleman last year because Sark missed out on several candidates - by firing Coleman we're guaranteed he has to go out and hire someone new).

Yeah it sounds like Marion isn't a done deal bc he could get an OC job. The smoke all seems legit but it's still very possible he told Sark that he's in unless Pitt give him OC, and now they're waiting.

[Getafix 28618]

1 minute ago, OB3 said:

You could miss on your top 5 replacements and still end up with someone better than Coleman 

 

You could go with a bag of these, and still end up with something better than (Andre) Coleman.

 

 

 

[BrazilHorn 6605]

Drayton gone, Coleman gone, now if only CDC would shove Plonsky's ass out the door the trifecta would be complete. (To be fair to Drayton and Coleman - she is a far worse problem)

[closetojumping 62720]

14 minutes ago, TexasRenegade said:

I will agree excusing all Sarks mistakes and screwups this year(and they were numerable) is polyanna.  At the same time, refusing to give him or his staff any credit for anything or seeing the positives they achieved in recruiting and the possible hope it gives for the future, plus the fact that he seems to be actually addressing staff issues--- is satyanash. Yes, they had help but they also did the work and took advantage of the opportunities, Strong and Herman and their band of misfits doesn't pull off what just happened NIL and Coaching changes or not. Heck, I would argue Mack wouldn't have pulled it off either, because he would have already flown the white flag on those guys and gone else where to some low hanging easy to recruit target once they spurned him.  Not a high standard to measure against I will grant you, but it is what we currently have to compare to and they made the most of it.  Refusing to give them credit for it is akin to blaming them for no bag game to combat what other schools are doing.

 

Yes it remains to be seen if the issues get addressed and we see improvement in the fall, but just as there is nothing wrong with criticism( see my posts after Okie state  this year) there is nothing wrong with giving credit where it is due.  

Yes they benefitted from NIL and Coaching changes--primarily though NIL just leveled the playing field for them, and most of the flips related to coaching changes had been predicted long before the coaching change even occurred.

Hopefully the talent infusion on D and particularly Oline and QB bear the fruit that people are projecting(we shall have to wait and see), but having what is believed to be a competent QB under center should help with at least some of the offensive issues...

 

So no, Sark aint Bible, Royal, Akers, or even Brown yet, but the past week shows he isn't McWilliams, Mackovick, Strong, or Herman....

 

So in summation he currently sucks a lot less than he did at the end of the season but still has a long way to go and anyone being 100% polyanna or sataynash at this point is only deluding themselves....

I agree with everything you wrote, other than the premise that I, or anyone else with a clue, isn't giving the staff plenty of credit for the class. Outside of a few sick bastards, we're all here because, in some form, we enjoy rooting for Texas and want to see the program doing well. Sarkisian and staff had help karmically and otherwise, but they deserve whatever non-ignorant praise board denizens wish to lavish upon them.

I have no ill will towards Sarkisian and I don't think many on here do. I'm all for seeing him create a dynastic legacy of winning title after title at Texas. That would be awesome. 

None of that was the crux of the small debate. Roma made a post in which he called out those who were "worried about Sark getting complacent" (paraphrasing probably). I simply responded with "what in the fuck is there for Sarkisian to get complacent about at this point?" (paraphrasing probably). Then Roma intimated something negative about that premise and then I became a dog with a bone defending those who refuse the benefit of the doubt for September Wins Steve until proven otherwise. Etc. So forth. 

Everyone should be stoked about the 2022 class, Ewers, NIL, Choice coming and Coleman going, and several potential big fish in the portal (or soon to be in the portal) coming to Texas. I know I am. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by closetojumping

[6th Street 6400]

These are good hires on offense but they do nothing to address the abysmal defense. The Big 12 quickly figured out how to exploit PK's scheme with runs and short passes. Pete was either unwilling or unable to adapt.

[Longhornlove 4827]

3 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Drayton gone, Coleman gone, now if only CDC would shove Plonsky's ass out the door the trifecta would be complete. (To be fair to Drayton and Coleman - she is a far worse problem)

In this day and age, I doubt ole scissors is going anywhere unless there is dirt on her.

[burdine 522]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I'm legitimately interested in hearing about what you're defining as "gray" here for Sarkisian.

Texas signed a top 5 class. Credit to Sarkisian and staff, but they had a ton of help. Frankly, a confluence of events from late November to now turned this class into what it is, versus just good ol'earnest hard work from the staff. You know, just rollin' up the sleeves and really getting their grind on, the way it ought to be, right, Roma? 

Sarkisian chose to keep Coleman on staff. It impacted the WR play on the field and recruiting. Does Sarkisian only get credit for attempting to fix the problem? Or should that be tempered with the premise that he created the problem for himself in the first place?

Sarkisian's team went 5-7. They lost to Kansas, choked big leagues in 3 key games, got blown out and quit against Iowa State, and failed to make a bowl game. Is none of that on Sarkisian? Should we give him all of the credit for the first halves against OU, OSU, and Baylor, and blame the players and Tom Herman for the second halves? 

This seems to be the outlook from an emerging herd of fans. I get it. They want the HC at Texas to get the benefit of the doubt. Have at it. That isn't "gray" though. That's lily white Pollyanna hope at this point. Don't smear those of us who are from Missouri with regard to the guy, though. We're far darker than "gray" on this one until he can show us that the sun rises again on this program, but that's based on the history of his performance, which makes more sense to us than using hope as a strategy.

I think a lot of that can be on Steve Sarkisian and it still be the right thing to do support him and this staff in Year One.

I'm not talking about giving him the benefit of the doubt but also maybe not doom post about our "loser" coach and "7 win Steve".  I'm guessing there is a practical middle ground between naive pollyanna and angry cynic that most fans might be lining up behind.

Not trying to smear you.  You did a great thing with HWH and rightfully deserve a ton of praise.  Just maybe don't smear the folks that have a view that coaches and staffs are multi year bets and year one is too soon to call it.

 

 

[Laxtonto 12080]

5 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

These are good hires on offense but they do nothing to address the abysmal defense. The Big 12 quickly figured out how to exploit PK's scheme with runs and short passes. Pete was either unwilling or unable to adapt.

Of the fact he were running out the equivalent of the JV squad at DE, LB, and Safety may have had a ton to do with how bad the D looked.

Add some legit LBs or Safeties and the D would have been OK. Having holes at all 3 levels in the D was a death knell and that shit is all on Turtle Tom.