DeBord & Mahoney: Double-teaming the OL

#1
kamoshika

kamoshika

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#1
Good piece by Randy Moore, even though DeBord apparently aged 3 years in just a few paragraphs...

DeBord makes quite clear that his job involves overseeing all of the offensive positions and not just the linemen. He also makes quite clear that the time he spends with the O-line in no way represents a lack of confidence in Mahoney. Simply put: The offensive line has a long way to go, and it will get there quicker with two guys rowing the boat instead of one.

Does Mahoney feel DeBord is meddling? Not at all. Mahoney seems genuinely thrilled by the assistance. He and DeBord clearly enjoy double-teaming the blockers. Twice the coaching may not mean twice the progress but it clearly accelerates the growth process for some of the Vols.

“It does,” Mahoney said said. “You can never have enough eyes on the offensive line – from stance to step to footwork to landmarks – all of that. I think as linemen there’s the excitement, myself included, when the offensive coordinator is that much involved.”
Tennessee Volunteers Football, Basketball, and Recruiting Front Page
 
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#2
#2
kamoshika said:
Good piece by Randy Moore, even though DeBord apparently aged 3 years in just a few paragraphs...

DeBord makes quite clear that his job involves overseeing all of the offensive positions and not just the linemen. He also makes quite clear that the time he spends with the O-line in no way represents a lack of confidence in Mahoney. Simply put: The offensive line has a long way to go, and it will get there quicker with two guys rowing the boat instead of one.

Does Mahoney feel DeBord is meddling? Not at all. Mahoney seems genuinely thrilled by the assistance. He and DeBord clearly enjoy double-teaming the blockers. Twice the coaching may not mean twice the progress but it clearly accelerates the growth process for some of the Vols.

“It does,” Mahoney said said. “You can never have enough eyes on the offensive line – from stance to step to footwork to landmarks – all of that. I think as linemen there’s the excitement, myself included, when the offensive coordinator is that much involved.”
http://tennessee.scout.com/story/1534729-double-teaming-the-o-line
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Mahoney needs all the help and advice he can get. If anybody is meddling its probably .him
 
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#3
#3
tnvols72 said:
Mahoney needs all the help and advice he can get. If anybody is meddling its probably .him
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CBJ is no moron. He knew what he was doing when he hired DeBord. I'm sure DeBord knows plenty about play-calling, but our weakness, for the most part, was the OL play not the offensive play-calling. Do you really think it's a coincidence that DeBord was hired considering his strength as a position coach is with the OL? We couldn't fire Mahoney because we wanted to keep the consistency going within our program, so instead we found a play-caller with great experience as both an OL coach and a play-caller. Top that with Coach Z helping call plays, and Nick Sheridan helping QBs, and DeBord's hiring became a match made in heaven.
 
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#6
#6
keckjm said:
CBJ is no moron. He knew what he was doing when he hired DeBord. I'm sure DeBord knows plenty about play-calling, but our weakness, for the most part, was the OL play not the offensive play-calling. Do you really think it's a coincidence that DeBord was hired considering his strength as a position coach is with the OL? We couldn't fire Mahoney because we wanted to keep the consistency going within our program, so instead we found a play-caller with great experience as both an OL coach and a play-caller. Top that with Coach Z helping call plays, and Nick Sheridan helping QBs, and DeBord's hiring became a match made in heaven.
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Ehhhhhh they both had their contributions to our losses.
 
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#7
#7
chatt-townVOL said:
Ehhhhhh they both had their contributions to our losses.
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I hear what you are saying Chatt, however we had very little talent outside, RB, aka Hurd, with zero depth behind him/TE/WR on offense when we started the season last year. Worley was average at best, and below average when rolling out of the pocket. Our staff started two freshman OL on the same side of the field, one of which was/is a C prospect playing RT. You can't tell me Kerbs, Kendrick, or Sanders weren't better options than Thomas. All together, I think there were some costly decisions by our entire staff, CBJ included, at the front of the year last year, but the reasons for those decisions were clear, build for the future. Unfortunately, if Dobbs had played in the UGA/FL games the results of those games COULD have been much different. It is what it is. CBJ was only trying to do what's best for our program long term, aka redshirting Dobbs and starting Thomas. It wasn't like we were going to win 10+ games even if Dobbs played every game last year. OK, Bama, and Ole Miss were loses no matter what. UGA and Mizzu would have been tough pulls as well.
 
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#8
#8
keckjm said:
I hear what you are saying Chatt, however we had very little talent outside, RB, aka Hurd, with zero depth behind him/TE/WR on offense when we started the season last year. Worley was average at best, and below average when rolling out of the pocket. Our staff started two freshman OL on the same side of the field, one of which was/is a C prospect playing RT. You can't tell me Kerbs, Kendrick, or Sanders weren't better options than Thomas. All together, I think there were some costly decisions by our entire staff, CBJ included, at the front of the year last year, but the reasons for those decisions were clear, build for the future. Unfortunately, if Dobbs had played in the UGA/FL games the results of those games COULD have been much different. It is what it is. CBJ was only trying to do what's best for our program long term, aka redshirting Dobbs and starting Thomas. It wasn't like we were going to win 10+ games even if Dobbs played every game last year. OK, Bama, and Ole Miss were loses no matter what. UGA and Mizzu would have been tough pulls as well.
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Yeah I think I'm just sore about our playcalling last year and will be for a while. I get it, we were young and our best talent was injured, but I don't care what situation you're in there's no excuse for throwing 73 WR screens every game. After a while our offense was very predictable.
 
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#9
#9
Would we have been better on the OL if Sam Pittman had been retained instead of bringing in Mahoney??
 
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#13
#13
One of the interviews with a lineman said it best....then somewhat recanted....We was so young the lineman was just swimming trying to stay afloat, now they have their head above water and working on their feet and hand placement.
 
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#14
#14
HoptownVol said:
Yeah, regrettable. Pittman is the best OL coach in the country.
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Pittman also had 4 and 5 star lineman, we don't have that luxury since Dooley didn't recruit lineman 1 year, it was bound to come to a head sooner than latter. Missing out on Blair not able to start didn't help , Im not blaming Blair he just wasn't ready mentally and physically. Hope that changes soon because he could loose his scolly soon.
 
#16
#16
ItsAllVols said:
Pittman also had 4 and 5 star lineman, we don't have that luxury since Dooley didn't recruit lineman 1 year, it was bound to come to a head sooner than latter. Missing out on Blair not able to start didn't help , Im not blaming Blair he just wasn't ready mentally and physically. Hope that changes soon because he could loose his scolly soon.
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I remember Tiny et al. asked CBJ if they could retain Pittman. 6'10" LT Dan Skipper (Arkansas' best lineman) was coming to UT. Imagine if we had had Skipper anchoring the LT position the last couple of years. Ifs and buts...:thud:
 
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#17
#17
CroKev said:
I remember Tiny et al. asked CBJ if they could retain Pittman. 6'10" LT Dan Skipper (Arkansas' best lineman) was coming to UT. Imagine if we had had Skipper anchoring the LT position the last couple of years. Ifs and buts...:thud:
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I don't really know how to put this, but I think CBJ saw the true weakness in his staff. Now, do I think CBJ is saying,"Man, should have kept Pittman". No, I don't. Mahoney was a big part of every stop CBJ made as a head coach, but I also think he realized the development/recruitment of OL players wasn't were it needed to be. When Coach Baj. left, I think CBJ knew who he wanted. He went through the "forced" process of interviewing multiple coaches, but he knew who he wanted from the start. DeBord was a perfect fit. You don't have to replace your buddy in Mahoney, and you take on a coach in DeBord who's probably a better OL coach. Add in DeBord's ability to call plays, on top of Coach Z's ability to help out in that regard/having a solid GA QB coach on staff, and it was like the hiring was meant to be. DeBord was a great fix to this staff's biggest weakness, OL development, and, in the process, CBJ never once had to fire/let go anyone. Win-win for everyone.
 
#18
#18
ItsAllVols said:
]Pittman also had 4 and 5 star lineman, we don't have that luxury since Dooley didn't recruit lineman 1 year, it was bound to come to a head sooner than latter. Missing out on Blair not able to start didn't help , Im not blaming Blair he just wasn't ready mentally and physically.[/B] Hope that changes soon because he could loose his scolly soon.
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I agree with most of what you wrote. But Blair is in the 2-deep at this time, and if Pair never did lose his scholy, Blair is even less likely to do so. :question:
 
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#19
#19
keckjm said:
I hear what you are saying Chatt, however we had very little talent outside, RB, aka Hurd, with zero depth behind him/TE/WR on offense when we started the season last year. Worley was average at best, and below average when rolling out of the pocket. Our staff started two freshman OL on the same side of the field, one of which was/is a C prospect playing RT. You can't tell me Kerbs, Kendrick, or Sanders weren't better options than Thomas. All together, I think there were some costly decisions by our entire staff, CBJ included, at the front of the year last year, but the reasons for those decisions were clear, build for the future. Unfortunately, if Dobbs had played in the UGA/FL games the results of those games COULD have been much different. It is what it is. CBJ was only trying to do what's best for our program long term, aka redshirting Dobbs and starting Thomas. It wasn't like we were going to win 10+ games even if Dobbs played every game last year. OK, Bama, and Ole Miss were loses no matter what. UGA and Mizzu would have been tough pulls as well.
Click to expand...

You do realize that Dobbs started the Missouri game right? Not having an O-line lost us that game. Mizzous d-line treated em like turnstiles and in turn our offense couldn't execute.

The only game I can see that Dobbs wouldve made a diff was the florida game. Worley played great in the UGA game if I remember right.
 
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#20
#20
Smokeyman said:
You do realize that Dobbs started the Missouri game right? Not having an O-line lost us that game. Mizzous d-line treated em like turnstiles and in turn our offense couldn't execute.

The only game I can see that Dobbs wouldve made a diff was the florida game. Worley played great in the UGA game if I remember right.
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All this is on the money imo.
 
#21
#21
Smokeyman said:
You do realize that Dobbs started the Missouri game right? Not having an O-line lost us that game. Mizzous d-line treated em like turnstiles and in turn our offense couldn't execute.

The only game I can see that Dobbs wouldve made a diff was the florida game. Worley played great in the UGA game if I remember right.
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I agree with KB, this is solid. The good news is Mizzou lost their DC. I've got to think that will hurt them some this year, the question will be how much? IMO they weren't paying that guy enough, he turned Michael Sam into an SEC beast and it is now obvious, it was not due to Sam's talent. He put a good D on the field last year as well, hope he succeeds and stays away from everybody in the SEC except us someday if we need one.
 
#22
#22
Smokeyman said:
You do realize that Dobbs started the Missouri game right? Not having an O-line lost us that game. Mizzous d-line treated em like turnstiles and in turn our offense couldn't execute.

The only game I can see that Dobbs wouldve made a diff was the florida game. Worley played great in the UGA game if I remember right.
Click to expand...

Dobbs starting wasn't my point. My point was even if he played the whole season we still aren't winning those games. Dobbs could have played every snap last year and we still couldn't have won against Bama, etc. This is why I stated UGA/FL games could have been different with Dobbs. I didn't exactly state that conclusion very well, but we are all on the same page that the OL was the issue. It wasn't just Mizzu. Fowler, Tull, and Striker ate us alive all game too. FL, OK, and Chattanooga (Chatt for crying out loud) defenses wore us out. We gave up 5-6 sacks against Chattanooga. OK ran the same CB blitz on Thomas' side, and they got pressure all game.

Plus, this whole argument was about coaching, not Dobbs anyways. Good thing is, DeBord will fix our OL. He's a solid OL coach.
 
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#23
#23
keckjm said:
CBJ is no moron. He knew what he was doing when he hired DeBord. I'm sure DeBord knows plenty about play-calling, but our weakness, for the most part, was the OL play not the offensive play-calling. Do you really think it's a coincidence that DeBord was hired considering his strength as a position coach is with the OL? We couldn't fire Mahoney because we wanted to keep the consistency going within our program, so instead we found a play-caller with great experience as both an OL coach and a play-caller. Top that with Coach Z helping call plays, and Nick Sheridan helping QBs, and DeBord's hiring became a match made in heaven.
Click to expand...
This guy gets it.
 
#24
#24
keckjm said:
I don't really know how to put this, but I think CBJ saw the true weakness in his staff. Now, do I think CBJ is saying,"Man, should have kept Pittman". No, I don't. Mahoney was a big part of every stop CBJ made as a head coach, but I also think he realized the development/recruitment of OL players wasn't were it needed to be. When Coach Baj. left, I think CBJ knew who he wanted. He went through the "forced" process of interviewing multiple coaches, but he knew who he wanted from the start. DeBord was a perfect fit. You don't have to replace your buddy in Mahoney, and you take on a coach in DeBord who's probably a better OL coach. Add in DeBord's ability to call plays, on top of Coach Z's ability to help out in that regard/having a solid GA QB coach on staff, and it was like the hiring was meant to be. DeBord was a great fix to this staff's biggest weakness, OL development, and, in the process, CBJ never once had to fire/let go anyone. Win-win for everyone.
Click to expand...

I wonder if we will ever know how all of it came about. Timing was weird and certainly makes me curious about it all.
 
#25
#25
kamoshika said:
Good piece by Randy Moore, even though DeBord apparently aged 3 years in just a few paragraphs...

DeBord makes quite clear that his job involves overseeing all of the offensive positions and not just the linemen. He also makes quite clear that the time he spends with the O-line in no way represents a lack of confidence in Mahoney. Simply put: The offensive line has a long way to go, and it will get there quicker with two guys rowing the boat instead of one.

Does Mahoney feel DeBord is meddling? Not at all. Mahoney seems genuinely thrilled by the assistance. He and DeBord clearly enjoy double-teaming the blockers. Twice the coaching may not mean twice the progress but it clearly accelerates the growth process for some of the Vols.

“It does,” Mahoney said said. “You can never have enough eyes on the offensive line – from stance to step to footwork to landmarks – all of that. I think as linemen there’s the excitement, myself included, when the offensive coordinator is that much involved.”
Tennessee Volunteers Football, Basketball, and Recruiting Front Page
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The only thing Mahony should worry about is former UM Head Coach Brady Hoke attending multiple practices. He was a much better OL coach than a HC.

Next year our Grad assistant QB coach has to move on, so perhaps Debord takes over OL and we get a top QB coach which would make Mahony odd man out.

Really could have used Sam Pittman last year.
 
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