Changing my tune: Think maybe Heupel should keep Banks

#1
bpalmer28

bpalmer28

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#1
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
 
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#2
#2
bpalmer28 said:
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
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Banks is young enough and smart enough to know changes must be made, and certainly if he is willing to be proactive and engage in development he could turn around our defensive struggles. If he's not willing to affect solid change then it's time to tell him to find another job before he is officially fired. It's that simple. It happens to a number of up and coming coaches. If they get on board, everyone is happy. If not they will be in a vagabond journey with coaching position
 
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#4
#4
bpalmer28 said:
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
Click to expand...
If you’ve watched Banks the last few years and can’t understand his ability to scheme is a problem, there’s no hope.
 
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#5
#5
First off: we weren't 14th in the SEC. That's based on garbage stats (pure yardage; not advanced stats that take into account turnovers, # of plays, etc).

Based on FPI's defensive efficiencies, we had the #4 defense in the country last year and #21 the year before. We had a slew of injuries this year and finished #41, which is above-average, but still below where we want to be. Btw, Vandy's offense was #1 in the country.


My take: whether we keep Banks or not should 100% be Heupel's decision. Not the fans. Not the boosters. Not the AD.

There are good reasons to keep Banks. There are some valid reasons to move on. But 1 loss shouldn't determine it. So many great DCs have had bad losses and gotten better as a result of it.

But something has to change. If it's not personnel, then Banks needs to be a bit less dogmatic in his approach. We just kept blitzing when it made no sense. We never adapted to Pavia's scrambling; and it was more schematic / play-calling then the players not executing.

I'm definitely not in the "FAHHHRR EVERYONE" camp. Banks has been pretty good overall, but Heupel has to decide whether he can evolve his game or whether we need to move on. I don't feel like anyone else has the first-hand view that Heupel does to be qualified to answer that question. This isn't like Sal Sunseri where even a blind person could see that he had to go.
 
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#7
#7
West Vol said:
If you’ve watched Banks the last few years and can’t understand his ability to scheme is a problem, there’s no hope.
Click to expand...
I’ve watched him. And I’ve noticed his defense getting better year after year for 4 consecutive years leading up to 2025. His ability to scheme resulted in us having one of the best defenses in the SEC last year. This year was bad. Needs to convince Heupel he can fix it.
 
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#9
#9
bpalmer28 said:
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
Click to expand...
This is the line of thinking that will end up with Heupel getting canned after '26. '27 at the latest.

Good Lord...
 
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#11
#11
bpalmer28 said:
I’ve watched him. And I’ve noticed his defense getting better year after year for 4 consecutive years leading up to 2025. His ability to scheme resulted in us having one of the best defenses in the SEC last year. This year was bad. Needs to convince Heupel he can fix it.
Click to expand...
The defense got better last year because we had an elite DL and played against the worst lineup of passers we’ve seen this century.

He shows blitz way too early, routinely puts defenders miles behind the line to gain, leaves the middle of the field so hilariously wide open it would be impossible not to exploit it. He seems to not understand QBs can scramble. His linebackers never know where to go. The safeties, the position he coaches, are and have been for years by far the worst position on the team. He also is terrible at picking up tendencies. UGA ran the same motion run play against us about 10 times in a single drive and ripped us every single time.
 
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#13
#13
bpalmer28 said:
I’ve watched him. And I’ve noticed his defense getting better year after year for 4 consecutive years leading up to 2025. His ability to scheme resulted in us having one of the best defenses in the SEC last year. This year was bad. Needs to convince Heupel he can fix it.
Click to expand...
Banks excuse could be the players that got injured this year and just team youth.
 
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#15
#15
bpalmer28 said:
I’ve watched him. And I’ve noticed his defense getting better year after year for 4 consecutive years leading up to 2025. His ability to scheme resulted in us having one of the best defenses in the SEC last year. This year was bad. Needs to convince Heupel he can fix it.
Click to expand...
Too much of a risk. I think we've seen enough and need to move on. His guys are always out of position and never makes adjustments. It's like he on auto pilot waiting for the odds to kick in. He really don't "scheme" blitzing edge guys and giving up chunk yards all over the field isn't the recipe for success. Kirby schemes. Banks sucks
 
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#18
#18
VolForLife83 said:
Too much of a risk. I think we've seen enough and need to move on. His guys are always out of position and never makes adjustments. It's like he on auto pilot waiting for the odds to kick in. He really don't "scheme" blitzing edge guys and giving up chunk yards all over the field isn't the recipe for success. Kirby schemes. Banks sucks
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i agree
 
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#19
#19
bpalmer28 said:
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
Click to expand...
This is what 8-9 Busch lattes looks like on a cold Tennessee winter night.
 
#20
#20
West Vol said:
The pursuit angles are so hilarious. The tackling is embarrassing. Watching Telander run right into blockers over and over, it’s like we’ve trained him to do it. Turrentine stands there and waits for the pass to be caught before he even attempts to move on a guy. Just terrible fundamentals.
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Yep, over and over. Defense is horrible all the way around except d line
 
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#22
#22
West Vol said:
The defense got better last year because we had an elite DL and played against the worst lineup of passers we’ve seen this century.

He shows blitz way too early, routinely puts defenders miles behind the line to gain, leaves the middle of the field so hilariously wide open it would be impossible not to exploit it. He seems to not understand QBs can scramble. His linebackers never know where to go. The safeties, the position he coaches, are and have been for years by far the worst position on the team. He also is terrible at picking up tendencies. UGA ran the same motion run play against us about 10 times in a single drive and ripped us every single time.
Click to expand...

This is, statistically, the correct answer. The offenses we faced last year were garbage. In most games the yards we allowed were roughly on par with what that team was averaging through the year. Except we usually allowed more passing and fewer rush yards. NCState was really the only outlier where they averaged 340 and we only gave up 143.

When we played legitimately good Offenses, they didn't really get shut down. Arkansas was averaging 415/game and we gave up 434. Georgia was averaging 390 and we gave up 453. OSU was averaging 405 and we gave up 473.

So we performed roughly on-par if not a little better against absolute bottom-feeders and performed worse than average against the 3 good offenses we played. The Defense was overinflated because we absolutely demolished some really bad competition and bailed out the offense several times for big wins (Bama comes to mind).
 
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#23
#23
bpalmer28 said:
What is Heupel’s edge in recruiting? The loyalty he shows to players and coaches because that’s what creates the “family” atmosphere all the recruits rave about. Some say loyalty will be his undoing, but it could just as easily be what carries him to the top.

Is it ok we have the #14 defense in the SEC? Heck no. But this time last year we were #2. If Banks can convince Heupel that he knows why and present a confident path to correction, I think he should keep him.

To the “Heupel will never fire anyone” crowd, have you ever asked yourself why? The answer is in Heupel’s past. He didn’t get a chance to fix OU’s offense despite likely knowing it could be fixed. He hires people who he thinks can be great and he commits to helping them get there. That is leadership. That doesn’t mean firing people isn’t on the table! But if his coaches have the same commitment to greatness they had when hired, same work ethic, same innovative mentality, why fire them at the first sign of struggle? He can demand a schematic change without firing anyone. He can demand a pivot in desirable player attributes without firing anyone.

Is it Banks fault we wasted NIL dollars on Boo or that his top 2 CBs missed the entire season? I think maybe if we strengthen the middle of our defense (DT, MLB, S) Banks and the rest of our staff together can figure things out.
Click to expand...

Another excuses post dressed up differently blaming players.
 
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#24
#24
bpalmer28 said:
I’ve watched him. And I’ve noticed his defense getting better year after year for 4 consecutive years leading up to 2025. His ability to scheme resulted in us having one of the best defenses in the SEC last year. This year was bad. Needs to convince Heupel he can fix it.
Click to expand...
No it didn’t. Rodney Garner and a ridiculously weak schedule that faced next to no decent offensive teams did.
 
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