I don't think Heupel is a "fire assistants for performance" head coach. Only way we have staff changes imo is if they choose to leave.
I agree, and I think that’s a recipe for coming close at best. My theory is Heupel has a loyalty complex due to the trauma he experienced when he was unjustly let go from Oklahoma. Just seems that way.
Personally, I think there needs to be a balance. He used mostly the same guys to reach the goal of making the playoffs in 5 years. That’s how much his initial contract was for. He very easily could go 7-5 this year, but regardless, is not even going to make it into the playoffs. He didn’t reach the goal that was set for him with these guys and he stuck with anyone who wanted to stick with him that entire time.
Now it’s time for change. Banks’ defenses have gotten better every year until this year. Albeit we had a very weak schedule with Georgia not being their usual self, Alabama in transition and the rest of our schedule being what should have been a cake walk. So, there is some relativity there. Our schedule this year is slightly tougher, but our numbers are far worse. I think he should be on the hot seat next year, but I don’t believe Heupel should make that change just yet.
Patience has paid off at the DB position. 3 NFL caliber CBs on our roster—2 of which have been out for the season. When are we going see some ball hawking safety play? Our safeties aren’t putting up even above average tackle and interception numbers. Is it the scheme?
DL. Bad year for DL. I’m raising an eyebrow, but think it’s best to keep Rodney. Still seems we are either committing to pressure or stopping the run and can’t seem to do both. We also seem thin at this position.
LBs… hard to say? We seem to still get gashed a lot. We also can’t seem to get two stars at LB on the field in the same game. We just made that coaching change a couple of years ago. I think the scheme hurts this group.
I had WRs down as an area of concern until this year. Scratch that.
QBs/OC. I really think it would behoove Huepel to start considering a more dynamic play caller. Huepel clearly misses who took over the reigns in his 20th season in coaching and third on Huepel’s staff. I’m not patient enough to enjoying the process of watching Huepel groom Joey into an OC that can call his own plays at a championship level. I think Huepel struggles to manage the entire game and play OC right now. I think that’s what caused the poor clock management. Joey is good with QBs, but what a high profile position to inherit with zero experience. I have my eyebrow raised here.
OL — We need a new coach. These guys just aren’t getting it done. We used to point at the run game as a good sign, and now that has vanished. They are not disciplined, they allow too much pressure on the QB, and we aren’t seeing the holes we normally see for our backs. I personally think Sampson made them look better than they were last year. He had an unusual amount of yards after contact last year.
RBs. I had a feeling we would see a drop off in production this year, and we have. I think a lot of that is on this OL. When’s the last time we recruited a 5* running back? I don’t think this is the change you make just yet.
Special teams have seen a drop off. Ekeler had a special group there. We are missing kicks, muffing punts, and we haven’t seen many big returns. Not sure how are punt coverage is looking.
Strength and Conditioning. My Dad went to watch A&M vs Notre Dame and he said those guys were huge and fast. I keep hearing from the media that our guys are built like men, and then I consider most of them never set foot in a gym. I don’t think we look as fast or big as the OSU team that smashed us last year, A&M this year, and as much as a slew of other teams. I remember JP Jr looking a bit thinner his last year here when his sacks went down.
I just never liked this hire. I think we are a bit smaller, weaker, slower and we gas out. Our injury list before and after the season is especially high, so that makes us thinner, but my response to that is that often happens from too much strain among other things. Strain can be caused by being out of shape or weaker than your opponent.
All in all, I think to be a championship level team—all of these positions need star players and coaches. While I don’t think you clean house at this point, I think you make changes at OL and S&C and see how that impacts everything else. Injury, stamina, pressure on QB, run game on both sides, QB protection, and time of possession are all things that would improve among others if we saw dramatic improvements here.
I have been in Banks’ corner for a long time. But after seeing how our safeties and LBs are used, and how poorly we are doing this year… I would give him a year to turn it around. We haven’t had a ball hawking backfield in a long time and that’s because of how non CB players are used, and our LBs get gashed year in and year out. His overall scheme may not work at this level, and we may have seen a fluke last year in our defensive performance due to a low strength of schedule.
I’m for keeping Heupel and most of this staff, but from my perspective and limited knowledge of the intricacies of the game, this is how I see it. Maybe I’m way off? I’d like to read other level-headed opinions.
