I see a lot of people blaming Stoops for what has gone wrong in your season this year. Is there some specific instances of coaching decisions he's made that you can give examples of? Or is it just a case of the team not performing up to expectations. Because there is a big difference between coaching blunders and the players just not performing well. Either way, it is still the coach's job to fix it but I am wondering if you guys can site some specific examples of things Stoops has done that you don't agree with? Thoughts?
Stoops?
- Thread starter SchmidtyNole_rivals
- Start date
I do think that Stoops is not done. I do think he can continue to improve. However, I don't think he's made it easy on himself......and it certainly doesn't mean that he will make it.
-Taking on a first time DC.....and friend Eliott.....to groom him doesn't bother me too much until you consider all the other "experiments" he's taken on.
-There's a reason why the vast, vast, vast majority of teams still employ a ST coach. Sure, it's "possible" to get by without one, but it was hardly a good decision to try it now. My goodness, wait till you get things crankin, then make that decision. You are a brand new coach, you don't want to worry about an aspect of the game where you don't have to.
-If there was ever a time to hire a proven OC, the moment Brown left was the time. Stoops is a defensive guy......and a new HC. The last thing you want to worry about is the offense coordination. Dawson was a poor hire.
-Stoops is a FNG head coach. I don't mind that he is making mistakes, b/c I know that most new HC's make similar mistakes. The only problem is that it is magnified 10x b/c of all the bad personnel decisions he's made. Had he hired a ST coach and a proven OC, we would probably have 6-7 wins already this yr......and all the sudden Stoops' on field management mistakes wouldn't look so putrid.
Now as far as on-field decisions. Notice that at times, Stoops will let 5-10 seconds run off the clock during obvious TO situations. Or calling a TO......effectively icing your own kicker. Little things like this have happened numerous times throughout the yr. These aren't career enders......actually they are fairly common amongst newer HC's.......and most HC improve on these things. Like I said above, it just gets magnified by the other things going on.
I will say that I don't think that he's a poor motivator. In general, almost every player or person connected with the program says that they love Stoops and love to play for him. He's a tough, scream in your face kinda of coach. I think you can see this by our 5-1 and 4-1 starts the last few yrs. Unfortunately, lack of depth and poor coaching elsewhere drains that motivation.
-Taking on a first time DC.....and friend Eliott.....to groom him doesn't bother me too much until you consider all the other "experiments" he's taken on.
-There's a reason why the vast, vast, vast majority of teams still employ a ST coach. Sure, it's "possible" to get by without one, but it was hardly a good decision to try it now. My goodness, wait till you get things crankin, then make that decision. You are a brand new coach, you don't want to worry about an aspect of the game where you don't have to.
-If there was ever a time to hire a proven OC, the moment Brown left was the time. Stoops is a defensive guy......and a new HC. The last thing you want to worry about is the offense coordination. Dawson was a poor hire.
-Stoops is a FNG head coach. I don't mind that he is making mistakes, b/c I know that most new HC's make similar mistakes. The only problem is that it is magnified 10x b/c of all the bad personnel decisions he's made. Had he hired a ST coach and a proven OC, we would probably have 6-7 wins already this yr......and all the sudden Stoops' on field management mistakes wouldn't look so putrid.
Now as far as on-field decisions. Notice that at times, Stoops will let 5-10 seconds run off the clock during obvious TO situations. Or calling a TO......effectively icing your own kicker. Little things like this have happened numerous times throughout the yr. These aren't career enders......actually they are fairly common amongst newer HC's.......and most HC improve on these things. Like I said above, it just gets magnified by the other things going on.
I will say that I don't think that he's a poor motivator. In general, almost every player or person connected with the program says that they love Stoops and love to play for him. He's a tough, scream in your face kinda of coach. I think you can see this by our 5-1 and 4-1 starts the last few yrs. Unfortunately, lack of depth and poor coaching elsewhere drains that motivation.
It sounds like his in game decision making is a little slow, like he isn't prepared to make snap decisions out there. Am I reading that right?
There have been some serious game management gaffes.
We've called timeouts before attempting field goals multiple times
We have made some very questionable 3rd and I 4th down calls...the most recent being deep pass called on 4th and 1 from midfield at Vandy. That was not a qb audible, as Stoops and Dawson have both said that was the called play.
Our Special Teams as a whole looks like a Chinese fire drill....Stoops did not hire a special teams coordinator, and indicated last night on his radio show that he has no intention of doing so.
I still belive a big chunk of the problem is a new coach growing into the job....but I am beginning to worry that he's not growing as fast as we should expect.
We've called timeouts before attempting field goals multiple times
We have made some very questionable 3rd and I 4th down calls...the most recent being deep pass called on 4th and 1 from midfield at Vandy. That was not a qb audible, as Stoops and Dawson have both said that was the called play.
Our Special Teams as a whole looks like a Chinese fire drill....Stoops did not hire a special teams coordinator, and indicated last night on his radio show that he has no intention of doing so.
I still belive a big chunk of the problem is a new coach growing into the job....but I am beginning to worry that he's not growing as fast as we should expect.
Going for it on 4th and 1 on the 1st drive of the 2nd half at midfield against Georgia and putting the game on the line that early was ignorant. We didn't get it, Georgia went down and scored and the game was completely over with almost an entire half to go.
Going for it against Vandy on 4th and 1 right before halftime at midfield, down just 4 points was one of the WORST coaching "gambles" I've ever seen. You don't do that there! You don't risk putting your defense in that position. He lost me for good when he did that.
If he doesn't have a Special Teams coach that is a problem. Special teams are a huge part of the game. I know for us we always have a coach on our staff that is a proven coach in working with Special teams. All it takes is a couple of big kickoff or punt returns or getting a Field Goal or a Punt blocked to completely change the game.
I think the biggest mistake was hiring Dawson. You're rebuilding a program and you go out and hire an OC that had no control over the play calling at WV?! Defensively, I think we're good most games when you have no help from your offense! Stoops is more involved on defense. We really needed a good and experienced OC.
Yeah, kinda. This is a learned skill that takes most coaches time to learn.
For example, Michigan is my third team that I follow. So, I watch them whenever possible. I watched them back when Saban coached for Michigan State back in the 90's. Saban was a new HC at that time......and he made a ton of bad decisions for numerous yrs. I even remember talking with a few MSU fans at the time that who laughed at LSU for hiring him away. But, of course, the rest is history.
****And NO, NO, NO, I'm not saying Stoops will become Saban. I'm saying that poor coaching decisions are common for new HC's.......even among the elite when they started.*****
That was a good and well thought of first post Knightlife.......welcome aboard.
I think that's a fair take. There's an element that makes one think he doesn't already know plans B, C, and D ahead of time. Specific examples include the TO before a punt last game (in the first quarter, when 5 yards wouldn't have meant much), then failing to call TO before a FG in the 4th (I think), taking a 5 yard penalty which resulted in a FG miss. We've had to call TO before other ST plays as well. He's gone for it on 4th when we probably shouldn't have (UGa, Vandy early) and punted when we probably should have gone for it (MSU). Some of these are more debatable than others (in that people always complain when 50/50 calls don't work out). I especially think the decision not to take 3 points against a great defensive and horrific offensive team like Vandy was a blunder.
Lots of people still gripe about the 8 men on the field for a punt (that went out of bounds, btw, and cost us nothing, btw). That was a very particular instance. Auburn had 4th and less than 1, we're out of timeouts, down 3, they were around midfield, and they had their offense out there. We, reasonably, had a "big" defense package out. With about 20 seconds on the play clock, Auburn runs the punt team out and we (try to) respond. The "big" package got off the field and the punt return team scrambles to get out there. You can see Stoops, among others, trying to get people off the field as AU is preparing to snap. We end up with 8 guys out there, they punt OOB, we get the ball. A 12 man penalty there ends the game (<2 mins left, AU up by 3). People were mad because it was bad optics but UK teams of the past would have had a 12 man penalty and we'd never get the ball back. Baby steps I guess, lol.
The other specific play we remember was against the spread at MSU. They had trips right and we had, I think, 6 LBs and DBs out in our left defensive flat. Obviously, Dak kept the ball on the read option and ran untouched into the end zone. That was a cluster. There's no context for that.
All in all, I'm way less down on Stoops than others, and even less way down on Dawson. It still befuddles me how people put the offensive struggles solely on Dawson. He routinely calls what I think are decent plays, and the team routinely fails to execute. I can think of maybe two head scratching calls on offense in the Vandy game, and that ain't all that bad really.
Go watch the Vandy game - it is a perfect illustration of Stoops' problems as a head coach. Two things that have stood out to me this year - Stoops launches into tirades at officials and his coaching staff during the games, and never gets "focused" back onto what's occurring on the field. He showed glimpses of this the first two years, but it has become consistent a problem this year. Second, clock management completely escapes him. He has no clue how to handle the closing minutes of a half or a game. It has gotten progressively worse. He really, really needs to review game film of himself, and honestly critique his actions, demeanor and decision making.
I've known HC to approach things like this in varying ways.
I knew a HC of 24 yrs of experience who used to have a grad assistant stand behind him the entire game. The HC would make him hold his headset wires. I would often hear comments from players saying how it appeared to be degrading that the HC was forcing the GA to carry the headset wires for every game. But in reality, the HC told the GA to nudge him in the ribs often throughout the game. It was a signal for the HC to be on his toes about making decisions.......TO, play calls, etc. And this was a veteran HC of 24 yrs who was fairly successful.
Others have pointed out that Les Miles had someone stand next to him at times in his HC career to do the same thing.
One of the better ways that I liked was when I was at Middle Tennessee. We hired a coach who had never coached college ball, but did coach at a HS in Georgia. For the first yr he had a member of the staff stand next to him and ask him questions throughout the game........almost badgering him and questioning the calls he made. (Granted he did this quietly so that the players couldn't hear) It was an attempt to sharpen the HC skill at making game time desions.
I knew a HC of 24 yrs of experience who used to have a grad assistant stand behind him the entire game. The HC would make him hold his headset wires. I would often hear comments from players saying how it appeared to be degrading that the HC was forcing the GA to carry the headset wires for every game. But in reality, the HC told the GA to nudge him in the ribs often throughout the game. It was a signal for the HC to be on his toes about making decisions.......TO, play calls, etc. And this was a veteran HC of 24 yrs who was fairly successful.
Others have pointed out that Les Miles had someone stand next to him at times in his HC career to do the same thing.
One of the better ways that I liked was when I was at Middle Tennessee. We hired a coach who had never coached college ball, but did coach at a HS in Georgia. For the first yr he had a member of the staff stand next to him and ask him questions throughout the game........almost badgering him and questioning the calls he made. (Granted he did this quietly so that the players couldn't hear) It was an attempt to sharpen the HC skill at making game time desions.
Would have come to UK if Brother Bob hadn't gotten involved, which led to Austin Kendall going to OU over UK. Good ole Brother Bob...
With all the firing and hiring going on,what are the chances that stoop's bring's in a experience oc?
And who would be his target's? James coley is available! He wanted him first time around..
Or do you think he wait's till next year to make changes which would give him another year or 2 before he would be fired!
Really would like for stoops to be the guy,because of his recruiting pipelines ect. If he ever would leave we should be able to go after much higher profile caoches to fill that spot next time around!
And who would be his target's? James coley is available! He wanted him first time around..
Or do you think he wait's till next year to make changes which would give him another year or 2 before he would be fired!
Really would like for stoops to be the guy,because of his recruiting pipelines ect. If he ever would leave we should be able to go after much higher profile caoches to fill that spot next time around!
^My gut says that Stoops is a very loyal guy.......and he'll stick with Dawson for another yr. This worries me.
Personally, I would make the change now. Right now, Stoops' seat is fairly warm. He's tied up with a long-term contract......he has core of young talent that is still developing. It's not smoking hot yet. But you don't want to wait until the seat gets hotter and hotter before you make a decision.
Coley knows Stoops since they coached together. It would make sense that they still talk. Coley is available. This is a prime opportunity to grab Coley if you want him.
Miami is currently 58th overall on offense. They run a fairly balanced spread attack that's slightly biased to pass. And they are doing it with a young offense......QB soph, RB soph, 3 of 5 OL are soph, 2 are jr.
And check out with a recent 4* QB has said about Coley.
https://miami.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1826426
Personally, I would make the change now. Right now, Stoops' seat is fairly warm. He's tied up with a long-term contract......he has core of young talent that is still developing. It's not smoking hot yet. But you don't want to wait until the seat gets hotter and hotter before you make a decision.
Coley knows Stoops since they coached together. It would make sense that they still talk. Coley is available. This is a prime opportunity to grab Coley if you want him.
Miami is currently 58th overall on offense. They run a fairly balanced spread attack that's slightly biased to pass. And they are doing it with a young offense......QB soph, RB soph, 3 of 5 OL are soph, 2 are jr.
And check out with a recent 4* QB has said about Coley.
https://miami.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1826426
I also am of the opinion Coach Stoops is a loyal guy. Doubt that Shannon Dawson is gone after one year.
Like Coley and would really like for Coach Stoops to go after Bud Foster of Va. Tech as our new d.c.! Made Coach Elliott Special Team coach.
Like Coley and would really like for Coach Stoops to go after Bud Foster of Va. Tech as our new d.c.! Made Coach Elliott Special Team coach.
Watching Stoops on the sideline he is very invovled with the offense too. Its hard to stay out of the offense if you are defensive minded head coach, makes the OC nervous about calling plays and will be more conservative than he would if the head coach wasnt' looking over his shoulder. He might be better off in the huddle with defensive unit.
yeah but ask backwards hat Navar how loyal he is if you do an awful job in the area you are responsible for coordinating
Some of his in-game decisions have been very questionable, sideline organization has been a problem as well - clock management, personnel packages etc., and some instances of player under-performance. Granted that a lot of this is opinions based and some have described these things as much more egregious than others, but the bottom line is it's near the end of year 3 of the Stoops era and at best we have not improved and at worse we may be regressing in some areas.
On the one hand axing a coordinator after one year can have a negative impact over getting another guy to replace him but if a deal was tentatively worked out with Coley ahead of time this shouldn't be an issue. OTOH if Coley thinks this program is taking on a lot of water he may not be too anxious to jump on-board.
You can argue it either way but I know some of the best coaches frequently change coordinators if they aren't getting it done. Spurrier comes to mind - he use to go through DCs like they were long necks.
Barney 2-times in row Hires a Head Coach who has Never been a Head Coach BEFORE !
On the Job Training AGAIN ! I Blame Barney ! 1st the Joker Hire , Purely a social statement hire for Football . 2nd the Stoops Hire , He approached Barney and sold His Plan for UK football . Somewhere " Air Raid " was coming back in his plan ? Blame Barney , Not Stoops for earning a Big Paycheck !
On the Job Training AGAIN ! I Blame Barney ! 1st the Joker Hire , Purely a social statement hire for Football . 2nd the Stoops Hire , He approached Barney and sold His Plan for UK football . Somewhere " Air Raid " was coming back in his plan ? Blame Barney , Not Stoops for earning a Big Paycheck !
Lots of things noted in previous posts. I'll just sum it all in two words...HC experience. Most P5 programs (and SEC programs in particular) are not good places to do your OJT as a head coach. Yes, there are some exceptions but, by and large, it doesn't work out. There is a big difference between making recommendations to the HC and being the HC. JMO.
Peace
Smitty... I think the biggest and most prominent thing for me is the fact that Stoops has zero clue about what he wants to do on the offensive side of the football... We are on our second coordinator in 4 years and it looks like he has tied the hands of both of them... We are Kentucky we are not Alabama we are not LSU we don't have any more than likely never will have and offensive line that is able to play the power football that I think Stoops would like to play... He needs to determine what he wants to do offensively and then stick with it because what he is doing now is creating a disaster
Another showed me a lot again at the Mississippi State game... We get the ball in the very first play of the game we get called for an illegal formation... Really
Schmidty- I assume you know Stoops very well from his days at Florida State. I realize he wasn't the HC but what are your general thoughts about him and his football knowledge ?