Walt Bell off the board
- Thread starter catfando
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Was there really any reason to say it like that?
Walt Bell was a good choice, but how do we know for a fact that we're going all-in on Gran? Maybe we just lost our #1. There's no telling.
You are right. He is a fine OC but Gran is our man. I think Bell was 2 or 3 down the list. Right now it is Gran or bust IMO. He is the best without question and we need to go all out and pull him in.
No doubt. Being in a weaker conference will allow Maryland to rise fairly quickly if the staff passes in more than just the look test. Durkin is an excellent coach who will be able to make some rookie mistakes at a school where there will be little pressure. Having a competent OC who can put together his own assistants will be a huge plus. Definitely a team to watch out for in the next few seasons.
What I like that he's doing with his staff is he hired 2 ex-HCs, the Syracuse ex and the UVA ex. That gives first time HC Durkin a sounding board to bounce ideas off of. Maybe Stoops should've done something similar.
As for Bell, I watched some of Ark St-La Tech and his Ark St team threw a lot of dinks and dunks. We'll have to see if that'll work at Maryland.
No doubt stoops should've done that. VTech hired ECUs old head coach as an associate head coach. Why stoops didn't hire anyone with any kind of experience is beyond me. Very poor and costly decision on his end. I feel like he just has too much of an ego and doesn't want to feel like someone has more football knowledge than him on his own staff. He wants to believe he can learn and do it on his own. Which from a coaching standpoint, just ain't shown really anything as far as competence yet.
Actually he did with his first staff. Peveto had been a HC at one time. Maybe he tried after Peveto went back to LSU and didn't find a taker. I didn't make that comment to "Let's pile on Stoops"....it was just to point out what Durkin did at Maryland.
I was just pointing out how ridiculously dumb it was for him to hire an entire staff with as much coaching experience as him at their respective roles. This year we were working with a first time OC (at the D1 level), first time DC, and first time HC. Just really no chance at success in this conference with those kind of assets. Very glad he got rid of Dawson though.
I don't know how "weak" the Big Ten East is going to be going forward with the collection of coaches that have assembled there. It would be great to see Maryland compete though.
You are correct regarding Peveto.
Although Gran has never been a HC, I think that his length of experience coaching in the SEC & @ FSU will only be a positive.
Maryland is no longer in the ACC, the Big Ten is a much more difficult conference than the ACC. But I agree that Durkin is putting together a solid staff.
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If stoops doesn't plan on hiring a special teams coach then that makes hiring someone with Grans experience even more important. Gran has been a very successful special teams coach as well.
I didn't even know Maryland had left the ACC. Directing now at appaws, the Big Ten has proven to be a solid conference, but Durkin's staff he's putting together should definitely give Maryland more than a foghter's chance at some strong seasons. In the ACC or not.
Now I have to go look up Maryland and the ACC.
I've always wondered about why a conference would put the number of teams in the title. The past five to ten years have shown how easy it is to bastardize the Big 10 or PAC 12 or whatever the number is. SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, MAC, those are all names which stay the same regardless of team switches. You can justify locations a lot more than, "Well, we've got 12 teams in the Big 10. Uh.... Get marketing on this."
Sorry, I hijacked the thread.
What are the other teams in the area that Maryland will have to contend with? Who are they hiring (any good coaching staffs besides MD)?