Where should Beamer prioritize looking for our next OC? What should he look for?

[18IsTheMan]

Priority #1: He needs to rule out anyone who does not have GOOD collegiate OC experience. Off the bat. Don't waste time trying to find the hidden gem.

He needs to entirely deprioritize guys with NFL experience. That's been his top priority so far, and it's been largely disastrous.

Given our ranking in the hierarchy of things, he's not getting a P4 OC to come here. Not a good one anyway. So I think P4 ranks are out of the question, and I wouldn't really waste much time scouring the P4 ranks, unless by some miraculous act, a proven P4 OC picks up the phone to inquire about the job. I definitely don't want to roll the dice on a position coach. Again, stick to guys with good collegiate OC experience.

I think your next step then would be looking at G5 OCs, and there are probably some pretty good options there.

I would also highly consider some offensively-minded FCS head coaches. Most would probably jump at the opportunity to become a P4 OC.

There are a lot of guys out there who run creative offenses. It really should not be hard to find a solid upgrade on Shula...it would be almost impossible not to. If we had even a mediocre offense, we're probably sitting 6-3 or better right now.

Lastly, don't try to go against the grain. He's done that with all 3 OC hires so far.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Just posted something similar elsewhere regarding the type of candidate- needs to be a current college OC.

I have maintained that he’s going to have to find someone at a G4 / FCS spot who is willing to roll the dice on himself as this could wind up being a one year situation.

The other course of action is a situation like what landed Bobo here. A former P4 OC who just became a former HC and not looking for / not getting another HC gig. This season there may actually be a few options there.

Other than those two sources it’s a waste of time. No more NFL guys, no more position coaches.

 

[Legal_fowl]

Just posted something similar elsewhere regarding the type of candidate- needs to be a current college OC.

I have maintained that he’s going to have to find someone at a G4 / FCS spot who is willing to roll the dice on himself as this could wind up being a one year situation.

The other course of action is a situation like what landed Bobo here. A former P4 OC who just became a former HC and not looking for / not getting another HC gig. This season there may actually be a few options there.

Other than those two sources it’s a waste of time. No more NFL guys, no more position coaches.

Frankly, I don't think any OC worth a hoot would even consider this job with Beamer in trouble and an OL that can't block. Sure, we might get someone from a small school or someone who is washed up (like Shula) but unless we get extremely lucky next year will look a lot like this year.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Frankly, I don't think any OC worth a hoot would even consider this job with Beamer in trouble and an OL that can't block. Sure, we might get someone from a small school or someone who is washed up (like Shula) but unless we get extremely lucky next year will look a lot like this year.

There are a lot of fish out there when you look at G5 and FCS. Thing is, we're not looking for top shelf. We just need a competent, reliable offense. We don't need to score 35 ppg. If we can hit 25, that's MASSIVE improvement.

 

[Swifty]

This "Pro Style" nonsense has to stop. College coaches aren't paid to prepare players for the NFL. That's what NFL coaches are paid to do. College coaches are paid to WIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES. Period.

 

[18IsTheMan]

This "Pro Style" nonsense has to stop. College coaches aren't paid to prepare players for the NFL. That's what NFL coaches are paid to do. College coaches are paid to WIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES. Period.

I don't think it's a hard solution, and I don't think Beamer should worry too much about what kind of offense he envisions. There are 5 years of data to support that what he envisions is bad.

 

[Mr. Belvedere]

Prepared to be underwhelmed lol. Regardless of these lists and qualities, no one on this board is going to like it. That's almost a guarantee.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Prepared to be underwhelmed lol. Regardless of these lists and qualities, no one on this board is going to like it. That's almost a guarantee.

I'm optimistic that after 3 swings and misses, he'll have learned by now. He has to have. He knows his job depends on this one, so I think he'll make the right move.

 

[Legal_fowl]

There are a lot of fish out there when you look at G5 and FCS. Thing is, we're not looking for top shelf. We just need a competent, reliable offense. We don't need to score 35 ppg. If we can hit 25, that's MASSIVE improvement.

I'd prefer 35 ppg. But that's just me.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'd prefer 35 ppg. But that's just me.

Well, sure, who wouldn't?? We're not gonna make that jump in Year 1, though. 25 ppg is attainable with our personnel and coupled with our D, gives us a reasonable shot at a good record.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Frankly, I don't think any OC worth a hoot would even consider this job with Beamer in trouble and an OL that can't block. Sure, we might get someone from a small school or someone who is washed up (like Shula) but unless we get extremely lucky next year will look a lot like this year.

Yea, that’s the most likely outcome. My thoughts are what I think has to happen for there to be any sort of chance it could work.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Prepared to be underwhelmed lol. Regardless of these lists and qualities, no one on this board is going to like it. That's almost a guarantee.

Is there a reason anyone should have liked the previous three OC hires when they were made? I didn’t hang around here much prior to this season. But other interwebs and in person interaction with other fans all the same response and we have not been wrong.

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

Someone I think we could get who could help us establish the consistent running game we have been missing is Drew Cronic.
His story reminds me a lot of Connor Shaw's background as the son of a Georgia high school coach who has been immersed in football his entire life. He has demonstrated some major successes along his path to the OC at Navy with several COY Awards and program turnaround achievements.

Navy Offensive Coordinator Drew Cronic: The trust in him among the players is unwavering - Naval Academy Athletics

 

[Lurker123]

Priority #1: He needs to rule out anyone who does not have GOOD collegiate OC experience. Off the bat. Don't waste time trying to find the hidden gem.

He needs to entirely deprioritize guys with NFL experience. That's been his top priority so far, and it's been largely disastrous.

Given our ranking in the hierarchy of things, he's not getting a P4 OC to come here. Not a good one anyway. So I think P4 ranks are out of the question, and I wouldn't really waste much time scouring the P4 ranks, unless by some miraculous act, a proven P4 OC picks up the phone to inquire about the job. I definitely don't want to roll the dice on a position coach. Again, stick to guys with good collegiate OC experience.

I think your next step then would be looking at G5 OCs, and there are probably some pretty good options there.

I would also highly consider some offensively-minded FCS head coaches. Most would probably jump at the opportunity to become a P4 OC.

There are a lot of guys out there who run creative offenses. It really should not be hard to find a solid upgrade on Shula...it would be almost impossible not to. If we had even a mediocre offense, we're probably sitting 6-3 or better right now.

Lastly, don't try to go against the grain. He's done that with all 3 OC hires so far.

This sums it up well. Very logical and sincere post.

It really does mirror my thoughts.

I also agree with the poster who said that we should be prepared to be underwhelmed. He "had" to hire Satterfield because of the timing, but then kept him the next year. He's made at pretty poor hire 3 times in a row at OC. And he needs to change his criteria to avoid a fourth.

Do we think Shane is the type of guy to admit hes wrong and change direction drastically?

I just have this horrible feeling we'll end up with a TE coach from some failing NFL staff who will bring an "NFL offense" to Columbia.

 

[BlueWater]

I just hope we don't hire another NFL guy. They are notoriously unimaginative and stuck in their ways. That is one of the reasons I find the NFL so boring to watch. That style can work if you have an NFL quality line, running back and QB, but most colleges don't have the luxury of all of those.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

What should he look for?​

Let's make this simple, Competence.

 

[18IsTheMan]

What should he look for?​

Let's make this simple, Competence.

Really, that's all. And it SHOULDN'T be hard to find. We aren't looking for an explosive 35 ppg. At this stage we only need, and may only be able to attain, competence in an OC.

 

[Piscis]

No established OC, G5 or P4, is going to want to jump on a sinking ship. I think he is going to have to find the hidden gem or rely on the "blind squirrel" method. I look for one of two types of coaches:

1. A little known G5 or FCS OC that is way under the radar who will take the job to get into P4 coaching.
2. An OC somewhere that is somehow a friend or acquaintance or former co worker of Beamer's who will take the job for the money and the resume boost and won't worry about it possibly being a one year job.

I think whoever he hires is going to be a "who?" hire.

 

[18IsTheMan]

No established OC, G5 or P4, is going to want to jump on a sinking ship. I think he is going to have to find the hidden gem or rely on the "blind squirrel" method. I look for one of two types of coaches:

1. A little known G5 or FCS OC that is way under the radar who will take the job to get into P4 coaching.
2. An OC somewhere that is somehow a friend or acquaintance or former co worker of Beamer's who will take the job for the money and the resume boost and won't worry about it possibly being a one year job.

I think whoever he hires is going to be a "who?" hire.

I don't know if it's all that bad.

I can be doom and gloom with the best of them, but you have a lot of coaches out there looking to get ahead, one way or another...basically all of them. I don't think we should have any problem picking up a decent OC from the G5 or FCS ranks (FCS could include head coaches who have OC background). We have no chance at pulling a P4 OC, but the others should be attainable. No, we aren't going to take any prospects way from the likes of PSU/LSU/Auburn/etc, but there are a lot of possibilities out there.

Now, the likelihood that the hire will be a "name" hire is incredibly low. But, gun to head, most of us would be hard-pressed to name 10 college OCs outside of our own. We simply don't know about 99.9% of coaches in college football. I don't expect to get the tingles when I see the guy's name. What I expect is that when I look at his background I see that he has shown competence as a college OC. THAT is unquestionably attainable.

I am not going to concede the built-in excuse that a competent OC wasn't attainable for us. It is.

Beamer can't afford to piddle paddle around with this. He would be wasting precious and valuable time to spend one second evaluating anyone on the current staff for the role. If he hasn't already begun looking at external candidates, he's already lost valuable time. Our new OC should be announced the Sunday after the Clemson game, if not sooner.

 

[Lurker123]

Is Satterfield available? We could get him cheap.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Is Satterfield available? We could get him cheap.

Well, he is currently a TE coach, so that is right in our wheelhouse.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Current OCs or FCS HCs with OC backgrounds need to be the top of Beamer's criteria. There are too many coaches out there to expand the search to include position coaches. Simplify the process.

 

[Lurker123]

Current OCs or FCS HCs with OC backgrounds need to be the top of Beamer's criteria. There are too many coaches out there to expand the search to include position coaches. Simplify the process.

Agreed. But first Beamer has to make a large shift in thinking. He has to dump the notion of running a "pro style offense" as his top priority.

Step back, and look for someone running an EFFECTIVE style at a lower level. Then try to judge fit with our personnel.

As each day passes, I am holding my breath hoping we dont hear the name of the OC, say "who?", and then read about how he worked in the NFL at one point and told Shane he wants to run a pro style offense.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Agreed. But first Beamer has to make a large shift in thinking. He has to dump the notion of running a "project style offense" as his top priority.

Step back, and look for someone running an EFFECTIVE style at a lower level. Then try to judge fit with our personnel.

As each day passes, I am holding my breath hoping we dont hear the name of the OC, say "who?", and then read about how he worked in the NFL at one point t and told Shane he wants to run a pro style offense.

Shane needs to hire an assistant who pokes him with a sharp object any time the word "pro" comes out of his mouth.

 

[BeamerBall90]

I think scheme matters a lot. Find a guy who has proven he knows what to do with dual-threat QB’s and keep recruiting to that system. Sounds easy, be we all can name a few guys in that category that went to new schools and laid eggs. I still think it’s the way to go. We need to establish consistency instead of the up and down trajectory our offense has been on for the past several seasons. Our recruiting isn’t at the level to run a pro-style offense consistently.

 

[Piscis]

Shane needs to hire an assistant who pokes him with a sharp object any time the word "pro" comes out of his mouth.

Running a pro style offense helps with recruiting. If you don't run that offense, you better be able to be productive with 2 and 3 star players. Even OL recruits want to be learning the pro system.

Paul Johnson ran the triple option at Georgia tech and had marginal success but his recruiting classes were awful. The air raid can be effective if you are able to recruit WR and QB talent. The spread is basketball on grass and you need very good skill players, it is a good offense to run for teams that are out talented. Run and shoot needs talented WRs and a QB who can adjust on the fly.

It doesn't really matter what offense a team runs, if it doesn't have a decent OL, none of them will work.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Running a pro style offense helps with recruiting. If you don't run that offense, you better be able to be productive with 2 and 3 star players. Even OL recruits want to be learning the pro system.

Paul Johnson ran the triple option at Georgia tech and had marginal success but his recruiting classes were awful. The air raid can be effective if you are able to recruit WR and QB talent. The spread is basketball on grass and you need very good skill players, it is a good offense to run for teams that are out talented. Run and shoot needs talented WRs and a QB who can adjust on the fly.

It doesn't really matter what offense a team runs, if it doesn't have a decent OL, none of them will work.

Shane over-emphasizes it, though. The best recruiting tool is a successful offense.

 

[Piscis]

Shane over-emphasizes it, though. The best recruiting tool is a successful offense.

It may be a case of "if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail". Shane may not know enough to think of something else. As bad as things have looked, I'm not sure Shane is the brightest bulb. He was obviously hired for his name so, maybe he is the living embodiment of the Peter Principle.

 

[JohnnySolo]

Someone that can game plan based on our strengths and the opponents weaknesses. Then be able to make adjustments and have creative plays to counter the opponents adjustments. We ran the same plays no matter the situation. Slow LB's? Lets get the TE and RB involved. Play a lot of man? Drop back, run all flys and let Sellers take off. Play zone with zone blitz, RPO or come back routes in the opening. A smart offensive mind can beat a defense with average players. Of course it helps to have a competent QB that can recognize some coverages and adjust blocking scheme when necessary. And the RB actually has to block if the QB puts him in that position.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Wherever he looks, at a minimum it needs to no longer be up his own butthole.

 

[atlanta cock#]

Priority #1: He needs to rule out anyone who does not have GOOD collegiate OC experience. Off the bat. Don't waste time trying to find the hidden gem.

He needs to entirely deprioritize guys with NFL experience. That's been his top priority so far, and it's been largely disastrous.

Given our ranking in the hierarchy of things, he's not getting a P4 OC to come here. Not a good one anyway. So I think P4 ranks are out of the question, and I wouldn't really waste much time scouring the P4 ranks, unless by some miraculous act, a proven P4 OC picks up the phone to inquire about the job. I definitely don't want to roll the dice on a position coach. Again, stick to guys with good collegiate OC experience.

I think your next step then would be looking at G5 OCs, and there are probably some pretty good options there.

I would also highly consider some offensively-minded FCS head coaches. Most would probably jump at the opportunity to become a P4 OC.

There are a lot of guys out there who run creative offenses. It really should not be hard to find a solid upgrade on Shula...it would be almost impossible not to. If we had even a mediocre offense, we're probably sitting 6-3 or better right now.

Lastly, don't try to go against the grain. He's done that with all 3 OC hires so far.

Priority 1 should be to let someone else make the choice.

 

[Legal_fowl]

No established OC, G5 or P4, is going to want to jump on a sinking ship. I think he is going to have to find the hidden gem or rely on the "blind squirrel" method. I look for one of two types of coaches:

1. A little known G5 or FCS OC that is way under the radar who will take the job to get into P4 coaching.
2. An OC somewhere that is somehow a friend or acquaintance or former co worker of Beamer's who will take the job for the money and the resume boost and won't worry about it possibly being a one year job.

I think whoever he hires is going to be a "who?" hire.

This is what I think too.

 

[Legal_fowl]

I don't know if it's all that bad.

I can be doom and gloom with the best of them, but you have a lot of coaches out there looking to get ahead, one way or another...basically all of them. I don't think we should have any problem picking up a decent OC from the G5 or FCS ranks (FCS could include head coaches who have OC background). We have no chance at pulling a P4 OC, but the others should be attainable. No, we aren't going to take any prospects way from the likes of PSU/LSU/Auburn/etc, but there are a lot of possibilities out there.

Now, the likelihood that the hire will be a "name" hire is incredibly low. But, gun to head, most of us would be hard-pressed to name 10 college OCs outside of our own. We simply don't know about 99.9% of coaches in college football. I don't expect to get the tingles when I see the guy's name. What I expect is that when I look at his background I see that he has shown competence as a college OC. THAT is unquestionably attainable.

I am not going to concede the built-in excuse that a competent OC wasn't attainable for us. It is.

Beamer can't afford to piddle paddle around with this. He would be wasting precious and valuable time to spend one second evaluating anyone on the current staff for the role. If he hasn't already begun looking at external candidates, he's already lost valuable time. Our new OC should be announced the Sunday after the Clemson game, if not sooner.

I hope you are right ... I really do. But part of me thinks you are underestimating the historical mediocrity of this program. Besides, even if we hired a really good OC would Beamer let him run his own show?

 

[18IsTheMan]

I hope you are right ... I really do. But part of me thinks you are underestimating the historical mediocrity of this program. Besides, even if we hired a really good OC would Beamer let him run his own show?

To the last question: I don't know. CFB history is replete with examples of HCs who couldn't keep their hands off some part of the team, to the demise of the program. Given the dire nature of situation (and Beamer spoke frankly on Sunday that he realizes his tenure here is in jeopardy) I hope it will scare him straight regarding the offense. Three OCs in 5 years and he hasn't gotten his right. It's a pretty clear message. He's gotta realize offensive philosophy isn't his strong suit. If he can come to that realization and bring in a competent OC and let him run with it, I think we'll be in good shape.

 

[atlanta cock#]

Once you lose faith like I have, and I didn't start with much with Beamer anyway, it's difficult to see a silver lining, which is the exact opposite of my personality. I don't see how he can convince me at this point. Shula was his 4th strike with me.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

If he can come to that realization and bring in a competent OC and let him run with it, I think we'll be in good shape.

I think it's becoming clear to more people that we're not in good shape with a fake coach and keeping him another year is in no way helpful for this program.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I think it's becoming clear to more people that we're not in good shape with a fake coach and keeping him another year is in no way good for this program.

I dunno. It depends on if he's willing to grow as a coach. We are fine on the defensive side of the ball. I'm pretty sure Beamer lets White run the D.

If he can get it through his head that he needs to do the same with the offense, I think we'll be fine.

He's at the pivotal crossroads for his career.

I am hopeful that the absolutely wasted golden opportunity of this season will be the wakeup call for Beamer that the Orange Bowl bloodbath was for Dabo.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

I dunno. It depends on if he's willing to grow as a coach. We are fine on the defensive side of the ball. I'm pretty sure Beamer lets White run the D.

If he can get it through his head that he needs to do the same with the offense, I think we'll be fine.

He's at the pivotal crossroads for his career.

Grow as a coach? He was a mistake made by another mistake. In the real world mistakes HAVE to be corrected ASAP. We've already wasted about 10 years.

 

[Lurker123]

I dunno. It depends on if he's willing to grow as a coach.

Dead horse, but wouldnt it be awesome if we hired a guy who actually had his growing pains behind him?

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

Dead horse, but wouldnt it be awesome if we hired a guy who actually had his growing pains behind him?

It's not a question of growing pains. Beams is just not head coaching material and no one besides our previous mistake would ever have hired him. He has to go.