Off with their headsets! - Coaching hirings and firings

[Sullyute]

Kragthorpe certainly thinks it is ominous, a little like Custer?

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/57...ensen.html.csp

Kragthorpe has some great one liners in there:

By hiring former Wyoming coach Dave Christensen as offensive coordinator and demoting Brian Johnson and — more significantly — Dennis Erickson, Whittingham is acting desperately, boldly or some combination of those descriptions.

Utah’s staff would be the only one in college football history that included three of its former play-callers, with Aaron Roderick, Johnson and Erickson.

The Utes are getting a coach whose offense posted seven points and 190 total yards against the Aggies, and who embarrassed himself and his program with a tirade directed at Air Force coach Troy Calhoun after a 2012 game.

[sancho]

Pac-12 blog on ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_...ordinator-itch

[UtahDan]

Pac-12 blog on ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_...ordinator-itch

This is a good hire in many ways. Erickson wasn't the long-term answer, and Christensen's availability and willingness to come to Salt Lake probably was too alluring to pass up for Whittingham. Yet six coordinators in six years is pretty extreme turnover. While there are reasonable explanations for each change, it's impossible to not at least raise an eyebrow.

...

[concerned]

Kragthorpe has some great one liners in there:

it does seem like this is KW's last chance--if this doesn't work out (and it may take more than one year make that determination), you cant trust KW an 8th time to get it right; you have to start over. Since it sounds like there is a very good chance that C Hill will retire this year, a new AD is starting over anyway.

[sancho]

it does seem like this is KW's last chance--if this doesn't work out (and it may take more than one year make that determination), you cant trust KW an 8th time to get it right; you have to start over. Since it sounds like there is a very good chance that C Hill will retire this year, a new AD is starting over anyway.

Agreed. 1-2 more years with no bowl, and it's over for Coach Whitt. Next year's schedule is brutal, too.

[wally]

Weird.

This move smells like a "hail mary." I REALLY want Whit to succeed but I am continually finding myself thinking that he could be a great coach if only he could figure out how to hire the right people. Unfortunately, that is probably the most important job of a head coach.

[wally]

Since it sounds like there is a very good chance that C Hill will retire this year, a new AD is starting over anyway.

Where is this written? I really hope we are not in the position of replacing both our AD and FB HC in a few year span.

[concerned]

Where is this written? I really hope we are not in the position of replacing both our AD and FB HC in a few year span.

subject of ongoing rumors on the hill.

[wally]

Having had a few moments to soak this in, I am happy with this move as it at least solidifies our defense going forward. After successfully demoting so many coordinators, Whit will be happy to be demoted back to DC when his replacement is hired. Sitake can go back to LB coach, too. If we bring in an offensive minded HC for 2015, we will be an effing coaching powerhouse.

[LA Ute]

Q: What do you know about Utah’s current personnel?

A: “I’ll get started the next couple of weeks studying the personnel. I know they’ve got a number of players, excellent players, on their football team. I just don't know a lot about them yet until I can watch the video and study them, watch them in workouts and get to know the kids. But I certainly know that they have capable players. They proved when they played both teams in the Pac-12 championship game this year — in beating Stanford and playing extremely close versus ASU — that they have players that are very capable.”


Q: Do you anticipate running a spread offense, or will the scheme be more catered to personnel?


A: “We’ll run a spread offense but we’ll run an up-tempo spread offense where exactly what we’ll do will be based upon what our strengths are from a personnel standpoint. So until I get a chance to get in and study the personnel and see where we’re at, you know, we won’t make all of my own decisions on what we’re going to do. We will be a spread, up-tempo offense.”

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...ordinator.html

[Mormon Red Death]

I hope DC gets rid of the volleyball offense where our receiver have to bump the football straight up into the air 3 times a game.