Off with their headsets! - Coaching hirings and firings

[LA Ute]

Or we can think of it as it really is- Whittingham again taking the reins to enforce his misguided vision of a turnover-free, play-not-to-lose, ball control offense that is better for his defense than it is for the team. KW has done an amazing job of providing continuity for this same ineffective offense through 6 separate OC's from all different backgrounds and coaching philosophies.

Hill made a smart move to distance himself from KW's continued mismanagement of the program.

Like you, I have no confidence in Kyle's ability to understand offense. But Christensen's resume is not about the kind of offense you describe above:

Christensen devised and implemented one of college football's most exciting no-huddle, spread offenses at Mizzou, where he was named the 2007 National Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com and was runner-up for the 2007 Frank Broyles Award, honoring the nation's top assistant coach. Missouri played in the Big 12 Championship game in both 2007 and 2008 as the champion of the Big 12 North.

Missouri finished the 2007 season with a No. 4 Associated Press ranking and Christensen's offense ranked No. 5 in the nation in total offense (490.3 yards per game), No. 8 in scoring offense (39.9) and No. 9 in passing offense (314.1).


Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 2007, when Christensen masterminded an offense that scored a school-record 558 points, far surpassing the previous Missouri single-season record of 399 points. Also that season, tight end Martin Rucker and freshman wide receiver Jeremy Maclin were Consensus first-team All-America selections, marking the first time Missouri had two Consensus first-team All-Americans in the same season. Senior center Adam Spieker was named a finalist for the Rimington Award, which honors the nation's best center.

I'm not playing rah-rah, just trying to see the thinking here. It is discernible!

[concerned]

in an interview this afternoon, I heard Christensen say that he wants to run a play every 20 seconds.. Later on the news I heard that BYU ran the most plays this year per game, and at Wyoming ran the second most. Sounds like we're in for go fast go hard redux. Hope it works.

[jrj84105]

Like you, I have no confidence in Kyle's ability to understand offense. But Christensen's resume is not about the kind of offense you describe above:



I'm not playing rah-rah, just trying to see the thinking here. It is discernible!

The offenses our OC's have run per-KW and post-KW are much more diverse than the offenses they have run under KW. The moment Christensen became available I have said he is absolutely the guy we need. He is a great fit for Utah. But that was based on DE being given the reigns and making the hire. Christensen enters the program now to manage his three previously demoted predecessors. That is a situation virtually guaranteed to fail.

[LA Ute]

The offenses our OC's have run per-KW and post-KW are much more diverse than the offenses they have run under KW. The moment Christensen became available I have said he is absolutely the guy we need. He is a great fit for Utah. But that was based on DE being given the reigns and making the hire. Christensen enters the program now to manage his three previously demoted predecessors. That is a situation virtually guaranteed to fail.

That does suggest to me a lack of management savvy on Kyle's part. I hope everyone can get past it.

[sancho]

I can understand a lot of the gripes about Kyle, even if I don't agree with them. But the "Kyle doesn't want to score. Kyle meddles too much with the offense. Kyle won't let his OCs open the playbook" gripe is unfounded and simple-minded. Our offensive strategies have made sense given the QB situations we have been in.

It's a fine line between success and failure. One play in either the OSU, the ASU, the UCLA, the Arizona, or the WSU game, and we are in a bowl game and singing Kyle's praises. Take away one injury to either Murphy or Wilson, and we are in a bowl game feeling good about our progress.

[jrj84105]

I can understand a lot of the gripes about Kyle, even if I don't agree with them. But the "Kyle doesn't want to score. Kyle meddles too much with the offense. Kyle won't let his OCs open the playbook" gripe is unfounded and simple-minded. Our offensive strategies have made sense given the QB situations we have been in.

It's a fine line between success and failure. One play in either the OSU, the ASU, the UCLA, the Arizona, or the WSU game, and we are in a bowl game and singing Kyle's praises. Take away one injury to either Murphy or Wilson, and we are in a bowl game feeling good about our progress.

That's just it. We improved substantially on offense. The correct system was in place. We had a lot of injuries, zero depth, and a true sophomore QB. The system was the only part if the offense that was good, and DE was more than anyone else on the staff IMO doing the right things in the offseason to fix the real problems. KW has now thrown out the system without addressing the actual deficiencies. KW can want all the scoring in the world, but he's unwilling to break a few eggs to make an omelette (or however the saying goes). After the 6 int game versus UCLA (which was an issue with receivers not DE) I knew that would be the last aggressive performance from the offense regardless of the injuries that followed. That's just KW's m.o. We're stuck with for one more year. It's unfortunate that DE won't be in the drivers seat next year when our biggest new impact players will be on the team solely through his recruiting efforts in the South/Fla.

[UTEopia]

Christensen enters the program now to manage his three previously demoted predecessors. That is a situation virtually guaranteed to fail.

As opposed to DE entering the program to manage the two previously demoted predecessors? Just as when Erickson came aboard, if the other guys don't like it, they can leave. I am sure ARod and Erickson can find other jobs if they want. Not so sure about BJ. They are big boys and professionals. With the exception of Erickson, who doesn't really need to work, the others have a lot riding on what happens next year. Fair or not fair (I am in the two more years camp), I think the writing is on the wall. Make a bowl game in 2014 or find a new HC.