IBulleve

I’m all seriousness, it’s very similar to a CCS deal here. He took over a program and roster than Campbell built, maintained it for a couple of years, and then they sharply declined. Candle shouldn’t even be on the list. If we are going the “cheap” route, give me Larry Scott.

Toledo’s record by year since Candle took over for Campbell - ‘16: 9-4 ’17: 11-3 ’18: 7-6 ’19: 6-6 (with a loss to 3-9 Bowling Green) No thanks. Keep it moving

To be fair, our most successful coach in the last decade tried running I Formation in his first year. Two years later he broke the record for most consecutive 30+ point games.

Ironically, the OC & guy calling plays for Clemson that year was Billy Napier who is receiving quite a bit of P5 buzz after turning around ULL

I agree with your point #1 to an extent, but that has more to do with Scott than Elliott. Scott’s name is built on recruiting since he doesn’t call plays. Elliott on the other hand is more known for his ability to call plays. Also, remember Chad Morris left Clemson in 2014, prior to them becoming the Clemson of today. They were still very good, no doubt. But they really took off once Elliott (and Scott to a lesser degree) got their hands on this offense

That doesn’t mean they can’t. You have two choices in the AAC - 1) grab a coordinator on the upward trend 2) grab a retread on a downward trend Generalizing the Clemson duo doesn’t paint the entire picture

It's really because they are both Clemson guys, and Dabo wants them both on the staff for as long as possible. Once Chad Morris left, that allowed Dabo to split up the OC position to allow both to co-exist. Here is a quick breakdown on the different responsibilities between the two - Scott - Lead offensive recruiter Works with the WR's on a daily basis Works on the pass game concepts Elliott - Secondary recruiter Works with the RB's on a daily basis Works on the run game concepts Play caller on game day

If it's Elliott, I'm not so sure that he does. And honestly, that's one of the reasons I like him as a candidate so much. He's a very genuine person that values the culture of the program above all. Don't be mistaken, the guy can coach. He's been the primary play caller since Morris left. But this guy is Clemson through and through. I would imagine that IF he was the guy, it would be announced pretty early (get it out of the way before the playoffs), and he would begin reaching out to his contacts on his own accord. I definitely don't see him leaving Clemson should they make the playoffs as he seems like the guy that really wants to finish what he started. And I respect the heck out of that.

Here's my take on what's going on currently, and a couple of scenarios that could play out - The Clemson Guys I'm starting here as I have Elliott as my #1 candidate, and Scott isn't very far down the line. I firmly believe MK has/had Jeff Scott & Tony Elliott at the top of his list going into this search. You don't withhold the use of a search firm if you don't feel your next head coach is within your network. Now, his network could be wider than the well known ACC connections, but I personally believe at least one of these two guys has been atop his list since he arrived at USF. Both Elliott & Scott have made it clear that they won't entertain opportunities until after the "championship" phase of this year. Does that mean ACC Champ, or CFB playoffs, I'm not totally sure. I am sure MK has at the very least reached out to one of their reps to gauge interest. The longer Elliott/Scott aren't ruled out, the better chance that they have expressed general interest, but aren't willing to do so formally until they deem it the appropriate time. MK comes off as the type of guy that would be willing to show patience if their interest is genuine, but isn't going to be strung out either (remember his quote about this in his press conference?). If this is the route we go, I imagine you wont hear anything until next week, after the ACC Championship game. CWT Oh, slick Willie. I genuinely believe his name in the news has much more to do with Sexton/Taggart inserting their name in the search, rather than MK cold calling Sexton praying he picks up. With that said, if we strike out on Scott/Elliott, CWT might be our best move. Pros: Has won at USF before Runs the type of offense the entire fanbase wants Proven he can not only recruit players into the program, but also rally the community 6-1 at Oregon with Herbert Cons: Pretty much everything he did at FSU I think CWT is playing 2nd fiddle here. If we strike out on the Clemson guys, I think Kelly goes CWT over the rest of the candidate pool. From an X's & O's perspective, I believe his offense might be the best bet for USF out of any candidate available. His offense looked great as usual at Oregon (before losing Herbert). Oregon fans probably won't admit this, but Oregon is missing his ability to scheme guys open this year. Herbert had his highest YPA to date under Taggart, and they were well on their way to a Pac 12 Champ appearance in Y1 prior to his injury. While we shouldn't just forget what happened in Tallahassee, I think there were two major factors that lead to his demise - 1. An overall terrible roster 2. Striking out on recruiting a QB CWT is far from perfect, we know that. But he is probably the safest candidate possible in the fact that we wont have to worry about a new regime trying to pit a square peg in a round hole, only to try and change something down the road. Seemingly, every coach we have had (including Kerwin) has tried to bring in their offense. We constantly judge each scheme against the one that Taggart ended up with. Why not go back to what works? Everyone else Unfortunately to some, I think this is pretty much where the list ends. I think Larry Scott probably gets a courtesy interview, I expect Gene Chizik to check in (only to be told no thanks), and there will probably be other names fed to the Tampa Bay Times in order to try and show their interest in the job. At the end of the day, I think MK has his eyes set on the Clemson duo, with Taggart being our back up plan. And honestly, I'm pretty good with that. Thanks for attending my Ted Talk.

Interim coach right now means nothing. When the new HC comes in, he will determine who stays, and who doesn’t. Willie has no ties to BJM (outside of their mutual friendship of CCS) but I guess there’s a small chance. I think there’s a higher likelihood BJM actually goes to McNeese with SG.

BJM is tied to Strong, he’s not staying with Willie.

Here’s a question, what would CWT’s staff look like? I imagine he would keep Shaun King if he hasn’t burned that bridge, but who else does he get? There’s a real chance that he has burned some bridges along the way, and people might not want to go join his staff in Tampa after all that went down the last few years.

The PR campaign doesn’t have to target a specific job this cycle to be a success. It’s more about getting his name back in the mix to show that people are open to working with him again. That he’s not totally damaged goods, and try and create some type of media buzz post-FSU.

This is a PR play by Sexton. I’m not saying USF hasn’t touched base, of course they have. But these “leaks” and the way Taggart has shown interest from the moment CCS was fired is a total PR stunt to get CWT back in the mix nationally

Based on your argument, Arkansas and Alabama are on the “SAME playing field”.

How do you figure? Their offense is built around having a QB that can be a factor in the run game. Of course, if you have Trevor Lawerence, you aren’t going to run him 30+ times a game, but I don’t think we will have to worry about that much. Rushing stats since Tony Elliott took over the Clemson offense in 2015 - 2015: Wayne Gallman 282 Att, Deshaun Watson 207 Att 2016: Gallman 232 Att 4 Watson 165 Att 2017: Kelly Bryant 192 Att Travis Etienne 107 Att Tavien Feaster 107 Att 2018: Etienne 204 Att Feaster 78 Att Lawerence 60 Att 2019: Etienne 168 Att Lawerence 71 Att (7 rushing TD’s)

Why wouldn’t he? He allowed CCS to bring in his own guys, and then when he asked for change, he allowed CCS to choose his new assistants. I have no reason to believe MK will allow the new HC to choose his own staff. In fact, if it is Elliott, I think he’ll do whatever is necessary to get as many Clemson guys as possible.

Bold Prediction - HC: Tony Elliott OC: Brandon Streeter DC: Todd Bates I genuinely believe Tony Elliott would be an absolute homerun hire.

I for one would love to hear a few stories, good or bad

Charlie walked into a program that had a 30+ streak that the nation envied and publicly said he was going to neuter it. Instead of realizing he was inheriting a program ready to catapult him, he couldn’t put his ego aside enough to let him benefit from this. 3 years later, his finger prints are all over this team. Im a season ticket holder, but I won’t attend a single game if he’s back next year. Not because I don’t support every student athlete that dons the green & gold, but because I don’t support a HC that’s dumb enough to neuter a team because his ego is too big to understand that maybe something that he doesn’t agree with works. “This offense is too fast” as we beat an SEC team Charlie Strong = Tommy Tubberville

By no means was TJ’s stint at UConn a huge success, but that team was 0-4 when he took over. He won the final 3 games of the season. Im mostly interested in the fact that he’s been apart of the 2016 USF and current Baltimore Ravens offense. I’m a firm believer that we need to be focused on dual threat QBs and skill players with speed, even if undersized. Given his recent stops, I think his thoughts might align there.

I respect that the players love CCS. I really do. By all accounts he’s a great man, great mentor for these young men, and gets his players to buy into what he’s selling. BUT, that does not mean that he should remain as the HC. This is the same story from his days at Texas. His players loved him. They went to bat for him as it was clear his days there were numbered. The fact is, his days as a successful HC at the D1 level are over. He will do fine as a P5 DC where he can focus on that side of the ball and mentor players to be better men. But hoping a team will win a conference championship under his guidance just because they like him is a fallacy

10-4. IF CCS is gone, TJ deserves an interview at the least.

Close. He was actually hired by the Baltimore Ravens to assist in the overhaul of their new look offense that has been setting the NFL on fire. He was an offensive analyst last year to help develop the new look playbook with Roman, and was hired as “Special Teams” coach this year to retain him on the staff. Anyone that knows anything about Baltimore knows that Weist isn’t coming up with ST schemes. Harbaugh has a ST background, and is very hands on with this unit. Weist is essentially an additional offensive coach on staff. When you consider the Taggart/Harbaugh relationship, it makes a lot of sense why he ended up there. Anyone who wants the dual threat, speed in space offense should be rooting for Weist. I’d love to have him on the recruiting trail, allowing him to tell kids “look what we did with Lamar”. Hire him and let’s find the next QF

Jeff Scott TJ Weist Billy Napier Brent Dearmon