Are we all calm now?

[USFCollin]

OK, I gave everyone 24 hours to get this potential hire bashing out of their system.  If you're still really hot and bothered, take a xanax or vicodin, come back in 20 minutes, and read why everything is going to be fine.  Trust me.

For starters here, please remember I don't even like football, as it is my least favorite team sport.  Unless you aren't allowed to use your hands and have drunken hooligans in the stands, it's not football to me.  But I'm a huge fan of our basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, and softball teams.  And as a fan of college athletics in general, I understand how important our football team is to our overall success as an athletic department.  I'm going to Penn State and Miami next year because of my green and gold pride, and the friends I have who are fellow Bulls.  I will cheer my heart out as I do at every football game... but if volleyball is playing on Saturday night, I'll be in The Corral.  When it comes to football, what I really care about is how much closer this gets us to MSG and an NCAA bid, or postseason for any sport.  Hence that's why it's a lot easier for me to look at this impartially.

And that's why I'm very excited for Rod Smith if he's selected as our Offensive Coordinator.  He is young, innovative, and has had success here in Tampa.  Everyone here seems to forget that he was the quarterbacks coach during our 8-3 and 9-2 seasons, which were Marquel's shining moments for the Bulls.  If you're going to kill him for the lack of development of PJ and Ronnie, you also need to praise him for the work he did with 'Quel.  He showed that when given a talented team and quarterback, his teams can have success.

The problem he's had since is we just haven't recruited the right type of player to be our QB.  You need a talented signal-caller in this system, and we simply haven't recruited someone to fit that bill.  If you want to blame him for his inability to recruit from his position as QB Coach/Pass Game Coordinator, then be my guest.  But I think that blame has to go a little higher up the ladder.  

So if we don't have a quarterback, why don't we change the spread offense?  Because all of that talent you see at wide receiver isn't going to play for a wishbone team.  High school kids want to play in an offense where they can put up numbers.  Watching us chuck it all over the field looks like fun, and that is an essential part of our recruiting pitch.  But where we have failed recently is in getting someone to throw it to all those quality receivers.  

That is a situation theoretically corrected in the last recruiting class (Hill, Grothe, Denson now eligible).  If we still can't find someone who can throw it, maybe it is time to throw the baby out with the bathwater and completely change the way we approach offense.  But we had a hole (QB), and we hopefully have patched it.  We have outstanding young talent at wide out, and this system is designed to exploit it.  We also have a workhorse in the backfield who can take pressure off an accurate three-step-drop-read-and-throw passer.  This system fits our talent... if we have done what we were supposed to do and get a quality QB.

Plus as a former QB himself, and as someone who has worked extensively with PJ and Denson, no one should know their limitations and capabilities any better than Smith.  The position was our obvious problem last year, but not because of the coaching... but rather the talent.  You don't kill a basketball coach for his inability to teach when he has a two guard who can't make a jumper, you bash his recruiting.  PJ and Ronnie just couldn't make the throws to receivers who were open.  And remember your average male college student makes more passes in one night after a few beers in a bar that Pat Julmiste made in his high school career.  To paraphrase an immortal political operative of our era.. "It's the recruiting, stupid."

But now we have a pool of potential quarterbacks to select a winner from, and hopefully one of them can do enough to get us to the top of the Big East.  And I hope that Rod Smith can do the same thing he did during his two years with Marquel, and help put a quality QB in a position to succeed.  

If this is who Jim goes with, I'll be very happy as I think he's a talented coach who can teach and relate to his players.  If he doesn't succeed, clearly in the modern world of D-1 Athletics he and Leavitt will be held accountable.  But I think this is the right choice.  I've spoken to Coach Smith on a couple of occassions, and he's an articulate and likeable guy.  He's also a new husband, getting married just a few weeks ago.  If he's the choice I think he'll get the most out of the team and resources he has.  

But most of all I hope he's at least given the chance to put a product on the field before people start cancelling season tickets.  Before all of you jump off the roof of Raymond James, just wait and see what happens.

[S p e n c e]

Not buying it...it is still a horrible decision.  I cannot see the future maybe everything will be alright, who knows.  But you cannot convince me that this was the right decision when you look at the other more qualified candidates up for the job.  

Every other candidate was faaaar more qualified than this guy, but CJL chooses the guy who's in his back pocket.  Bad decision.  No matter what kind of spin you try to put on it.

[Jim Johnson]

Calm, yes.  Happy, no.

Your post says that if we are to blame Smith for the problems in 03 and 04, that we should praise him for the work in 01 and 02...

Then you say that he really doesn't deserve any blame for 03 and 04:

because of the talent (or lack thereof) of our QBs...

Then by the same logic, he really doesn't deserve any credit for 01 and 02:

because of the talent of our QB...

So, you have made the point for all of us, Smith is a non-factor.

...

As for other points, let me just add this about the Spread Offense.

You claim that the spread offense is fun and helps with recruiting ... a team that chucks the ball all over the place and helps put up big numbers.  Well, I seem to recall a team just a few hours north on I-75 that was able to put a lot of big numbers up without running a spread, no-huddle offense.  You can have a pass-oriented offense without running it from a 5 WR set.  

But the most important thing about a huddle - is that it let's the on-the-field leaders actually lead.  No-huddle means no-communication... and I think that has been part of the problem with Julmiste.  He didn't have the chance to correct mistakes between plays... he had to wait until the possession was over, so he could talk to his fellow players and the coaches.

I'll be patient and give Smith a chance...

[smazza]

calm never

never stay complacent but with all do respect to smith'

he is not ready for this promotion or position

usc promoted a young guy to be OC but he has pedigree and worked with heisman trophy winners and other 5 star athletes for years

the good news coming out of this is that leavitt will fail also and we can get a coach to take us to the next level

[ChiTownBull]

calm or not....this is a bad decision.

i am all for promoting within when it is warranted.....but i don't care what spin you place on this it is not warranted at this time.

this is the guy we all wanted canned before hobbie resigned.... I wish smith would have left with him.

[USFMikeB]

Forget trying to talk about it Collin, these folks just wanna be backseat coaches...

[MatRatUSF]

I can get a good look at a T-Bone by sticking my head up a bulls ass, but i'd rather take the butchers word for it.

In other words, Get your head out of the bulls ass and trust the butcher.

[ChiTownBull]

the points collin made contradict themselves.

i doubt many if any will cancel season tix.

call it backseat coaching if you will but why does he deserve to be promoted?

you can say we didn't have the talent at qb....but many believed banks had a cannon arm and would be an adequate replacement for MB....

then PJ supposedly had talent.....then he had to replace RB and it was a diasaster.

how did smith help this situation??

[TripleB]

To label this a good or bad decision AT THIS POINT is freaking ridiculous. You may not agree with it but nobody KNOWS if it's a bad decision yet. I don't give a crap how much you THINK you know about football, there's no way to judge this decision until, at least, some freaking games are played ..........

[ChiTownBull]

how can you justify promoting him?

i see no logical way and that is why i say it is a bad decision.