Evaluating CJS Through His First 12 Games

[BullyPulpit]

I see a lot of talk on this Board about CJS and his coaching ability. I don't think we have seen enough yet to fairly conclude much, but I have seen enough and wanted to get a sense of what everyone else is seeing. Let me preface this by saying the deck was stacked against him. Clearly, CCS left this program and the locker room in shambles. The exodus during and following CCS's tenure is a testament to how bad things were. Then, throw in no Spring practice and having to deal with the limitation of Covid, and I think, in fairness, 2020 should be labeled as Year Zero for CJS and company. 

With that being said, how do you judge him and the job he has done to date. To me, good coaching at the collegiant level consists of having disciplined players that buy in to your vision for the program, utilizing the talent that you have as best you can, improving week-to-week, the ability to make adjustments, and recruiting. 

As to the first consideration, this season we are averaging a little over 4 penalties per game for 52 yards. Adding in the last 4 games of last year, we are averaging 5 penalties a game for 43 yards. Looking at the end of CCS's tenure here, we were averaging 9 penalties per game for 72 yards. The players appear to be more disciplined and also buying into the culture he is trying to build here. I don't know if anyone has been part of a workplace with a toxic culture, but it is really difficult to turn that around. What CJS has been able to do in that regard is impressive, IMO. 

As for the talent, well, we just don't have a ton of it. CJS looks to be making a concerted effort to get the ball into his best playmakers' hands, with McClain, Weaver, Battie, Mangham, and Horn getting a lot of looks. Our defense is bad, period. I don't think it is a scheme issue as much as it is a lack of talent, but we will see. 

Improvements: I don't think anyone can honestly argue that this team hasn't improved every week so far. Florida is much better than NC State, but we played them closer. The team was certainly playing better at the end of last season than it was at the beginning as well. That shows me the ability to improve week-to-week. 

Adjustments: I saw the coaching staff make adjustments in the play calling between the NC State game and the UF game to give Cade a chance to succeed. Then, when Timmy came in, they called plays that played to his strengths. Also, the willingness to go from Cade to Timmy so quickly shows me that he isn't going to be a prisoner of his own decisions/mistakes. CJS is willing to make a change if he gets something wrong. That is a good sign to me. 

Recruiting. This one is tough. He really didn't have a chance to recruit much for going into 2020 and then of course he was dealing with the Covid season difficulties and having a bad team with no cohesion as a result of the collapse under CCS. I'm concerned about this incoming class, but we also shouldn't be taking guys just to take them. I am encouraged that McClain and Horn are seeing the field already and making an impact. This is the one area where I think we need to see drastic improvement and quickly. However, realignment has just made things even more challenging for him. 

If I am grading CJS right now, and I understand that it is entirely too early to do so, I am giving him and his staff a B, relative to the circumstances and obstacles they have faced thus far. I understand to some that all that matters is wins and losses and Xs and Os, but I can appreciate a coach coming in here and actually trying to build something. He doesn't seem like he is here to cut corners, raise his profile, and leave town. I don't know if that would even be an option for him given what he inherited, but you really get the sense from him that he razed the charred ruins that CCS left behind and is building a brand new foundation at USF, and for that, he deserves some respect and patience from the fans. 

Edited September 22, 2021 by BullyPulpit

[E.T.]

Last season I give him an F . . .

He's never been a Head Coach, so the jury is still out overall.

He's basically ALWAYS been around a strong program with a large budget. Different here where you just can't nearly pick who you want from the cream of the crop of Top athletes. Our coaches need to be great teachers to develop talent.

Go BULLS !!!

[bulloni]

Grade is incomplete until homecoming. By then we'll have enough games against conference opponents to really gauge what he's been able to do so far to turn it around.

[NewEnglandBull]

I’ll make my judgement at the end of this season. 

[Bulls On Parade]

26 minutes ago, E.T. said:

Last season I give him an F . . .

He's never been a Head Coach, so the jury is still out overall.

He's basically ALWAYS been around a strong program with a large budget. Different here where you just can't nearly pick who you want from the cream of the crop of Top athletes. Our coaches need to be great teachers to develop talent.

Go BULLS !!!

He also will need to be a great recruiter...anyone can recruit players to top teams. 

I'll withhold a grade till end of this season. 

 

[jg233]

He is on the list of worst college coaches of all-time until he starts winning FBS games.  0-10 and counting is a pretty horrible look.

[Peatearpan]

2 minutes ago, NewEnglandBull said:

I’ll make my judgement at the end of this season. 

If I am grading him on a per game basis and just for this season.

NC State: F

We completely crapped the bed in this one.

UF: C+

A little improvement and some hope, points on the board!

FAMU: C

We could have and should have put this one away. This was a gimme game, and we let of the gas.

Overall through 3 games, C-.

[El_Toro_86]

So far the biggest disappointment for me has been the recruiting and the failure to address the DL in the portal.  Next years class will be small and is not looking good at all.

[Roaming Bull]

 

no year zero. He wasn’t volunteering. We all had to work through it, so not giving him a pass. I will cut him a break because CCS left a mess. But if we can’t beat the bottom dwellers in this conference things in very sad shape. He is trying, but he still has a ways to go. Hopefully by the end of the season he can get things on track. McClain is a good first step, but it’s going to take a few more guys to turn this around. Do we have them? Is the portal the answer? Can he really recruit? Next time on:

[chapelbull]

@BullyPulpit Good analysis overall.  I agree with some of the coaching adjustments in general and I think we have beefed up the talent level.  Not sure how we come up with a grade of B though at this point.   As someone else pointed out, we haven't won a game against an FBS opponent to date.  I expect that to change this season, but still.   Can't see a B with that hanging over his head.   I've said that we need to see what we do against the conference slate before we really know what we got going on.