Isn't that what you were all saying about Erickson? He was just the perfect guy to help further groom Johnson.
Kyle needs to make a decision and stick with it for more than a season. A revolving door at OC won't help recruiting.
Another OC for the Utes...
- Thread starter leftyjace
- Start date
Kyle needs to make a decision and stick with it for more than a season. A revolving door at OC won't help recruiting.
7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
I appreciate the positive spin, but dude, 7 OC's in 7 seasons under 1 Head Coach! I'm sorry, but that tells me something is seriously wrong. The funny thing is, if you could look at the Christiansen hire all by itself, it's not a bad move. I've thought of him as one of the top 5 innovative offensive minds in college football since his days at Missouri. With that being said, you've got an offensive staff that has 3 of your former OC's as position coaches. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Plus, Erickson didn't deserve a demotion. This team was averaging over 35 ppg for the first half of the season. That's when our QB injuries struck yet again.
I guess my biggest problem is that now I'm questioning Kyle's ethics. Erickson is a fall guy when he didn't deserve to be. Kyle just threw away the continuity that comes with actually getting to play in an offensive system for two straight years in a last ditch effort to save his job.
green
Well-Known Member
Help recruiting? Let's be honest here, please list all the 4 and 5 star guys that Utah has recruited under Erickson that they will risk offending.
So, because Kyle needs to stick with an OC that has put a walkon as the backup the last two years? Erickson wasn't bad, but he wasn't close to winning any awards either. If Erickson's offense is better, Utah beats ASU, USC, UCLA. Three top 25 teams. Those three games were on the offense.
fishonjazz
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Well at least we know who needs the rivalry the most for sure
Without wins over byu, ute fans would probably be suicidal
D
Deleted member 365
Guest
Is this even a panic or desperate move?
Or just plain stupid?!
If there was ever a year for Whitt to hunker down, unite with his staff, and go and get the players he needs, it would be this year. Why isn't he pleading with BJ and Erickson to use everything at their disposal to save each other's jobs?
Instead, he seemed to dump those 2 in favor of a family friend who sucked in Wyoming. Desperate? I don't think so. Stupid? Yes.
Clearly, Whitt doesn't understand offensive football. He's in over his head and will be fired in less than a year.
Or just plain stupid?!
If there was ever a year for Whitt to hunker down, unite with his staff, and go and get the players he needs, it would be this year. Why isn't he pleading with BJ and Erickson to use everything at their disposal to save each other's jobs?
Instead, he seemed to dump those 2 in favor of a family friend who sucked in Wyoming. Desperate? I don't think so. Stupid? Yes.
Clearly, Whitt doesn't understand offensive football. He's in over his head and will be fired in less than a year.
green
Well-Known Member
Ethics? I think that is being a little over-reationary. We don't know what happened with Erickson and Whitt. Who knows how Erickson feels about this change. Maybe he likes it. Maybe this means less hours, less recruiting. Maybe he is pissed and is looking for another job. Who knows.
The simple fact remains: People are calling for Whitt's head. Some want this year to be his last without big improvements. Wilson may not be back (so the whole continuity thing becomes a little less relevant of an argument. Hell, if DC's QB transfers over from Wyoming then we actually have more continuity at the most important position than if Erickson was still the OC). So, if you are Whitt, and you are told this is it, are you going to stick with a guy who lost you six games last year, where your defense did everything right and the offense turned the ball over WAAAYYY too many times, or couldn't get a first down, and you lost, or will you bring in your friend, a guy who has EXCELLED at offense as an OC? And recently? Not back in the 80's?
I don't blame Whitt for the hire. In fact, I applaud him, because even though it looks bad at the end of the day, he is trying to fix the problem. Wynn goes down, Hays is the backup. Whitt brings in 7-8 QB's the next three years. It's on BJ that not one of those 6 were ready to go as the backup. Whitt has a chance to bring in Chow, thinking it is long term. You DO that. You don't stay loyal to ARod and Schramm. You bring Chow in. You'd be crazy not too.
That blows up in his face when Chow decides to leave after one year. So, he tries to bring stability to the position by bringing in BJ. That was destined fail as BJ went with a guy who couldn't throw, then a walkon, then a FR that wasn't prepared because you spent too much time in spring and fall working with Wynn/Hays.
So, Whitt has the chance to bring in a coach with a TON of experience to help. He does. Not a bad move. Two downsides though, he is old, and won't be around for long. This works out pretty well...until we don't have a backup QB ready to go. (So, is BJ the problem?)
The fact is, the offense lost the UCLA game for Utah (INT's), the Arizona game (the pick 6, inability to move the ball in the fourth Q), the USC game (3 points, really? You can't score 20 points? 3 INT's?), ASU (Can only score 19? No first downs late in the game? Utah killed ASU's offense. We did the best against ASU than any other team), and WSU (TWO pick sixes?). The defense lost one game. The OSU game. And that is debatable with Wilson's 3 picks that game. One was a pick six and the other was a TD on the next play).
The only game that Utah lost as "just not good enough" was the Oregon game. You could argue that the offense lost every single game for Utah this year. So, that makes Erickson's job untouchable?
If Whitt is going down (which I don't think he should be), at least he knows what the problem is and he is fighting to fix it. I won't knock him for that.
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Thee Jazz Fan
Well-Known Member
Agree. The utes had some signifigant injuries on offense. The two te's and think the loss of Scott at wr was big, and mentally it looked like Willson wilted. Never seen one utes player just give the ball away so many times, and we still almost won a couple of those games. UCLA game comes to mind.
I'm talking about kids being recruited right now. If I'm a stud offensive player in high school (or even JC), no way I think of this as a positive. 7 offensive coordinators in 7 years doesn't exactly scream consistency and winning.
green
Well-Known Member
You know what screams consistency and winning?
Winning.
And Utah isn't round it. So Whitt makes a move that will help the WR, TE and OL positions and people don't like it?
Ummmm...ok?
D
Deleted member 365
Guest
And nothing screams consistency and winning like 7 OCs in 7 years.
green
Well-Known Member
You're right.
But I don't think you could argue any moves were bad moves at the time. Ok, BJ was a bad move. But I get the logic behind it. They just all turned out badly.
Anyways, I get that people are starting to call for Whitt's head. I don't agree with it, but I get it. I also get this move. I think there are arguments to be made that Chow, BJ were the wrong moves. But this move isn't a bad move.
gregbroncs
Well-Known Member
I don't like this move one bit. Kyle is out the door if he does not win this next year. So I understand him trying. But how is trying to teach a group of young QB's another offensive system going to help that? How is demoting the 2 OC's you had going to help that? Don't you think those guys have just lost a lot of incentive to help him succeed? I just don't get this move from any point of view except Kyle desperately trying to save his job. I don't think it will work because this just brings more confusion to the situation. I think Maybe Hill should just fire him now and hire a replacement while you know your going to have problems next year anyway.