Different Perspectives

[Seeker]

Good points. But it is rare to find a leader that will seek out diverse perspectives. So far, Manny is no different.

He returned his entire D staff, whom have done little in recruiting and had no prior college coaching experience before him. And he just hired Baker, who he worked with at La Tech and Texas -- a hire that can only be explained as getting a guy he knows and gets along with, judging from Baker's results as DC there.

Where is the diversity of opinion? Who on his staff, so far, can challenge him?

 

[LuCane]

Are we missing alternative perspectives on D with the hire of a Diaz protege in Baker? It's one of the reasons I think keeping Simpson is so important for sure.

Hoping Baker brings some different views from his time alone at La. Tech. Partly the inspiration for this post. The good news is, if we did anything ‘elite’ on defense, it was identify holes and cover them up. The numbers show that much. Also, new DC is a really young guy, often correlated to looking around for different things to learn and add. But, yes, hoping there are still debates in the D room.

Far more concerned with ensuring the offense has diversity of experience and exposure. Can’t comment there until we see the whole picture.

 

[kryptonite]

I'm waiting on official word for the Coordinator and position coach hirings. Regardless of who's brought in, one thing I want to emphasize is the importance of bringing in guys who have different perspectives. If anyone studies team dynamics and high performance, it almost invariably involves complementary teams or what are called "heterogenous teams."

That may sound nerdy, but it's as simple as having people who will see things differently, perhaps because of varying experiences and previous exposure(s), and all join together toward a common goal. It's why I think the defensive staff is alright, but could be even better with a Defensive Coordinator. Ideally, someone who's seen different offenses or been exposed to some different problems. Apart from the obvious of having someone who's called plays before, we need more eyes.

As it relates to offense, if we really hire a guy like Fedora, with virtually the same team/players, I think we can see a leap similar to what players looked like post-D'Onofrio. That's partly commentary on philosophy, scheme and execution. But, it's emphatically commentary on having different eyes working toward a common goal. These last few seasons, problems would be identified late, corrected on a lag and overall adjustments made incrementally. On gamedays, it felt like we had limited eyes and perspectives.

This goes for everything and it's why coaching is trending toward analytical people. Because they tend to better understand the root of problems or at least try to measure and adjust accordingly. One of the biggest problems in football coaching staffs are groups of professionals who are all "friends" (friends tend to see things the same way and/or agree) and "get along."

F that. Embrace debate, conflict, work toward a common goal and watch the results come in.

NEEEERRRDDDDD!

Man, you really hit it. Richt and al were both more interested in being right (and comfortable) than winning. And when what you want most is to be right, you don't like people around who don't agree with you. And if everybody agrees with you you might as well just do all the job yourself. And that's just stupid.

 

[simplycanes]

A couple have asked my opinion on the various candidates (which is humbling in and of itself). My response is that I'm going to wait for the decision to come down the pike and actually make an informed opinion based on research and circumstances.

At first glance, there are things to like and dislike about both candidates. With Fedora, he actually needed a top-shelf QB to succeed. Once he didn't have that (Marquise Williams, Mitch Trubisky) his offenses really didn't perform that well. I made a post about the UNC offense in a film review back when people were interested in those pre-game and I felt like it was fairly simple. It was pretty much what Fedora said it was; you had a pretty good idea what was going to happen on each down and distance formation-wise and then they had a couple of plays they'd run out of the same formation based on what the defense was doing. I like that he used tempo, formations, motions to identify what the defense was doing and then used check-with-me's to get into a different play if need be.

As for Applewhite, I like that his offense is multiple. I like that spreads you out to outside of the hash marks and opens up the middle of the field with his formations. I like that he uses the pass as the basis of his offense (which is truly the most efficient way to run an offense). I like that he has learned under a couple of motherbleepers. Downside is he has only a decent reputation within the industry and within people that I know from my days in sports management circles. Whereas I couldn't find anything but love for Diaz, there was some trepidation on Applewhite as a HC (I realize he'd be an OC here).

Without a ton more research done on the two, I'd prefer Fedora at first glance, but there is definitely excitement found within both. Applewhite has probably even more successful than Fedora on the whole, if you're going strictly on offense rankings.

Thanks, Lance. I recall and appreciated the UNC analysis.

I'll be honest, Fedora is miss at quarterback after Trubisky gives me a lot of pause given what that room looks like for us now.

I know people are showering on Applewhite, but I'm a little biased towards him because he has worked with quarterbacks in the past. I also like that he spreads teams out and opens the middle of the field which is where I think Miami speed and talent can do a ton of damage.

 

[423Hurricane]

As we all know by now, Manny had hired a young disciple of his (somewhat) to be his DC. I would imagine that Baker will bring some fresh perspective but retain key concepts. Manny is basically problem solving. One of the main mantras in problem solving is "You can't eat an elephant in one bite." The elephant in the room has been the O. Keeping some continuity on D I see as a good thing so more focus can be placed on the elephant. Now that the D is set, he can focus on the taking bites out of the elephant.

 

[TomAce]

THe good thing is that Baker and Diaz have been apart for 4+ years now. Baker had to think and adjust on his own. His experience within that time has influenced him differently than Diaz’s has been over same time period. He will have a different perspective from that alone.

 

[423Hurricane]

A couple have asked my opinion on the various candidates (which is humbling in and of itself). My response is that I'm going to wait for the decision to come down the pike and actually make an informed opinion based on research and circumstances.

At first glance, there are things to like and dislike about both candidates. With Fedora, he actually needed a top-shelf QB to succeed. Once he didn't have that (Marquise Williams, Mitch Trubisky) his offenses really didn't perform that well. I made a post about the UNC offense in a film review back when people were interested in those pre-game and I felt like it was fairly simple. It was pretty much what Fedora said it was; you had a pretty good idea what was going to happen on each down and distance formation-wise and then they had a couple of plays they'd run out of the same formation based on what the defense was doing. I like that he used tempo, formations, motions to identify what the defense was doing and then used check-with-me's to get into a different play if need be.

As for Applewhite, I like that his offense is multiple. I like that spreads you out to outside of the hash marks and opens up the middle of the field with his formations. I like that he uses the pass as the basis of his offense (which is truly the most efficient way to run an offense). I like that he has learned under a couple of motherbleepers. Downside is he has only a decent reputation within the industry and within people that I know from my days in sports management circles. Whereas I couldn't find anything but love for Diaz, there was some trepidation on Applewhite as a HC (I realize he'd be an OC here).

Without a ton more research done on the two, I'd prefer Fedora at first glance, but there is definitely excitement found within both. Applewhite has probably even more successful than Fedora on the whole, if you're going strictly on offense rankings.

I was looking forward to your take and hope your partner in crime @Roman Marciante will chime in as well. Both of your analyses throughout the year have been enlightening to say the least. Look forward to your opinions when all is said and done.

 

[HighSeas]

OP's post applies to message boards as well. Groupthink can get out of control and stifle valuable analysis and opinion. I've seen a lot of that here lately and it's almost bipolar at times. I can't even keep up when 1 minute everyone loses their mind over the Diaz hire and the next minute he's the savior.