Firing the head coach and promoting the defensive coordinator

[ItsAUThing.com]

Isn’t that what we already did when we hired Randy Shannon?

Why are we doing the same thing again?

Bob Stoops retired and OU promoted second-year offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to the head coaching position. Translation; there are examples of this working. Quit harping on one situation where it didn't.

If you can't see the difference between Manny Diaz as his drive to succeed—opposed to perennial assistant Randy Shannon, who never would've received a head coaching shot anywhere (and hasn't since getting fired by Miami)—no sense in discussing with you.

Simplifying this has, "promoting a defensive coordinator like we did a decade ago" is a pathetic way to explain what's going on here and a disservice to Diaz—who rebuilt this defense in three years, while Shannon took Davis' squad and out-talented everybody.

Zero comparison.

 

[ItsAUThing.com]

Shannon got a bad rap.

He wasn't prepared to be a HC (the PR, communication, etc)
Doesn't have the command presence that Manny has.
He was only able to hire his 3rd and 4th choices for assistants due to the University being cheap.
He only got 4 year. Had he gotten a 5th year, we'd have signed Teddy Bridgewater, then who knows what.

He was better than Golden

... didn't get a bad rap as much as he simply wasn't qualified to be a head coach—and still isn't. Look at his career trajectory since. Just got back up to DC a few years ago, too—after several stops as LBs coach.