his eye for talent is second to none. but that isn't even why I think Butch is the best option. I think he realizes that he'll need to surround himself with a coaching staff that is COMPETENT, hungry, and aggressive. Butch also has a huge chip on his shoulder. He is hungry to finish what he started here.
Butch is the answer fellas. No one else.
Part of the concern is that the OC he hired at UNC and stuck with for his entire tenure there (Shoop) was the complete opposite of all three of those traits. Shoop is one of the most conservative OCs on the face of the earth. He's on the verge of getting run out of town at Purdue of all places because of his continued incompetence and stubbornly conservative nature.
Check out what Purdue's SB Nation site had to say about Shoop after their blowout loss to Virginia Tech a couple weeks ago:
So yes, let's talk about the offense. Could offensive genius John Shoop have called a worse game? Your average playcalling session:
- Incomplete on first down
- Run Markell Jones or D.J. Knox into the heart of a ridiculously tough defense on second down.
- Incompletion by Austin Appleby on third down
- Punt.
It was blatantly obvious to everyone even before the game that you could not run into the teeth of this defensive line. It was only the strong point of a very good defense. In fact, what little success Purdue did have in running the ball came on the few plays it ran to the edge or involved misdirection. But what did Shoop do? "Hey! We got stuffed up the middle, but it will work next time!"
As mentioned above, Butch and Shoop's offenses at UNC were complete disasters. Yes, it was UNC. But talent wasn't the issue and those total offense rankings are too abysmal to ignore. Butch hired some really good assistants a long time ago, but his most recent OC hire was a glaring misfire. For as much as fans have rightfully argued that our current defense is a match made in **** for this program, we can't afford to be behind the times and conservative offensively anymore either.
When you're going to a basketball program, and the previous year the football team went 3-9, it's a bit difficult to pull super performances out of a real fresh team, many who only got offers from UNC.
However, you look at his last year at UNC, look at it honestly - and had UNC not completely screwed it up - that final 8-5 year would have won at least two more games had he had his starters. And had he been there yet another year - well, he would have made a real showing.
You don't understand that you can only do what you have the players capable of doing. Conservative play calling? Look at what he had to work with early on at UNC.
Oh. That's right. He still used to kick our asses.
I never mentioned their offensive performance in his first year at any point in this thread for the exact reason you specified in your opening sentence.
A UNC offense with first-round WR Hakeem Nicks, three other skill players who are still in the NFL (though Tate should be excluded from the discussion since he missed 7 games that year due to injury), and a no-worse-than-average college QB who stayed in the NFL for four years (Yates) ranked 92nd in the country in total offense in 2008. 92nd.
Nicks and Tate were gone the following year, but in Butch's third season -- when he had multiple full classes of his own recruits -- they ranked 108th offensively. Their offense was utterly atrocious in Years 2 and 3. And you'd be hard pressed finding anyone with anything positive to say about Shoop, who's currently wearing out his welcome as the OC at Purdue.
Completely agree that they would've had a shot at a 10-win season in 2010 had it not been for those suspensions. But those offensive performances in 2008 and 2009 can't just be dismissed by saying, "Look what he had to work with in those two years." I did. There's no excuse for those offenses to have been that bad and that conservative.
I'm saying all of this as someone who's always liked Butch and would be celebrating along with everyone else if he ends up being the hire. B
ut valid criticism and concern about the type of offense he'd bring isn't unwarranted, IMO.[/QUOTE]
Have a little faith, have a little faith.
Butch has been out among a ton of colleges, looking at every kind of offense and defense you can think of, and knows the coaches and coordinators.
He'll bring in the right people. He'll get it done.
