Oregon's new Defensive Coordinator has a plan.

Submitted by aratman on

So the new coordinator has a plan, Play Defense.

 

“Whose wise idea was it to pair the Bend-but-don’t-Break-Defense with the Oregon Offense?”

That defense works….I know as I’ve coached it, but why would you pair it with an offense that has been in the top five in the nation for scoring in each of the last five years? Oregon is known for rapid scoring, having some of the highest numbers of under-two minute drives in the nation. An offense like that can score a TON, so why pair it with a defense that is designed to be out on the field for long stretches–and keeps this scoring machine off the field?”

 

I am sure it started with "Um, Well".  I didn't mention the coach because I think the theory stands on it's own.

 

http://fishduck.com/2016/06/oregon-offensive-scoring-records-will-fall-due-to-brady-hoke/

 

 

xtramelanin

June 25th, 2016 at 8:43 AM ^

he plays michigan.  would love to have the guy over for a bbq, i bet that'd be fun.   

and maybe he can fix those oregon uni's while he's out there.

mtzlblk

June 25th, 2016 at 9:56 AM ^

If I recall correctly, we had whiffed on every slam dunk candidate we approached and were staring down the barrel of an embarassingly long search for a flyer option from a lower tier league/team, so in that sense I sort feel like he fell on a grenade for M. He had to know, like many of us suspected, that while not impossible, it was highly unlikely he was going to light the world on fire and that he would face an immense amount of ridicule from the type of M "fans" that boo their own players/coaches if he failed. Which he did and seemingly still does.......

He rolled some very big dice, and for that I wish him the best and hope he succeeds.

WichitanWolverine

June 25th, 2016 at 10:01 AM ^

And by "we" you mean Dave Brandon, right?

Let's be honest, we didn't whiff on anybody. If I recall correctly, when Hoke was hired, someone asked Les Miles how it felt to "never land his dream job." And his response was something to the effect of "Well, I'm not that old, am I?" 

Dave Brandon thought he could coach the team through a head coach whose name was less known than his own. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

mtzlblk

June 26th, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^

I wouldn't argue against that, but there were a lot of factors that played into that. 

Any coach that was a clear D1, slam dunk hire would look at:

  • Fairly toxic atmosphere and a divided fanbase
  • A roster that is a Frankenstein of schemes and recruiting philosophies that is 4+ years from being solved
  • Previous coach run out of town on a rail - regardless of results, it is safe to say he wasnt fully supported or treated as well as a coach could be
  • People in the know would have been aware of Brandon's rep as, shall we say, "mot the greatest person to work for" and leave it at that

No up and coming/hot coaching candidate is going to play with a career trajectory that is that risky.

Brandon did indeed attempt to prop up his hire with an outsized salary and a way too early extension/bump, but I highly doubt that was a result of Hoke having any expectations or demands. It is my impression he would have taken the for far, far less money and been more than fone with it. Did he make bank? Yes, but that is Brandon's doing, not his.

East German Judge

June 25th, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^

You mean he fell on a $4 million/year grenade for Michigan.  I would also fall on, heck $1 million/year grenade.  

Cannot blame for accepting a high paying job that someone thinks he would be a good fit for, even though he was not, you need to blame the man that offered the job and blame him for the non-search he did.

MUUM79

June 25th, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^

We didnt whiff on any slam dunk candidates, Brandon didnt ask. He had every intention to hire Hoke as Brandon didnt want any big egos to contend with. Didnt you read John U Bacon's last book? Les Miles always said, "I would never say No to Michigan". Harbaugh was also waiting for the call, when he had to make a decision with the 49ers.



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Chalky White

June 25th, 2016 at 10:42 PM ^

Didn't Sam Webb imply that Harbaugh accepted the job but reneged? That's why when the rumors were out there that he was going to take it this time, Sam Webb refused to say on the air that he was coming. Every week he would up the percentage until the oficial announcement was made. Devin and Denard were supposed to play for Harbaugh.

mtzlblk

June 26th, 2016 at 1:21 PM ^

Overtures were made to many candidates and they weren't even interested in having discussions, so we moved on. Les Miles wasn't one of them.

There is a reason that the search was drawn out prior to hiring Hoke and it wasn't for the sake of appearances.

WolvinLA2

June 25th, 2016 at 9:57 AM ^

Oh come on. He was every bit as qualified as Jim McElwain is and more qualified than Clay Helton. And it's not his job to determine if he was qualified anyway. If someone offered you a high paying job that maybe you weren't qualified for (though he was) would you take it? Does that make you an asshole?

WichitanWolverine

June 25th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^

I don't really understand why I'm getting bashed here. I get that I'm "humble-bragging" but my original point was that I don't think people should automatically take a job for the pay raise if the company they're working for is something they care about and they don't think they're the best for it. And I think Brady Hoke was in that situation.

WichitanWolverine

June 25th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^

No, that's bullshit. Like I said, if it's something you care about, you find the best person for the job. Your point is true in general, but this is Michigan fergodsakes.

But I will admit coaching is one job where you HAVE to have an ego to succeed. If you don't think you can perform better than anyone, then you should find a different profession. So I'll give Hoke that.

turd ferguson

June 25th, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^

So if someone offers a guy his dream job, and it's clearly a good move for him and his family, and the people offering the job deemed him the best candidate, then the guy - who probably believes he'll succeed - is an "asshole" for saying yes?

Your opinion on this is beyond ridiculous. Hoke was such a non-asshole about it, in fact, that he accepted the job before settling on a salary.

JonnyHintz

June 25th, 2016 at 1:43 PM ^

To answer your question... 1. He won a BCS bowl and won 60% of his games. That's not failing in spectacular fashion. 2. He didn't know when he was hired whether he would fail or not. So it has no impact on a family decision. 3. He made more in 4 years than the average American worker makes in 240 years. That much money is always a good family decision.

WichitanWolverine

June 25th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^

The thing I still can't wrap my head around is the housing market out here. You have it worse than I do up in the Bay Area, but even in LA the cost of housing does not at all match up with the pay bump you get by taking a job here.

Maybe WolvinLA can chime in, but I don't understand how people (especially from the Midwest) can settle down here. There are a ton of great things about CA, but I see it as more of a pitstop than a destination.

Sopwith

June 25th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^

why we're having trouble hiring people from out of state. It's unsustainable. California overall has net negative migration as ordinary folks are being driven out by housing costs and it's causing all kinds of social tumult up here. It's not Venezuela, but still, it's a serious situation for tech and non-tech alike.

TrueBlue2003

June 25th, 2016 at 8:25 PM ^

the US only? Because the population of CA is growing at the 17th fastest rate in the country, higher than the national average (according to latest 2015 census estimates compared to 2010). Maybe that growth is driven by foreign immigration, but they face the same economic choice so your point of negative migration doesn't apply. A lot more people are willing to move to CA than leave, and this is despite huge housing cost increases in the two largest markets.  

My company has offices in MI and CA and we do well recruiting here in CA. Our MI employees can't believe people are willing to work in CA for similar pay as MI, but they are. Luckily, because the pool is so good and vast here, I've never needed to recruit out of state, but I do imagine that most people living in cheap places do so because of family or cost of living reasons, which would be difficult to overcome to get them to CA (especially when the market does not compensate them for the cost of living difference).

One thing I can say, is that if you've ever tried to recruit out-of-staters to MI, it's a lot harder than recruiting out-of-staters to CA.

Sopwith

June 25th, 2016 at 8:35 PM ^

CA lost 5 million during 2004-2013 to other states and gained 3.9 million. 

Michigan sent 87k to CA during that period, and CA sent MI 67k, making MI one of the few states that had a net positive emigration to CA (interestingly they're virtually all Great Lakes region). Some nearby states like WI and MN were virtually dead even.

Here's one source but there are many studies on this.

http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article32679753.html

TrueBlue2003

June 25th, 2016 at 11:33 PM ^

Figured that had to be it.  I'm sure that many of those leaving are retirees or nearly retirees with boomers hitting that mark.  CA is an expensive place in which to retire, so once you don't need the vast career opportunities afforded here, why not cash in your expensive home and move to AZ or Texas or back to where you're originally from where you can golf for a lot cheaper? I'd move back to MI if not for the winters so once I retire, I hope to retire to MI but snowbird it to somewhere else from the end of football season til April-Mayish.

CA is definitely one of the easiest states to recruit to, if you have to recruit out-of-staters. And obviously, just about the easiest for recruiting in-staters since there are more people here than any other state. It's just not that easy to recruit anywhere with a fully employed work force like we have right now.

WolvinLA2

June 25th, 2016 at 1:47 PM ^

Like most desirable places to live, yes CA is expensive. You will spend a hiring percentage of your income on housing out here. You also most likely make more money out here. My mortgage is around 4k/month with impounds, for a house that would be around 2k in Michigan. That's only 24k per year more, and I'm willing to bet between my wife and me we make 24k more than we could in the Midwest. And we don't have to drive in the snow. I get that it's not for everyone. But there are a lot more people moving from Michigan to CA than the other way around.

WolvinLA2

June 25th, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^

I think that makes a ton of sense. I'm not saying no one does what you're doing, just that fewer do that than the other way around. Most people who leave CA (at least SoCal, can't speak for the bay) are moving to Vegas, AZ or TX. In those places you can get low cost of living, lower (or no) state income tax and you don't have to give up warm weather.

xtramelanin

June 25th, 2016 at 9:33 PM ^

we bought right after 9/11 (would've stayed in the UP if we'd known that was going to happen) and sold close to the peak in '04.  it's taken all those years to get back to the peak now.   i used to kid that my monthly mortgage was the 'gross national product of turkey'.  debt is a curse, and i am grateful to have escaped that curse.