OT-ish: SDSU OC Jeff Hecklinski fired by Brady Hoke
There was a staff shakeup at SDSU after this weekend. Head coach Brady Hoke fired offensive coordinator/QB coach Jeff Hecklinski. Both these guys were Michigan coaches from 2011-2014, so I found it noteworthy for that reason itself. But Hecklinski was also with Hoke at Ball State, Hoke's first stint at SDSU, and then Hoke's second stint at SDSU. I'm sure it's not easy to fire a guy you've been working with for the better part of the past 15 years.
SDSU is 2-3, #116 in scoring offense, and #122 in yards per play, so they've been pretty terrible on O.
I've never been a fan of Hecklinski's coaching, so I'm not too surprised that he did a poor enough job to get fired.
The new OC (Jeff Horton) was promoted from RB coach, and perhaps SDSU's most ballyhooed QB from the past 20 years or so, Ryan Lindley, was hired as the new QB coach.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:41 AM ^
Hoke should probably put a headset on.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
He does! I watched the game against boise state he never took it off once. Surprised the hell out of me
October 4th, 2022 at 9:04 AM ^
He doesn’t wear sleeves though does he? Tell me he’s at least kept some standards
October 4th, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
Is he still refusing to wear red?
October 4th, 2022 at 9:49 AM ^
Given he coaches SDSU that would be an...odd choice.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
Ball State and SDSU both have red as their primary, before getting the head coaching job at Michigan he refused to wear red at both.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:04 AM ^
He can really hear football even better now!
October 4th, 2022 at 9:22 AM ^
He was but he was listening to Hall & Oates and daydreaming of drinking all the beers in Muncie.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
And have someone else hire his coordinators. But not Dave Brandon who influenced the Nussmeier hire. Other than Mattison he hired poorly. He could have been Dabo Swinney with top flight hires rather than old crappy cronies.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:45 AM ^
HIRE BORGES?
October 4th, 2022 at 8:45 AM ^
I posted this in the podcast comments but worth repeating. From an article re: Hecklinski termination:
Under Hecklinski, the Aztec ranked 97th, 104th and now 126th in total offense.
Yikes.
To add to Magnus' note about the new OC. Hecklinski is replaced by Jeff Horton SDSU's RB coach and FORMER Offensive Coordinator for 5 years under Rocky Long. Horton took the RB coach position when Hoke returned bringing Hecklinski with him as his Offensive Coordinator (emphasis on the word offensive apparently - see above statistics).
October 4th, 2022 at 8:47 AM ^
Who was SDSU's OC last year? Was it Hecklinski? They were pretty good last year, if only in a 'good G5 program' type of way that played paleolithic football (we're going to run, because running is how you run). Nonetheless, it appears that Brady was fully aware of how poorly his offense has learned speed.
EDIT: Yowza!! JMo's post above proves I was wrong - SDSU's offense sucked last year, too. I thought it was just last year when they threatened to win their league championship. Perhaps I should consult the all-knowing see-er of all things? So I'll be right back after checking with Google...
EDIT EDIT: I was right, SDSU was 12-2 last year and won the MWC. Apparently, they did it despite a shittastic offense. Huh...
October 4th, 2022 at 8:58 AM ^
I watched a few of their games last year and they were definitely winning with defense and punting.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
Yeah, absolutely BRUTAL team to watch.
BUT their punter was amazing, several 80+ yard punts.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Apparently you're not scouring Aztecoblog like I am.
One more useless fun fact for the unaware Aztec fan-in-training. New QB Coach Ryan Lindley's wife's name is Lindsay Lindley. I bet she doesn't go a day without someone mentioning that unholy merging of names.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:20 AM ^
JMo, i can only hear your post in your avatar's voice. one of the great SNL characters.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:31 AM ^
Norm and Burt... both personal heroes of mine and a portmanteau of everything I like! Unlike Linsday Lindley's name (although Im sure she's a lovely person lol)
October 4th, 2022 at 9:08 AM ^
They were simply the MWC version of Iowa. Hoke knows how to recruit and coach D. Offense on the other hand...
October 4th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
"They were simply the MWC version of Iowa"
Frame it. 100% accurate.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:03 AM ^
Isn't he the guy who said speed at the wide receiver position was overrated?
October 4th, 2022 at 9:17 AM ^
I think he also said it was coachable.
October 4th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
The part that bothered me wasn't even that he was wrong, but...
If speed is coachable why is the team SO DAMN SLOW! Huh Jeff! Who's fault is that then?
October 4th, 2022 at 9:07 AM ^
"Speed is overrated. Obviously, it's something we have to have. But speed is overrated."
-Jeff Hecklinski
Jeff Hecklinski on wide receiver recruiting in 2013 at Michigan. That class was Da'Mario Jones; Csont'e York; and Jaron Dukes.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:01 AM ^
Yeah, speed might be overrated but what about the upgrade to SPEED IN SPACE?
October 4th, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
If asked, Heck would probably suggest that space is unnecessary.
Overrated speed in unnecessary space.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
Ouch. Two career receptions between the three of them.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
Oof. That leaves a mark.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
York also left a mark in a more aggravated assault-y kinda way.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
Was he the one who said ‘you can teach speed’ or something along those lines?
October 4th, 2022 at 9:18 AM ^
Should've been run out of coaching the moment he uttered those words.
October 4th, 2022 at 4:16 PM ^
Surprised Kirk Ferentz didn't hire him with that wisdom.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:37 AM ^
How does this usually work? For assistants - do they tag along with a head coach or strike out periodically for a new job?
When Jerry Kill was the coach in Minnesota after a period of success at Northern Illinois, he brought his whole staff with him - is that unusual? Or did his whole team go with him rather than try for the NIU job because moving up to an assistant at a Big Ten school is major step up.
We see the odds of making it to the NFL as a college player are steep. Is it steeper for an assistant coach to get a HC job?
October 4th, 2022 at 10:01 AM ^
They should've scheduled a game against MSU. Hecklinski would've gotten a raise.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:03 AM ^
You don’t hear the word ballyhooed much anymore. Nicely done.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
I happened to watch their game this week. They had like 20 pre-snap penalties and Hoke was absolutely livid, so not too surprising he made the move.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:20 AM ^
Wasn't Hecklinski the guy who, at some point, said speed is overrated when evaluating wide receivers?
Sorry - mentioned above.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:45 AM ^
HIRE BORGES
October 4th, 2022 at 2:59 PM ^
Too slow on the draw...
October 4th, 2022 at 7:23 PM ^
True, but you didn't seem sold on the idea? Great minds tho. Great minds. Like Al Borges
October 4th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
Who has it better than Hoke, with all the money he makes, and gets to live in La Jolla.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:57 AM ^
La Jolla ain't what it used to be unless you're on Soledad and even then....yeesh.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
Upvote for "ballyhooed".
October 4th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
Looks back as Hoke's staff, especially at UM around 2014, and see a group, sans Mattison, of guys who were meant for places like San Jose State, not B1G elite.
My lasting memory of this guy is how flat footed and weak he was when Dicktonio cut him off at a HS football banquet. Mike Hart would never have let that happen.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
If it's possible, things might get worse on offense for SDSU before they get better. Their current QB situation is as follows, from the article that JMo posted above:
Braxton Burmeister is believed to be under concussion protocol.
Kyle Crum has a broken collarbone.
Will Haskell is no longer with the team.
That leaves true freshman Liu Aumavae as SDSU’s only healthy scholarship quarterback on the roster.
. . .
Aumavae came on in the fourth quarter against Boise State. He was 0-for-7 passing, though he could have had a couple completions with a break here or there.
Actually, things might be okay for one game since SDSU has Hawaii next.
October 4th, 2022 at 4:18 PM ^
Dear God, that's a Russell Bellomy stat line
October 4th, 2022 at 11:41 AM ^
Was there an insufficient number of fullbacks on the field?
October 4th, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^
Hopefully this isn't a case of "envelope number 2" in the envelope joke .......
I've seen a little bit of SDSU this year, including Friday night. They don't look good at all. I mean, Boise got taken to the woodshed by UTEP the previous week. Something is really off down at SDSU in 2022.
October 4th, 2022 at 2:49 PM ^
Well, yeah. It's called Brady Hoke. He's a personable cat, and he recruits well on the lines and on defense, but recruiting offensive skill position players and properly deploying them is an art that escapes him. He also has the bad eye for hiring assistants--you wonder whether he's looking for innovators or for cool buddies to chill with. He is a great DL coach though--I'd hire him to coach a line in a heartbeat.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
Brady to Michigan reminds me of the story behind Matt Millen getting hired by the Lions. When he was offered the job Millen said, "Mr. Ford, I appreciate the offer, but I'm really not qualified."
Ford told him he was a smart guy, he'd figure it out....
needless to say, he didn't.
Brady is a Michigan man, bleeds maize n blue... he was just in way over his head, offered a job he wasn't qualified for.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
For all the guys talking about how useless Hecklinski is..consider that the dude must be pretty much Hoke's closest confidante in football, and a man whose judgement he trusts so much he pretty much hires him wherever he goes. This was definitely a "sorry buddy I can't cover for you anymore" situation.
I think it just shows you why Hoke is ultimately so limited as a head coach and was a brutal mistake at Michigan. He clearly is a "CEO" type coach as a HC, and as we all know those live and die by the folks they surround themselves with. And Hoke has *terrible* judgement regarding who he hires. I think if he stumbles upon a useful assistant, it's pure luck.