Honestly, there hasn't been a confirmed hire yet that has been anything less then a win. The defensive side is filled with good recruiters with ties to the southeast and histories of player development.
The offense already has imo the best college offensive line coach in the country and an elite rb coach with west coast ties and a history of coaching wrs.
There has been no confirmation about Chambers role going forward, just speculation. I imagine he's going to be in the scouting department.
For all the negative press Watson gets (and I'm of the opinion that he isn't the best choice as an offensive coordinator), he's largely responsible for grooming the presumed #1 pick in the NFL draft his year and also made Joe Ganz into a servicable qb. He also did very well with true freshman Martinez at NU. He has largely done this at places without elite offensive line talent.
I think Wickline will make many a coach look better then he is and the skill position talent that Watson has at his disposal should be better then the other places he's been.
At this point, as a QB coach, he's an elite hire. Even as an OC, he's a decent hire, assuming you get a great WR coach.
The way I see this playing out.
OC: someone from the pro ranks or Morris. the delay doesn't make sense otherwise
QB: Watson
RB: Robinson
WR: Groh/Philips
OL: Wickline
I think that if Watson is waiting on another job and gets it, you may see Strong bring in someone like Zook to be ST/RC...or another elite recruiter on the offensive side if Groh doesn't come on board.
BTW, I think Applewhite gets a bad rap on here. If you're saddled with a guy who's #1 positive quality is moxie, it's hard to run a viable offense. Applewhite didn't recruit McCoy and he didn't make the decisions which led to transfers/non-offers/etc which left our QB depth chart with only McCoy and Swoopes as available options after Ash. He's also not responsible for a general atmosphere of entitlement and lassitude which led to our players never really developing much physically after hitting campus. He was the guy that held our class together when the staff was gutted.
Do I agree with every playcall or some of the decision to run Ash as much as he did knowing your backup has comparable arm strength exceeded by several intramural qbs? No. Did he have some growing pains? Yes. However, he's young and there's plenty of room for improvement. I'm sure he'll be successful at his next venue.
Personally, I'd love for us to pair a guy like Herman or Riley with the guys we have already. I think a guy like Herman would benefit from a couple years out of Urban Meyer's shadow learning the ropes. With Riley, you have a 4-5 year guy who would be on the fast track to a great HC job. If you can get a guy like Groh or retain Wyatt, you've got a staff that combines teaching and recruiting which, coupled with an improvement in S&C, should lead us back to the promised land.
