echeese
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This is one question from OB in the Locker Room report this morning I thought was worth sharing . .. .
Q: (Omar Little) - There's been a lot of criticism over Charlie Strong's decisions for his coaching staff. How does his staff compare to the one that Coach Sark put together at USC or the group that James Franklin put together at Penn State?
A: Very good question. Let's just go position-by-position and look at how all three of the new head coaches handled the hires within their coaching staffs with the knowledge that money really isn't a huge hurdle for any of the three schools:
Offensive coordinator
Texas: Joe Wickline (formerly of Oklahoma State)
USC: Clay Helton (retained by Sarkisian )
Penn State: John Donovan (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: It's interesting that Helton was an assistant at Memphis for 10 seasons before taking over as the quarterbacks coach in 2010 and then becoming the passing game coordinator in 2012, while Donovan is from the George O'Leary/Ralph Friedgen coaching tree and had never been a coordinator at any level before his time as an OC at Vanderbilt under Franklin for the last few seasons. In terms of reputations around the sport, Wickline's reputation is significantly larger than either of the other two, even I he hasn't been in a play-calling role with the Cowboys.
Defensive coordinator
Texas: Vance Bedford (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Justin Wilcox (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Bob Shoop (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: All three new head coach brought along their coordinators from their previous stops, with Bedford and Wilcox both having the most experience, but neither ranking higher than the other because both are regarded pretty highly, although it should be noted that Wilcox's highest rated defense in his career was 28th in the nation with Tennessee back in 2011. Meanwhile, Shoop was the DC at William and Mary for three seasons before joining Franklin's staff in 2011.
Quarterbacks
Texas: Shawn Watson (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Clay Helton (retained by USC)
Penn State: Ricky Rahnee (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: As we mentioned earlier, Helton was retained by Sarkisian when he came in from Washington and spent the last four seasons working with USC quarterbacks, while Rahnee spent some time with Franklin and Kansas State and joined the Vandy staff when Franklin took the job. Neither Helton nor Rahnee has worked with quarterbacks as long as Watson has and neither has a protege on the resume that has performed as well as Teddy Bridgewater did at Louisville, although Helton gets credit for the development of Matt Barkley, who certainly had some moments while at USC.
Running backs
Texas: Tommie Robinson (formerly of USC)
USC: Johnny Nansen (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Charles Huff (formerly of Western Michigan)
Thoughts: Robinson's resume is light years better than Nansen or Huff, although Huff did spent a year with the Buffalo Bills in 2012 after spending a season at Vanderbilt in 2011. Meanwhile, Nansen has been a running backs coach for only one season after serving as the defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator at Washington for the last five seasons.
Wide receivers
Texas: Les Koenning (formerly of Mississippi State)
USC: Tee Martin (retained by Sarkisian)
Penn State: Josh Gattis (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Martin is known as a beast on the recruiting scene and was seen as a key piece of the USC puzzle that Sarkisian had to keep when he arrived in Los Angeles, while Gattis (age 30) spent one year at Western Michigan before joining the Vanderbilt staff for the last two seasons. Koenning's offensive coordinator experience certainly is an advantage, as his knowledge of the state of Texas, but Martin is also regarded as one of the best in the nation at his position.
Tight ends
Texas: Bruce Chambers (retained by Charlie Strong)
USC: Marques Tuiasosopo (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Not sure (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: I'm not sure who the new Penn State tight ends coach is, but I'm guessing he came over from Vanderbilt at this point. Tuiasosopo was a star quarterback at Washington and is regarded as someone with a bright future in the sport as a coach, but he has only two seasons of coaching under his belt, with him serving as the Huskies quarterback coach last year.
Offensive line
Texas: Joe Wickline (formerly of Oklahoma State)
USC: Tim Drevno (formerly of the san Francisco 49ers)
Penn State: Herb Hand (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Wickline might be the best line coach in the nation, but Drevno spent the last three seasons with the 49ers, so he's not chopped steak. Meanwhile, most of Hand's experience has occurred at Vanderbilt with Franklin. Overall, two of these guys are elite and Hand has yet to prove he belongs in the discussion with Wickline/Drevno.
Defensive Line
Texas: Chris Rumph (formerly of Alabama)
USC: Chris Wilson (formerly of Georgia)
Penn State: Sean Spencer (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Wilson spent a season at Georgia after serving as Mississippi State's defensive coordinator for two seasons after Manny Diaz took the Texas job. Meanwhile, Spencer's track record is somewhat limited after serving as Franklin's defensive line coach after coaching at Bowling Green/U.Mass from 2007-2010. Overall, you'd be hard-pressed to suggest that Rumph doesn't have the deepest resume and overall track record, although Wilson has certainly emerged as one of the better defensive line coaches in the country.
Linebackers
Texas: Brian Jean-Mary (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Peter Sirmon (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Brent Pry (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: I can't say that I had heard of any of the three before the last few weeks, as two of the three are relatively new to the scene in major college football, with Jean-Mary's resume at Louisville and Georgia Tech easily serving as the strongest of this group because Sirmon has been a linebackers coach for only two seasons under Sarkisian at Washington, while Pry worked at Georgia Southern before joining Franklin's staff in 2011.
Defensive backs
Texas: Chris Vaughn (formerly of Memphis)
USC: Keith Heyward (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Terry Smith (formerly of Temple)
Thoughts Obviously, the Longhorns will have Bedford working with Vaughn in the secondary, while Heyward and Smith appear set to work with the entire secondary units at their respective schools. Heyward spent the last two seasons at Washington as its defensive backs coach after spending the previous four seasons at Oregon State. As for Smith, he was a successful Pennsylvania high school coach before joining the Temple staff a season ago.
Overall, you'd have to say that Strong put together one hell of a staff when you compare his hires with that or Sarkisian and Franklin, both of whom filled much of their new coaching staffs with members of their former coaching staffs.
Q: (Omar Little) - There's been a lot of criticism over Charlie Strong's decisions for his coaching staff. How does his staff compare to the one that Coach Sark put together at USC or the group that James Franklin put together at Penn State?
A: Very good question. Let's just go position-by-position and look at how all three of the new head coaches handled the hires within their coaching staffs with the knowledge that money really isn't a huge hurdle for any of the three schools:
Offensive coordinator
Texas: Joe Wickline (formerly of Oklahoma State)
USC: Clay Helton (retained by Sarkisian )
Penn State: John Donovan (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: It's interesting that Helton was an assistant at Memphis for 10 seasons before taking over as the quarterbacks coach in 2010 and then becoming the passing game coordinator in 2012, while Donovan is from the George O'Leary/Ralph Friedgen coaching tree and had never been a coordinator at any level before his time as an OC at Vanderbilt under Franklin for the last few seasons. In terms of reputations around the sport, Wickline's reputation is significantly larger than either of the other two, even I he hasn't been in a play-calling role with the Cowboys.
Defensive coordinator
Texas: Vance Bedford (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Justin Wilcox (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Bob Shoop (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: All three new head coach brought along their coordinators from their previous stops, with Bedford and Wilcox both having the most experience, but neither ranking higher than the other because both are regarded pretty highly, although it should be noted that Wilcox's highest rated defense in his career was 28th in the nation with Tennessee back in 2011. Meanwhile, Shoop was the DC at William and Mary for three seasons before joining Franklin's staff in 2011.
Quarterbacks
Texas: Shawn Watson (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Clay Helton (retained by USC)
Penn State: Ricky Rahnee (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: As we mentioned earlier, Helton was retained by Sarkisian when he came in from Washington and spent the last four seasons working with USC quarterbacks, while Rahnee spent some time with Franklin and Kansas State and joined the Vandy staff when Franklin took the job. Neither Helton nor Rahnee has worked with quarterbacks as long as Watson has and neither has a protege on the resume that has performed as well as Teddy Bridgewater did at Louisville, although Helton gets credit for the development of Matt Barkley, who certainly had some moments while at USC.
Running backs
Texas: Tommie Robinson (formerly of USC)
USC: Johnny Nansen (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Charles Huff (formerly of Western Michigan)
Thoughts: Robinson's resume is light years better than Nansen or Huff, although Huff did spent a year with the Buffalo Bills in 2012 after spending a season at Vanderbilt in 2011. Meanwhile, Nansen has been a running backs coach for only one season after serving as the defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator at Washington for the last five seasons.
Wide receivers
Texas: Les Koenning (formerly of Mississippi State)
USC: Tee Martin (retained by Sarkisian)
Penn State: Josh Gattis (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Martin is known as a beast on the recruiting scene and was seen as a key piece of the USC puzzle that Sarkisian had to keep when he arrived in Los Angeles, while Gattis (age 30) spent one year at Western Michigan before joining the Vanderbilt staff for the last two seasons. Koenning's offensive coordinator experience certainly is an advantage, as his knowledge of the state of Texas, but Martin is also regarded as one of the best in the nation at his position.
Tight ends
Texas: Bruce Chambers (retained by Charlie Strong)
USC: Marques Tuiasosopo (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Not sure (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: I'm not sure who the new Penn State tight ends coach is, but I'm guessing he came over from Vanderbilt at this point. Tuiasosopo was a star quarterback at Washington and is regarded as someone with a bright future in the sport as a coach, but he has only two seasons of coaching under his belt, with him serving as the Huskies quarterback coach last year.
Offensive line
Texas: Joe Wickline (formerly of Oklahoma State)
USC: Tim Drevno (formerly of the san Francisco 49ers)
Penn State: Herb Hand (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Wickline might be the best line coach in the nation, but Drevno spent the last three seasons with the 49ers, so he's not chopped steak. Meanwhile, most of Hand's experience has occurred at Vanderbilt with Franklin. Overall, two of these guys are elite and Hand has yet to prove he belongs in the discussion with Wickline/Drevno.
Defensive Line
Texas: Chris Rumph (formerly of Alabama)
USC: Chris Wilson (formerly of Georgia)
Penn State: Sean Spencer (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: Wilson spent a season at Georgia after serving as Mississippi State's defensive coordinator for two seasons after Manny Diaz took the Texas job. Meanwhile, Spencer's track record is somewhat limited after serving as Franklin's defensive line coach after coaching at Bowling Green/U.Mass from 2007-2010. Overall, you'd be hard-pressed to suggest that Rumph doesn't have the deepest resume and overall track record, although Wilson has certainly emerged as one of the better defensive line coaches in the country.
Linebackers
Texas: Brian Jean-Mary (formerly of Louisville)
USC: Peter Sirmon (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Brent Pry (formerly of Vanderbilt)
Thoughts: I can't say that I had heard of any of the three before the last few weeks, as two of the three are relatively new to the scene in major college football, with Jean-Mary's resume at Louisville and Georgia Tech easily serving as the strongest of this group because Sirmon has been a linebackers coach for only two seasons under Sarkisian at Washington, while Pry worked at Georgia Southern before joining Franklin's staff in 2011.
Defensive backs
Texas: Chris Vaughn (formerly of Memphis)
USC: Keith Heyward (formerly of Washington)
Penn State: Terry Smith (formerly of Temple)
Thoughts Obviously, the Longhorns will have Bedford working with Vaughn in the secondary, while Heyward and Smith appear set to work with the entire secondary units at their respective schools. Heyward spent the last two seasons at Washington as its defensive backs coach after spending the previous four seasons at Oregon State. As for Smith, he was a successful Pennsylvania high school coach before joining the Temple staff a season ago.
Overall, you'd have to say that Strong put together one hell of a staff when you compare his hires with that or Sarkisian and Franklin, both of whom filled much of their new coaching staffs with members of their former coaching staffs.
