How important are position coaches?

[CanesAreAble]

Obviously they're important. I'm not trying to trivialize their impact. I'm just wondering HOW important they are.

We spend a lot of time criticizing specific coaches for the units they supervise, which seems logical, but does all the credit/blame go there?

We see position coaches get shuffled around a lot. A guy who played offense in college might end up as an assistant d-line coach at some small school, work his way up the ranks as a d-line coach, then get hired to coach LBs at a bigger school, then might get reassigned to DBs, etc... It seems like the main responsibility of the position coach is to teach the fundamentals in accord with the scheme of the head coach and offensive/defensive coordinator, and motivate the players in his unit. Easier said than done.

I bring this up because Kehoe, Barrow, and Jethro Franklin have received varying degrees of flak from the fans (myself included).

Kehoe oversaw great lines from 2000-02. I can't imagine that was all luck. He's received criticism for poor/lazy lineman recruiting (which is no longer a concern with Golden at the helm), and shuffling the line too much (which hopefully will steady as we replenish the depth chart).

Franklin has been criticized for overseeing porous run defenses (although producing solid pass-rushing stats). Is this a coincidence of the various circumstances he's been in, i.e. scheme and personnel? Is it some sort of "flaw" in technique or methodology, e.g. gambling for a sack instead of staying disciplined?

Now that we seem to have strong leadership at the top, can we expect to see improvement on the lines of scrimmage? Positive signs are improvement in strength & conditioning, and overall organization and competitiveness.

 

[Chicken_N_Roffles]

Very. Maybe not necessarily in teaching the fundamentals of a position. It's not like new techniques are being discovered and kept a secret. But in terms of continuity, I think it plays a huge part. Also, position coaches are the ones you see doing the most of the recruiting.

Corch Irvin Mayas teams went to **** once he started losing his position coaches. Texas was kind of the opposite. They went to **** because they kept a bunch of dinosaurs on the staff for too long and needed an overhaul.

 

[JHallCanes]

I thought the receivers were light years better than previous years last season and I don't think its a coincidence that we had an NFL level coach.

 

[Chicken_N_Roffles]

I thought the receivers were light years better than previous years last season and I don't think its a coincidence that we had an NFL level coach.

While I'm glad that Hill is gone, I think all that is overblown. The entire team was a mess and were ******* up in all parts. The team had given up. Our lines were plenty stupid under Stoutland as well. Would still take him over Kehoe any day.

 

[Mangum]

Who was the DL coach after Hurttttttt left? At that position I felt there was a slight improvement. At worst it seemed as if the players had more than one move. Hurttttt I believe was just a recruiter and nothing else. He didn't add much to development of the DLine players

 

[DMoney]

Look at Calais Campbell with Clint Hurtt and without Clint Hurtt. Same thing with Antonio Dixon. Palermo would have made these guys millions on their first contract if he stayed here.

 

[CanesAreAble]

Look at Calais Campbell with Clint Hurtt and without Clint Hurtt. Same thing with Antonio Dixon. Palermo would have made these guys millions on their first contract if he stayed here.

Thoughts on Jethro Franklin?

 

[DMoney]

Look at Calais Campbell with Clint Hurtt and without Clint Hurtt. Same thing with Antonio Dixon. Palermo would have made these guys millions on their first contract if he stayed here.

Thoughts on Jethro Franklin?

Like what I see so far. He's a vet. Needs more talent, though.

 

[maximegauthierl]

IMHO, being a coach myself (in Canada...), I believe the importance of position coaches is huge. Everybody on a good staff have different roles, but generally speaking, head coaches do much more of the big picture stuff and administrative tasks, and the coordinators are much more tactitians and decision makers. Obviously, that leaves them with very little time to actually take care of the players per say, unless there are out of the ordinary thing to look into.

The position coaches therefore are the ones who have the most contact with the players on a day to day basis. They usually develop much more of a bond with their guys than the HC, simply because of the number of players under their respective supervision and the time they have to give them. Position coaches are not only helping players with the technical aspect of their game (aspect which might be overrated in their work actually) but also the mental aspect and readiness of the kids they coach up, which is pretty much just as important imo.

 

[gongorad]

under who's tenure at HC?

 

[CanesAreAble]

IMHO, being a coach myself (in Canada...), I believe the importance of position coaches is huge. Everybody on a good staff have different roles, but generally speaking, head coaches do much more of the big picture stuff and administrative tasks, and the coordinators are much more tactitians and decision makers. Obviously, that leaves them with very little time to actually take care of the players per say, unless there are out of the ordinary thing to look into.

The position coaches therefore are the ones who have the most contact with the players on a day to day basis. They usually develop much more of a bond with their guys than the HC, simply because of the number of players under their respective supervision and the time they have to give them. Position coaches are not only helping players with the technical aspect of their game (aspect which might be overrated in their work actually) but also the mental aspect and readiness of the kids they coach up, which is pretty much just as important imo.

This is what I'm getting at.

I'd hate to think our linemen are playing with terrible technique and leverage. I'm hoping Kehoe's past struggles were related to bigger administrative issues (recruiting and head-coaching management), and not because he all of a suddenly can't teach a kid a blitz pick-up.

 

[maximegauthierl]

IMHO, being a coach myself (in Canada...), I believe the importance of position coaches is huge. Everybody on a good staff have different roles, but generally speaking, head coaches do much more of the big picture stuff and administrative tasks, and the coordinators are much more tactitians and decision makers. Obviously, that leaves them with very little time to actually take care of the players per say, unless there are out of the ordinary thing to look into.

The position coaches therefore are the ones who have the most contact with the players on a day to day basis. They usually develop much more of a bond with their guys than the HC, simply because of the number of players under their respective supervision and the time they have to give them. Position coaches are not only helping players with the technical aspect of their game (aspect which might be overrated in their work actually) but also the mental aspect and readiness of the kids they coach up, which is pretty much just as important imo.

This is what I'm getting at.

I'd hate to think our linemen are playing with terrible technique and leverage. I'm hoping Kehoe's past struggles were related to bigger administrative issues (recruiting and head-coaching management), and not because he all of a suddenly can't teach a kid a blitz pick-up.

Agree with you 100%. I also think the importance of having good players to coach is impossible to overstate. There's only so much a coach can do... Kehoe's not on the field after all lol, people are giving him so much ****, but when you have underachievers such as Seantrel (so far, hoping he gets it together for next year, looking good so far from what I've read here), it makes you look really bad as a coach but it's not always your fault...