Can someone please explain to me what elite is?
This post is confusing. So you'd be skeptical about the hiring of Joe as DL coach.
But then you go and praise Michigan's DL coach, Shaun Nua. Nothing in this guys' resume would have gotten you excited about the hire back in 2019. Obviously now it's clear to see Nua is a legit DL coach but back then there would have certainly been some question marks.
Cincinnati DL coach, Greg Scruggs, had 0 college coaching experience prior to being promoted to DL coach in 2020. Zero.
There's a lot of selective indifference that I'm seeing with some of these posts. The guy can recruit. His Washington State DLs were very good especially with Grinch in 2016 (several all conference players there with Darryl Paulo and Destiny Vaeao).
He's about to have a potential #1 pick in Thibodeaux. Thibs, Dorlus, and Popu were all first team Pac 12. Sewell was as well and only reason he's in Oregon is because of Joe. And he also had a beast of a DL 2022 class signing prior to Mario.
I like Partridge. Originally I wanted him more than Joe. Pitt's DL produces but as far as NFL talent Partridge hasn't done much recently. And the more I think about it, the more upside I see in Big Joe. The guy singlehandedly built the Polynesian pipeline into WSU and continued that at Oregon. Interesting quotes below:
"As a coach, Salave’a developed all-conference defensive linemen such as Darryl Paulo and Destiny Vaeao, who is with the Philadelphia Eagles. He created a recruiting pipeline between WSU and American Samoa, where Salave’a was born, landing native Samoans such as Robert Barber, Shalom Luani, Vaeao and others.
Even more so than most assistant coaches, Salave’a had a paternal role for the players he recruited, many of whom were living far from home and unable to see their families for years at a time.
At various points throughout his four years at WSU, Salave’a made comments that he had a duty to shepherd those players he recruited through college and ensure they graduated. Because he is widely respected in coaching circles he had opportunities to leave, and reportedly turned down overtures from USC and Washington."
"A Leone, American Samoa, native, Salave’a has been praised for his efforts in connecting with Samoan youth. He was also integral in recruiting over a dozen Samoan players to WSU."
"At WSU, he helped to improve the Cougars’ defensive line in pass rush and rush defense. WSU finished the 2016 season ranked No. 29 nationally in run defense at 134.23 yards a game. Salave’a was due to make $400,000 at Washington State in 2017."