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I must confess, by game three of last season I began to harbor serious doubts about Bronco as a head coach. In the beginning, when he took over for Crowton, I deliberately set aside concerns I had about his decision making as a coach in general. I had little faith in his defensive philosophy. Mostly, I chose to be patient as a fan because he is very young and the program he inherited was in shambles.
Before I express some of my concerns I happily concede there has been some positive signs emerge from his tenure. Bronco has matured as a defensive coach, wisely changing his philosophy to better suit the strengths of the talent that is typically available to BYU. As well—and most impressive of all—he has masterfully managed the culture at BYU in addition to doing a good job over all juggling the demands of the mission equation. I love the fact that he is often terse with the fans and press and that he is peculiar among a peculiar people. Therefore, for several years I have let certain things slide but, after today’s announcement that Nelson will start I have to voice my concerns ...
1. Despite changing his philosophy and fielding pretty good defenses during his tenure, his players still do not tackle well with any consistency. His defenses hustle and hit, hit, hit to be sure but, season in and season out they wear down at the end of games primarily because they have exhausted themselves trying to Make the big hit. This is cultural ... a culture that can be blamed on coach Mendenahall and his coaching/teaching style. Even if you assign responsibility to the assistants, ultimately the fault lies with him alone.
2. He put Jaime Hill in charge of the defense. Coupled with fact he allowed Anae to leave (or, forced him out), he has demonstrated an inability to clearly assess coaching ability. Perhaps I haven't seen enough of Doman to make a judgment but, something doesn't sit right with me, which leads me to the next point ...
3. It's more than personnel (Heaps) not performing or a lack of a true feature running back(s). Last week's offensive spurt at the end of the game was ALL Riley Nelson. It's foolish to believe that type of spontaneity can be maintained from game to game, let alone for an entire season. A pragmatic leader must understand this. The fact Nelson has been named the starter demonstrates to me a style of leadership that favors hope as a game plan verses faith and confidence in a staff's ability to bring the right personnel in and teach them how to be successful in the system, all the while adjusting the system skillfully to match the uniqueness of each class of new recruits.
4. Poor special teams and clock mismanagement in general. We have watched a punter who couldn't punt during his tenure. We have seen a time when he did not have a player with long snapping abilities on the squad. I cringe at the inconsistency with kicks ... how many times is the ball kicked out of bounds at crucial junctures in a game, every game, season after season? I literally leave the room for every PAT, field goal and kick-off. I can’t watch.
This is an issue of attention to detail—the ability to focuses on the small things because he can. But, the truth is he can't because there are too many big issues to deal with. BCS busting seasons are only possible when such details become the focus of a team's preparation. Now, I suppose, one can argue that Bronco is still young and his teams will eventually get there but I don't think such an argument has as much merit as I thought it did a year ago. There is enough of a history to start to wonder whether we have witnessed Bronco's ceiling as a head coach.
I suppose my anxieties could be a bi-product of this big 12 craziness. I hope we witness Steve Young Version 2.0 tomorrow. But, the hope just isn't doing it for me. Regardless, go cougars!
Flame away.
Before I express some of my concerns I happily concede there has been some positive signs emerge from his tenure. Bronco has matured as a defensive coach, wisely changing his philosophy to better suit the strengths of the talent that is typically available to BYU. As well—and most impressive of all—he has masterfully managed the culture at BYU in addition to doing a good job over all juggling the demands of the mission equation. I love the fact that he is often terse with the fans and press and that he is peculiar among a peculiar people. Therefore, for several years I have let certain things slide but, after today’s announcement that Nelson will start I have to voice my concerns ...
1. Despite changing his philosophy and fielding pretty good defenses during his tenure, his players still do not tackle well with any consistency. His defenses hustle and hit, hit, hit to be sure but, season in and season out they wear down at the end of games primarily because they have exhausted themselves trying to Make the big hit. This is cultural ... a culture that can be blamed on coach Mendenahall and his coaching/teaching style. Even if you assign responsibility to the assistants, ultimately the fault lies with him alone.
2. He put Jaime Hill in charge of the defense. Coupled with fact he allowed Anae to leave (or, forced him out), he has demonstrated an inability to clearly assess coaching ability. Perhaps I haven't seen enough of Doman to make a judgment but, something doesn't sit right with me, which leads me to the next point ...
3. It's more than personnel (Heaps) not performing or a lack of a true feature running back(s). Last week's offensive spurt at the end of the game was ALL Riley Nelson. It's foolish to believe that type of spontaneity can be maintained from game to game, let alone for an entire season. A pragmatic leader must understand this. The fact Nelson has been named the starter demonstrates to me a style of leadership that favors hope as a game plan verses faith and confidence in a staff's ability to bring the right personnel in and teach them how to be successful in the system, all the while adjusting the system skillfully to match the uniqueness of each class of new recruits.
4. Poor special teams and clock mismanagement in general. We have watched a punter who couldn't punt during his tenure. We have seen a time when he did not have a player with long snapping abilities on the squad. I cringe at the inconsistency with kicks ... how many times is the ball kicked out of bounds at crucial junctures in a game, every game, season after season? I literally leave the room for every PAT, field goal and kick-off. I can’t watch.
This is an issue of attention to detail—the ability to focuses on the small things because he can. But, the truth is he can't because there are too many big issues to deal with. BCS busting seasons are only possible when such details become the focus of a team's preparation. Now, I suppose, one can argue that Bronco is still young and his teams will eventually get there but I don't think such an argument has as much merit as I thought it did a year ago. There is enough of a history to start to wonder whether we have witnessed Bronco's ceiling as a head coach.
I suppose my anxieties could be a bi-product of this big 12 craziness. I hope we witness Steve Young Version 2.0 tomorrow. But, the hope just isn't doing it for me. Regardless, go cougars!
Flame away.
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