Horgelson would be great as OC. Not to mention he would give us a bit of an edge on recruiting Texas talent.
Whatever he decides to do, he’s at a crossroad right now. He better make good career decisions this offseason. He also is dependent upon our boosters to get what he asks for.
I know you’re being a little tongue in cheek, but Kerwin Bell’s FCS Western Carolina team lead the FCS in total yardage during the regular season. I don’t know if he is the answer or would be interested, but we are tossing out names like Holgerson and Dino Babers like they are some kind of savants… both finished around 350 yards a game this year. And yes I know Bell was right around those numbers at USF. The Gators finished with 409 and in the top 50 this year, that is adequate if you have a top 5-10 defense, obviously we don’t. For goodness sake Alabama offensive stats were basically the same as ours, and Tommy Rees is considered by many to be a top ten coordinator. They still have a shot at the playoffs and we’re sitting below .500. Billy Napier has never shown himself to be anything but an average offensive coordinator, but we still played well enough on offense to win at least 7-8 games with any decent kind of defensive support, and more with a top ten defense. This isn’t as simple as hiring an offensive coordinator and special teams coach, and if Jedd Fisch is the best we can do as a new head coach count me out. I want Coach Napier to get an offensive coordinator for his own sake, but it will always be a crap shoot… today’s guru is all too often tomorrows has been.
If he hires an OC, He probably goes and gets Willy Korn from Liberty. Liberty avgs 498 yds per game, and Billy coached him at Clemson.
I could be wrong (I hope that I am), but I do not think we hire an OC. Even if we do, I think Napier will be overriding the calls.
The way Napier calls the offense doesn’t do the defense any favors. There were times the defense kept the game close while the offense sputtered for 1-2 quarters. Then the defense started getting gashed and the offense suddenly opened up and started driving the ball. Billy seems to coach too conservatively and keep things close to the vest, which while keeping games close, prevents the team from capitalizing on momentum. There were multiple games where the defense got the ball back to the offense with a chance to break the game open, and the offense did nothing. There were multiple games where we would get the ball at the end of the half with 1-2 minutes left, and we sat on it. There is no killer instinct with the play calling on offense. Napier seems to play the percentages, instead of playing to bury the other team and go for the throat. The issue with playing close to the vest is that any mistakes bite you in the ass and there is no margin for error.
Kerwin is at a stage in his life where the OC is not for him. He is Head Coach guy all the way. He had success at Jacksonville University, Valdosta State, and Western Carolina, where he started a rebuild program. So far, it looks like he has turned the corner there. Note, this program has a long history of losing seasons. It is something like 55 seasons out of 90. I doubt that Bell will stay there much longer. However, maybe he and his wife want to set down some roots and enjoy life at a small college.
Because the writing is on the wall. The shield protecting him from past results has fallen away. 2024 will define him good or bad and bad will start with him still calling the plays. Even if he had Georgia's starting lineup on offense, we would have lost the FSU game because he kills momentum in every 2nd half of the season except for one game. Somehow, someway, he manages to screw things up by not running the ball anymore or not throwing downfield or becoming too predictable. He also calls trick plays at the wrong time against the wrong team. That trick play would never work even with a high-powered offense because the Noles defense was too fast and that particular trick play required the Noles to sit there for 10 seconds for it to work. We had momentum, just got a safety, had great field position, was running the ball effectively and instead calls a boneheaded trick play that results in no points and the Noles scoring a TD on their next possession changing the dynamics of the game from that point. Keep in mind after the safety, up 12-0, we only score 3 more points, while the Noles scored 24. All because Napier thought it was cool to run a slow-moving trick play when it wasn't warranted. You want to look at a timely trick play, the one where the Noles almost pulled off the fake punt was perfect timing. If not for 9 nanoseconds too late, that play could have changed the outcome of the game earlier in the game. It was brilliant and it was brilliantly executed.
I distinctly said Coach Napier is an average offensive coordinator, and a change is needed in that area. That doesn’t change the fact that the defense has at least as many problems as the offense. I don’t disagree with many of your points, but until we improve in all facets of the game we are not going to show much improvement. Sure there were times that the offense didn’t help the defense, but the oppose was also true… a lot. If we can get a solid top 5-15 offensive coordinator, let’s do it… (believe me if the administration pushes for a change, it will happen wether Coach Napier wants it or not), but… let’s not pretend that will lead to 9 or 10 wins without significant improvements on defense. I respect both your tone and opinion, but the names being discussed don’t bring anymore to the table than we already have. If the administration isn’t willing to swing for the fences, nothing is going to change… and honestly considering every hire since Meyer left, what makes anyone believe they will try to hit it out of the park with any future hires. If you can get Ryan Day, or Urban Meyer, or DeBoer, or one or two others, it’s time for a change, but Jedd Fisch or Lane, or Stoops, it’s a no for me.
