The importance of the Head Coach

[OrangeAfroMan]

Yeah, you could even whittle the Saban model as an attempt at boring.  No upsets.  No hijinks.  No trick plays, just be more talented, do your job, execute, and go home with a W.  
Spurrier's way was more fun, and yielded results....not 5 NC results, but results nonetheless.  He literally would make up plays during the game on the sideline.  

[Cincydawg]

Smart is trying to make "Alabama East" in Athens and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.  The recruiting looks to be even better than what Richt did overall (thus far, not much data yet of course).  The "culture" aspect is TBD.

Most think UGA is not there yet of course and that is very reasonable, but headed there?  We'll see.  Georgia has a larger population obviously and a lot of HS football players at a high level.  That means freshmen can come in considerably ahead in technique and understanding of what might be the case in some other states with less funded HS coaching and facilities.

Some Dawg fans note that Fromm is from the top level of HS football while Eason was from a middle level in Washington state and that is one reason Fromm is better prepared, don't know if that is real or not.

[Drew4UTk]

this is going to be severely unpopular in this forum, but.... 

it's my opinion UGA is playing above their station right now.  that isn't to say they aren't in the group of four... that isn't to say they don't have flat out the best backfield in the game... that isn't to say their defense isn't playing 'lights out'- all those apply. it is to say that much of their success is based on chemistry of that team.  whatever the source of the alchemy from Richt's components to Smart's, that team has responded as a team, and that cohesion- however delicate or tough- is the source of their performance this season. i'm purely jealous of what they've achieved i'll be quick to say, but i'll also be quick to say that w/o whatever that element is, they're just another tOSU or Auburn or LSU- teams with the ponies but lacking that magic gel that takes them into contention. 

it'll be at least three or four season's before UGA, even if not knocked off it's present course, will be comparable to Bama imHo- because that kind of program takes time and consistency.  i've not witnessed it, but in my minds eye i can see Saban being approached by his coordinators and them reporting "ready for review, sir" and Saban watching a drill and saying "nope- come back when you have it right" or "good job, let's see it again"... in Smart's case, he's there watching and coaching at every interval until his staff and players fully understand the culture he is creating (which may have the goals of being saban'esque).  that takes time.... motivating a team to play 'above their station' doesn't necessarily- it just takes players that believe. 

it's almost like interaction of the sexes... it's the lust that kindles the full out mad sex that binds early, and lasts long enough to build a relationship outside of just physical.  Smart is banging that team and that team is banging him back- where as Saban is in a marriage built to last. 

[MikeDeTiger]

It kinda got away from you there at the end.  

[rolltidefan]

someone a few years back on b1g board was comparing saban and kelly (oregon) and had an interesting take.

they put it on a scale of chaos.

on one side, you want to limit chaos, control everything. run game, defense, los, mistakes, turnovers, efficient offense, clock, everything. problem is chaos will happen. you need to account for that with the best possible players to overcome that. this is obviously saban's approach. and he's mastered it.

on the other side, you want to invite chaos. explosion, up and down field, throwing left and right, scoring quick and often, make the ball bounce, etc. mistake will happen, but so will a ton of big plays. it's ok if something goes wrong, we'' be back out to try again in no time. and if you can be the one instigating the chaos, you can feed from it, build it, until the other team breaks from it. high octane, fast pace and the other hunh teams lean this way, with kelly being best at it at that time.

wish i could go back and get that. they put it much more eloquently than i did.

as far as x's and o's, i generally think almost all hc's are pretty good at that. otherwise they wouldn't have made it up the coaching ranks to be a coord, much less a hc.

[rolltidefan]

It kinda got away from you there at the end.  

well, he does keep bringing us rings, so...

[Cincydawg]

I like the comparison between coaches who thrive on chaos versus those who want "A Plan".  Very nice.

I learned more about pitching one week in Florida from Bruce Dal Canton that I learned from any baseball coach I ever had, and it's not even close.  That has nothing to do with anything except that Bruce was a fine fine individual and coach.

Smart clearly is the "Plan" kind of coach.  I don't know if we have many chaos coaches in the SEC at all, at least by intent.

The Chaos coach can win games he shouldn't and lose others he should have won.  Can you beat Bama playing Bama's game?

[rolltidefan]

malzahn and sumlin both seem to lean that way, though both have also seemed to moved more toward middle last few years.

but both were willing to take on a lot of risk for chance of huge reward. both had some success with it for a while too.

[Drew4UTk]

i like that chaos thing too... it's a lot more intuitive a label than the 'program manager' or 'tactician' type descriptors i've thrown around in the past...

butch jones was sold as a chaos, and turned out to be not the least bit chaotic.  he tries to be safe and methodical but lacks the ponies... and that is about that 

[MikeDeTiger]

well, he does keep bringing us rings, so...

If he keeps bringing jewelry after you're already married, he's cheating.  

[Cincydawg]

It was fun watching Les Miles at LSU at times.

It's not much fun being a UK fan though.  

I think Ole Miss fans do it right.

[Cincydawg]

I always am thinking "That should be "fewer miles" though.

[MikeDeTiger]

It's not much fun being a UK fan though.  

I think Ole Miss fans do it right.

It is during basketball season.  Sometimes baseball too.
How the hell can Ole Miss fans be doing anything right when their tailgates are catered?

[847badgerfan]

i like that chaos thing too... it's a lot more intuitive a label than the 'program manager' or 'tactician' type descriptors i've thrown around in the past...

butch jones was sold as a chaos, and turned out to be not the least bit chaotic.  he tries to be safe and methodical but lacks the ponies... and that is about that

It would never work with the way he treats his OL. That's where it starts.