May/June/JULY Football

[IvanDiabloHorn]

11-14 does not make a coach look wise or strong, just inept. Really not sure you are comparing apples to apples when comparing the players Briles kept and the players Strong ran off. Not hearing any stories about Hammad being involved in Baylor player's unacceptable behavior.

 

[IvanDiabloHorn]

Just some friendly advice, go buy Phil Steele's college football magazine and toss the Lindy's.

 

[bystander]

Just some friendly advice, go buy Phil Steele's college football magazine and toss the Lindy's.

I'm sure you're a great person but your assumption of your superior knowledge isn't too impressive when you it's obvious you have a major blind spot about the hand Charlie inherited.

Lindy's doesn't have a bias against UT. They have a very good magazine. Why don't you tell me who Steele believes is an NFL caliber (a difference maker) on the roster that will be drafted next Spring.

 

[Brad Austin]

There's a case to be made that some of those key contributors who were "ran-off" or suspended just didn't buy into the new regime enough to make the effort.

Harrison and Estelle (book end starting tackles) were playing the year before and Hammad would've been helpful after other injuries.

After the coaching change none of those three gave a flip to make the effort. I bet the experienced leadership and enthusiasm of Harbaugh or Saban would've gotten a different response and result from them.

While I'm not laying all the blame on Strong, I do feel the me vs. you and publicly criticizing the upper classmen approach could've been handled more professionally.

At the very least all dirty laundry or complaints about players should've been kept in the family. Which in turn would've likely set an example and kept upper classmen from constantly bitching at their teammates for all the public to see.

Mack may have left a weak hand, but Charlie sure as heck made plenty of his own mistakes that lead to 11-14...and not just with player management.

 

[Htown77]

as for Watson I guess that is a matter of degree. Louisville had a pretty good program; I don't know that anyone would have expected Strong to notbring him but maybe I don't have the inside story.

There was a whole thread with most posters on this board expecting not to bring him on.

I'm sure you're a great person but your assumption of your superior knowledge isn't too impressive when you it's obvious you have a major blind spot about the hand Charlieinherited.

I had a thread explaining how watson would be a disaster when he was hired. I remember which posters agreed with me. Ivan was one of a few. The problem is, many posters seem to have a blind spot for Strong's decision making and even tried to defend the watson hiring.

Here is where we are at: So far Charlie has failed. That's why he is on the chopping block unless he turns it around.

The posters who thought he was going to fail (ivan among others) seem to have demonstrated superior football knowledge unless Charlie stops failing.

Your blindness would have to be more severe than just a spot if you are confident in this coaching staff after they lost to a talentless Iowa State team 24-0 that was the last win of their head coach before he was fired.

I think we have the offensive staff that should turn around the offense. As for defense, I am not sure. When Mack handed Charlie a defense loaded with talent, the defense played well (2014). I agreed with most posters Charlie would build a top defense. Last year we had quite possibly the worst defense in Texas football history. Now, I am not so sure. It appears (though appearances can be deceiving) our coaches have failed to recruit, develop or retain any good defensive tackles for year 3. Special teams have been a disaster and I have not seen any reason for that to change.

If both the offense and defense turn around we could be good. Charlie appears to have made the right offensive hire and has the defensive history himself that he should be able to make a turnaround happen. However, I have 0 confidence at this point and project 5-7. I hope I am wrong and my skepticism uncalled for.

Many of the posters confident now have made numerous predictions about strong that have all failed to come to pass. So far the predictions of the ivandiablos have happened. The worst predictions were the ones about how we would not have any blowouts under Strong, unlike Mack, because we would be "tough". There were threads and threads about how charlie and co. would "coach them up" unlike the previous staff. Then Strong set the single season blowout loss record and may even set the career blowout loss record (he is over halfway in 2 seasons). Then once the blowouts started, the narrative shifted to "no talent." I think if we go 4-8 this year the new excuse will be "he did not get enough help" (despite a $5 million salary and some of the highest paid assistant coaches in america. SP sure could spend). Hopefully we win 9 games and I do not have to read excuses and justifications for losses on our board anymore and the overconfident predictions can be merited. Hell, if we win 9 games this year, I can join in the overconfident predictions which is much more fun then looking at our upcomming schedule in despair.

 

[bystander]

Thank you for the comprehensive response. So we're saying that somehow many of you knew more about Watson and his abilities than Charlie Strong did even though they worked together. You knew this. Charlie didn't. If so, then I agree with you. Charlie should go. Hell, he must be an idiot then if you guys could see it coming a mile away. Now, I realize that sounds snide but I have no other way of reacting at this point.

To me, they didn't have a quarterback in 2014 or 2015. You start there. It's a major problem. At this point there STILL is not proven winner on the team at quarterback. Swoopes and Heard were Mack recruits right? Buechele just got here. It takes a bit to get this thing going but I guess you guys are thinking it's Watson's fault that Swoopes and Heard have not developed.

I guess I'm not the insider that y'all are. I supposed Bridgewater thrived in spite of Watson's presence. That was a few years ago.

All I know is that the upperclassmen one the roster today were Mack's players. Mack was run off for a reason. The dead air so to speak brought the sailboat to a halt on the lake. The wind is picking up in recruiting. BIG TIME. Something good is happening.

I don't think this team will win nine games. I have no way of predicting that a new offense with a true freshman quarterback is going to click on enough cylinders to please you guys. I don't see much in the defensive line to be confident either. They are very young.

We'll see what happens. I just don't blame him as much as some you guys I guess....

 

[BevoJoe]

I do not have a feel as to what the results will be for this season. It swings wildly from a 9 win to a 5 win season. What the effect on Strong's tenure will be if he produces 9 wins i(including a bowl win) or only 5 if he produces another sub .500 season, I have cannot say, only speculate since my position would never be considered anyway. If the latter happens, I will not be pleased to say the least. That may depend on the types of losses, meaning 20, 30, or 40 point blowouts are one thing, and 1, 2, or 3 point last minute or second losses may be viewed different.

A repeat series of 2015 ND, TCU and ISU losses where we looked clueless and very unprepared, I can't imagine would go unnoticed by the decision makers. Regardless, improvement in all phases of the game, O, D and ST, has to improve. I believe the talent has improved to have a decent to good season, but once again, there will be a number of young guys potentially stepping on the field on 9/4 with no experience at this level. I hope Charlie can get the top end of my thoughts and not the bottom.

 

[bystander]

I do not have a feel as to what the results will be for this season. It swings wildly from a 9 win to a 5 win season. What the effect on Strong's tenure will be if he produces 9 wins i(including a bowl win) or only 5 if he produces another sub .500 season, I have cannot say, only speculate since my position would never be considered anyway. If the latter happens, I will not be pleased to say the least. That may depend on the types of losses, meaning 20, 30, or 40 point blowouts are one thing, and 1, 2, or 3 point last minute or second losses may be viewed different.

A repeat series of 2015 ND, TCU and ISU losses where we looked clueless and very unprepared, I can't imagine would go unnoticed by the decision makers. Regardless, improvement in all phases of the game, O, D and ST, has to improve. I believe the talent has improved to have a decent to good season, but once again, there will be a number of young guys potentially stepping on the field on 9/4 with no experience at this level. I hope Charlie can get the top end of my thoughts and not the bottom.

I think he will be in trouble if he has some severe blow-outs. I still can't understand how they beat OU. The losses have to be "quality" where the opponent knows they were in a game. Sometimes you can tell if a team is on the rise when they're not there yet. I will acknowledge that they did not look like they were on the rise last year. But now, you have a new offensive coaching staff that appears to have a plan and some history of success. It sounds like Buechele looks good but he's young and needs some meat on his bones. Is the interior of the offensive line ready to handle upperclass defensive tackles? I have a lot of optimism about the running game. That has got to help on some level.

But I keep saying the defensive line is a huge wildcard.

I say they all need another year; but it appears there is very little margin of tolerance in order to get that year.

 

[Htown77]

Thank you for the comprehensive response. So we're saying that somehow many of you knew more about Watson and his abilities than Charlie Strong did even though they worked together. You knew this. Charlie didn't. If so, then I agree with you. Charlie should go. Hell, he must be an idiot then if you guys could see it coming a mile away. Now, I realize that sounds snide but I have no other way of reacting at this point

http://www.hornfans.com/threads/shawn-watson-as-a-play-caller.95364/

^ I did not use "inside information." I used readily accessible information such as results. He was the OC at Colorado and Nebraska. We played him. We beat him. His offenses were also underperformed at Louisville despite having Bridgewater and facing weak competition. He failed in the Big 12 twice. Maybe Charlie did not look closely at Watson's results in the Big 12? Maybe Charlie was a defensive coordinator and was inexperienced at hiring an OC at the Big 12 level? (He seems to have learned the lesson with the Gilber hire).

I mean, if Charlie told you that Joe Paterno was forthcoming, would you trust all the reports that indicate this was not the case or Charlie?

Your response was "I would trust Charlie's judgement over my or anyone else's lying eyes. Watson failed as an offensive coordinator in the Big 12 at Colorado and Nebraska, but we should have trusted Charlie that the third time was charm. If only he had a QB, watson might have mediocre! No way anyone could have figured out that he would fail at Texas after failing at Nebraska and Colorado!"

I think you have proven my point that you have a blindspot sir.

 

[bystander]

I trust Charlie over you guys. Sorry...

My conclusion after all of this is as follows: 1) Upperclass talent is lacking 2) There is no proven quarterback and there has not been a proven quarterback in Charlie's tenure. Those two points right there are/were major obstacles to success.

But, I'm willing to stipulate that head coaches on the collegiate level make hiring mistakes from time to time... (re: Manny Diaz).

 

[Htown77]

I guess I'm not the insider that y'all are. I supposed Bridgewater thrived in spite ofWatson's presence. That was a few years ago

Miami (Ohio) 1992 Danny Smith (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Miami (Ohio) 1993 Neil Dougherty (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Northwestern 1997 Tim Hughes (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Northwestern 1998 Gavin Hoffman (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 1999 Mike Moschetti (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 2000 Craig Ochs (undrafted but played in NFL Europe)
Colorado 2001 Craig Ochs/Bobby Pesavento (undrafted but played 5 years in the Arena Football League)
Colorado 2002 Robert Hodge (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 2003-2005 Joel Klatt (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Nebraska 2007 Sam Keller (undrafted and no NFL experience)/Joe Ganz
Nebraska 2008 Joe Ganz (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Nebraska 2009 Zac Lee (undrafted but played in the United Football League)
Nebraska 2010 Taylor Martinez (undrafted no NFL experience)
Louisville 2011-2013 Teddy Bridgewater (very good)
Texas 2014 Ash(injured)/Swoopes(TBD)

Watson did not recruit Bridgewater.

Watson was in such demand he got a job as quality control with Indiana.

So... Bridgewater does seem to be the anomaly.

 

[bystander]

Miami (Ohio) 1992 Danny Smith (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Miami (Ohio) 1993 Neil Dougherty (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Northwestern 1997 Tim Hughes (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Northwestern 1998 Gavin Hoffman (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 1999 Mike Moschetti (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 2000 Craig Ochs (undrafted but played in NFL Europe)
Colorado 2001 Craig Ochs/Bobby Pesavento (undrafted but played 5 years in the Arena Football League)
Colorado 2002 Robert Hodge (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Colorado 2003-2005 Joel Klatt (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Nebraska 2007 Sam Keller (undrafted and no NFL experience)/Joe Ganz
Nebraska 2008 Joe Ganz (undrafted and no NFL experience)
Nebraska 2009 Zac Lee (undrafted but played in the United Football League)
Nebraska 2010 Taylor Martinez (undrafted no NFL experience)
Louisville 2011-2013 Teddy Bridgewater (very good)
Texas 2014 Ash(injured)/Swoopes(TBD)

Watson did not recruit Bridgewater.

Watson was in such demand he got a job as quality control with Indiana.

So... Bridgewater does seem to be the anomaly.

I don't know what Charlie "knew" about Watson. It's hard to believe he didn't have some knowledge of competence. I wish there was a good quarterback on the UT roster for Watson to have worked with but that's water under the bridge. There was nothing here to work with. I think that is/was a huge factor. I don't know the ratings or upside of all those players that you listed when they came out of high school. But in and of itself the list would indicate a lack of development on the one hand or a lack of talent on the other or maybe both.

 

[Brad Austin]

Strong brought in Watson to be L'ville's QB coach (not OC) in 2011.

Mike Sanford started the 2011 season as Strong's OC. Watson took over the job in Game 5 after a poor offensive loss (13-17) to Marshall. Watson only ascended to the OC position under Jay Norvell type dire circumstances.

Just so happens Teddy Bridgewater made his first start the week before Watson took over the offense. Every game Watson led the L'ville offense was on the back of Teddy B.

With his poor OC history pre-Lousiville and backing into the OC job for Strong out of dire necessity, it's clear he rode Teddy B's coattails to atypical success.

This board raised hell when Strong played the bait and switch and forced Watson on us.

Yes, CS landed in Austin and publicly sold Texas fans on Wickline being the new OC and play-caller...only to reverse course a few months later and publicly declare Watson the final decision maker.

Both conflicting declarations CS made on who would be the OC are easy to find on Google. There is no denying Strong snuck in Watson and the majority here were pissed the day he unveiled the dirty trick. We knew all too well of Watson's shortcomings.

 

[moondog_LFZ]

I gave Watson the benefit of the doubt.
But he had all off season to prepare for one game. Notre Dame.
And he failed miserably.
Strong did the right thing afterwards.
Should he have done it sooner?
Or not brought Watson at all?
Above my pay grade and I really don't care.

Now we shall see if Gilbert is the answer.
I really doubt we win less than 7 games.
But I bet Strong still gets his fourth year if we don't.
New OC, still no QB, still filling holes with freshmen.

But, as usual, I have a good feeling about the upcoming season.
We start it off by beating the Domers.
And 2017 is going to be special.

 

[easy]

A lot of people in the know reported that strong didn't want to bring Watson and that he had to settle because of Patterson on top of a few other things that they bumped heads on. I said this earlier and I'll say it again if Charlie had David Ash heck even Case McCoy he would have won at least 8 games each year he was here but then we would be saying saying 8 wins ain't enough. Charlie was dealt a crap hand from the jump point blank period. I like Mack I was upset when they let him go but let's be logical here strong didn't get rid of these guys for nothing. A good bunch were rumored to have failed a few drug tests. His last few classes just didn't pan out they didn't develope the proof is in the pudding dare I say it Garrett Gilbert I mean come on one of the best in the country came in off the bench and gave bama a small panic attack and then dumpster fire. 3 good backs brown Bergeron and gray I don't think either of them had a 1000 yard season. It's blame on both sides but this hole was dug before Charlie got here.

 

[Godz40acres]

Sweet Cleats! The 'Horns will hoof these bad boys out wearing their all-whites Sept 16 at Cal.

 

[majorwhiteapples]

Well we didn't have a qb in 2013 and we played for the conference championship. After 2014 10 players made NFL squads or practice squads.

Why D Foreman was not the starter from day one and we run the ball 50 times a game in 2014, I will never know.

J Gray proved last year that achilles never healed correctly.

The Wickline/Watson thing smelled bad from day one......

 

[bystander]

Well we didn't have a qb in 2013 and we played for the conference championship. After 2014 10 players made NFL squads or practice squads.

Why D Foreman was not the starter from day one and we run the ball 50 times a game in 2014, I will never know.

J Gray proved last year that achilles never healed correctly.

The Wickline/Watson thing smelled bad from day one......

I don't know who to blame for trying manage the Wickline/Watson sleight of hand in terms of the OSU contract stipulations. Maybe they were surprised that OSU would pursue the matter but they did and I'm guessing (not an insider) that Wickline and Watson were uncomfortable with the situation.

As for the QB situation back in 2013, I'd say both Ash (can't remember when the concussions kicked in) and Case were better than what Charlie has had to work with. I'm sorry but Swoopes has made Case look pretty good in my estimation. Heard was very green with a few bright moments.

 

[Brad Austin]

Okay CS struck out with Ash/Swoopes. Wouldn't a solid coach have been hell bent on adding an experienced, proven transfer or juco to the 2015 mix? Instead more of the same QB play as 2014, record drops to 5-7.

Michigan had so many QB's that our former 2015 4-star QB commit Zac Gentry was 6th in line when he arrived last year. He was tried at TE because he's so athletic.

This year they still have 4 scholarship QB's returning above him. So he'll continue to play TE to get on the field. Coaches and fans rave about his talent at QB, it's just they are loaded with talented upperclassmen.

Gentry would've been a beast slinging it in Gilbert's offense. Kid is 6'7, has a rocket arm, and runs a 4.6 40 yards. He'd also have a year of college experience now.

Why did he shun us and bolt for Michigan? Strong and Watson's offensive confusion.

"On Saturday evening, Albuquerque (N.M.) Eldorado quarterback Zach Gentry confirmed that the Longhorns are changing the offense heading into the 2015 season, which played a role in his decommitment from Texas last weekend and his subsequent commitment to Michigan on Saturday evening.

It's not entirely clear the exact direction of the offense and probably won't be until head coach Charlie Strong addresses it in a spring press conference or perhaps even until the annual Orange-White game on April 18."

Making QB excuses for Strong beyond 2014 is lame. We had a legit passing QB in Gentry locked in. CS had two years to add a transfer/JUCO to shore up the position.

I'm not blaming all the misfortune on CS, but OC and QB avoidance surely are his responsibility and absolutely contributed to his flopped record to this point.

I do believe Strong has learned from mistakes and is headed the right way. Sucks he had to learn on the job two years to understand certain facts of life to succeed at this level.

Now I fear he's about to learn a career altering decision by downplaying the importance of a remotely reliable FG kicker.

Another very amateur mistake in my book. But he has the benefit of the doubt until our current kicker options are proven incompetent. Maybe one will pull through.

 

[BevoJoe]

As for the QB situation back in 2013, I'd say both Ash (can't remember when the concussions kicked in) and Case were better than what Charlie has had to work with. I'm sorry but Swoopes has made Case look pretty good in my estimation. Heard was very green with a few bright moments.

Can't disagree with that statement when looking at the whole body of work for both.

 

[BevoJoe]

I do believe Strong has learned from mistakes and is headed the right way. Sucks he had to learn on the job two years to understand certain facts of life to succeed at this level.

Charlie made some decisions that were painfully glaring, the most evident was the Watson as OC and Wick as Co-OC or whatever their titles were. Watson's failure as an OC was immediate at the ND game last year. I was stunned at how inept the O looked. Where was the new up-tempo we had read so much about? It didn't exist or if it did, Watson and/or Wick wasn't comfortable with it and Charlie relieved them of the OC duties quickly. The unfortunate result is that decision should have been made when Strong wanted to transition to the up-tempo game and brought in someone who could get the job done. But that's all water under the bridge, and unfortunately we can't change it. I hope the hires that Strong made this year show positive results and improvement from last year. Not worried about the talent, only how young it is and how it is developing. September 4th.....we'll see first hand.

 

[bystander]

Can't disagree with that statement when looking at the whole body of work for both.

Case of course has been immortalized by 27-25!

 

[IvanDiabloHorn]

The blame for Watson/Wickline debacle falls at the feet of Strong. More so for hiring an incompetent OC Watson and an unproven OC in offensive line coach Wickline. Both are Strong's decisions and the results are Strong's. The fact that after making the decision in 2014 to hire these two as OC's, after spring ball, after summer ball , after 12 games and after 4 weeks of practice, Strong and his two hires produced 59 yards in a bowl game against a 6-6 team means you should not blame the players. While the clueless offensive effort was transpiring in Reliant, Strong stood on the sideline with a quizzical look on his face like he was trying to remember what his wife had asked him to pick up on the way home.."Was it eggs?, milk?, bread?...." He had no clue of what to do about the offense (adjustments etc)
and followed up by making no OC changes in 2015 in spring ball and summer ball allowing Texas to get embarrassed on national TV against Notre Dame.
Blame the HC.

 

[bystander]

The blame for Watson/Wickline debacle falls at the feet of Strong. More so for hiring an incompetent OC Watson and an unproven OC in offensive line coach Wickline. Both are Strong's decisions and the results are Strong's. The fact that after making the decision in 2014 to hire these two as OC's, after spring ball, after summer ball , after 12 games and after 4 weeks of practice, Strong and his two hires produced 59 yards in a bowl game against a 6-6 team means you should not blame the players. While the clueless offensive effort was transpiring in Reliant, Strong stood on the sideline with a quizzical look on his face like he was trying to remember what his wife had asked him to pick up on the way home.."Was it eggs?, milk?, bread?...." He had no clue of what to do about the offense (adjustments etc)
and followed up by making no OC changes in 2015 in spring ball and summer ball allowing Texas to get embarrassed on national TV against Notre Dame.
Blame the HC.

I hear all of that. Not being an insider, I have to ask this question: Was Wickline truly involved as an OC or was all that just cover (saying he was doing something that wasn't true) because of the contract stipulations with OSU?

 

[Htown77]

I think Applewhite/Harsin helped Case look better than Swoopes did under Watson. I have a feeling that Gilbert will make Swoopes and Heard both look lightyears better than Case starting with this year's Notre Dame game.

 

[Godz40acres]

Divisive Haines Critical To D

Love him or hate him, Texas Longhorns senior safety Dylan Haines unquestionably sparks strong feelings.

Regardless of how the burnt orange faithful might feel, there’s also no question that the Longhorns legacy has the trust of head coach Charlie Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford.

He earned it the hard way and kept it with his diligent work habits that serve as an example to younger players like sophomore safety DeShon Elliott, who is battling for one of the starting positions, but is more likely to beat out junior Jason Hall than Haines.

The story of how Haines got to where he is now starts in the 1980s, when his father John was a four-year football lettermen and All-SWC selection. [W]hen Dylan didn’t receive any Division I or Division II scholarships despite a productive career at multiple positions for Lago Vista, he chose to walk on at Texas.

Knowing that his upside was likely as a tackling dummy, Haines kept working, even though he didn’t receive much of an opportunity from Brown.

But when Strong arrived in Austin it didn’t take Haines long to make an impact -- as he often is for the Longhorns, Haines was in the right spot to intercept a pass from quarterback Tyrone Swoopes on the fourth snap of the 2014 Orange and White game.

By the time the season started, the kid with no scholarship offers out of high school was placed on scholarship by Strong.

"He does everything you ask him to do," Strong said that fall.

Like work hard in the film room.

[Haines’ 2014 season totals:
1st in INTs with 4
2nd in PBUs with 7
3rd in tackles with 86
4th in ST tackles with 4]

[Haines’ 2015 season totals;
1st in INTs with 5
1st in PBUs with 7
6th in tackles with 46]​

However, his liabilities also became more apparent. Haines missed too many tackles, took too many poor angles in pursuit, and struggled too often in coverage as opponents attempted to isolate him and take advantage of his lack of speed.

Unlike in 2014, Texas will have some safety talent on campus this fall...

But don’t expect Haines to give up his hard-earned starting job unless players like Hall and Elliott become studious enough to avoid the alignment mistakes that Haines helps mitigate with his preparation and understanding of Strong’s defense.

In fact, Bedford harped on the importance of communication during the spring after challenging Hall to stop relying on Haines to get him in position.

“We need to do a better job of talking to each other, talking things out — and the one thing for us, everything is a number count,” Bedford said. “It's like one, two, three. If I'm a linebacker I relate to number three, if I'm a defensive back I relate to number two.

“You'd be amazed sometimes, we have a hard time counting to three, and when we can get that done that means we can get in line properly.”

Even as Hall and Elliott improve there and Jones and Brown get acclimated to college football, Haines provides the coaching staff with the security of knowing that he won’t be out of position.

“We play a complicated defense and I think that's good, because if you know what to do, you can anticipate things coming. That's something that I take a lot of pride in my game, is just being able to anticipate things. If you know it's coming it's a lot easier to defend it.”

So far, the result is 200 interception return yards for Haines in two seasons, a number that ranks second all-time at Texas. All that despite the limited athleticism that often exposes him in coverage.

Love him or hate him, Haines is likely to play a high number of snaps once again in 2016, and even his detractors should be able to admit that his success story — from walk on to starter to a notable place in the Texas record book — is one of the most compelling in recent Longhorns football history.

[BON article]

 

[Brad Austin]

Was Wickline truly involved as an OC or was all that just cover (saying he was doing something that wasn't true) because of the contract stipulations with OSU?

You're correct that Wickline was tabbed OC as cover, but moreso to hide his intentions of Watson being the final decision maker of the offense.

When Strong arrived (before naming OC) fans were loudly opposed to Watson. Vance was already named DC, so fans became vocal against Watson forming an all-Louisville Senior staff.

To cool flames, Strong publicly said in Jan 2014 that Wickline would be his play caller. There are a mountain of Jan 14 articles debating Wickline's ability as play-caller after the announcement was made, because that's exactly what Strong sold fans.

Then in March 14 Strong reversed course. In a very uncomfortable presser he went to great lengths to explain how both Wick and Watson were sharing the offensive design and play-calling, but finally and even sheepishly stated Shawn will have final authority.

Here's an AAS excerpt specifically asking Strong if he named Joe play-caller just to avoid the penalty for a lateral move from OSU...

"...according to his previous contract at Oklahoma State, Wickline must accept a new job as an "offensive coordinator (with play calling duties)” or Texas would be forced to pay a $600,000 buyout.

Strong denied that this caveat played a role in naming Wickline the OC.

“I don’t even look at guys’ contracts,” Strong said, via the Statesman. “When I get a job, I call and say, ‘Hey, you want to jump on board? Let’s go to work.'"

Wickline as OC may have been cover to swipe him as OL coach, but the bigger cover was to hide Watson under his shadow until fans cooled enough to make the change. It was the only deceitful move I've seen from Strong and karma roasted him for it.

 

[BevoJoe]

I think Applewhite/Harsin helped Case look better than Swoopes did under Watson. I have a feeling that Gilbert will make Swoopes and Heard both look lightyears better than Case starting with this year's Notre Dame game.

Good point about Applewhite and Harrison. I hope Gilbert can get a QB developed enough to play at a high level this year.

 

[ViperHorn]

I think Applewhite/Harsin helped Case look better than Swoopes did under Watson. I have a feeling that Gilbert will make Swoopes and Heard both look lightyears better than Case starting with this year's Notre Dame game.

Case understood the game and knew his limitations. We can hold out hope for Swoops and Heard, but I am not sure Gilbert can improve Swoops decision making or strengthen Heard's arm.

unless players like Hall and Elliott become studious enough to avoid the alignment mistakes that Haines helps mitigate with his preparation and understanding of Strong’s defense.

and here is the problem. Superior athletic young players feeling they do not have to put in the film study hours. Out of position LB's and DB's was the problem in every 2015 game. Strong and Bedford could not get through them as freshmen and sophomores.

 

[bystander]

http://www.barkingcarnival.com/2016...aiting-on-patrick-hudson-will-decide-thursday

"If Patrick Hudson joins the fold, the Longhorns will have put together extraordinary back-to-back classes in 2015/2016. Charlie Strong is probably one class and one healthy, assertive QB away from getting this back on track fully."