🏈 Bama's staff is complete with the hire of Brian Daboll
- Thread starter TerryP
- Start date
Locksley isn't exactly known for developing QBs.
We need a proven QB developer with 3 young players at that position.
If that weren't the case, why didn't CNS move Locksley up in the 1st place when Kiffin left? Locksley had been here longer than Sark.
PhillyGirl
Member
bamafan4ever
Staff
It stands to reason that you would be gun-shy when it comes to Mr. Kelly however I am thinking it may be one of those "better in college than the pros" or "better as an OC than a head coach" kind of thing. One thing for sure, he wouldn't be in it for the long haul. This would be used like a launching pad to his next destination.
Alabama17Tide
Member
Offensive coordinator hot board
Ben Jones | Editor
Alabama is searching for another offensive coordinator. Steve Sarkisian is leaving Tuscaloosa for the Atlanta Falcons, meaning Nick Saban will have to fill the position Sarkisian accepted when Lane Kiffin left to become head coach at FAU. Here are a handful of early candidates, listed alphabetically.
GEORGE GODSEY
Current position: None
Former positions:
2015-16 – Houston Texans offensive coordinator
2014 – Houston Texans quarterbacks coach
2012-13 – New England Patriots tight ends coach
2011 – New England Patriots offensive assistant
2009-10 – Central Florida running backs coach
2005-08 – Central Florida quarterbacks coach
2004 – Central Florida graduate assistant
Saban doesn't have any direct ties to Godsey, but that's never stopped him from hiring an assistant or coordinator before. Saban can check with Bill Belichick and offensive line coach Brent Key if he needs to do some research on Godsey. He hasn't coached at the major college level and hasn't been in college at all since 2010 but his NFL experience is appealing in his own way.
Oregon's head coach Mark Helfrich, center, watch a replay with starting quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013 in Tucson, Ariz.
Wily Low | AP
MARK HELFRICH
Current position: None
Former positions:
2013-16 – Oregon head coach
2009-12 – Oregon quarterbacks, offensive coordinator
2006-08 – Colorado quarterbacks, offensive coordinator
2003-05 – Arizona State quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator
2001-02 – Arizona State quarterbacks coach
1998-00 – Boise State quarterbacks coach
1997 – Oregon graduate assistant
1996 – Southern Oregon running backs coach
His four years leading Oregon started strong and went south just as quickly. Helfrich doesn't have ties to Saban, has never worked in the region and has run a different offense than what Alabama has operated in recent years. But he's considered a talented playcaller and developer of quarterbacks. Both of those skills would be attractive given Alabama's opening.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.
Ben Margot | AP
CHIP KELLY
Current position: None
Former positions:
2016 – San Francisco 49ers head coach
2013-15 – Philadelphia Eagles head coach
2009-12 – Oregon head coach
2007-08 – Oregon offensive coordinator
1999-06 – New Hampshire offensive coordinator
1997-98 – New Hampshire offensive line coach
1994-96 – New Hampshire running backs coach
1993 – Johns Hopkins defensive coordinator
1992 – New Hampshire running backs coach
1991 – Outside linebackers and safeties coach
1990 – Columbia defensive backs and special teams coach
1988-89 – Nevada conditioning coach
He's the biggest name on the list, and maybe the biggest name available in the coaching ranks at the moment. But Kelly isn't without baggage. His short stint with the 49ers was a mess and he flamed out in Philadelphia. Saban isn't averse to hiring coaches who draw extra attention. Kelly has visited Tuscaloosa in the past and has a prior relationship with Saban.
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin speaks with Steve Sarkisian and Mike Locksley during practice for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016.
Erin Nelson | The Tuscaloosa News
MIKE LOCKSLEY
Current position: Alabama offensive assistant
Former positions:
2016 - Alabama offensive analyst
2012-15 – Maryland quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator (interim head coach in 2015)
2009-11 – New Mexico head coach
2006-08 – Illinois quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator
2005 – Illinois tight ends, offensive coordinator
2003-04 – Florida running backs, recruiting coordinator
1998-02 - Maryland running backs coach, recruiting coordinator
1997 – Maryland running backs coach
1996 – Army wide receivers and tight ends coach
1995 – Pacific outside linebackers coach
1994 – U.S. Naval Prep School defensive line coach and defensive coordinator
1993 – U.S. Naval Prep School defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator
1992 – Towson State defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator
Locksley may the most logical hire and would provide continuity after losing two straight offensive coordinators. He’s been a head coach and also has eight years of experience as an offensive coordinator. He’s coached several positions on offense at major conference schools. His time already spent at Alabama would help him step in quickly both as a coordinator and as a recruiter for the Crimson Tide.
UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel and quarterback Kevin Craft, left, clap their hands after teammate Kai Forbath make a field goal in overtime against Tennessee in a college football game, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, in Pasadena, Calif.
Jeff Lewis | AP
RICK NEUHEISEL
Current position: CBS Sports analyst
Former positions:
2008-11 – UCLA head coach
2007 – Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator
2005-06 – Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach
1999-02 – Washington head coach
1995-98 – Colorado head coach
1994 – Colorado offensive coordinator
1990-93 – UCLA wide receivers coach
1988-89 – UCLA quarterbacks coach
1986 – UCLA graduate assistant
It's been a few years since Neuheisel was in a coaching booth instead of a broadcast booth, but he could be a possibility. He's long expressed admiration for Alabama and Saban's program and has the most experience of any name on this list. He'd be a bit unconventional as a hire but don't rule him out immediately.
TideSports.com - Offensive coordinator hot board
Ben Jones | Editor
Alabama is searching for another offensive coordinator. Steve Sarkisian is leaving Tuscaloosa for the Atlanta Falcons, meaning Nick Saban will have to fill the position Sarkisian accepted when Lane Kiffin left to become head coach at FAU. Here are a handful of early candidates, listed alphabetically.
GEORGE GODSEY
Current position: None
Former positions:
2015-16 – Houston Texans offensive coordinator
2014 – Houston Texans quarterbacks coach
2012-13 – New England Patriots tight ends coach
2011 – New England Patriots offensive assistant
2009-10 – Central Florida running backs coach
2005-08 – Central Florida quarterbacks coach
2004 – Central Florida graduate assistant
Saban doesn't have any direct ties to Godsey, but that's never stopped him from hiring an assistant or coordinator before. Saban can check with Bill Belichick and offensive line coach Brent Key if he needs to do some research on Godsey. He hasn't coached at the major college level and hasn't been in college at all since 2010 but his NFL experience is appealing in his own way.
Oregon's head coach Mark Helfrich, center, watch a replay with starting quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013 in Tucson, Ariz.
Wily Low | AP
MARK HELFRICH
Current position: None
Former positions:
2013-16 – Oregon head coach
2009-12 – Oregon quarterbacks, offensive coordinator
2006-08 – Colorado quarterbacks, offensive coordinator
2003-05 – Arizona State quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator
2001-02 – Arizona State quarterbacks coach
1998-00 – Boise State quarterbacks coach
1997 – Oregon graduate assistant
1996 – Southern Oregon running backs coach
His four years leading Oregon started strong and went south just as quickly. Helfrich doesn't have ties to Saban, has never worked in the region and has run a different offense than what Alabama has operated in recent years. But he's considered a talented playcaller and developer of quarterbacks. Both of those skills would be attractive given Alabama's opening.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.
Ben Margot | AP
CHIP KELLY
Current position: None
Former positions:
2016 – San Francisco 49ers head coach
2013-15 – Philadelphia Eagles head coach
2009-12 – Oregon head coach
2007-08 – Oregon offensive coordinator
1999-06 – New Hampshire offensive coordinator
1997-98 – New Hampshire offensive line coach
1994-96 – New Hampshire running backs coach
1993 – Johns Hopkins defensive coordinator
1992 – New Hampshire running backs coach
1991 – Outside linebackers and safeties coach
1990 – Columbia defensive backs and special teams coach
1988-89 – Nevada conditioning coach
He's the biggest name on the list, and maybe the biggest name available in the coaching ranks at the moment. But Kelly isn't without baggage. His short stint with the 49ers was a mess and he flamed out in Philadelphia. Saban isn't averse to hiring coaches who draw extra attention. Kelly has visited Tuscaloosa in the past and has a prior relationship with Saban.
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin speaks with Steve Sarkisian and Mike Locksley during practice for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016.
Erin Nelson | The Tuscaloosa News
MIKE LOCKSLEY
Current position: Alabama offensive assistant
Former positions:
2016 - Alabama offensive analyst
2012-15 – Maryland quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator (interim head coach in 2015)
2009-11 – New Mexico head coach
2006-08 – Illinois quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator
2005 – Illinois tight ends, offensive coordinator
2003-04 – Florida running backs, recruiting coordinator
1998-02 - Maryland running backs coach, recruiting coordinator
1997 – Maryland running backs coach
1996 – Army wide receivers and tight ends coach
1995 – Pacific outside linebackers coach
1994 – U.S. Naval Prep School defensive line coach and defensive coordinator
1993 – U.S. Naval Prep School defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator
1992 – Towson State defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator
Locksley may the most logical hire and would provide continuity after losing two straight offensive coordinators. He’s been a head coach and also has eight years of experience as an offensive coordinator. He’s coached several positions on offense at major conference schools. His time already spent at Alabama would help him step in quickly both as a coordinator and as a recruiter for the Crimson Tide.
UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel and quarterback Kevin Craft, left, clap their hands after teammate Kai Forbath make a field goal in overtime against Tennessee in a college football game, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, in Pasadena, Calif.
Jeff Lewis | AP
RICK NEUHEISEL
Current position: CBS Sports analyst
Former positions:
2008-11 – UCLA head coach
2007 – Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator
2005-06 – Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach
1999-02 – Washington head coach
1995-98 – Colorado head coach
1994 – Colorado offensive coordinator
1990-93 – UCLA wide receivers coach
1988-89 – UCLA quarterbacks coach
1986 – UCLA graduate assistant
It's been a few years since Neuheisel was in a coaching booth instead of a broadcast booth, but he could be a possibility. He's long expressed admiration for Alabama and Saban's program and has the most experience of any name on this list. He'd be a bit unconventional as a hire but don't rule him out immediately.
TideSports.com - Offensive coordinator hot board
What QBs have Kelly or Heflin "developed" tho?
I'm with the Locksley crowd on this one. It's time to stop bringing the ex-head coaches and bring a guy in that's going to build an offense for a longer term run.
Alabama17Tide
Member
"The answer to Alabama's offensive coordinator problem: Chip Kelly
Nick Saban already has squashed the Southeastern Conference like a semi running over a squirrel. He’s beaten everyone else not named Clemson to a pulp, too.
But if the Dark Lord of college football really wants to demoralize the sport, there’s one thing to do right now:
Hire Chip Kelly as his next offensive coordinator.
Then sit back and watch white flags being raised in Baton Rouge, Gainesville, Athens, the Loveliest Little Village on the Plain and beyond.
Combining the most fertile offensive mind college football has seen in the last decade with the most fearsome defensive mind of the 21st century – and, oh yeah, the best talent in the country – would be unfair.
And it would be fascinating.
Is Chip Kelly the answer to Alabama’s offensive coordinator vacancy? (Getty)
Sark was rushed onto the job just in time to lose the national title to Clemson.That means Saban must hire his sixth offensive coordinator in 11 years at Alabama. It’s been a high-pressure, high-turnover position: Major Applewhite lasted one year and then went to his alma mater, Texas, as a position coach; Jim McElwain did well and was rewarded with a head-coaching job at Colorado State; Doug Nussmeier was onboard for a national title and then left to join Brady Hoke’s sinking ship at Michigan; Lane Kiffin had three years of success sprinkled with the usual Kiffy drama; and
As you can see, not everybody has left that job for bigger and better.
The guy who wears that hat gets a lot of money and a lot of talent to work with, but also a lot of Saban to deal with. He’s a demanding boss. Saban can put up with some stuff in exchange for results (see: three years with arrested adolescent Kiffin) but the OC must put up with semi-regular ass-chewings on national TV and who knows how many behind closed doors.
Kelly could certainly handle it, and would certainly be granted wide latitude to be the CEO of the offense. There are other reasons why it’s conceivable, if perhaps not probable:
Kelly is unemployed. He’s been fired twice in the last 13 months in the NFL and may need to feel the love. His best work and his true comfort zone is in college. He’s coached ball every fall from 1990-2016; does he really want to be away from the game for a year?
Alabama has more money than God and believes nothing could be a better expenditure than to increase its hegemony in college football. Especially now that Clemson is actively assaulting the castle walls. Kiffin was the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the game last year at $1.4 million per year. If Kelly wants $2 million, give it to him.
Saban and Kelly have a relationship, reportedly a good one. Kelly showed up in Tuscaloosa in early January 2016 after being fired by the Eagles, while the Crimson Tide was preparing for Clemson Classic I. That visit quickly garnered attention and sparked curiosity.
“Chip Kelly’s a good friend of myself and a lot of coaches on our staff,” Saban said at the time. “He just happened to be in the area and he stopped by and visited with us for a little bit. Not really anything of significance relative to this game.”
· Kelly and new Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne are friendly as well, and have been for several years dating to when they were both in the Pac-12 – Kelly at Oregon and Byrne at Arizona.
· If Kelly needed a one-year refresher course on shredding college defenses with the spread option, why not do it with Jalen Hurts, Bo Scarborough, Calvin Ridley and other studs at your disposal?
· A year in the SEC might also help familiarize Kelly with the operations of two programs that are on Alabama’s schedule every season and may be in the market to hire another head coach if 2017 doesn’t go well. Looking at you, Texas A&M and Tennessee.
Now, hiring Kelly and having him implement the same offense he ran at Oregon would also finalize the hypocrisy of Saban’s staunch stance that uptempo football is dangerous to players and should be legislated against.
Saban lobbied to slow down the game and reduce the number of plays, to the outrage of uptempo teams everywhere. When he didn’t beat ‘em, he semi-joined ‘em – Alabama became primarily a no-huddle team under Kiffin.
Still, the Tide didn’t play at the breakneck pace of vintage Kelly Oregon. Playing that way would require a complete walking back of the Saban safety concerns manifesto, circa 2012-14.
I suspect that’s a rhetorical tightrope walk Nick Saban would be willing to make if he had to. Hiring Chip Kelly would be worth it – for the fear and panic that would spread throughout the land within minutes of the announcement, and the touchdowns that would follow in the fall.
rest of article:
More
The answer to Alabama's offensive coordinator problem: Chip Kelly
Nick Saban already has squashed the Southeastern Conference like a semi running over a squirrel. He’s beaten everyone else not named Clemson to a pulp, too.
But if the Dark Lord of college football really wants to demoralize the sport, there’s one thing to do right now:
Hire Chip Kelly as his next offensive coordinator.
Then sit back and watch white flags being raised in Baton Rouge, Gainesville, Athens, the Loveliest Little Village on the Plain and beyond.
Combining the most fertile offensive mind college football has seen in the last decade with the most fearsome defensive mind of the 21st century – and, oh yeah, the best talent in the country – would be unfair.
And it would be fascinating.
Is Chip Kelly the answer to Alabama’s offensive coordinator vacancy? (Getty)
Sark was rushed onto the job just in time to lose the national title to Clemson.That means Saban must hire his sixth offensive coordinator in 11 years at Alabama. It’s been a high-pressure, high-turnover position: Major Applewhite lasted one year and then went to his alma mater, Texas, as a position coach; Jim McElwain did well and was rewarded with a head-coaching job at Colorado State; Doug Nussmeier was onboard for a national title and then left to join Brady Hoke’s sinking ship at Michigan; Lane Kiffin had three years of success sprinkled with the usual Kiffy drama; and
As you can see, not everybody has left that job for bigger and better.
The guy who wears that hat gets a lot of money and a lot of talent to work with, but also a lot of Saban to deal with. He’s a demanding boss. Saban can put up with some stuff in exchange for results (see: three years with arrested adolescent Kiffin) but the OC must put up with semi-regular ass-chewings on national TV and who knows how many behind closed doors.
Kelly could certainly handle it, and would certainly be granted wide latitude to be the CEO of the offense. There are other reasons why it’s conceivable, if perhaps not probable:
Kelly is unemployed. He’s been fired twice in the last 13 months in the NFL and may need to feel the love. His best work and his true comfort zone is in college. He’s coached ball every fall from 1990-2016; does he really want to be away from the game for a year?
Alabama has more money than God and believes nothing could be a better expenditure than to increase its hegemony in college football. Especially now that Clemson is actively assaulting the castle walls. Kiffin was the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the game last year at $1.4 million per year. If Kelly wants $2 million, give it to him.
Saban and Kelly have a relationship, reportedly a good one. Kelly showed up in Tuscaloosa in early January 2016 after being fired by the Eagles, while the Crimson Tide was preparing for Clemson Classic I. That visit quickly garnered attention and sparked curiosity.
“Chip Kelly’s a good friend of myself and a lot of coaches on our staff,” Saban said at the time. “He just happened to be in the area and he stopped by and visited with us for a little bit. Not really anything of significance relative to this game.”
· Kelly and new Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne are friendly as well, and have been for several years dating to when they were both in the Pac-12 – Kelly at Oregon and Byrne at Arizona.
· If Kelly needed a one-year refresher course on shredding college defenses with the spread option, why not do it with Jalen Hurts, Bo Scarborough, Calvin Ridley and other studs at your disposal?
· A year in the SEC might also help familiarize Kelly with the operations of two programs that are on Alabama’s schedule every season and may be in the market to hire another head coach if 2017 doesn’t go well. Looking at you, Texas A&M and Tennessee.
Now, hiring Kelly and having him implement the same offense he ran at Oregon would also finalize the hypocrisy of Saban’s staunch stance that uptempo football is dangerous to players and should be legislated against.
Saban lobbied to slow down the game and reduce the number of plays, to the outrage of uptempo teams everywhere. When he didn’t beat ‘em, he semi-joined ‘em – Alabama became primarily a no-huddle team under Kiffin.
Still, the Tide didn’t play at the breakneck pace of vintage Kelly Oregon. Playing that way would require a complete walking back of the Saban safety concerns manifesto, circa 2012-14.
I suspect that’s a rhetorical tightrope walk Nick Saban would be willing to make if he had to. Hiring Chip Kelly would be worth it – for the fear and panic that would spread throughout the land within minutes of the announcement, and the touchdowns that would follow in the fall.
rest of article:
More
The answer to Alabama's offensive coordinator problem: Chip Kelly
Look what he did with Kiffin, a lot of us didn't think he was any good. But under Saban thumb he did great here. Now out from under that thumb look at him now. I trust in who ever Saban get to replace him.
50+yeartidefan
Member
rocknthefreeworld
Member
RoeTied
Member
Sarcasm?
It's pretty telling that you could only use one QB out of what, 20 years, as an example? Not to mention I wouldnt call that QB "developed" as a passer in any stretch of the imagination...
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