Scrape&Search1032
Member
I wish it was true. Maybe will be in the next few days. Pay the man and bring him back home.
š UA Coordinator/coaching changesā SPLIT into offensive and defensive threads.
- Thread starter Brandon Van de Graaff
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AirForceBamaFan
Member
Heās gonna be a goodun!!
An article from August (worth reading)ā¦
Trevor Ritchie
Aug 16, 2022
via Charlie Luttrell (Student Printz)
Rarely does an opportunity worth taking not meet sacrifice, a sentiment Southern Miss defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong knows quite well.
Now among college footballās youngest coordinators, Armstrong didnāt always have things figured out. The former Huntington College linebacker finished his playing career in 2014, but he wasnāt able to earn his Bachelorās degree until December 2015. In the interim, he coached at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School (Ala.) while looking for his breakthrough in the college coaching ranks.
āI wrote a handwritten letter to everybody that coaches football from below the Mason-Dixon line out to Texas and sent them my resume,ā Armstrong said. āI wasnāt self-righteous enough to think if I wrote Coach Saban at Alabama 20 handwritten notes that heād be like, āHey, this guyās a good guy.ā Thatās just not how it works. Itās easier to get into Wall Street than it is to get into college football. So, I zeroed in on [Will] Hall at West Georgia.ā
Long before this duo became the leaders of Southern Miss football, Armstrong was on the outside looking in simply pestering Hall for an opportunity. Hall, who currently serves as the head coach at Southern Miss, let those initial pleas fall on deaf ears. Nonetheless, the ever-persistent Armstrong began running the roads of West Alabama dropping off resumes at local high schools.
Despite many admitted failures along the way, a graduate assistant position at West Georgia finally presented itself in April 2016.
With little success out of the gate, Armstrong utilized every mutual contact he had with Hall to create a line of communication. He even called Hallās secretary, nearly to the point of harassment, upwards of 10 times per day. Each time Hall left his office following an offseason meeting with players, he had a new message waiting for him.
Eventually, Armstrong even had his cousin reach out to Mississippi coaching legend Bobby Hall ā Willās father ā to request the favor that somehow secured him an interview.
āI ended up getting the job for a whopping $287,ā Armstrong laughed. āThey gave me a place to live, so I was very fortunate. I also got a $400 one-time stipend for food for the semester. I worked there for one season. My office was literally a closet.ā
In 2017, Hall left West Georgia to become the offensive coordinator at Louisiana. Once again, Armstrong found himself reeling in an attempt to find a new home on the gridiron. Luckily, once Hall got through his recruiting schedule, another opportunity welcomed Armstrong with the Raginā Cajuns.
However, there was a significant catch. From March through June, he was informed there would be no money available for the defensive assistant. In a far from unfamiliar situation, Armstrong parted with one of his prized possessions to make a move to The Boot a viable option.
āI had a white 1999 single cab Toyota Tacoma 5-speed,ā Armstrong recalled. āBest truck Iāve ever had. I sold it and used that money [$5,000] to live off until I started getting a stipend.ā
In the wise words of former Super Bowl champion head coach Bruce Arians, āno risk it, no biscuit.ā Unsurprisingly, nothing was too large of an ask for one of college footballās brightest coaching prospects. Armstrong quickly began to learn the ins and outs of the game, helping Louisiana claim its first of four-straight Sun Belt Conference West Division titles in 2018, play in the Sun Belt's first football championship game and earn an appearance in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
From there, Armstrong enjoyed a quick run with Georgia as a defensive quality control coach where he played a role in head coach Kirby Smart's unit landing as high as No. 3 in the national polls. He returned to Louisiana in 2020 as the inside linebackers coach en route to another Sun Belt West Division title before ultimately reuniting with Hall in 2021 as the Nasty Bunchās defensive coordinator.
āThe biggest thing you get out of the journey is gratitude,ā Armstrong said. āBeing thankful that Godās been so good to you and that youāve had these opportunities. The track that the good Lordās put me on is not normal, and itās because he exposed me to a lot of good people, good coaches and good men. Theyāve given me opportunities, and Iāve tried to make the most out of them. You donāt really think of it like āIāve arrivedā or anything because thereās always another challenge.ā
All in all, it seems like things worked out well enough. No more selling cars. No more one-time $400 stipends. Finally, all the 29-year-old has to do is lock in on what he calls the easy part ā coaching football.
How Southern Miss DC Austin Armstrong became one of college footballās most promising minds
Trevor Ritchie
Aug 16, 2022
via Charlie Luttrell (Student Printz)Rarely does an opportunity worth taking not meet sacrifice, a sentiment Southern Miss defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong knows quite well.
Now among college footballās youngest coordinators, Armstrong didnāt always have things figured out. The former Huntington College linebacker finished his playing career in 2014, but he wasnāt able to earn his Bachelorās degree until December 2015. In the interim, he coached at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School (Ala.) while looking for his breakthrough in the college coaching ranks.
āI wrote a handwritten letter to everybody that coaches football from below the Mason-Dixon line out to Texas and sent them my resume,ā Armstrong said. āI wasnāt self-righteous enough to think if I wrote Coach Saban at Alabama 20 handwritten notes that heād be like, āHey, this guyās a good guy.ā Thatās just not how it works. Itās easier to get into Wall Street than it is to get into college football. So, I zeroed in on [Will] Hall at West Georgia.ā
Long before this duo became the leaders of Southern Miss football, Armstrong was on the outside looking in simply pestering Hall for an opportunity. Hall, who currently serves as the head coach at Southern Miss, let those initial pleas fall on deaf ears. Nonetheless, the ever-persistent Armstrong began running the roads of West Alabama dropping off resumes at local high schools.
Despite many admitted failures along the way, a graduate assistant position at West Georgia finally presented itself in April 2016.
With little success out of the gate, Armstrong utilized every mutual contact he had with Hall to create a line of communication. He even called Hallās secretary, nearly to the point of harassment, upwards of 10 times per day. Each time Hall left his office following an offseason meeting with players, he had a new message waiting for him.
Eventually, Armstrong even had his cousin reach out to Mississippi coaching legend Bobby Hall ā Willās father ā to request the favor that somehow secured him an interview.
āI ended up getting the job for a whopping $287,ā Armstrong laughed. āThey gave me a place to live, so I was very fortunate. I also got a $400 one-time stipend for food for the semester. I worked there for one season. My office was literally a closet.ā
In 2017, Hall left West Georgia to become the offensive coordinator at Louisiana. Once again, Armstrong found himself reeling in an attempt to find a new home on the gridiron. Luckily, once Hall got through his recruiting schedule, another opportunity welcomed Armstrong with the Raginā Cajuns.
However, there was a significant catch. From March through June, he was informed there would be no money available for the defensive assistant. In a far from unfamiliar situation, Armstrong parted with one of his prized possessions to make a move to The Boot a viable option.
āI had a white 1999 single cab Toyota Tacoma 5-speed,ā Armstrong recalled. āBest truck Iāve ever had. I sold it and used that money [$5,000] to live off until I started getting a stipend.ā
In the wise words of former Super Bowl champion head coach Bruce Arians, āno risk it, no biscuit.ā Unsurprisingly, nothing was too large of an ask for one of college footballās brightest coaching prospects. Armstrong quickly began to learn the ins and outs of the game, helping Louisiana claim its first of four-straight Sun Belt Conference West Division titles in 2018, play in the Sun Belt's first football championship game and earn an appearance in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
From there, Armstrong enjoyed a quick run with Georgia as a defensive quality control coach where he played a role in head coach Kirby Smart's unit landing as high as No. 3 in the national polls. He returned to Louisiana in 2020 as the inside linebackers coach en route to another Sun Belt West Division title before ultimately reuniting with Hall in 2021 as the Nasty Bunchās defensive coordinator.
āThe biggest thing you get out of the journey is gratitude,ā Armstrong said. āBeing thankful that Godās been so good to you and that youāve had these opportunities. The track that the good Lordās put me on is not normal, and itās because he exposed me to a lot of good people, good coaches and good men. Theyāve given me opportunities, and Iāve tried to make the most out of them. You donāt really think of it like āIāve arrivedā or anything because thereās always another challenge.ā
All in all, it seems like things worked out well enough. No more selling cars. No more one-time $400 stipends. Finally, all the 29-year-old has to do is lock in on what he calls the easy part ā coaching football.
50+yeartidefan
Member
PG recruited well ....at BAMA...for Nick Saban...
Ole miss isnt one and doesnt have the other..
He may get some good D players but he isn't gonna have that talent to screw up...
Bammerboy321
Member
ElephantStomp
Member
Heāll get plenty of great talent at OM and not be beholden to Sabanās defense.
PurlJam
Member
IMO...he had talent at Bama, he won't have no where near that same talent at Ole Miss. Unless he morphs into Joe Lee Dunn and blitzes every down, you wont see a lot of difference in their defense...still jmo.
ElephantStomp
Member
He did have talent at Bama (lots), but it wasnāt his defense, he had to work within the defensive parameters that Saban had, he wonāt have that at OM which will make it his defense. If he can make OMās defense a top 10 defense like he did at Bama theyāll wreck a statue of him
Heāll be able to recruit damn good talent at OM, the dude is one of the best recruiters in the country.
Here's something that hasn't changed with the portal. Ole Miss will be able to recruit talent...the struggle will come with depth.
JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Member
Not sure Pete is/was the main problem for our defense, but he is gone so we move on. I don't recall Bama not being able to stop folks on so many 3rd downs (teams that were somebody) as we saw this year. JMO but is was a combo of coaching (not all Pete) and the Jimmy and Joe's.
Not sure if Nick asked Pete to find another gig or if Pete and family made the call themselves to look around but again it doesn't matter.
I don't believe Nick will announce his new hire until after Lane and Pete have their media show.
My choice would be JP but I don't see how he gets approved since the UT deal with the NCAA is still not completed.
Not sure if Nick asked Pete to find another gig or if Pete and family made the call themselves to look around but again it doesn't matter.
I don't believe Nick will announce his new hire until after Lane and Pete have their media show.
My choice would be JP but I don't see how he gets approved since the UT deal with the NCAA is still not completed.
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Some have said that Ut is settling with the coaches from that situation. Is that not a good sign? I'm sure the Nzaa would expedite the case for UA....
PurlJam
Member
IMO...What makes you good at your job is being able to succeed with parameters, you know your job, you should be able to develop your resources to be successful in those parameters if you're that good.
ElephantStomp
Member
He was good at his job, we had a top 10 defense. But, like has been discussed on here prior Sabanās defense needs an update like the offense got with Kiffin.
50+yeartidefan
Member
Go look at Tennessee game over
And lsu ot when they couldn't get right number of players after TO.
Critical times.
mando
Member
You seem to think getting rid PG was a mistake and the issue is CNS and his sysem. You may very well be right and over time we will see. I do believe the productivity of the D was at best leveling off at worse trending down. I know it was different times but Smart and Pruitts defenses based on the eye test seemed to be more elite. While at Bama even they struggled at times with certain offensive styles.
JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Member
After the staff is in place, look for some portal help. This is an area that Pruitt would really help in... one of the best talent evaluators Saban has had.
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