RE: Heard That
Posted on: April 16, 2018 at 11:54:53 CT
tjwheeler UI
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I think it was playcalling and player personnel issues. From what I've heard, players didn't find him to be tough, but just unsure of what he was trying to do and found him to be incredibly inconsistent. Flexibility is one thing, but when you don't have a clear scheme and when your playcalling/personnel decisions don't align with the scheme, it can leave players wondering what is expected of them, what they need to do to improve, etc. And, I'm not dismissing the low talent level/roster turnover going on last two years, but you need a consistent offensive scheme/plan going forward. Same stuff he struggled with at UAB.
His first 10 plays of a game were solid, but then he became the most unimaginative play-caller as there is in college football.
He routinely vacillated between QBs (Crouch for 4 games to Jeff G Jr to Cam Thomas to both Crouch and Jeff G before going to Thomas never to return to Crouch). His red zone play calling was awful.
Illinois is hanging with Wisconsin late in the 2nd quarter and have a 2nd and goal from the 3. The mobile QB (Thomas) is taken out and Jeff George Jr. (Zero mobility) is put in for the next three plays. Illinois goes backwards off of two running plays (George is not a runner but a better passer), Wisco takes over, drives down and goes ahead at half. This is indicative of him. He playcalling doesn't align with personnel and there's little reason for his sudden, in-game decisions. His offense mustered 75 first half yards against a losing Indiana team. Just awful stuff, regardless of talent level.
And, he got paid big $$ and never signed a player with another P5 offer.
With an All-SEC QB in his final year at MU, he doesn't have the personnel challenges. And, he's just an analyst paid to give his feedback on the sidelines/pressbox when Dooley asks for it.