09-12-2018, 03:36 PM
The difference wasn't slight! The difference was quite large! Going from "does about the same as average" to "does several yards per play better than average" is not a trivial difference, it's the difference between UCLA and Notre Dame last year. Also, this post is solely about their abilities on the field, obviously Sark wasn't a tenable coach while battling alcoholism. And if you're going to give Helton credit for leading the team after Sark was fired, then it makes some sense to give Sark credit for leading while battling his demons (or whatever you want to call it).
But what definitely doesn't make any sense is to compare Helton with a #3 overall QB and Sark with a 3rd rounder. Given how much of Helton's tenure is taken up with Darnold as the QB and how much better than part was then the rest of his oeuvre, it doesn't make sense to include it. When you actually do the apples-to-apples comparison of the two coaches with the same team and measured against what their opponents typically yielded, Sark was significantly better. Full stop.
But what definitely doesn't make any sense is to compare Helton with a #3 overall QB and Sark with a 3rd rounder. Given how much of Helton's tenure is taken up with Darnold as the QB and how much better than part was then the rest of his oeuvre, it doesn't make sense to include it. When you actually do the apples-to-apples comparison of the two coaches with the same team and measured against what their opponents typically yielded, Sark was significantly better. Full stop.