[cardcrimson]

Before we get lost in the bigger picture recruiting stuff, let's not forget the need to overhaul the coaching staff. That is the first step to take that will demonstrate Shaw can make hard decisions.

If there is one thing I have learned from following the most successful coaches in college football, it is that they are willing to make themselves uncomfortable to get better.

On Defense: Fangio -> Mason -> Anderson were all internal promotion Defensive Coordinators.
On Offense: Shaw -> Bloomgren -> Pritchard were all internal promotion Offensive Coordinators.  

Shaw needs to make himself a little uncomfortable with some outside the family coordinators. If he isn't willing to make the most standard managerial decisions to improve performance, he isn't going to make the harder ones.

Vic Fangio once coached at Stanford. Where is the next Fangio level DC? Please hire an OC off of Kyle Shanahan's staff. He really knows how to scheme an offense and keep defenses off balance. I want someone from that coaching tree.

I suppose it's a start that all the newer position coaches come from outside the program.

Gould ('17): Cal RB/UC Davis HC (I LOVED this hire; Cal fans were furious)
Kennedy ('18): Iowa WR
Carberry ('18): Washington Redskins offensive asst.

Others...
Turner: internal (Stanford offensive asst.)
Alamar: Fresno State ST/TE
Reynolds: basically internal (Stanford defensive asst., was the DL coach at Oklahoma for a year before he came back)
Hansen: basically internal (Stanford defensive asst., was a SF 49ers defensive asst. under Harbaugh for a couple years before he came back)
Akina: Texas

Well, everyone has to come from outside, unless they are an ex-player like Tavita. 

One advantage of having Tavita as the OC is, I suppose, that he "knows the system."  You know -- the 10,000,000-page playbook that it takes a hundred years and an implanted CPU to master.  But even that system is Harbs' system more than Shaw's, and, as people have pointed out, things have changed since 2007.

I hope the "complex playbook" BS is exploded in all its entirely soon.  We get beat by true frosh QBs running simpler systems.  And by experienced QBs running complex systems.  We don't have an advantage consisting of a half-dozen secret plays.  We do have a disadvantage of a predictable offense that stubbornly insists the players fill situation roles when sometimes the matchups just won't work.

I'm sure we will try to run as much as possible against Oregon, if only to try to limit their touches on offense.  But after the first two times Scarlett gets caught behind the LOS by the edge defender on our pack-em-in-the-middle short-yardage play, I really want to see what Shaw does then.

Was listening to Greg Papa on KNBR as I was driving this pm and he made an interesting observation. He said he was surprised how small Shanahan's laminated play sheet is compared to other coaches, especially compared to Andy Reid's. Apparently, relatively simple, as well.

[cardcrimson]

Before we get lost in the bigger picture recruiting stuff, let's not forget the need to overhaul the coaching staff. That is the first step to take that will demonstrate Shaw can make hard decisions.

If there is one thing I have learned from following the most successful coaches in college football, it is that they are willing to make themselves uncomfortable to get better.

On Defense: Fangio -> Mason -> Anderson were all internal promotion Defensive Coordinators.
On Offense: Shaw -> Bloomgren -> Pritchard were all internal promotion Offensive Coordinators.  

Shaw needs to make himself a little uncomfortable with some outside the family coordinators. If he isn't willing to make the most standard managerial decisions to improve performance, he isn't going to make the harder ones.

Vic Fangio once coached at Stanford. Where is the next Fangio level DC? Please hire an OC off of Kyle Shanahan's staff. He really knows how to scheme an offense and keep defenses off balance. I want someone from that coaching tree.

I suppose it's a start that all the newer position coaches come from outside the program.

Gould ('17): Cal RB/UC Davis HC (I LOVED this hire; Cal fans were furious)
Kennedy ('18): Iowa WR
Carberry ('18): Washington Redskins offensive asst.

Others...
Turner: internal (Stanford offensive asst.)
Alamar: Fresno State ST/TE
Reynolds: basically internal (Stanford defensive asst., was the DL coach at Oklahoma for a year before he came back)
Hansen: basically internal (Stanford defensive asst., was a SF 49ers defensive asst. under Harbaugh for a couple years before he came back)
Akina: Texas

Well, everyone has to come from outside, unless they are an ex-player like Tavita. 

One advantage of having Tavita as the OC is, I suppose, that he "knows the system."  You know -- the 10,000,000-page playbook that it takes a hundred years and an implanted CPU to master.  But even that system is Harbs' system more than Shaw's, and, as people have pointed out, things have changed since 2007.

I hope the "complex playbook" BS is exploded in all its entirely soon.  We get beat by true frosh QBs running simpler systems.  And by experienced QBs running complex systems.  We don't have an advantage consisting of a half-dozen secret plays.  We do have a disadvantage of a predictable offense that stubbornly insists the players fill situation roles when sometimes the matchups just won't work.

I'm sure we will try to run as much as possible against Oregon, if only to try to limit their touches on offense.  But after the first two times Scarlett gets caught behind the LOS by the edge defender on our pack-em-in-the-middle short-yardage play, I really want to see what Shaw does then.

Was listening to Greg Papa on KNBR as I was driving this pm and he made an interesting observation. He said he was surprised how small Shanahan's laminated play sheet is compared to other coaches, especially compared to Andy Reid's. Apparently, relatively simple, as well.