[msqueri]

• * Zero surprise (and would have been quite shocking and even potentially alarming if he said otherwise) that he will be the offensive coordinator and call the plays. I don't believe you hire a head coach who has succeeded as a head coach in large part because of the rhythms he's developed as an innovative and effective play caller and then have him hand that over. I know Stanford fans are scarred by the Shaw experience. But this is not that. This is more like Lincoln Riley/Ryan Day/Mike Leach (RIP)/Steve Sarkisian/Jimbo Fisher/Chip Kelly/Jeff Brohm/Hugh Freeze - head coaches who are good head coaches in large part because they own their successful offenses. The success can't always be sustained (see Fisher, Paul Chryst, etc.) - Shawpologists might put our old coach in that category (whereas most of us would say he always stunk at this). But the idea of bringing Taylor on board to not call the plays makes no sense to me. So this isn't really news, even though it's a foundational aspect of his staff/approach. 
  
• * Similarly totally unsurprising he'd say he'd hire a defensive coordinator and let him do his thing. This goes without saying and I think he only said it as a contrast to the lack of an offensive coordinator. "Good people don't like to be micro-managed" was an attractive glimpse of managerial philosophy. Yes my hypocrisy is showing after all my years chafing at Shaw's indifference to defense, though in my defense Taylor did say he's hands-on and likes to be involved in all aspects of the team as the head coach. That's really what I want - not micro-managing, but the head coach really being invested on the defensive side too and not just offense. It was interesting to hear Taylor's emphasis on getting an "extraordinary" defensive coordinator. It doesn't mean anything until we see who it is, just a bit of a glimpse at ambition, confidence, and not trying to manage expectations at all.
  
• * It's probably worthy of a whole different thread to speculate on the defensive coordinator as this is arguably the most important decision Taylor will make in at least his entire first year on the Farm. So critical. We had major news today that Andy Thompson will replace Taylor at Sacramento State. That removes one obvious candidate from the equation, though it's not clear Taylor wanted his FCS coordinator to join him (and my guess was Taylor aimed higher from the start). We've heard rumblings the Chris Petersen tree and/or NFL may be sources for Taylor. Will be super interesting to see who it is. At the risk of opening a can of worms, the Petersen tree talk has me unable to get my mind off of the idea of Stanford taking a bold step and giving Jimmy Lake a redemption opportunity. That would be epically splashy, though I do understand he has skeletons in his closet. 
  
• * I get the sense the praise of Shaw's staff was diplomatic and the subsequent reference to the "right fit" was more meaningful. I suspect he'll jettison the prior guys (and we've already seen numerous confirmations) and use "fit" as the rationale. The Petersen philosophy of high integrity, high output, low ego sounds great, as does wanting guys who are on a continual quest to get better and don't think they've arrived (more great management philosophy turns of phrase) but again proof will be in the pudding. So far I believe we've seen three hires announced. Yesterday there was the Klayton Adams news, which on paper seems like a great resume and very credible fit but IMHO with OL is always a big question/unknown because it's arguably the most important position coach in the sport and you can't always judge so easily from on paper resumes. Tonight I see Football Scoop reporting that Tyler Osbourne (wide receivers) and Malcolm Agnew (running backs) are joining from Sacramento State. That breaking news tonight makes me happy. I pointed out things I liked about these guys - apparent rising stars, young guys (so hopefully hungry and energetic and ready to recruit), Pac-12 ties, impressive coaching mentors, multiple years of experience on the dynamic Sacramento State offensive staff. I wouldn't want Taylor to either have lazy recruiters (let's be honest....RB and WR coaches are probably more important for recruiting than anything else) or unknown quantities on his offensive staff, so I like what I've seen so far. One thing of note is that these hires seem to definitively close the door on Gould remaining on staff and come very close to closing the door on Pritchard. I suppose QB coach is still possible. 
  
• * I do like having some continuity from the Sacramento State offensive staff. It would have made me nervous to see Taylor with a totally new staff. Harbaugh had Shaw, Drevno, and Anderson come from San Diego. Klieman had four guys come from North Dakota State. Having 3-4 of the staff be continuous strikes me as prudent. I kind of hope we see 1-2 more Sacramento State coaches. Again, I like the two he's started with. On paper, Valeria and/or Whitfield (I prefer Valeria but understand Whitfield is a Stanford Man) would make sense, but my suspicion is Taylor is prudently not making defensive hires until the coordinator is in place. It would be dumb to fill out assistant spots before a coordinator, as the coordinator's own position expertise, coaching philosophy, team he's bringing if any, etc. should all play into defensive hires.
  

[msqueri]

• * Zero surprise (and would have been quite shocking and even potentially alarming if he said otherwise) that he will be the offensive coordinator and call the plays. I don't believe you hire a head coach who has succeeded as a head coach in large part because of the rhythms he's developed as an innovative and effective play caller and then have him hand that over. I know Stanford fans are scarred by the Shaw experience. But this is not that. This is more like Lincoln Riley/Ryan Day/Mike Leach (RIP)/Steve Sarkisian/Jimbo Fisher/Chip Kelly/Jeff Brohm/Hugh Freeze - head coaches who are good head coaches in large part because they own their successful offenses. The success can't always be sustained (see Fisher, Paul Chryst, etc.) - Shawpologists might put our old coach in that category (whereas most of us would say he always stunk at this). But the idea of bringing Taylor on board to not call the plays makes no sense to me. So this isn't really news, even though it's a foundational aspect of his staff/approach. 
  
• * Similarly totally unsurprising he'd say he'd hire a defensive coordinator and let him do his thing. This goes without saying and I think he only said it as a contrast to the lack of an offensive coordinator. "Good people don't like to be micro-managed" was an attractive glimpse of managerial philosophy. Yes my hypocrisy is showing after all my years chafing at Shaw's indifference to defense, though in my defense Taylor did say he's hands-on and likes to be involved in all aspects of the team as the head coach. That's really what I want - not micro-managing, but the head coach really being invested on the defensive side too and not just offense. It was interesting to hear Taylor's emphasis on getting an "extraordinary" defensive coordinator. It doesn't mean anything until we see who it is, just a bit of a glimpse at ambition, confidence, and not trying to manage expectations at all.
  
• * It's probably worthy of a whole different thread to speculate on the defensive coordinator as this is arguably the most important decision Taylor will make in at least his entire first year on the Farm. So critical. We had major news today that Andy Thompson will replace Taylor at Sacramento State. That removes one obvious candidate from the equation, though it's not clear Taylor wanted his FCS coordinator to join him (and my guess was Taylor aimed higher from the start). We've heard rumblings the Chris Petersen tree and/or NFL may be sources for Taylor. Will be super interesting to see who it is. At the risk of opening a can of worms, the Petersen tree talk has me unable to get my mind off of the idea of Stanford taking a bold step and giving Jimmy Lake a redemption opportunity. That would be epically splashy, though I do understand he has skeletons in his closet. 
  
• * I get the sense the praise of Shaw's staff was diplomatic and the subsequent reference to the "right fit" was more meaningful. I suspect he'll jettison the prior guys (and we've already seen numerous confirmations) and use "fit" as the rationale. The Petersen philosophy of high integrity, high output, low ego sounds great, as does wanting guys who are on a continual quest to get better and don't think they've arrived (more great management philosophy turns of phrase) but again proof will be in the pudding. So far I believe we've seen three hires announced. Yesterday there was the Klayton Adams news, which on paper seems like a great resume and very credible fit but IMHO with OL is always a big question/unknown because it's arguably the most important position coach in the sport and you can't always judge so easily from on paper resumes. Tonight I see Football Scoop reporting that Tyler Osbourne (wide receivers) and Malcolm Agnew (running backs) are joining from Sacramento State. That breaking news tonight makes me happy. I pointed out things I liked about these guys - apparent rising stars, young guys (so hopefully hungry and energetic and ready to recruit), Pac-12 ties, impressive coaching mentors, multiple years of experience on the dynamic Sacramento State offensive staff. I wouldn't want Taylor to either have lazy recruiters (let's be honest....RB and WR coaches are probably more important for recruiting than anything else) or unknown quantities on his offensive staff, so I like what I've seen so far. One thing of note is that these hires seem to definitively close the door on Gould remaining on staff and come very close to closing the door on Pritchard. I suppose QB coach is still possible. 
  
• * I do like having some continuity from the Sacramento State offensive staff. It would have made me nervous to see Taylor with a totally new staff. Harbaugh had Shaw, Drevno, and Anderson come from San Diego. Klieman had four guys come from North Dakota State. Having 3-4 of the staff be continuous strikes me as prudent. I kind of hope we see 1-2 more Sacramento State coaches. Again, I like the two he's started with. On paper, Valeria and/or Whitfield (I prefer Valeria but understand Whitfield is a Stanford Man) would make sense, but my suspicion is Taylor is prudently not making defensive hires until the coordinator is in place. It would be dumb to fill out assistant spots before a coordinator, as the coordinator's own position expertise, coaching philosophy, team he's bringing if any, etc. should all play into defensive hires.