[Hank 91]

I think that a coach's personality and football philosophy are more important than individual play calling. Fans often criticize their team's coach for being too conservative, probably because when we're sitting in the stands or sitting on our couches, we always want to go for it on 4th and 1. Football coaches, though, often seem to make their decisions with the idea of eliminating as many potential negative outcomes as possible. The Fiesta Bowl is the most egregious example of this for David Shaw. While most of America could only think about the best college quarterback in a generation, Shaw (presumably) thought about the potential negatives. There could've been a sack that moved the team out of field goal range, an interception, a fumbled center exchange, or any number of other things that would've either pushed them beyond Williamson's range or given OSU the ball in the closing minute. After all, even though I was perplexed by the way that final possession played out, I was still completely confident that Williamson would hit that field goal.

I don't bring this up to rehash that game or even to defend Shaw's decision, but to point out that Shaw's conservative nature probably impacts the game much more than any single choice on any single play.

But let me ask you this -- would you rather have Shaw coaching your team and putting on the breaks from time to time, or someone like Mike Leach, swinging his sword? For your answer, take a look at the closing minutes of the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. Leach botched that game, not because of his play calling, but because of his overall philosophy.

[Hank 91]

I think that a coach's personality and football philosophy are more important than individual play calling. Fans often criticize their team's coach for being too conservative, probably because when we're sitting in the stands or sitting on our couches, we always want to go for it on 4th and 1. Football coaches, though, often seem to make their decisions with the idea of eliminating as many potential negative outcomes as possible. The Fiesta Bowl is the most egregious example of this for David Shaw. While most of America could only think about the best college quarterback in a generation, Shaw (presumably) thought about the potential negatives. There could've been a sack that moved the team out of field goal range, an interception, a fumbled center exchange, or any number of other things that would've either pushed them beyond Williamson's range or given OSU the ball in the closing minute. After all, even though I was perplexed by the way that final possession played out, I was still completely confident that Williamson would hit that field goal.

I don't bring this up to rehash that game or even to defend Shaw's decision, but to point out that Shaw's conservative nature probably impacts the game much more than any single choice on any single play.

But let me ask you this -- would you rather have Shaw coaching your team and putting on the breaks from time to time, or someone like Mike Leach, swinging his sword? For your answer, take a look at the closing minutes of the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. Leach botched that game, not because of his play calling, but because of his overall philosophy.