He's a major upgrade over chump and a natural winner, and he's in his first year which makes the season's record all the more amazing. But there are definitely parallels between this season and 2012. The record, the offensive rank, and the wins in games that we honestly should have lost. Anyone who claims there is no similarity is either ignorant or too biased to take seriously.
And lets not pretend he's perfect at in-game decisions and all our struggles are 100% the players fault. No one, even the best coaches in the world ever call a perfect game. Just like the players, coaches have to be continuously analyzing their performance and striving for improvement.
Some things Mac does repeatedly that could be improved in my mind;
1. Always electing to receive is stupid. Watch the best coach in football and you will see Belichick ALWAYS defers when he wins the toss. There's a reason for it. If you defer you can manage the first half by pace of game (hurry up vs run clock down), and by use of otherwise somewhat useless first half timeouts to have a high probability of having the last drive of the first half. If you can score at end of half leaving little or no time for opponent, then get the ball and score first possession second half you can take control. Teams that score last, first half, and first, second half, win that game at a very high percentage. It's simple statistics so quit the contrarian crap. There's a reason you defer, it smarter.
2. Never contesting or using challenges for obvious bad spots and calls. There something to be said for trying to stay on the good side of the refs, but you have to call them out and challenge calls sometimes. I've seen plenty of games turn on a won challenge, and it's one of the tools coaches can use in game to affect the outcome so you have to use it.
3. Running from middle of the field to lateral hash-mark on 3rd down in FG range. Yes, Hardin sucks, so why TF make the kick much harder by taking a straight on shot and making it a tough angle on short FG's? It's like no one is thinking or telling Taylor "try to make the first down but you have to stay in the middle to help Hardin if you don't make it."
4. I don't think there is a single game where they have gotten McGee enough touches. He's the best weapon on a terrible offense. It's not as flashy as hitting Calloway deep but we're not playing for style points. And on critical 3rd down short routes, when trying to hit Mcgee vs Powell with Harris's inaccurate passes, you are MUCH more likely to get a completion with McGee's huge completion radius and ability to block out vs Powell's tight window. If we want to keep winning, getting the ball to McGee repeatedly is probably the most important strategy going forward.
