No complaints with the offense. Well, some questionable play calls 2-3 times a game with a consistent theme of 'a bit too cute', no issues with the offense. Im too lazy to look for the stats on this so take this with a grain of salt, it seems like they are an offense that has their sh!tt together. I do not remember many instances where there seemed to be confusion at the LOS before the snap. Not a lot of broken plays. Minimal false starts and procedural calls. And high scoring. It is a championship level offense. When Mullen arrived, this offense was broken. It had been broken for years. But now it is a championship level offense.
There is no doubt in my mind that Mullen has strong influence over every detail on the offensive side of the ball. From the offensive recruiting board to the play call on the field, he is undeniably the one to credit first for the success and turn around of the offense. This is a very positive thing and should weigh heavily on exercising a little patience to see if he can find a way to maintain that and fix obvious issues that need fixing. No denying there is a clock ticking.
However, the defense is the alter ego to the offense. In just about every category. Always looks confused and never comfortable. They are always in the neutral zone. A lot of running around confused between plays. A lot of offsides. A lot of undisciplined play and miscommunication mistakes. This is not anywhere near what a championship defense looks like. When Mullen arrived, this defense had been the only bright spot for the decade of garbage. We had some great defenses. Mullen didnt inherit a championship level defense but it was a well coached solid unit. The defenses decline since Mullen taking over directly contrasts the offenses improvements.
Obviously, Grantham needs to go. But just like Mullen gets credit for our offensive turnaround, he has to get credit for the defensive decline. Im no insider with any knowledge of whats going on with Mullen's staff and how he leads and communicates, but if I had to guess whats going on I would say Mullen is making the mistake of delegating defensive duties to Grantham with trust and minimal verification while he stays safe and comfortable coaching from the offensive side.
We might have ourselves an offensive coordinator for life as our head coach. Or maybe he figures it out and starts implementing whatever processes he's kicking arse with on the O side into the D side. If he can do that and get some recruiters recruiting, then we might have ourselves a coach. See bold above.
