The problem I see is the departures are either leaving for what they feel is a better situation, or we “fired” them and they were immediately picked up by good programs. Then, we replaced them with question marks that no one was pursuing except us. I don’t know that we’ve upgraded a single position in terms of coaching and you could argue we’ve gone backwards in several. I can commend him for doing something about the current state, but guys like Sale and Couch still being employed make it feel like a superficial, please the mob approach while not actually addressing some of the greatest areas of concern. And lastly, the 3 recent departures don’t paint a very optimistic picture. As always, I’ll be there against um in week 1 and still would be happy if he miraculously pulled this out. But I don’t think the signs point to that.
At the risk of message board immolation…
He also brought in Houston to shore up the special teams and “situational football” issues. It’s a very fair and good question as to why he didn’t simply fire Couch once he had Houston hired. But that’s a definite upgrade in areas that cost us at least 2 games last year and didn’t win any.
For the sake of discussion…
The secondary has been putrid. It’s been the weakest link in our defense. Just 3 INTs last year, and career days for just about every QB we’ve faced the last 3-4 years. Recruiting has been ok, but not elite. Raymond needed to go. Harris has a very strong resume of turnarounds and development. I think that’s an upgrade but, of course, we’ll see.
The DL has not been strong against the run and hasn’t gotten to the QB since Greenard, Zuniga and Polite. Chatman’s resume doesn’t stack up well with Spencer’s, but Spencer is 20 years older. If you look at their first 12 years, Spencer was at places like Hofstra and Villanova. Chatman has been in the NFL, SEC as well as smaller places. Hoping he’s a rising star, but it’s hope at this point.
Bateman was a real loss but took an opportunity to advance to an SEC DC position. Robert’s is a very solid on-field coach and as Armstrong’s mentor anyway can help him shore up the big play susceptibility. That’s a net gain on-field for 2024, but Bateman was also recruiting great players. Roberts has to hold that ground for the future.
A ton is riding on the offseason development going on right now. On balance, I think we’re better staffed in S&C and nutrition/development areas. But we won’t know until we see if Dez can get under 400lbs for the first time since 3rd grade, if Banks & Jackson get pushed around or if George can push anyone around or is still getting run over.