Quarles

[jesse174]

George Quarles leaving Furman may be a blessing in diguise as something had to change at Furman....and the Offense was their biggest problem....so now Clay has a chance to fix this offense...some kind of a change had to happen...

[Thorny]

George Quarles leaving Furman may be a blessing in diguise as something had to change at Furman....and the Offense was their biggest problem....so now Clay has a chance to fix this offense...some kind of a change had to happen...

Quarles is leaving...things are going to change whether anyone likes it or not.

I checked out the ETSU football forum. Seems like most of their fans aren't excited Quarles winning the head coach job but they aren't acting like the sky is falling either. I wouldn't be excited either BUT it wouldn't surprise me if he can make something good happen.

I trust Clay in whatever chooses to be the QB coach and OC.

[gofurman]

Just want us to remain run first. Play action. I’m sure we will - no Sammy crap

[Paladin91]

Well, at least CH didn't have to fire GQ, but it probably needed to be done - our offensive production stunk. Nothing exciting about our offense at all. I really hope CH will look for someone innovative outside of the program - the offense needs a real work over.

I hear the calls for BB, but I'm not a fan of the idea. Our offensive production from the WR position has been lackluster, and we haven't recruited well at that position for quite a while. I just don't see anything in BB that stands out. I think you can fill the QB coach/OC role with one person. I'd love to see Ingle Martin in that role if we decide to hire an ex-FU type. Otherwise, there are plenty of young, heady coaches out there in D2/D3 ranks.

[The Jackal]

Well, at least CH didn't have to fire GQ, but it probably needed to be done - our offensive production stunk. Nothing exciting about our offense at all. I really hope CH will look for someone innovative outside of the program - the offense needs a real work over.

I hear the calls for BB, but I'm not a fan of the idea. Our offensive production from the WR position has been lackluster, and we haven't recruited well at that position for quite a while. I just don't see anything in BB that stands out. I think you can fill the QB coach/OC role with one person. I'd love to see Ingle Martin in that role if we decide to hire an ex-FU type. Otherwise, there are plenty of young, heady coaches out there in D2/D3 ranks.

First, I hope they pick the best man for the job.

Second, I disagree with your premise. How does any position coach "stand out" to the casual fan? How does one become an offensive coordinator without being first provided the opportunity?

As I noted earlier, since Bratton became WR coach, Furman has produced No. 1 and No. 2 all time in receiving yards. Since that time, we've had a revolving door at QB, which likely has an effect on WR production.

Also, I believe Joshua Harris can be a standout.

[Furmanoid]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

[FUBeAR]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

Dunno…This ‘track’ has worked out pretty well for a school not too far away from FU…

1993–1995 - School1 - Grad Asst
1996 - School1 - WR/TE
1997 - School1 - TE
1998–2000 - School1 - WR
2003–2006 - School2 - WR
2007–2008 - School2 - AHC/WR
2008 - School2 - interim HC/OC
2009–present - School2 - HC

[Affirm]

Well, at least CH didn't have to fire GQ, but it probably needed to be done - our offensive production stunk. Nothing exciting about our offense at all. I really hope CH will look for someone innovative outside of the program - the offense needs a real work over.

I hear the calls for BB, but I'm not a fan of the idea. Our offensive production from the WR position has been lackluster, and we haven't recruited well at that position for quite a while. I just don't see anything in BB that stands out. I think you can fill the QB coach/OC role with one person. I'd love to see Ingle Martin in that role if we decide to hire an ex-FU type. Otherwise, there are plenty of young, heady coaches out there in D2/D3 ranks.

First, I hope they pick the best man for the job.

Second, I disagree with your premise. How does any position coach "stand out" to the casual fan? How does one become an offensive coordinator without being first provided the opportunity?

As I noted earlier, since Bratton became WR coach, Furman has produced No. 1 and No. 2 all time in receiving yards. Since that time, we've had a revolving door at QB, which likely has an effect on WR production.

Also, I believe Joshua Harris can be a standout.

One thing about your post stands out to me: “casual fan”. I believe their are very few “casual fans” on UFFP!
If a lot more Furman “casual fans” were as knowledgeable and as interested as the average UFFP participant* is, Furman Football would be greatly improved.
*I consider myself to be “below average”.

[Affirm]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

Dunno…This ‘track’ has worked out pretty well for a school not too far away from FU…

1993–1995 - School1 - Grad Asst
1996 - School1 - WR/TE
1997 - School1 - TE
1998–2000 - School1 - WR
2003–2006 - School2 - WR
2007–2008 - School2 - AHC/WR
2008 - School2 - interim HC/OC
2009–present - School2 - HC

Clemson HC?
Any other examples similar to that?

[The Jackal]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

I think that just paints with such a broad brush. There are tons of examples of schools doing any number of things.

Take Samford, the SoCon's top offense. Their offensive coordinator, Mitch Stewart, is the WR coach. He's been coaching WRs under Hatcher for most of the last 15 years at various stops.

I do not believe there's a requisite "stripe earning" process. Taylor Lamb is the OC at Gardner Webb despite being a recent grad and having two years as a grad assistant at USC (i.e., very little coaching experience). Western Carolina's OC is the coach's son. I'm not sure how there was much "stripe earning" for those guys, but they'd be "experienced offensive coordinators."

[wcugrad95]

FWIW, Kade Bell has obvious "ins" with the head coach first at Valdosta and now with WCU. But after a relatively successful playing career as a QB under his dad at Jacksonville University, he coached QBs (as a GA), then was the QB coach and passing game coordinator, then was the OC at Valdosta. So there was at least a little bit of a path. Kade served a season (with his dad) as an offensive analyst for USF, then he moved to Tusculum to be the assistant head coach and OC (not under Kerwin). And of course his dad took the WCU job and brought him to Cullowhee. I know that is a lot of moves in a fairly short timeframe, but it goes a little more towards the path of QB or line coach to OC. And of course Kade has been in "a program where the offense has been going great for years" since it is his dad's offense and is what he played in. I would not be surprised to see Kade getting interest for a head job in either the D2 or even FCS in the next couple of years. But that certainly is of little interest to the FU'ers

And FWIW part 2 from an outsider, Furman needs to decide what they want to be on offense - several years ago there was a strong running game with some option thrown in that absolutely opened up the play-action passing game. Today most OCs that are brought in are going to err towards the RPO. I would expect Hendrix wants to be more of the "old style Furman" offense and would like a guy who knows that. If you choose to change what you do schematically, prepare for a few years of adjusting because you also need to bring in different kids to meet the new thing. Well, with the portal maybe you can do it in an off-season, but Furman also has not been a big player in the transfer ranks. No idea if your WR coach is the right guy, but I would certainly be surprised if Hendrix strays too far from what he has always been involved with as an offensive mindset.

[Furmanoid]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

I think that just paints with such a broad brush. There are tons of examples of schools doing any number of things.

Take Samford, the SoCon's top offense. Their offensive coordinator, Mitch Stewart, is the WR coach. He's been coaching WRs under Hatcher for most of the last 15 years at various stops.

I do not believe there's a requisite "stripe earning" process. Taylor Lamb is the OC at Gardner Webb despite being a recent grad and having two years as a grad assistant at USC (i.e., very little coaching experience). Western Carolina's OC is the coach's son. I'm not sure how there was much "stripe earning" for those guys, but they'd be "experienced offensive coordinators."

OK, I’m starting to worry about you. All three of those guys are QB’s. I clearly said that QB’s have a shorter path for obvious reasons. One of them was a HS OC. Two of them were promoted to OC by family members which is a shortcut I didn’t mention. And it is very legit to give a guy credit for growing up in a coach’s house. I just don’t see how any of the examples do anything but bolster my argument.

[The Jackal]

I think BB is probably a very good WR coach. But that job just isn’t generally one step away from OC. In that job one is focused on teaching techniques to a group of guys playing essentially the same position. It isn’t really an X’s and O’s kind of job at all. If you want to take a quick 1 step climb to DI OC, you probably don’t start at WR coach. You need to earn OC stripes in HS, NAIA, DII etc. You can maybe climb through the ranks within DI easier if you were a QB or QB coach. OL coaches tend to also be great offensive minds because they’ve come up seeing more moving parts and more of the big picture.

It’s different if you’re at a program where the offense has been going great for years and the WR coach knows THAT offense. But I don’t think that’s where we are.

I think that just paints with such a broad brush. There are tons of examples of schools doing any number of things.

Take Samford, the SoCon's top offense. Their offensive coordinator, Mitch Stewart, is the WR coach. He's been coaching WRs under Hatcher for most of the last 15 years at various stops.

I do not believe there's a requisite "stripe earning" process. Taylor Lamb is the OC at Gardner Webb despite being a recent grad and having two years as a grad assistant at USC (i.e., very little coaching experience). Western Carolina's OC is the coach's son. I'm not sure how there was much "stripe earning" for those guys, but they'd be "experienced offensive coordinators."

OK, I’m starting to worry about you. All three of those guys are QB’s. I clearly said that QB’s have a shorter path for obvious reasons. One of them was a HS OC. Two of them were promoted to OC by family members which is a shortcut I didn’t mention. And it is very legit to give a guy credit for growing up in a coach’s house. I just don’t see how any of the examples do anything but bolster my argument.

Mike Leach is a lawyer.

Your move.

[Furmanoid]

Another great example. Earned stripes at community college, naia and DII.

[The Jackal]

Another great example. Earned stripes at community college, naia and DII.

We're just going to disagree with your "earned stripes" analysis.

There's literally nothing that prevents a guy that's been a WR coach for a decade from being promoted to offensive coordinator any more than being a walk-on linebacker prevents you from coaching our offensive line. A good coach is a good coach.

If Bratton's the best man for the job he'll get it. If he's not, he won't.

I want Furman to get the best man for the job. I just don't understand some of the contortions a few of you are going through to explain why he shouldn't based solely on the fact he's been on the staff.