If Stoops does indeed move away from Dawson, where does he go? The three most likely candidates in my eyes would be James Coley, Eddie Gran, and Tim Beck.
Coley: coached w/ Stoops at FSU and has been rumored to the UK OC position the last two times it opened. Known for his south Florida recruiting, but the guy did a pretty good job in difficult circumstances down in Miami. Runs a pro-style, but isn't afraid to spread it out and throw it around. Did a really good job in the development of Brad Kaaya into a strong college QB. The kid was raw in his first start on Labor Day in Louisville in 2014, but only got better with each passing game. Has shown willingness to run the football as both Duke Johnson and Joseph Yearby had strong years with Coley calling the shots. Likes to use the tight end in the PA passing game and Clive Walford had an outstanding year in 2014 under Coley.
Gran: coached w/ Stoops at Florida State and has had really strong success calling plays at UC under Tommy Tuberville. Gran's units have been known to go fast and the Bearcats can score on pretty much anybody. QBs with limited experience have had success in Gran's system, as RS Frosh Hayden Moore stepped in and put up solid numbers while replacing Gunner Kiel. Gran's units have been known to be uptempo and to have some similarities with the Air Raid. Gran has had success at both Tennessee and Florida State as the ST coach. He provides an older, experience guy that seems to be needed on this staff. Gran has only coached RBs and UK would likely need Dawson to accept a demotion and stay on staff to bring Gran over.
Beck: A fellow Youngstown native and Cardinal Mooney alum, Beck certainly shares some ties with Mark Stoops. Beck was most recently the play-caller under Bo Pelini at Nebraska and served as the Co-OC and QBs coach at Ohio State this past season. Beck runs a power spread which is focused on running the football and almost always implements a dual-threat QB. It was never truly stated who called plays for Ohio State this past season, but it was definitely a group that extremely underachieved. This is something Stoops cannot afford in 2016.
As of right now, my money is probably on Coley. Gives Stoops a proven play-caller, a recruiter, a guy who has a willingness to run the football, QB development experience, and allows UK to step away from the Air Raid coaching tree.
Coley: coached w/ Stoops at FSU and has been rumored to the UK OC position the last two times it opened. Known for his south Florida recruiting, but the guy did a pretty good job in difficult circumstances down in Miami. Runs a pro-style, but isn't afraid to spread it out and throw it around. Did a really good job in the development of Brad Kaaya into a strong college QB. The kid was raw in his first start on Labor Day in Louisville in 2014, but only got better with each passing game. Has shown willingness to run the football as both Duke Johnson and Joseph Yearby had strong years with Coley calling the shots. Likes to use the tight end in the PA passing game and Clive Walford had an outstanding year in 2014 under Coley.
Gran: coached w/ Stoops at Florida State and has had really strong success calling plays at UC under Tommy Tuberville. Gran's units have been known to go fast and the Bearcats can score on pretty much anybody. QBs with limited experience have had success in Gran's system, as RS Frosh Hayden Moore stepped in and put up solid numbers while replacing Gunner Kiel. Gran's units have been known to be uptempo and to have some similarities with the Air Raid. Gran has had success at both Tennessee and Florida State as the ST coach. He provides an older, experience guy that seems to be needed on this staff. Gran has only coached RBs and UK would likely need Dawson to accept a demotion and stay on staff to bring Gran over.
Beck: A fellow Youngstown native and Cardinal Mooney alum, Beck certainly shares some ties with Mark Stoops. Beck was most recently the play-caller under Bo Pelini at Nebraska and served as the Co-OC and QBs coach at Ohio State this past season. Beck runs a power spread which is focused on running the football and almost always implements a dual-threat QB. It was never truly stated who called plays for Ohio State this past season, but it was definitely a group that extremely underachieved. This is something Stoops cannot afford in 2016.
As of right now, my money is probably on Coley. Gives Stoops a proven play-caller, a recruiter, a guy who has a willingness to run the football, QB development experience, and allows UK to step away from the Air Raid coaching tree.
