Stoops’ Comments about the Future of UK’s Offense

[truebluewildcat]

I'm a firm believer that you never demote someone. They lose morale in the short term and in the long term, they know they'll never be up for a promotion. It's better for all parties to fire someone and let him go elsewhere. If fired, Coach Gran can leave and pick a spot where he can learn from an offensive head coach or OC. He could also find an OC job on a lower non-power 5 or FCS level, work on his system, and re-prove that he's ready for another power 5 OC job.

This.

If CMS feels some sort of loyalty to Gran and is satisfied with the overall performance and direction of offense then promote him to AHC, give him complete autonomy to do what he wants with offensive staff, recruiting, game planning, and play calling.

If CMS is not happy with the offense nor the constant criticism and pressure, then make a damn change.

It's not fair to Gran nor the team to keep him on and bring another cook into the kitchen.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

This.

If CMS feels some sort of loyalty to Gran and is satisfied with the overall performance and direction of offense then promote him to AHC, give him complete autonomy to do what he wants with offensive staff, recruiting, game planning, and play calling.

If CMS is not happy with the offense nor the constant criticism and pressure, then make a damn change.

It's not fair to Gran nor the team to keep him on and bring another cook into the kitchen.

He's already head coach of the offense. That's a loftier title than the one you suggest. Also it was fairly well communicated he wanted that title to keep stoops out of the offense since he was rumored to micromanage that side of the ball. It was also apparently the reason gran didn't take it the first time it was offered and we wound up with Dawson.

It was a title specifically designed to maintain independence. If stoops won't respect that boundary, I don't see him respecting any. The only exception would be a hire so incredible that said person would carry more weight than Stoops. I just dont see that

 

[El Gato Calvo]

I fear there may a legit reason Oregon wanted him to play DB

 

[merrimanm]

He's already head coach of the offense. That's a loftier title than the one you suggest. Also it was fairly well communicated he wanted that title to keep stoops out of the offense since he was rumored to micromanage that side of the ball. It was also apparently the reason gran didn't take it the first time it was offered and we wound up with Dawson.

It was a title specifically designed to maintain independence. If stoops won't respect that boundary, I don't see him respecting any. The only exception would be a hire so incredible that said person would carry more weight than Stoops. I just dont see that

For the love guys. Stoops does not tell Eddy Gran what to run. He does make decisions on tempo and such, but every head coach does that because they are managing the overall game, not just one side of it.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Read Between the Lines in Mark Stoops' Comments about the Future of UK's Offense | Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky's head coach did not get into specifics when addressing the future of UK's offense.

kentuckysportsradio.com

This is TOTALLY on the HC...NOT his OC!
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban has finally relented, albeit reluctantly. He said college football has officially become an offensive game.

"It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn't beat good offense anymore," Saban told ESPN on Friday. "It's just like last week. Georgia has as good a defense as we do an offense, and we scored 41 points on them [in a 41-24 Alabama win]. That's not the way it used to be. It used to be if you had a good defense, other people weren't going to score. You were always going to be in the game.

"I'm telling you. It ain't that way anymore."

 

[sieken]

This is TOTALLY on the HC...NOT his OC!
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban has finally relented, albeit reluctantly. He said college football has officially become an offensive game.

"It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn't beat good offense anymore," Saban told ESPN on Friday. "It's just like last week. Georgia has as good a defense as we do an offense, and we scored 41 points on them [in a 41-24 Alabama win]. That's not the way it used to be. It used to be if you had a good defense, other people weren't going to score. You were always going to be in the game.

"I'm telling you. It ain't that way anymore."

Earth Shattering..... Seems like I've seen somewhere before. Not that I disagree with the sentiment but 1.) Easy to say and implement when you can get the horses Bama gets. 2.) Why hasn't Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Wash. State won it all in anything that resembles recently. There's a happy medium here somewhere, hopefully we can start to find it at UK.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

For the love guys. Stoops does not tell Eddy Gran what to run. He does make decisions on tempo and such, but every head coach does that because they are managing the overall game, not just one side of it.

Which is fine and expected. But those same people don't then say they do none of those things.

He absolutely controls tempo and says as much. He wants the offense to slow down the game. That's fine by me but when we have a game with 29 snaps or whatever it was vs Mizzou, it deserves criticism.

Plus we all can see Stoops fingerprints on the playcalling. All three ocs look the exact same. Why hire someone and give them that title if you don't leave them alone?

 

[merrimanm]

Which is fine and expected. But those same people don't then say they do none of those things.

He absolutely controls tempo and says as much. He wants the offense to slow down the game. That's fine by me but when we have a game with 29 snaps or whatever it was vs Mizzou, it deserves criticism.

Plus we all can see Stoops fingerprints on the playcalling. All three ocs look the exact same. Why hire someone and give them that title if you don't leave them alone?

He does leave them alone. He lets them call any play Gran wants. But tempo does not tell when a pass is called vs. a run. Every coach controls tempo. And look, I am a Gran guy. He is a really good dude and a really good coach. But Stoops does not tell him what to run.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Earth Shattering..... Seems like I've seen somewhere before. Not that I disagree with the sentiment but 1.) Easy to say and implement when you can get the horses Bama gets. 2.) Why hasn't Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Wash. State won it all in anything that resembles recently. There's a happy medium here somewhere, hopefully we can start to find it at UK.

Read what Saban said again please! No way in hell Stoops believes in this...I dont care how you get there, but to beat the good teams on your schedule you better be scoring 28/30++ ppg !

 

[sieken]

Read what Saban said again please! No way in hell Stoops believes in this...I dont care how you get there, but to beat the good teams on your schedule you better be scoring 28/30 ppg !

I get it, I really do. The problem as I see it, is striking a balance. How many times this year has it been said that the offense hurt the defense, several games. The point I'm making, we don't, nor probably ever will have the quality of depth to run a wide open offense without hurting the defense. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, we have become a solid team because of our defense. We need to get better at passing the ball, not to get down on TW, I like what he has done for the team, but, his inconsistency has hurt us some this year. I think if I were the OC and I had a guy that could be lights out one series, and then completely stall a drive the next, it would almost definitely affect what I was comfortable calling, play wise. I'm not trying to lay this at TW's feet, I just can see where it would affect Gran's calls. I think we will strike more balance next year, with Stoop's as head coach but if I had to guess, without Hinshaw as the qb coach.

 

[gobigbluebell]

It's pretty clear 1 of 2 things has to happen:

1. Stoops and company have to go. Complete clean house and try to go after somebody like Neal Brown, Tom Herman (if available), Luke Fickell. It would be tough to get any of those 3 but to take the next step for this football program we would need to IMO.

2. Gran needs to go and Stoops has to allow his next coordinator to be more aggressive on offense. Stoops will never have an offensive minded team but he has to open up this offense or we'll continue to see bad offenses I don't care how good our players are. If your scared to turn the ball over with 2+ min left at the end of a half then your never going to compete in the East. I've never watched a good or great team play that conservative.

Well, If UK was stupid enough to do #1, it would be another 50 years before we beat Florida again.

Eddie is a good recruiter and RB coach. We need a SEC caliber OC.

 

[sluggercatfan]

He does leave them alone. He lets them call any play Gran wants. But tempo does not tell when a pass is called vs. a run. Every coach controls tempo. And look, I am a Gran guy. He is a really good dude and a really good coach. But Stoops does not tell him what to run.

This is not true...even Gran has said so . Had an hr conversation with someone very close to one of the ex OC and had same issue...

 

[merrimanm]

This is not true...even Gran has said so . Had an hr conversation with someone very close to one of the ex OC and had same issue...

View embedded media

Show me where Gran has said so.

And I have conversations all the time with guys who played for Gran and talk to him weekly. He has told all of them he calls the plays. Stoops does NOT tell him what play to call.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Show me where Gran has said so.

And I have conversations all the time with guys who played for Gran and talk to him weekly. He has told all of them he calls the plays. Stoops does NOT tell him what play to call.

Research...so these guys are on the headphones with Stoops and Gran. Gran would never tell the players this.

 

[merrimanm]

Research...so these guys are on the headphones with Stoops and Gran. Gran would never tell the players this.

They are not current players. They are guys who play for Gran on the past at his other stops who have a strong relationship with him still.

And never has Gran said Stoops tells him what to call.

 

[ACT ONE]

Stoops need someone to develop a quarterback. Hinshaw isn't the answer. He hasn't developed squat. If you remember when these guys were at Florida State, they didnt take off offensively until they hired Randy Sanders. He was the one who brought Jameis Winston along. That is who he needs to find is someone like Randy Sanders. Then stay the hell out of it and let the offense go. It will all work out.

 

[rick64]

I guess we’ll see what happens rather quickly after the SC game. Unless by some outside chance UK gets a bowl invite.

 

[ACT ONE]

I guess we’ll see what happens rather quickly after the SC game. Unless by some outside chance UK gets a bowl invite.

I like Eddie Gran. Think he is a guy we need to keep. Put him charge of running backs or something I don't care. We just need someone to develop a quarterback and have an offense that isn't so one sided. There's no reason why this program should take a back seat to anyone.

 

[LosGatos]

I guess we’ll see what happens rather quickly after the SC game. Unless by some outside chance UK gets a bowl invite.

Oh, UK will get a bowl invite.

 

[CB3UK]

To me it isnt difficult....3 OCs, common denominator Stoops..yaddayadda. Its clear hes limiting them on some capacity. Doesnt mean that player execution hasnt also exacerbated the issue tenfold. We hear them allude to missed routes and reads in postgame interviews every week. We'd have to get in film room ro really know the extent.



Anyway, UKs offensivw rankings have been absolutely atrocious in the SEC and nationally the last several years, save for Lynn and Bennys individual rushing stats. Even if Gran isn't actually the biggest culprit for the offenses failure, he has been the man in charge of it during this horrendous stretch.

The buck absolutely has to stop with hin if Mitch and Doc Capiluto arent going ro have it stop with Stoops. Which, we all know, they arent.

I dont want Gran canned as a scapegoat if he isnt really the problem. If Stoops really is the problem with our offense, then I know in todays world with the media it might be suicide, but just come out and own up to it. Turn Gran loose and get the hell out of the way.

Ultimately its the players who are reaponsible for executing, the coaches are there to teach and motivate them how. I dont think Eddie Gran is an idiot and doesnt know how to call an offense. I think we're too damn conservative and content to take what the defense gives us instead of dictating what we want to do a lot of the time. And a lot of that comes from players nor being able to execute higher level stuff a lot of the time. Its just true.

 

[sluggercatfan]

For the love guys. Stoops does not tell Eddy Gran what to run. He does make decisions on tempo and such, but every head coach does that because they are managing the overall game, not just one side of it.

So you don't think that "making decisions on tempo and such" is not dictating to EG what to run?

 

[merrimanm]

So you don't think that "making decisions on tempo and such" is not dictating to EG what to run?

No...it isn't. Tempo is not a play. Goodness. Surely you don't believe it is. But again, every head coach has their hand in all aspects of the game. Or they should anyway as he is responsible for the overall product. But that doesn't mean he tells Eddie what plays to run.

 

[NoDef]

For the love guys. Stoops does not tell Eddy Gran what to run. He does make decisions on tempo and such, but every head coach does that because they are managing the overall game, not just one side of it.

If Stoops is controlling temp, then we are in stall mode the whole game. Not fun for the players and puts less pressure on the defense to get set..

He does leave them alone. He lets them call any play Gran wants. But tempo does not tell when a pass is called vs. a run. Every coach controls tempo. And look, I am a Gran guy. He is a really good dude and a really good coach. But Stoops does not tell him what to run.

I'm sure Gran is a really good dude, but getting paid one million shouldn't be based on being a good dude. He's there to score points.. You have called out people complaining about the offense for years and it's not got any better. It's time to perform or make a change. This isn't high school were you play with what you got. If it's not working it's on you.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

If Stoops is controlling temp, then we are in stall mode the whole game

Which I don't mind because it helps us. But....it significantly reduces snaps which reduces touches. Makes it tough recruiting in this era.

 

[NoDef]

Which I don't mind because it helps us. But....it significantly reduces snaps which reduces touches. Makes it tough recruiting in this era.

TOP is the most overrated stat in football. One team can score in three plays and the other team get a first down or two, snap late in the play clock and punt. Which one has the lead and which one is dominating TOP?

 

[bigblueinsanity]

TOP is the most overrated stat in football. One team can score in three plays and the other team get a first down or two, snap late in the play clock and punt. Which one has the lead and which one is dominating TOP?

Not really. It makes a big difference. If all things are equal it's a major advantage.

 

[hs_sportsfan]

TOP is the most overrated stat in football. One team can score in three plays and the other team get a first down or two, snap late in the play clock and punt. Which one has the lead and which one is dominating TOP?

I would say this that TOP just on its face probably is not a very true measure. If you hold the ball and don't score and then they score in 2 plays you are correct. However if you are a solid football team in all areas TOP can assist you. The point being when we play Alabama there is no arguing they are the superior team. If we can control the ball and say defend 8 Alabama possessions instead of 10 then that benefits us. That also comes with a caveat that we have to be able to put points on the board and we have to force a turnover and get a few stops. Next thing you know you have them at 21-28 points and you need to see if you can score enough. Which we have not this year.

 

[Levibooty]

I think you have to get into a mentality where an incomplete pass is the same as a stuffed run, an interception the same as a fumble. Your mentality has to be as positive about passing as it is about running. The score of the games are measured by points, not minutes and seconds. That's not to say you can't recognize a RB is a special weapon you have but then even RB's are allowed to catch passes. Mark stoops problem is he shows patience for his defense, a defense that has vastly improved Kentucky's status, but he makes different demands of his offense. It is as if he is playing defense when we have the ball. The one thing I liked about Neal Brown is his clip yelling, "We will attack, attack, attack!" That is aggressive and anybody will tell you football is a game of aggression. We beat Florida with Terry Wilson at QB in their house by being aggressive and they were stunned by that, we seemed to have lost that mentality.

 

[vhcat70]

Which I don't mind because it helps us. But....it significantly reduces snaps which reduces touches. Makes it tough recruiting in this era.

Since it makes it tough for recruiting, then it's hopeful short term gain at the cost of long term pain. Doesn't sound like a good strategic plan.

 

[vhcat70]

Not really. It makes a big difference. If all things are equal it's a major advantage.

Is it really a major advantage if it costs you with recruits?

 

[vhcat70]

I would say this that TOP just on its face probably is not a very true measure. If you hold the ball and don't score and then they score in 2 plays you are correct. However if you are a solid football team in all areas TOP can assist you. The point being when we play Alabama there is no arguing they are the superior team. If we can control the ball and say defend 8 Alabama possessions instead of 10 then that benefits us. That also comes with a caveat that we have to be able to put points on the board and we have to force a turnover and get a few stops. Next thing you know you have them at 21-28 points and you need to see if you can score enough. Which we have not this year.

High TOP + high run percentage. But, it gets harder to run close to goal so teams often have to away from run to keep moving & scoring. If you're not used to passing, then even passing is not as effective as if you did it more.

 

[vhcat70]

FYI, 2020 run % for AL/C/tOSU/ND : 54/56/61/55 vs our 64%.

 

[fabcat]

No...it isn't. Tempo is not a play. Goodness. Surely you don't believe it is. But again, every head coach has their hand in all aspects of the game. Or they should anyway as he is responsible for the overall product. But that doesn't mean he tells Eddie what plays to run.

Probably does. Some believe RPO is being up tempo and going fast. Hell Finebaum did a whole segment on how RPO changed the SEC. Not the Run, Pass, Option. That is actually what RPO stands for. But he thinks it’s the same as NASCAR. Which is a term used for speeding up an offense. So yeah, I can see people thinking wanting a certain tempo means he’s controlling and calling plays. Problem is they’re wrong. But they are also the ones that make all the noise.

 

[merrimanm]

Probably does. Some believe RPO is being up tempo and going fast. Hell Finebaum did a whole segment on how RPO changed the SEC. Not the Run, Pass, Option. That is actually what RPO stands for. But he thinks it’s the same as NASCAR. Which is a term used for speeding up an offense. So yeah, I can see people thinking wanting a certain tempo means he’s controlling and calling plays. Problem is they’re wrong. But they are also the ones that make all the noise.

Yup. Tempo has nothing to do with running or passing. The lack of knowledge is incredible.

 

[fabcat]

Yup. Tempo has nothing to do with running or passing. The lack of knowledge is incredible.

Yep. I’m ready for them to fix this broken offense too. I just don’t believe that throwing it more is the answer. We have several things on that side of the ball that needs fixed. Yeah the lack of a passing game is glaring, but we what we need more than anything is game changers on that side of the ball. We don’t get them and it won’t be enough. To win in this league you have to have Game Changers on both sides of the ball. We play against teams that have those pretty much every week in this league. Scheme will get you so far. It comes down to the Jimmies and Joe’s. If it didn’t then why does Bama, Clemson, OSU and the like go after the Elite players every year? Can scheme help? Absolutely it is very important.

 

[hs_sportsfan]

I heard a valid comment by someone on a call in show that it appears that they haven’t recruited the appropriate QB for their offense. They have QB’s on their roster and all have different skill sets. I think to run what they are running now you need a smaller, quicker athlete that puts pressure with his running ability but can also throw the ball. Maybe throwing isn’t his strength but he can complete passes.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Since it makes it tough for recruiting, then it's hopeful short term gain at the cost of long term pain. Doesn't sound like a good strategic plan.

Is it really a major advantage if it costs you with recruits?

It costs certain types of recruits. OL and bigger rbs love it. But wrs are tough because they may get 25 catches per year while blocking the rest of the time

I heard a valid comment by someone on a call in show that it appears that they haven’t recruited the appropriate QB for their offense. They have QB’s on their roster and all have different skill sets. I think to run what they are running now you need a smaller, quicker athlete that puts pressure with his running ability but can also throw the ball. Maybe throwing isn’t his strength but he can complete passes.

It's true and I suspect hinshaw kills us in recruiting. Look how he handled mac Jones departure.

The offense looked fairly decent with SJ and he had very little physical ability. But he had the iq and could make the reads as well as connect on deep shots.

Terry is the opposite. He has tons of ability but how low football iq for that position. They have to predetermine calls for him rather than let him actually run an rpo. And he's just never been much threat at connecting deep.

Gatewood has tons of potential but sounds like this type of offense just isn't going to be the future at UK

 

[Crums Bald Spot]

He does leave them alone. He lets them call any play Gran wants. But tempo does not tell when a pass is called vs. a run. Every coach controls tempo. And look, I am a Gran guy. He is a really good dude and a really good coach. But Stoops does not tell him what to run.

Disagree. Stoops hired 3 high octane, high snap count OC's who suddenly morph into Bill Curry when they show up in Lexington. That absolutely comes from the HC as he's the common denominator.

And while he is technically not calling the plays, the OC will damn well here about it if he doesn't call the game Stoops wants; hence, Stoops strongly influencing the strategy, tempo and play calling.

 

[merrimanm]

Disagree. Stoops hired 3 high octane, high snap count OC's who suddenly morph into Bill Curry when they show up in Lexington. That absolutely comes from the HC as he's the common denominator.

And while he is technically not calling the plays, the OC will damn well here about it if he doesn't call the game Stoops wants; hence, Stoops strongly influencing the strategy, tempo and play calling.

This is false.

 

[Crums Bald Spot]

This is false.

You have the right to be wrong..