Just some of my thoughts after listening and reading through the comments. Hopefully this will also serve to organize some of the key points that might have been missed.
SCOTT WOODWARD RETURNING AS WRs COACH
I did hear at one point that if Coen left some were unsure if Woodward would be around as WRs coach again but nothing serious like he was gone. We initially heard the plan was for him to remain as permanent WRs coach when he was elevated to that role after the Bouknight arrest. He's going to be able to put Wan'Dale Robinson on his resume and it's going to look good. He never really got much credit for that as people probably just assumed Wan'Dale was a baller but I think you do have to say he did a good job with the unit last year. DeMarcus Harris started to show some flashes as well. Replacing Wan'Dale and bringing the guys together they have right now is interesting. I'm only pretty confident of what Tayvion Robinson is going to give but you could see Baker having a really big impact and being a difference-maker as well. Woodward is also now charged with the development of several younger guys deemed "projects" but who have really nice traits e.g. Crowdus, Anthony, Scott.
YENSER, JACKSON ENSURE THE SCHLARMAN LEGACY CONTINUES
I've said loud and clear that Eric Wolford did a great job in his one year at Kentucky. It's true that other guys helped recruit Deone Walker and Barion Brown too, but Wolford also recruited those guys and there's no doubting that the line played at a high level for much of the year. All that said, it may be best for all parties that he's at Alabama and Yenser is at Kentucky. When you heard about Yenser's connections and background it started to make a lot of sense. Then just listening to him talk to the media - using the word "sir" to answer questions and talking about what a complete and total honor it is to serve in this role. He admitted that there's some pressure to keep going what Schlarman started. It's going to be right in line with the way Schlarman coached. I thought it was interesting that both Stoops and Scangarello said the thing that will make Yenser a great coach is his personality and that came through. It's not to say he won't be a great coach but it seems like the time he spent in San Francisco was about career development and learning. The personality should carry. Having Drake Jackson in the room is huge as well. Easy to see him training for a job that might one day be his.
I also had the thought that Jackson working with the team is going to be big for the center position this year where there is some turnover.
YENSER'S GOAL
Yenser has said that his goal has always been to be a position coach in the NFL. At yesterday's press conference he said that this opportunity was just too good to pass up. So I would caution that if the opportunity to become a pro position coach were to arise then you can't just assume, "Oh, Yenser. Kentucky guy. No way he'd leave." But he's got a bit of a building project at the tackle spots at UK so that and wide zone are the focus.
FINALLY MOVING TO WIDE ZONE?
Yenser said actually making the switch to wide zone is just about making it your foundation. It has to be in your DNA. I think it's the perfect time to finally make that switch which is a part of running the offense the way it's meant to be run.
RETURN OF THE ROTATION
I had heard that Wolford wasn't the only person who was on board with less of a rotation and there was some concern about the lack of experience or readiness of guys and he just leaned hard on the starters. But no question, with a new OC and OL coach, they're going back to the rotation if they can make it happen. Eight was the number Yenser cited. I think the concern beyond whether guys were ready enough for that was that I heard some weren't crazy about calling plays and not knowing who is in the game at a given time. But putting that kind of stress on younger guys is a part of bringing them along so I see it both ways. Perhaps the perfect balance would be to rotate like crazy and focus on depth development in certain games and then against your toughest opponents lean on your very best players. But they might rotate a lot anyway. I'd imagine that the rotation will be heavier on the interior than on the outside. Then again, they might rotate the young guys at tackle quite a bit to see who they trust.
SCANGARELLO IS SHARP
Whether he will be as successful as Liam Coen remains to be seen. But when you hear Scangarello talk you hear a humble guy but also one who is very sure of himself. He has said that only a few people in the world really know the Shanahan offense backwards and forward. Lots of people think they know it, very few actually know it. That's who Kentucky is getting. One of the industry's foremost minds in this type of offense. Seems like everyone was actually quite surprised that he had the opportunity.
You would be interested to know that Mac Jones reached out yesterday and was very pleased that it was Scangarello watching Sarkisian's work with him at Alabama that made him open to a return to the college game.
COORDINATOR HIRES MOVING FORWARD
It was interesting that Stoops acknowledged he was expecting two years out of Coen. That was probably something he said up front and why he might not have been thrilled about the departure especially with the timing of the move. But I think he was earnest in praising the work Coen did. But you could tell Stoops was really excited about Scangarello. I've felt like it must be very rewarding for Stoops to see the difference in the kind of candidate he's able to bring on staff right now. He sees it behind the scenes and acknowledged that he didn't take input from anybody else during the hiring process. That's a coach who has reached a very high confidence level inwardly.
The big thing I took away is that Stoops plans on training all assistants to be coordinators. That was probably already happening just by way of experience and on the job training but it's a good idea and a signal that Stoops does not want to be in a position where he doesn't like the timing of a departure and doesn't know if he will be able to find a suitable replacement.
ANOTHER STOOPS ON STAFF
I think Mike Stoops would have been on staff before now but Clinkscale was not thrilled about the idea of sharing the defensive backs room, which he probably felt like he earned, with the head coach's brother. If I had to guess I'd say that was a big part of some of the "timing" talk the other day. It's something Mark Stoops has wanted to do for a while and Mike certainly comes with a world of experience. He inherits a deep, talented room and one of the most fascinating dynamics on the entire team for me next year will be the young guys nipping at the Super Seniors' heels.
Thought Mike Stoops went out of his way to make it clear it won't be an issue working with Mark. Some people have been worried about that under the logic of mixing family and business. Mike said that he will spend most of his time working with Brad White and he certainly came across as a guy who isn't just going in there to change things. He knows UK has a process and a method that has worked and said he agrees with it.
SCOTT WOODWARD RETURNING AS WRs COACH
I did hear at one point that if Coen left some were unsure if Woodward would be around as WRs coach again but nothing serious like he was gone. We initially heard the plan was for him to remain as permanent WRs coach when he was elevated to that role after the Bouknight arrest. He's going to be able to put Wan'Dale Robinson on his resume and it's going to look good. He never really got much credit for that as people probably just assumed Wan'Dale was a baller but I think you do have to say he did a good job with the unit last year. DeMarcus Harris started to show some flashes as well. Replacing Wan'Dale and bringing the guys together they have right now is interesting. I'm only pretty confident of what Tayvion Robinson is going to give but you could see Baker having a really big impact and being a difference-maker as well. Woodward is also now charged with the development of several younger guys deemed "projects" but who have really nice traits e.g. Crowdus, Anthony, Scott.
YENSER, JACKSON ENSURE THE SCHLARMAN LEGACY CONTINUES
I've said loud and clear that Eric Wolford did a great job in his one year at Kentucky. It's true that other guys helped recruit Deone Walker and Barion Brown too, but Wolford also recruited those guys and there's no doubting that the line played at a high level for much of the year. All that said, it may be best for all parties that he's at Alabama and Yenser is at Kentucky. When you heard about Yenser's connections and background it started to make a lot of sense. Then just listening to him talk to the media - using the word "sir" to answer questions and talking about what a complete and total honor it is to serve in this role. He admitted that there's some pressure to keep going what Schlarman started. It's going to be right in line with the way Schlarman coached. I thought it was interesting that both Stoops and Scangarello said the thing that will make Yenser a great coach is his personality and that came through. It's not to say he won't be a great coach but it seems like the time he spent in San Francisco was about career development and learning. The personality should carry. Having Drake Jackson in the room is huge as well. Easy to see him training for a job that might one day be his.
I also had the thought that Jackson working with the team is going to be big for the center position this year where there is some turnover.
YENSER'S GOAL
Yenser has said that his goal has always been to be a position coach in the NFL. At yesterday's press conference he said that this opportunity was just too good to pass up. So I would caution that if the opportunity to become a pro position coach were to arise then you can't just assume, "Oh, Yenser. Kentucky guy. No way he'd leave." But he's got a bit of a building project at the tackle spots at UK so that and wide zone are the focus.
FINALLY MOVING TO WIDE ZONE?
Yenser said actually making the switch to wide zone is just about making it your foundation. It has to be in your DNA. I think it's the perfect time to finally make that switch which is a part of running the offense the way it's meant to be run.
RETURN OF THE ROTATION
I had heard that Wolford wasn't the only person who was on board with less of a rotation and there was some concern about the lack of experience or readiness of guys and he just leaned hard on the starters. But no question, with a new OC and OL coach, they're going back to the rotation if they can make it happen. Eight was the number Yenser cited. I think the concern beyond whether guys were ready enough for that was that I heard some weren't crazy about calling plays and not knowing who is in the game at a given time. But putting that kind of stress on younger guys is a part of bringing them along so I see it both ways. Perhaps the perfect balance would be to rotate like crazy and focus on depth development in certain games and then against your toughest opponents lean on your very best players. But they might rotate a lot anyway. I'd imagine that the rotation will be heavier on the interior than on the outside. Then again, they might rotate the young guys at tackle quite a bit to see who they trust.
SCANGARELLO IS SHARP
Whether he will be as successful as Liam Coen remains to be seen. But when you hear Scangarello talk you hear a humble guy but also one who is very sure of himself. He has said that only a few people in the world really know the Shanahan offense backwards and forward. Lots of people think they know it, very few actually know it. That's who Kentucky is getting. One of the industry's foremost minds in this type of offense. Seems like everyone was actually quite surprised that he had the opportunity.
You would be interested to know that Mac Jones reached out yesterday and was very pleased that it was Scangarello watching Sarkisian's work with him at Alabama that made him open to a return to the college game.
COORDINATOR HIRES MOVING FORWARD
It was interesting that Stoops acknowledged he was expecting two years out of Coen. That was probably something he said up front and why he might not have been thrilled about the departure especially with the timing of the move. But I think he was earnest in praising the work Coen did. But you could tell Stoops was really excited about Scangarello. I've felt like it must be very rewarding for Stoops to see the difference in the kind of candidate he's able to bring on staff right now. He sees it behind the scenes and acknowledged that he didn't take input from anybody else during the hiring process. That's a coach who has reached a very high confidence level inwardly.
The big thing I took away is that Stoops plans on training all assistants to be coordinators. That was probably already happening just by way of experience and on the job training but it's a good idea and a signal that Stoops does not want to be in a position where he doesn't like the timing of a departure and doesn't know if he will be able to find a suitable replacement.
ANOTHER STOOPS ON STAFF
I think Mike Stoops would have been on staff before now but Clinkscale was not thrilled about the idea of sharing the defensive backs room, which he probably felt like he earned, with the head coach's brother. If I had to guess I'd say that was a big part of some of the "timing" talk the other day. It's something Mark Stoops has wanted to do for a while and Mike certainly comes with a world of experience. He inherits a deep, talented room and one of the most fascinating dynamics on the entire team for me next year will be the young guys nipping at the Super Seniors' heels.
Thought Mike Stoops went out of his way to make it clear it won't be an issue working with Mark. Some people have been worried about that under the logic of mixing family and business. Mike said that he will spend most of his time working with Brad White and he certainly came across as a guy who isn't just going in there to change things. He knows UK has a process and a method that has worked and said he agrees with it.
