New Offensive Coordinator options?

[Courtesy Flush]

And what offense is that exactly? Are you telling me everything we've been hearing about mixing it up,  starting from scratch, needing new ideas etc. is just the coach blowing more smoke?  Brand new offensive staff to do the exact same thing? 

For every Russell Wilson there are 20 Tate Martells. A guy with first string potential who didn't make it at his first school you're saying, why would they succeed here instead on an underperforming team? Genuinely curious the thought process there.

Joe Burrow is the thought process. There is no Joe Burrow if someone doesn’t take a chance on him for his senior year. How many guys are backups at great power five schools that never get a real chance like that? 

 

[Danimal]

I assume you are referencing ILB/OLB positions, and I do agree with you in that it seems like there is an imbalance of players and roles under Dawson's and Ruud's coaching.  I assume that's why Dawson also takes on some of the special team's coaching.  However, I think the responsibilities of the OLB/ILB positions are pretty different in the defensive scheme and I understand why they would have different position coaches.

Thing is Chin has LB-coaching experience. He could take a group, many coordinators have a position responsibility. I'd like to keep both Dawson and Ruud but we can get-by with one. Either way we absolutely have to get on-field ST's help. Hopefully we can do it while filling the current openings, may take some responsibility shuffling. If not then a LB-coach needs to go. 

 

[TGHusker]

Good opinion article by Tad Stryker - I've quoted the last few paragraphs below.  He, too, doesn't like the idea of a Helfrich hire.  He thinks we need Herman or someone of that ability/experience and diversification from the Frost offensive mindset. 

https://www.si.com/college/nebraska/football/to-redeem-nebraska-football-frost-needs-an-offensive-coordinator-with-street-smarts

Frost came in recognized as an offensive mastermind, but ironically his offense has been the unit most responsible for his abysmal record. Frost’s apparent need to be the smartest guy in the room, to overthink his play selections and make his schemes more complex than necessary, have been his downfall. He has one more chance to get it right. Is Frost willing to bring in someone more street-smart than him on offense, someone willing to talk straight to the head coach and question his ideas once in a while? He absolutely needs to do that.

Who will he hire? Will it be an old friend like Mark Helfrich or an old rival like Tom Herman?

Laws of probability would suggest that Frost will hire neither of those former head coaches, but I hope he’s aiming at least that high. Neither of those men is currently coaching (Helfrich is working for Fox Sports; Herman is an offensive analyst for the Chicago Bears), so either could be hired before the end of the season.

If Frost picks Helfrich, his former boss at Oregon, or someone else Frost is familiar with from his Oregon/UCF days, it would smack of an old buddy hire and likely will not improve Nebraska’s main problem, which is red-zone efficiency and play calling. I don’t think Frost should trash his whole offensive scheme, but a Helfrich hire would be just more of the same we’ve seen the last couple of years. Helfrich and Frost got out-physicaled by Urban Meyer’s and Herman’s Ohio State attack in the 2014 national championship. Frost also lost to Herman in 2016, when Herman was head coach at Houston.

The preferable hire would be Herman, or someone with near-equivalent credentials and propensity to commit to a reliable power running attack, something not as quarterback-centric as the offense he’s running with Adrian Martinez. Maybe that attack could work someday with a four- or five-star quarterback. In the meantime, Nebraska needs to find a way to become Offensive Line U once again. Either a Helfrich or a Herman could amp up Frost’s sagging momentum on the recruiting trail, or even attract a workable quarterback from the transfer portal to step in for Martinez (who I think will transfer to another school for 2022).

A Herman-type hire would fit the model of Bolt hiring former Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress as director of player development. Alberts has already signed off on that, calling it a gutsy move by Bolt. Will his football coach be that bold? He’s got one shot to get it right. Let’s see how much he’s learned.

There’s no redemption without humility, or without good high-level decision making. Frost needs both, and fast.

 

[Toe]

Wouldn’t we know by now if it was Heldrich as he is currently not working for another team.

No no, not Heldrich, we need an Eldritch offensive coordinator!

 

[The Dude]

Wouldn’t we know by now if it was Heldrich as he is currently not working for another team. That tells me it is not him otherwise we’d have had the announcement. He’d be recruiting and three would be shots of him in the booth looking down at our offense playing Wisky this Saturday. And the old footage of him with Frost at Oregon. We’d get all the commentary on him and such. We wouldn’t let that free advertising go to waste. 
 

This seems to be a good thing as Frost knows he has to get back to physical football with nasty OL and downhill running.  No more scat back between the tackles.

You know, it's a solid point.  I only thought Helfrich after Scott's presser.  It was obvious he really doesn't want to go away from the duck sh!t offense, and he said something along the lines of wanting someone he's comfortable with, someone he's worked with before.  Who else is there that fits that criteria? 

Your 2nd paragraph would be phenomenal, but I'll believe it when I see it.

I want whatever offense lends us to being a top 5 rushing team year in, year out.  Call the offense whatever you want, but that should be a clear, publicly-stated goal.  Until we get back to that mindset I have no good reason to believe we'll get back to being one of the top programs in the country. 

 

[RedDenver]

I want whatever offense lends us to being a top 5 rushing team year in, year out.  Call the offense whatever you want, but that should be a clear, publicly-stated goal.  Until we get back to that mindset I have no good reason to believe we'll get back to being one of the top programs in the country. 

I get that people want to do what worked in our heyday, but the top teams in the country are not usually top 5 in rushing.

 

[admo]

Not sure why some like Herman, because I don't think many would like his offense.  It revolves around the QB making most of the plays - pass & running.  2018 is the only year out of 6 seasons his QB didn't lead the team in rushing.  Sure the touchdowns and yards are great, but that's a lot of production placed on the quarterback's shoulders to be effective, and to win games.  I do like the passing, but I prefer the rushing production to be from the running backs instead.  Balanced attack.  I don't think Herman would be a good fit at Nebraska.  These QB stats are exhausting.

2015 - 14games - Houston's QB production
345 pass att 2827pass yards 17td
197 rush att 1114rush yards 21td

2016 - 12games - Houston's QB production
469 pass att 3557pass yards 22td
197 rush att 518rush yards 10td

2017- 9games - Texas QB production
275 pass att 1915pass yards 11td
114 rush att 381rush yards 2td

2018 -14games - Texas QB production
425 pass att 3292pass yards 25td
164 rush att 482rush yards 16td

2019 -13games - Texas QB production
454 pass att 3663pass yards 32td
163 rush att 663rush yards 7td

2020 - 10games - Texas QB production
322 pass att 2566pass yards 26td
113 rush att 377rush yards 8td

 

[Huskers93-97]

I get that people want to do what worked in our heyday, but the top teams in the country are not usually top 5 in rushing.

You can't just look at one stat like rushing. The top teams are good in all 3 phases. Whether they run or pass more is irrelevant. They have the players to make plays- catching or running. Plus paired it with a defense full of talent and solid special teams. I really don't think it matters much as long as you have the athletes to run your scheme. If we pass 60% and run 40% or run 60% and pass 40% I dont care. As long as we are good at what we are doing we will win. 

 

[captain_sasquatch]

A huge aspect to this has to be recruiting prowess as well. How was Helfrich at recruiting? He's been out of the game for awhile and I don't know if his resume holds up to recruits these days.

 

[RedDenver]

You can't just look at one stat like rushing. The top teams are good in all 3 phases. Whether they run or pass more is irrelevant. They have the players to make plays- catching or running. Plus paired it with a defense full of talent and solid special teams. I really don't think it matters much as long as you have the athletes to run your scheme. If we pass 60% and run 40% or run 60% and pass 40% I dont care. As long as we are good at what we are doing we will win. 

Agreed.

 

[EngineeringHusker]

After Walters was let go, I thought Helfrich would be a good hire. Getting a former head coach who was intimately familiar with the offense would really push the vision frost had. Instead we got a banker.

Now several years later a Helfrich hire wouldn't have the luster. It would be passing the buck to a former colleague who hasn't coached in years who knows an offense that doesn't score points. We've seen that before.

Another question- did anyone know if Helfrich was asked before?

 

[The Dude]

I get that people want to do what worked in our heyday, but the top teams in the country are not usually top 5 in rushing.

Good for them.

We've been running nearly a 20 year experiment trying to do what the rest of college football does, and here we are.

Get back in our lane. 

 

[RedDenver]

Good for them.

We've been running nearly a 20 year experiment trying to do what the rest of college football does, and here we are.

Get back in our lane. 

Seems more likely it's that for the last 20 years we haven't had a hall of fame coach like Osborne or Devaney than that a top 5 rushing offense will get us back to the top of the country. I'd be more than happy to get back in the hall-of-fame-coach lane, not so much the top 5 rushing offense lane.

 

[ZRod]

Good for them.

We've been running nearly a 20 year experiment trying to do what the rest of college football does, and here we are.

Get back in our lane. 

That's not even true though.

In 20 years we've had Frank's I formation power running/option attack, Callahan's West Coast Offense, Beck's Multiple Spread Offense (which also feature frequent use of I formation and pro sets), Riley's/Langsdorfs Spread and Pro Style Offense, and now Scott's Spread Option Offense.

 

[Huskers93-97]

It is all about the coach. If we hired Urban Meyer we would compete for National Championships and recruit top 5 every year. Same if we hired Nick Saban. Same if we hired Dabo Sweeney. So that is why I scoff at all the bulls#!t experts that say it's too hard to win at Nebraska or you cant recruit there. With the right name leading the program and the right on field results it all falls into place.

EDIT: I think Kirby Smart has worked his way into that category as well.