Donovan Raiola Officially Named Offensive Line Coach
- Thread starter seaofred92
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SouthLincoln Husker
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SouthLincoln Husker
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Enhance
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IMO there's nothing unfair about being a bit skeptical of the o-line hire. It's objectively the most curious hire.
I think many people (myself included) were hoping for a guy with a recent solid track record at a P5 program or a top tier non P5 program... not a guy who has spent the last few years being an assistant offensive line coach in the NFL. The OLine has been such a weak point the last few years and it really needs a strong hire.
Maybe Donovan is that guy, but on paper, it doesn't necessarily stand out that way. That doesn't mean he won't have my full support as he tries to do his job. But I think these are all fair questions/concerns to have. This program and this staff don't really have time for things to be a work in progress. Both Whipple and Raiola basically have a year to make things work.
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admo
New member
Donovan's resume is similar to Coach Greg Austin.
Coach Austin
2010-2012 Oregon GA
2013-2015 Phila Eagles - Assistant OL
2016-2017 UCF - OL coach
2018-2021 Nebraska - OL coach
He had followed Chip Kelly and HCSF
We definitely needed someone fresh. Hoping it works great with Donovan and the Huskers. But as some have pointed out, this will be a "wait and see"
Coach Austin
2010-2012 Oregon GA
2013-2015 Phila Eagles - Assistant OL
2016-2017 UCF - OL coach
2018-2021 Nebraska - OL coach
He had followed Chip Kelly and HCSF
We definitely needed someone fresh. Hoping it works great with Donovan and the Huskers. But as some have pointed out, this will be a "wait and see"
BigRedBuster
Active member
Maybe…just maybe….he was a good coach for them.
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I think that all of the good coaches were either already taken, or did not want to board this ship. Next fall when you clean house you will be able to attract top tier coaches. Even with the last 20 years, I cannot help but believe that there are several very, very good coaches out there that would love to call Lincoln their home. You just need to get through this mess.......
lo country
Mods
Here is a good article on Raiola. Makes me feel better about him. Given our situation with Frost, I think we did pretty well across the board with the hires. Still waiting on RB and St to be named/decided. And I will admit, I thought that we could get "splash hires" here even with the possibility of this only being a one year gig. I was wrong. It does appear we have gone after guys who believe in the basics. We have been pretty horrible in the fundamentals fo a while.
https://huskerextra.com/news/football/steven-m-sipple-bears-post-practice-standing-ovation-for-raiola-speaks-volumes-center-says/article_00a7c53e-e1c7-52f7-b4dd-9d8122a01b5a.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_huskerextra
“Today, so many people are interested in scheme coaches,” said Hiestand, retired and living in South Bend, Indiana. “They say they want fundamentals. But it’s often B.S. When you look at their practices, they have 10 minutes of individual time (devoted to fundamentals). Well, wait a minute. You say you want these guys to be fundamentally sound, but you have only 10 minutes of individual work? That’s just B.S.
“My point is, Donovan is going to bring a fundamental, bring-it-every-day teaching mentality, and Coach Frost will allow him to develop his guys. You’re not going to see them walking through plays (in practice). When Donovan hits the field, those guys are going to be coming off the ball and knocking the crap out of each other. They’re going to get their pads down and drive block and double team and execute fundamentals with a tremendously physical attitude.
https://huskerextra.com/news/football/steven-m-sipple-bears-post-practice-standing-ovation-for-raiola-speaks-volumes-center-says/article_00a7c53e-e1c7-52f7-b4dd-9d8122a01b5a.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_huskerextra
“Today, so many people are interested in scheme coaches,” said Hiestand, retired and living in South Bend, Indiana. “They say they want fundamentals. But it’s often B.S. When you look at their practices, they have 10 minutes of individual time (devoted to fundamentals). Well, wait a minute. You say you want these guys to be fundamentally sound, but you have only 10 minutes of individual work? That’s just B.S.
“My point is, Donovan is going to bring a fundamental, bring-it-every-day teaching mentality, and Coach Frost will allow him to develop his guys. You’re not going to see them walking through plays (in practice). When Donovan hits the field, those guys are going to be coming off the ball and knocking the crap out of each other. They’re going to get their pads down and drive block and double team and execute fundamentals with a tremendously physical attitude.
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BigRedBuster
Active member
How in the hell do you coach in college and not spend a ton of time on fundamentals?
I don't get your concern over "splash hires".
Truthfully most fans couldn't name many offensive or defensive coordinators in college football without looking them up.
And even less offensive line coaches
Whipple has a long history with successful stops in both college and NFL.
His offenses have consistently put points on the board. The Pitt offense was among the leaders this season and his quarterback is a Heisman finalist
I'm not sure there's a better example of a "splash hire".
The Dude
New member
I agree with all of this. Whipple was a splash hire. Even though I had never heard of him before the ACC championship game.
And I only watched to check out that Wake Forest offense people were talking about. God that thing is idiotic. I'm glad I don't have to watch that stupid thing in the fall.
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San Diego Husker
New member
The worst part of this is that other then Cam Jergens (JR), every starter on the O-line is an underclassman. They are going up against 5-6th year seniors with a ton more experience and weight room training, I suspect that when these guys get to be 5-6th year seniors they will dominate and we will have forgotten all about their growing pains. IMO we simply need to get some upper-class dudes with lots of experience from the portal (if that is even possible) to step in and play against these 5-6th year D-line players. this will allow the under-classmen to learn from guys in-front of them (how the pipe-line worked) Our young O-linemen are getting their baptism by fire and will be pretty good one day (i am not giving up on all of them) but they do need development time.
Vince R.
New member
Let me tell you... lol. The truth is, a lot of coaches suck. It starts from the top. So many want to only teach scheme because they have figured out ways to get by without being fundamentally sound. Then they can just focus on recruiting and never having to care too much about who they do or do not hire as assistants. This trickles down immensely, and when you tie this in with the buddy system of college football, you get a lot of poorly coached teams. There is only one elite coach in college football and has been for two decades and that's Saban. The rest of them are position coaches and at most coordinators who are not equipped to be head coaches.
Being head coach is another ballgame for sure. Few are cut out for it. It entails a lot that hasn’t been experienced before.
lo country
Mods
Wasn't a concern. How any knew of Whipple prior to the success of Pitt this year? Or when he was at UMass? I'm guessing no one.
Now that names are out and research is being done, there is evidence that they can be successful. This is what I have been pointing out.
And as far as Whipple as a splash hire, he is in retrospect. Prior to our rabid fan base googling him, I am usnure how excited people were....Being a Clemson fan, I have seen Pitt and Whipple, but TBH knew nothing about him until his name came up for NU.
Which hires to date have you psyched? I'll answer for you. All of them. Frost and Trev can do no wrong. Other fans? no idea. As I have said, ad nauseam, I'm a run the ball guy. The more I read, the more comfortable I am with him. Not my fave, but at this junction probably the best we could get. And I think he will make an improvement.
Knew nothing about Raiola. How many others did. Dudes had to be reminded that he's not Dylan's dad.....So yea, another google search. BUT as the article I posted alluded to, another good hire. Now me, like most fans will read everything we can, some (a lot) will watch Pitt films on YouTube and convince ourselves these were the best hires evah...
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