Tony White a Candidate for Syracuse HC Job

This is going to come off as “poo-pooing” NUs defense this year and I really don’t mean it to.  The defense is undeniably the strength of this year’s team.

But White’s DC resume at NU now really isn’t a lot different than from a calendar year ago.  He stops bad offenses like he’s supposed to.  But so far, not much success against teams like Michigan, or even Colorado…(year at Nebraska)

Hes a great and super smart guy that deserves a shot at a head gig.  But I don’t think it’s based on his performance at NU.  The Huskers are just the latest notch in his belt.
Frankly, and fans don't want to hear this, it's a talent issue. 

Nebraska can't stop a team like Michigan no matter the coaching or scheme. Michigan simply recruits at a level Nebraska can't match. 

It's why a good defensive team like Iowa gets their doors blown off the second they play a talented team. They simply don't have the horses.

Tony White is probably maximizing the performance of the defense considering the talent level as he can. 

 
It's against board rules to leak premium content but on the latest Split Zone Duo pod they did an update on their 'eyes' board which is their coaching search stuff. A quick high level chat about what Tony White specifically is below: Mods, if this is too close to the line, please delete.

They talked about the San Diego State, Boise State and Syracuse openings and Tony White's name didn't come up as a potential front runner. The SZD guys were pretty high on Jeff Monken and Ken Niumatalolo getting long looks at Syracuse and the MW openings (plus some other coaches, none of whom were Tony). They also talked about Sean Lewis the OC from Colorado maybe getting a long look at Cuse but they weren't sure if going up tempo Air Raid again is the best fit for Syracuse given their geography. The SZD guys seemed to think SDSU would go offense this time around with a HC to bring some juice to the program and take advantage again, of what they have geography-wise. Another X-factor with these MW openings is Gary Patterson wants to get back in the game so it'll be interesting to see if he lands one of these gigs.

 
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San Diego St has reached out to White
That's good to hear, and he did spend time there during his career.  Brady Hoke resigned and did a good job there.  SDSU has been a good, solid football team. 

I know it's SDSU, but come on, who wouldn't want to live in San Diego making bank?  I know I would. 

This is likely the first of many interviews and opportunities for him.  Me thinks he will have to narrow it down to 3 choices when that time comes.  He did a great job, and selfishly I wish he would return.  But he did put the footprint down for this defense, setting the foundation for this defense, and I'm sure someone on the Husker staff will be able to take what he installed and keep it going.  Hopefully.

 
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Obviously we all want Tony to stay after what he did this year, but if he gets a HC offer, he absolutely has to take it, and I will not hold it against him one bit.

 
That makes a lot of sense from SDSU's standpoint. They've been pretty defense-orientated for a while. I'm not surprised they'd go with an offense focused HC given the amount of skill position talent that is in their backyard. This was also the rumor on why CU demoted Sean Lewis from OC.

 
That makes a lot of sense from SDSU's standpoint. They've been pretty defense-orientated for a while. I'm not surprised they'd go with an offense focused HC given the amount of skill position talent that is in their backyard.


That's been the trend in the sport for quite some time now. It's simply far, far easier to scheme offense than recruit defense. Especially if, as you said, you have skill talent nearby and you're target is primarily to be bowl eligible or a little better every year. If you want to challenge for titles, it's all about the defensive front and pass rushers, imo, even over QBs because that's the best way in the modern game to account for the numerical binds that modern offenses can put you in.

Scratch San Diego State off the list as well


In terms of keeping White, it was probably a good year for a couple of schools to have job openings available. Pay the man and keep recruiting more defensive speed and let him cook.

 
I think a lot of these coaches are going to need to be selective on what jobs they take.  Unless they just want to get paid (which is still reasonable).  If you don't have a strong NIL program compared to those in your conference, I have to believe you're going to be in trouble.

I think NIL will turn the lower P5 jobs into a paycheck rather than a proving ground.  You're simply not going to win.   The proving grounds will be the lower paychecks in smaller conferences.

It could also change how coaches are evaluated.

 
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