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Thoughts on Assistant Coach Process

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Cytaki

Member
Feb 21, 2008
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I see many people on several sites counting some names out because it has taken more than one day after their bowl games to name them as assistant coaches. I for one am not too worried about it. Just because they haven't been officially named to the staff doesn't mean they aren't getting to work. We know that Fountain and Price are part of the staff, but neither has been officially announced by the university probably because they are still working on contract details and such!

Here are my thoughts on the possibilities

Holgorsen
Would be a good get, even though I don't think I want the full-blown Texas Tech/Houston offense because I really don't think it can work in Iowa weather. For that reason and that reason alone, I would prefer to get Tom Herman if it was a choice between the two.

Herman
Having watched Herman coach against Memphis this season I for one would be very happy to have him in the fold and I still think we have some shot at getting him in as O.C. He runs an inventive offense where he knows how to utilize his key players. James Casey for instance, is a guy for Rice who plays a little TE, WR, RB-wherever they need him to line-up.

Norvell
Having followed him at Nebraska, I don't know how much I would like the hire. He definitely has the resume, having coached at Nebraska, UCLA, Oklahoma, so on and so forth. I just have a hard time respecting any coach who worked for Bill Callahan. I would be willing to give him a chance though.

Alford
I honestly think we have to look at Alford as possibly being an Offensive Coordinator. Part of me thinks this is the only way he would make a comeback, but on the other hand he does seem to really like the Des Moines/Ames area having left once and come back!

Defense
Blackwell
Having watched Nebraska/Clemson today, if we have a shot at this guy we absolutely have to land him. Watching how aggressively this defense played at all three position groups today really showed what kind of coach he may be. Now I understand that he just recently took over as Co-Defensive Coordinator, but I definitely believe his philosophies would be similar to what we saw in the game today. I believe a Blackwell defense would be a fiery defense that made the big plays and made the big breaks on the ball. We have athletes on this team, but I am not sure Chizik's style would have ever fully utilized them. We will never know for sure.

Elliott
I really would love to have Bobby back at Iowa State, but I really don't see it happening with Ash already in the fold at DB coach. I can't see Elliott coaching anything other than DB and I really can't see Ash coaching anything other than DB. The only possibility would be if one is responsible for CB and one responsible for safeties. Would be a great get though.

Dunn
Has a good resume as a DT coach. Not sure if he would be ready to head up the defense, but I do consider him a strong possibility given his past ties with Rhoads dating back to Pacific. He would definitely brining in a stronger pedigree than Wayne Bolt had prior to his hiring.

So I guess to sum everything up here are the guys at each position group I think have the best shots at showing up as coaches

OC- Tom Herman/Dana Holgorsen
Qb-ditto
RB- Tony Alford/Eddie Gran (I would say Atif but I really think this would have been done already but who knows) Also Bill Bleil is a possibility as RB coach having coached them at Akron before
WR- Eddie Gran/Mike Grant
TE- Scott Fountain/Bill Bleil
OL-Bill Bleil/Robert McFarland
DE-Terry Price
DT- Terry Price/Don Dunn
LB- David Blackwell/Curtis Bray
DB-Chris Ash and possibly Bob Elliott
DC-David Blackwell/Don Dunn/Bob Elliott
 
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Ohh I am also prepared to be surprised at almost all the positions I just mentioned. It should be interesting, but the guys on staff are out recruiting now so hopefully be can land some great guys and keep the ones we need to keep in order to be successful. After looking over Terry Price's recruiting profile, I think this is a great land and one reason I think he is at work right now is for that very reason!! It is important to hit the ground running on recruiting I think the four guys on staff right now will do a great job until the rest of the staff is complete!!
 
Cytaki said:
Ohh I am also prepared to be surprised at almost all the positions I just mentioned. It should be interesting, but the guys on staff are out recruiting now so hopefully be can land some great guys and keep the ones we need to keep in order to be successful. After looking over Terry Price's recruiting profile, I think this is a great land and one reason I think he is at work right now is for that very reason!! It is important to hit the ground running on recruiting I think the four guys on staff right now will do a great job until the rest of the staff is complete!!
Click to expand...

Is Alford ready to be an OC? I would like to see someone who would use Bo Williams talents out of the list.
 
Agreed. I am not sure if he would be or not! I think with Alford we would run a more traditional power offense which would be good for Bo but maybe not so good for the stable of TE's and WR's we have coming up in the future.
 
I think we might hear something tomorrow, but given the fact that I am guessing the athletic department is currently on vacation I would probably bet on Monday, as well. I don't think they would announce an OC and DC if no other members of the athletic department were working. We might hear something about the other positions tomorrow though!
 
Cytaki said:
I think we might hear something tomorrow, but given the fact that I am guessing the athletic department is currently on vacation I would probably bet on Monday, as well. I don't think they would announce an OC and DC if no other members of the athletic department were working. We might hear something about the other positions tomorrow though!
Click to expand...

Makes sense, but seems like it's a question of whether a couple of days makes a difference. I really don't know.
 
As much as I want the entire staff in place right now I understand that some times it takes awhile for coaches to decide and/or for everything to get through in terms of paper work and such. Like I said before, I think Rhoads has in place a staff of four guys to spearhead the recruiting process until the rest of the staff is in place which I like. Price seems to bring a great repertoire as a recruiter and we have seen what Fountain can do already. I don't know for sure what Bleil and Ash bring to the table because I really can't remember who Ash recruited while he was here!
 
Most people would agree that OC is a HUGE hire. I don't know that you just hand the keys over to Tony Alford. Someone like that who has never called plays before, I think that you name two guys Co-OCs or make one the passing game coordinator and the other the running game coordinator. Maybe something like Peterson/Alford or Peterson/McFarland or Grant/Bleil. Barring that kind of system, I think that they go for someone who has a proven offense at either a lower level or is currently Co-OC at a big school....Herman, Jorgenson, Norvell, Fitch. Hopefully we know soon.
 
Any chance that Atif Austin comes in to coach? Currently coaching RB's at UNI, played DB here from 99-02, recruited by PR when he came to ISU. Just a thought.
 
Good point about Co-Offensive Coordinators if Alford comes in. I have no clue who would be the other guy though unless McFarland is retained maybe a guy like Steve Ensminger would be brought in as a QB coach and could be a Co-Offensive Coordinator. He did take it over mid-season from Franklin, but that scares me a little given Auburn's offensive prowess (sense my sarcasm).

I am really hoping he thinks outside the box though and brings in somebody with inventive ideas who has had past success regardless with whether or not he has coached with him previously. When I say inventive I am not implying a spread offense of any sorts. I guess we will see when it happens!
 
Atif is a guy who has definitely proved quickly what he can do as an assistant coach. Having only been out of playing since 2002(right?) he has really hit the ground running and I really think he is an up and comer that we need to keep our eyes on. He would definitely provide a good bang-for-the-buck option for Paul Rhoads as opposed to Alford. Alford would definitely cost much more money! Austin has really shown what he can do with David Horne, Terrence Freeney, Corey Lewis, Derrick Law, etc., etc.

Also any time you can bring back to mind the image of Atif on the top of the goal post after the Nebraska win is good! Absolutely a guy who if given the chance to return would, but I have no problem if Rhoads feels he needs a couple more years at UNI. Another guy to watch on the UNI staff in my opinion is Scott Frost, not necessarily at Iowa State but just for the future. He was really climbed his way up quickly!
 
If I was Herman, I would consider jumping to the Big 12 from ERice. Houston OC might be less likely...
 
tony alford almost got a head coaching job at his alma mater b4 he went to louisville-i am certain he has observed a high powered offense at louisville even though louisville was down this year.tony is a very good recruiter-i see that he could be a co -offensive coordinator.otherwise,i like the idea of having someone like the houston offensive coordinator who has training under mike leach at texas tech. look at art briles who was a great texas high school coach,then was with leach,went onto houston where he was in 4 or 5 bowl games,and now is at baylor and slowly raising the bears back to being a good team.i vote to go after the houston offensive coordinator.put mcfarland in charge of the ol and bleil in charge of the d-line and make him co defensive coordinator since he has coached some defense b4.
 
woodie said:
tony alford almost got a head coaching job at his alma mater b4 he went to louisville-i am certain he has observed a high powered offense at louisville even though louisville was down this year.tony is a very good recruiter-i see that he could be a co -offensive coordinator.otherwise,i like the idea of having someone like the houston offensive coordinator who has training under mike leach at texas tech. look at art briles who was a great texas high school coach,then was with leach,went onto houston where he was in 4 or 5 bowl games,and now is at baylor and slowly raising the bears back to being a good team.i vote to go after the houston offensive coordinator.put mcfarland in charge of the ol and bleil in charge of the d-line and make him co defensive coordinator since he has coached some defense b4.
Click to expand...

spot on
 
As expressed before about Holgorsen, I am unsure the full-blown spread offense would work in Iowa in the cold! It is a nice idea and would work if tweaked but I am a little hesitant to jump at the idea of it. I want a more high-powered offense and he definitely brings that pedigree!!

On another note, everything is being set in motion for Blackwell to be the DC here. Kevin Steele is being named the DC at Clemson and has always been a LB coach, so that tells me Blackwell is on his way out. I really get the feeling he is headed to Ames!
 
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