Mike Norvell made his hire: Gus Malzahn. For those who don't remember Gus made a name for himself coaching high school football in Arkansas. At the time Mitch Mustain was the top quarterback in the nation. He may have signed with USC out of HS and Gus ended up at Arkansas with Petrino and they brought him over. Gus at the time was an innovative coach along with Hugh Freeze. He had a ton of success that Gene Chizik hired him to be the OC at Auburn. The QB was Cam Newton. Gus wanted to be a HC so he parlayed the AU OC job into the HC job at Arkansas State. When AU moved on from Gene Chizik they made Gus the HC.
Why Gus? The No. 1 reason why Gus was hired is because MN wants to run the football. It was the No. 1 reason why Brennan Marion was at the top of the board. I don't disagree with this. Look at UF and Michigan. UF turned their season around not because Lagway. It was because they could finally run the ball, control the clock and keep their defense fresh. The one thing about FSU, Miami and Florida they all have the same type of personal. They recruit undersized guys on defense that can fly to the football. How do you keep those guys fresh, recruit well and have depth but RUN THE BALL? FSU is not built to have their defense constantly on the field. Gus is going to come in and help Mike run the ball, control the clock, protect the QB and keep the defense fresh. He has had top-rated run offenses no matter where he has been. UCF ran the ball very well. I think if Gus brings his OL coach with him (Herb Hand) FSU will be able to turn the run game around in year 1.
Why Not Gus? The game has changed. I look at Jamey Chadwell (Liberty OC), I look at Indiana, I look at Brennan Marion (UNLV OC), and I look at Joe Craddock (Tulane). They use a ton of motion and shifts. You see them constantly move guys around and widen the field. Gus' offense shrinks the field and I don't believe that is the way the game is played anymore. While his offenses are still able to produce a great run game his passing game is not very good. He was so bad this year he fired himself and hired Tim Harris to call plays. This is a major red flag for a coach who is being brought in to save the day. My No. 2 concern and I will discuss this with Jason Staples on a podcast later today is his ability to recruit and develop quarterbacks. I have dealt with coaches on his staff. I once brought up a name of a QB from Boynton Beach HS. I told the assistant coach at the time you need to go after this kid. He fits the mold of a QB that would do well in Gus offense. The coach said Fish, Gus does not think he throws well enough. The name of that quarterback was Lamar Jackson. Instead he recruited Sean White from University School in Davie. Sean was a drop-back QB who could not run, had lead feet and was an FCS-level QB. I would forgive this act because other coaches felt the same but at UCF this year he took Dylan Rizk. Another kid who is not very athletic and came from an Air Raid offense in HS. I question whether he can evaluate QBs and develop them.
Final Thoughts: Whether I like the hire or not, I am always willing to give things a chance. The problem is we saw this same story play out this year at Ohio State. Pupil (Ryan Day) hired teacher (Chip Kelly) and the Ohio State offense did not come up big yesterday against Michigan. I am a big fan of new.. There are words in the football world like Culture and Development. These are words IMHO that are used to make fans feel good. They sound good coming out of a coach’s mouth. I had one coach say to me, Fish if you want good culture win games. That is how you create culture. FSU won 13 games last year and everyone says "the culture is great." Now the same coaches and many of the same players and culture sucks. COME ON. I listen to Colin Cowherd and he talks about Jerry Jones. I am a Cowboy fan. He says when Jerry went big (Hiring Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells) he won. When Jerry goes small and safe he loses a lot. I think Mike had the chance to swing a big bat. Yes, Marion is the unknown and a risk. FSU and Mike needed to take that risk. I just hope the safe route gets them where FSU needs to go.
Why Gus? The No. 1 reason why Gus was hired is because MN wants to run the football. It was the No. 1 reason why Brennan Marion was at the top of the board. I don't disagree with this. Look at UF and Michigan. UF turned their season around not because Lagway. It was because they could finally run the ball, control the clock and keep their defense fresh. The one thing about FSU, Miami and Florida they all have the same type of personal. They recruit undersized guys on defense that can fly to the football. How do you keep those guys fresh, recruit well and have depth but RUN THE BALL? FSU is not built to have their defense constantly on the field. Gus is going to come in and help Mike run the ball, control the clock, protect the QB and keep the defense fresh. He has had top-rated run offenses no matter where he has been. UCF ran the ball very well. I think if Gus brings his OL coach with him (Herb Hand) FSU will be able to turn the run game around in year 1.
Why Not Gus? The game has changed. I look at Jamey Chadwell (Liberty OC), I look at Indiana, I look at Brennan Marion (UNLV OC), and I look at Joe Craddock (Tulane). They use a ton of motion and shifts. You see them constantly move guys around and widen the field. Gus' offense shrinks the field and I don't believe that is the way the game is played anymore. While his offenses are still able to produce a great run game his passing game is not very good. He was so bad this year he fired himself and hired Tim Harris to call plays. This is a major red flag for a coach who is being brought in to save the day. My No. 2 concern and I will discuss this with Jason Staples on a podcast later today is his ability to recruit and develop quarterbacks. I have dealt with coaches on his staff. I once brought up a name of a QB from Boynton Beach HS. I told the assistant coach at the time you need to go after this kid. He fits the mold of a QB that would do well in Gus offense. The coach said Fish, Gus does not think he throws well enough. The name of that quarterback was Lamar Jackson. Instead he recruited Sean White from University School in Davie. Sean was a drop-back QB who could not run, had lead feet and was an FCS-level QB. I would forgive this act because other coaches felt the same but at UCF this year he took Dylan Rizk. Another kid who is not very athletic and came from an Air Raid offense in HS. I question whether he can evaluate QBs and develop them.
Final Thoughts: Whether I like the hire or not, I am always willing to give things a chance. The problem is we saw this same story play out this year at Ohio State. Pupil (Ryan Day) hired teacher (Chip Kelly) and the Ohio State offense did not come up big yesterday against Michigan. I am a big fan of new.. There are words in the football world like Culture and Development. These are words IMHO that are used to make fans feel good. They sound good coming out of a coach’s mouth. I had one coach say to me, Fish if you want good culture win games. That is how you create culture. FSU won 13 games last year and everyone says "the culture is great." Now the same coaches and many of the same players and culture sucks. COME ON. I listen to Colin Cowherd and he talks about Jerry Jones. I am a Cowboy fan. He says when Jerry went big (Hiring Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells) he won. When Jerry goes small and safe he loses a lot. I think Mike had the chance to swing a big bat. Yes, Marion is the unknown and a risk. FSU and Mike needed to take that risk. I just hope the safe route gets them where FSU needs to go.
