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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Randy Edsall Interview with ABC College Football All-Access

So, Randy Edsall did an interview with ABC College Football All-Access tonight, and overall....Eh.  I was eager to see a) what he had to say and b) if his dismal PR skills improved.  Lets just say, I was under impressed.  I didn't expect too much out of the interview to be honest, but I could of figured all that came out the interview without watching.

First, I am so tired of hearing Edsall say "well, everyone is bought in now" or some convoluded variant of the same message.  Tonight it was, "Well, we're in Year 2 now and the exciting thing you see is that everyone is on the same page and knows what the expectations are."  Let me start off with the obvious:  Randy, it is your fault the entire team did not know what the expectations were.  That falls on you.  In the first year, I'd expect throughout the first two weeks that people may not be on the same page because they are learning completely new systems.  Ok, I can give you a pass there.  But I'd expect your coordinator (or you) to dumb down the play selection to the point where the starters are confident in the plays being called.

He did talk to the changes he made after last season to correct the dismal season, and he pointed right at the coordinators.  This falls in line with what we already know:  Edsall is more of a CEO type coach who delegates to his coordinators.  So he is putting last season on them, OK.  But he is walking a fine line with that:  Fans won't have that same tolerance this season, even if you do have two new coordinators.

Injuries were also briefly discussed in the 5ish minute segment, and obviously they highlighted DOB moving to Wisconsin, and his successor then tearing his ACL.  Edsall played the usual confidence in the freshman QB, as he should, and then pointed to the defense being the strength this year.  The only problem is, I'm not so sure they are outside the front seven.  The front seven should be decent against the rush, but the secondary is mired with both injury and a lack of talent.  And in the world of college football that we are in, that means that Clemson, FSU and WVU are going to have a field day with us.

Anyways, my overall impression of Edsall was really eh.  He lost me from the start when the first thing he brings up is being excited about everyone being on the same page and knowing the expectations.  I had tolerance for that last season, but I'm really over it.  If you're going on local television, appeal to the recruits.  Show off the new field, talk about how you're getting local players to stay home (obviously point to last year, can't talk to unsigned recruits yet), etc.  It could of been worse, but I guess that is the PR firm helping him some.  I do see however that they have a ways to go.

4 comments:

  1. I don't understand why a football team would want a CEO type as its head coach. That seems more appropriate for baseball. Yes, Brafor and Crwtn sucked.

    I don't blame DOB for heading to Madison. Wisconsin has a great football team. Madison is a very nice place to live and learn. While RE shouldn't be blamed for CJB's injury, he should have known that CJB plays a dangerous style.

    I hope the new kids turn out to be solid contributors. At least basketball season is around the corner.

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    1. Eh, I don't mind a coach being a CEO type. And for the most part, you'll find that many are and just specialize in one area with the team while deferring to the coordinator in the other. This isn't peewee football where you are managing 30 or so players, you have 85 scholarship players, recruiting to manage, academics, tutors, etc. I think it very much needs a CEO type to make the program work well, but being the CEO type isn't Edsalls undoing. His undoing was hiring the wrong coordinators; an offensive coordinator who couldn't adapt to the personnel at hand while recruiting to "his style", and then getting stuck with a coordinator who was not ready for the job he was given. That, combined with him wanting to "re-build" what was not necessarily broken is what did him in.

      I don't blame DOB for going to Wisconsin either. They're a great program, he fulfilled his requirements to MD, and he did not fit the offensive system put in place. I don't blame him one bit.

      And as for the new kids, I think that is one area that Edsall is doing well in. He's recruiting the local area which is rich with football talent, and he brought in a coordinator who specializes with this area. All good things. Not to mention, outside of the 2011 class, he's been about on par in terms of overall quality of players being recruited. He has been a little over zealous in recruiting linebackers who are dual position players, but I can look past that if everything else starts to work out.

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