Friday November 14, 2008
Friday E-Mail Bag
Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.
Mickey,
I think Grobe has turned down other jobs because I think he is holding out for a specific job, such as Clemson. What do you think?
Kurt
Kurt,
I think Grobe is a candidate. He says he is happy but Clemson is a better job and I think Grobe would have some interest in talking but this is just a gut feeling. I think all of the current head coaches who are candidates will not get contacted until after the season.
Mickey,
I spoke with a friend of mine via email about Brent Venables and he said that Oklahoma fans are not really happy with him. Given how well their offense has played, the fans feel that the defense will potentially keep them out of the national championship this season. I got the feeling that they would happily let him go.
Knowing that do we really want him over Muschamp or Bud Foster?
I personally would really like Lane Kiffin and the "possible" staff he could bring assemble. If he could bring a defensive coordinator from USC (his dad won't come I’m sure of that), and possibly retain Napier and maybe Dabo, our recruiting would be phenomenal.
Anyway, love the show. Just wanted your thoughts on that.
Thanks,
Billy
Billy,
I think Venables is a good football coach and will be a good head coach one day. The only questions I have about him concerns his alma mater. Kansas State did not hire him three years ago and I am not sure he is high on their list this time. Why are they passing on him? I would want to know why he has been passed over by his alma mater which is also closer geographically.
I think Kiffin has some positives that have to be considered. He is an intriguing candidate.
Mickey,
A high school offensive coordinator told me that the biggest mistake a lot of offensive coordinators make at the high school level is that they have too many plays and formations and their players don't go as hard as they can because they aren't sure what they are supposed to do. He says that he runs 5 basic running plays (I'm not sure how many passing plays that he has), and he runs them over and over. The advantage of this is that the players know how to execute those plays and therefore they are playing very hard. I have even heard Brett Favre say something similar at the pro level on this same topic.
Does having too many plays and too many formations and too many people moving in motion cause similar problems on the college level? Has it caused too many problems at Clemson this year? I watched one play against FSU where it seemed like we had several players go in motion and move places, and then we got a 1 yard gain after all of that movement. I have heard where more talented players at Clemson have sometimes sat on the bench because they don't know the system well enough yet, but players like A.J. Green at UGA and Julio Jones at Alabama seemed to jump in and start playing during their first college game. Does Clemson have more talented players on the bench simply because the offense is too hard for them to figure out in their first year?
David
David,
The new staff has tried to simplify some things. I agree on your comments. The game was different then but Coach Ford always thought that it is not what you do but how you do it. Sometimes I think many college coaches make things way too complicated. Players need to be able to just react and play instead of thinking. Paralysis through analysis.
Mickey,
I enjoy reading your blog, thanks for taking the time and putting it out there for us every day. Now for my question. Why do you think Chris Peterson from Boise St. isn't getting tossed around as a potential next head coach at Clemson? I heard people say well he coaches in the WAC and that’s somewhat true but the WAC is a lot better then Conference USA where Tommy came from and we swooned for his 11-0 season. Plus he has gone out of conference and gotten some wins including at #17 Oregon and lets not forget them beating #10 Oklahoma in a BCS game, which is one more BCS game then Clemson has. Boise St has also been ranked a lot more lately then we have. I also heard its his religion, I don't care what his religion is as long as he doesn't spout off about it all the time, and wins games. He also has more experience than several of the names being tossed around Muschamp, Venables, Kiffin. If were gonna waste all the money flying a jet around the country why not fly it to Boise St and interview Peterson. What do you think?
Thanks,
Richard
Richard,
Petersen is a terrific coach and may be a candidate but I doubt it. Maybe it is the geographic area is a concern. I am not sure what ties he has to the Southeast. Also, I keep hearing the scientology rumors.
Mr. Plyler,
I've been wondering for three years off and on what the C and the J stand for in Spiller's first name. The question finally occurred to me at home this week rather than at a game and I checked his bios in the three latest Clemson media guides and recent game programs and could not find an answer. Do you know what C.J.'s first/middle names are? Thank you.
Daniel
Daniel,
According to several callers on my radio show, C.J. stands for Clifford Jr.
Mickey,
My name is Chad Foster, I am the athletic director for the City of Simpsonville – so I work with our youth teams and volunteer coaches here in our community. One of our 8 and under football coaches and his team had a very good season, going undefeated and earning a chance to play in our league super bowl game at Hillcrest High School this past Tuesday night vs a team from another community. Our Coach sent out an e-mail to College and Professional coaches in the area to see if any would give him any words or advise going into the big game, maybe something he might tell his players going into the game. He received congratulatory words from several coaches including John Fox and Mark Richt which were great. Dabo Swinney called Coach Long at home Monday evening and talked for quite awhile about football, his own kids and their team, and things he tells the Clemson players before a big game. He then sent a letter for Coach Long to read to his team before the Super Bowl Game Tuesday night. I am copying that below.
As a youth sports administrator and as a coach myself the fact that he would take time out of his, obviously hectic schedule is a tremendous testament to the character that Dabo Swinney has. And the fact that it is genuine, because this was not something he had to do – this was not done in front of TV cameras or in an interview,. I have always been impressed with Coach Swinney and now I have even more respect for him as a coach and even more so a man or great character.
Below is the e-mail Dabo sent for Coach Long to read to the team.
By the way the Simpsonville Jr. Rams won their Super Bowl Game 24-6 Tuesday night and I would like to think they had a little extra encouragement from the letter.
I decided yesterday to send out letters talking about my team and how well they have done and trying to words of encouragement from some well known coaches, schools and so on....... Spurrier, Swinney, Saban, Weis, Richt, Fulmer, ASU, Wofford, Furman, Carolina Panthers, and Coach Hallman..... well believe it or not I am getting letters back from most of them..... but then last night at about 7 or so.... I get a phone call... i didn't recognize the number but it was a 864 number.... I got on the phone and the person said..." is this Mike Long... or should I say coach Long...." yes.... " this is Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers!!" We talked for a while and talked to me about the game coming up and the his own kids football teams... then he sent me a letter to read to the kids.... below is the letter
------
Coach Long and Simpsonville team,
Just wanted to congratulate ya’ll on a great season. It is a
privilege to be able to play the great game of football. I want to
wish you the best in your championship game tonight. I hope that
yall will play hard, do your best, and have fun. One thing to
remember is that the best TEAM will win, so come together and play
together as ONE. There will be 5 or 6 plays that will make the
difference tonight but you don't know when, so play every play like
it is the one that is going to make the difference.
Also, please remember that you win and lose with class. No matter
what happens on the scoreboard, the lessons you are learning while
playing football will stay with you the rest of your lives.
Be confident and do what you are coached to do with great effort.
Good Luck!
Coach Dabo Swinney
Clemson University
PS Can't wait to recruit you guys one day.
Chad,
Tell the guys I said congratulations on the great season. You guys should be proud. Thanks for sharing Dabo’s letter. I can attest that his letter was as genuine as the writer. Dabo is one of the most sincere people I have been around. Thanks for sharing.
Mickey,
Great job with the blog. I know we are all interested in who will be the next football coach at Clemson, but would like to get your take on the basketball recruits who signed with us today. I have not seen any of them play, but it sounds as though Jennings in particular is a heck of a player. Where does he rank in relation to other players we have signed over the years? Also, what does the fact that a player of his stature would sign with Clemson over UConn, Florida, and UCLA say about Oliver Purnell and the program he is building? Call me crazy, but this Saturday may be the first time in which our fans are looking forward to basketball season more than the fans at Duke.
I am still praying for Ryan. His on-going recovery is an inspiration to us all.
Hugh
Hugh,
Thanks for the prayers for Ryan. He is doing well. Purnell really likes this current class. Booker is a lot like his older brother but better is some aspects and not quite as polished in other areas. He has a big upside. Coach Purnell loves Hill’s defensive tenacity. But Jennings is the player who can take Clemson to another level. He is the biggest piece of the puzzle in getting Clemson more on the national scene. Jennings is a rare combination of size and ability. He might be the best player Clemson has signed since Skip Wise.
Mickey,
Will there be a "Tiger Walk" this Saturday?
Thanks,
Julia
Julia,
Yes. Clemson will have a Tiger Walk at 9:45 this week. Also, former players are invited to participate. Jeff Davis and Perry Tuttle are among former Tiger greats who will participate. I will see ya there.
Hi Mickey,
I am an S.C. State Bulldog, I was listening to your show this morning and a lady came on and mentioned Charlie Strong for a possible candidate for the job at Clemson. Well we wanted to talk to him before we went with Buddy Pough, he said that he wanted a div-1 school, well he may get his wish this year for some of the vacancies out there, but you can bet your last dollar that Clemson would not go that route in football. People have said that the reason he is not a head coach in the south because his wife is Caucasian, do you think that there is any truth to that? Let's face it my man this is still the south.
R
R,
I can’t speak for any athletic director who has passed on Charlie Strong. I am not naïve enough to disregard that as a factor at some places and some decision makers. However, Clemson’s running back coach is an African-American who has been married many years to a Caucasian. Also, Clemson’s most popular coach at this point is Oliver Purnell, an African-American. In fact, I think I am correct in saying that three of the past six head coaches Clemson has hired in its athletic department have been African-Americans. I could be wrong about that number but I think the men’s basketball, men’s track and field and cross country, women’s track and field and cross country jobs have been filled with African-Americans. I don’t try to hide the fact that racism still exists but hiring practices at Clemson don’t reflect that.
Mickey,
I like Leach, but it's not just his offense b/c of his success, you have to have playmakers in that style. What could Leach do with the Clemson o line and receivers? Some of his receivers can catch anything thrown their way, like Crabtree. There o line at TT are seasoned seniors and red shirt juniors. His record with the same style offense prior to this season was up and down some, not that great....but none the less, what leach has done this year is impressive.
DT
DT,
You have to give Leach credit for recruiting those guys but they are much better players than Clemson currently has at almost every position on offense. His offense has been incredible this season.
Mickey,
A coach gets to hire his own staff and Dabo inherited a staff loyal to Bowden. After I read your blog on the FSU game, I wondered if you are implying the staff is not supporting Dabo Swinney. Obviously, the lack of fundamentals, technique and physical mindset are a holdover from Bowden. However, I see a genuine effort by Coach Dabo to effect a change in the mindset of the team. Therefore, I ask again: are you theorizing the remaining staff has not gone "all in"?
Bigatiger
Bigatiger,
I think one or maybe two current assistant coaches are not “ALL IN.” I think Dabo’s hands are tied when it comes to his current staff.
Mickey,
We all love Dabo's enthusiasm and fire. We like how the program has turned. But I want us to look at the most recent Clemson game realistically? It is time. No moral victories. No almost wins. No they tried their best.
Clemson's loss to Florida State was crap. Of course, it is a mirror of the present year:
Unable to live up to expectations. Unable to out coach quality teams and staffs. Unable to make plays. Unable to tackle. Unable to block for 75% of the game. Unable to avoid beating ourselves... players and coaches included. Unable to hold a lead.
For 2008, Clemson is the most underachieving team in college football. That is quite sad.
Once again, Clemson had a lead and could not be the better team. I am sick and tired of watching this team beat themselves. So I ask people to look at this team and these coaches as they should be evaluated. Is this the staff that can really take Clemson to the next level?
This staff continues to fall short. They are now 1-2 against Division I teams. They had leads in all 3 games. For this staff, it sits on each one of them that the O-line continues to stink, that the plays are poorly executed, that the defense fails more times than it should when it needs to rise to the occasion, and that this season is a waste of talent and potential.
If anyone comes out preaching that Clemson fought hard and almost won, they may be right but then I want someone else to ask that person "Is that good enough for Clemson football?" If it was not good enough for Bowden, then it is definitely not good enough for right now.
The Florida State game showed once again Clemson wilts under the pressure and continues a sad trend of being average against ranked teams.
No moral victory. No positive spin. Clemson failed when it did not need to. 4-5 overall or 1-2 under Dabo, no matter which record you use, Clemson is the most underachieving team in college football. Sad to say, but this may also be the case for the last 10 years of Clemson football.
Now, spin it your positive way, Mickey. Help me get rid of this frustration.
A Clemson fan who is tired of this crap!
Stewart
Stewart,
While I consider myself a positive guy, I cannot spin any positives from the effort in Tallahassee. Did you read what I wrote Monday? I was discouraged by what I saw also. This year has been perhaps the biggest disappointment in Clemson history.
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