With Vandy HC Bobby Johnson interviewing in Joe Alleva's office today, I've given some thought to how good of a hire Johnson would be, and I'm skeptical about such a move for a few reasons.
To be honest, I'm not sure that Bobby Johnson is a significantly better coach than Ted Roof. I don't know if he has an offensive track record or not or what specifically he brings to the table, but I feel that if you're going to fire an incumbent coach (and one that had the fervent support of many of his players), you've got to bring in someone who either is a better coach, or who will bring about a sea change in terms of a program's culture.
I'm not sold that Johnson is that much of a better coach than Roof, even if he is coaching in the strongest conference in the nation. I just don't think you can pass off the hiring of a coach with a 20-50 record as an improvement to fans.
In the attitude area, It had become pretty clear to me by the end of the season that Duke football more or less had developed a losing culture. Wins weren't expected, and I could tell that both what I saw on the field on Saturdays and from what I heard from players after games and at the mid-week press conferences. I'm not alleging that players quit or gave up on the season, and Roof and his coaches certainly didn't, but it became pretty clear that his approach was taking the team nowhere.
That said, I've been a strong proponent of bringing in a coach that will bring an attitude shock to the program. I think the best example, and most relevant considering the circumstances of Duke as an academic institution, is Stanford's hiring of Jim Harbaugh. Before his team even strapped up their helmets for practice, Harbaugh made headlines calling out USC and Pete Carroll at the Pac-10 Media Day, and of course he backed up his rhetoric on the field when the Cardinal knocked off the Trojans 24-23 this season.
For a Duke football program that has been more or less a running national joke for the past decade, the swagger that a fresh attitude change would provide is, in my mind, imperative in a new hire . Honestly, I don't think the saintly, cursing-averse Johnson would provide enough of an attitude shift to merit his hiring.
Just my two cents. Feel free to comment/respond.
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4 comments:
I agree with you about the attitude adjustment the program needs. Roof was always looking forward, seemingly conceding that the present is going to suck. That's why Spurrier would be such a good choice (though obviously he isn't available). And I really don't think a coach from Vanderbilt is a good idea. I honestly feel like that school has pretty much given up being competitive in the SEC. It's like they accept their inferiority. I don't think that's Duke's attitude, nor should it be. We can't use academic standards as an excuse. Stanford does OK in football. Boston College has a really high graduation rate for athletes too. Wake Forest won the ACC last year! Ok sorry for the rant.
Right. Agree completely. Duke needs a coach that will inpsire enthusiasm across the fan base right from the beginning. Roof made Duke a competitive team but unfortunately couldn't produce the wins and couldn't take Duke to a level beyond competitive. Nothing in Johnson's tenure at Vandy shows he will do anything more.
Roof needed more time. Look at Johnson over the last three years, a great deal of improvement and some big wins. Vandy's not an easy win anymore.
2:35, I'm with you. Vandy has definitely moved in the right direction over the last 2-3 years. However, I don't think hiring a head coach with a 20-50 career record is much of an improvement or will create a stir on-campus/within the program.
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