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1 hour ago, Chrispy_ said:

So Burton has dropped the odds of landing Harrell to 40% and raised the odds on Ash to 90%.

asks russian GIF

I’m thinking that since Harrell doesn’t seem to be coming and hasn’t signed the contract extension  at USC that he doesn’t want a big OC contract with a big buyout. If he doesn’t leave or sign a new contract he is preparing for an HC job next season. 

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1 minute ago, Rhinotx said:

I’m thinking that since Harrell doesn’t seem to be coming and hasn’t signed the contract extension  at USC that he doesn’t want a big OC contract with a big buyout. If he doesn’t leave or sign a new contract he is preparing for an HC job next season. 

So you think GH is just going to pass on millions of guaranteed dollars?  Sure thing buddy.

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1 minute ago, Rhinotx said:

I’m thinking that since Harrell doesn’t seem to be coming and hasn’t signed the contract extension  at USC that he doesn’t want a big OC contract with a big buyout. If he doesn’t leave or sign a new contract he is preparing for an HC job next season. 

Do coordinator contracts have buyouts if you are becoming a HC?  

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8 minutes ago, Rhinotx said:

I’m thinking that since Harrell doesn’t seem to be coming and hasn’t signed the contract extension  at USC that he doesn’t want a big OC contract with a big buyout. If he doesn’t leave or sign a new contract he is preparing for an HC job next season. 

Guaranteed money from the school and his buyout cost if he leaves aren’t the same thing. I doubt there’d be any buyout owed by the school that hires him as HC either way. 

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1 hour ago, TXs said:

I'm taking joy I'm the fact that Herman will have to walk back his "one year contract" bs in order to land any quality coaches, with his tail between his legs.

Avatar checks out, joyless fucktard.

Dissent is fine and good and useful for improvement. Rooting for failure in the name of joy sounds pathological.

Sex might help your attitude. Start with fucking yourself.

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30 minutes ago, Rhinotx said:

I’m thinking that since Harrell doesn’t seem to be coming and hasn’t signed the contract extension  at USC that he doesn’t want a big OC contract with a big buyout. If he doesn’t leave or sign a new contract he is preparing for an HC job next season. 

No. What's happening here is that Harrell has either not made up his mind, or for some reason he and whoever he chose to be his employer next year have not announced his intentions. We could all be shocked by it being a school other than USC or Texas, because it doesn't make sense why USC wouldn't have announced his intentions to return by now.

Edited by UncleBuck
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7 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Guaranteed money from the school and his buyout cost if he leaves aren’t the same thing. I doubt there’d be any buyout owed by the school that hires him as HC either way. 

Yep.  Heard some school gave their coach $75MM guaranteed, with $0 buyout - no one would be that dumb, would they?

Narrator: ......

 

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10 minutes ago, UncleBuck said:

because it doesn't make sense why USC wouldn't have announced his intentions to return by now.

(and no, he didn't secretly tell the 300+ 16 and 17 year olds he recruits, who have somehow all managed to keep it secret. There is absolutely no reason we shouldn't have at the very least seen a legit "negotiating a new contract" report by now)

Edited by UncleBuck
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Ya'll need to calm the fuck down. Harrell hasn't signed the new SC contract and any reporting about what he is planning to do is useless. Nobody has any idea what's going to happen with Harrell, and until he makes a decision we're going to hear lots of conflicting shit. Buck up, pussies.

Everyone talking about this dragging too long and that other programs are making hires - did you want anyone who actually got hired? Not as a coordinator you didn't. There are real candidates in the NFL and those hires won't happen until January. Guess what date Joe Brady was announced at LSU? January 28th you fucking assholes.

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Just now, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Ya'll need to calm the fuck down. Harrell hasn't signed the new SC contract and any reporting about what he is planning to do is useless. Nobody has any idea what's going to happen with Harrell, and until he makes a decision we're going to hear lots of conflicting shit. Buck up, pussies.

Everyone talking about this dragging too long and that other programs are making hires - did you want anyone who actually got hired? Not as a coordinator you didn't. There are real candidates in the NFL and those hires won't happen until January. Guess what date Joe Brady was announced at LSU? January 28th you fucking assholes.

Counterpoint: Tom Herman is ass.

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Nahlin

Spoiler

There are a lot of rumors floating that a deal has been made. Funny enough, some people don't even know for who. I reported what I was confident in but it's possible things are more advanced than I wrote in the Humidor.

Edit to add: There was some stuff floating last night on IT that a deal was close but the source was very tight lipped on the name. No one has any clue who this is.

Edited by Ricky's one-hitter
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I’m sad to admit that I do enjoy much of the stupidity of this thread. 

“Counterpoint: Tom Herman is ass. “ LOL. 

Good lord. If they don’t announce Harrell today, you can safely argue that Texas didn’t land him because Tom Herman is a douchier insufferable cunt than Rex Kramer/Dr. Beeper, and that would be an astonishing accomplishment. It would rival Chuckles Strong not hiring Sonny Cumbie because some bureaucrat in HR told him he couldn’t give someone a 3 year contract and Chuckles saying “okay” and moving on. We’re talking about incompetence in almost indescribable ways. 

But hey, maybe they close this thing out and snag victory from the jaws of self-defeat. 

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8 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Nahlin

  Hide contents

There are a lot of rumors floating that a deal has been made. Funny enough, some people don't even know for who. I reported what I was confident in but it's possible things are more advanced than I wrote in the Humidor.

 

Damn Son o' Hoodie comin'!

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Just now, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Nahlin

  Hide contents

There are a lot of rumors floating that a deal has been made. Funny enough, some people don't even know for who. I reported what I was confident in but it's possible things are more advanced than I wrote in the Humidor.

 

Fine. What the fuck did he write in the Humidor?

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1 minute ago, Sock Drawer said:

Fine. What the fuck did he write in the Humidor?

Spoiler

When Texas rushed to get in line to hire Graham Harrell it let the upstart USC offensive coordinator know just how much he was wanted and needed in Austin. He reciprocated interest by meeting with Tom Herman on Wednesday, December 4th, in Houston. The meeting went very well and a deal seemed imminent but then things went quiet -- a little too quiet from the fan's perspective.

Harrell returned to Southern California where USC brass tendered him a new contract. Through it all, and to be expected, he never stopped working for USC.

Also through it all, Texas sources have never felt like the school is being used simply for leverage with USC or any other school. Though, by now it's no secret Harrell would like a head coach opportunity sooner rather than later, I think those pursuits are more his agent putting feelers out for future coaching carousels. It's been confirmed by numerous sources that Harrell has interest in the Memphis job. However, it's a widely held belief that Harrell just isn't ready yet and we don't expect him to be offered a head coaching position that suits his interests during this hiring cycle. Next year could be a different matter, and that's a concern.

It stands to reason that Texas set the floor and Harrell's agent wanted to see what else the market has to offer. Fortunately for Texas, from what I can gather it sounds like the floor might be the ceiling and we believe talks have picked back up substantially in the last couple of days between Texas and Harrell.

Texas is fine with this process taking time to play out. They want Harrell but only if it's right for everyone. Texas doesn't want a similar situation to what USC dealt with last year with Kliff Kingsbury.

Before any names were mentioned for coordinators I stated that sometimes these deals break down for reasons other than money. Reasons other than money are the only way this bargain could break down. I believe some of the issues that need to be negotiated have been who Harrell would bring with him, and how long he'd remain in Austin. I can't see Texas wanting to do this a year from now, and clearly Harrell has his eyes on being his own boss. Concessions may need to be made on both sides to strike an accord.

Everyone I talk to close to the program thinks Harrell would be a home run and likewise, the program would be the final stepping stone to his goal of becoming a head coach.

At this point I think it's more likely a deal is made than not. I don't think much separates the two sides. A deal could be made soon.

As far as the defensive coordinator goes, few names have been made public. I'll maintain my position that Chris Ash, by far the most public name, is the floor. I think it's unlikely he'll get the Co-DC but perhaps a co-DC could be in the works. Not sure. I've been told the BOR is willing to spend significant money beyond just the play callers and if that's the case, this pursuit could go in a few different directions.

Before any names were mentioned for defensive coordinator I stated Texas could very well look to the NFL. I still believe that's the case, especially given how much of the class will sign next Wednesday. Texas wasn't forced to make an immediate hire to put out recruiting fires.

Without researching it much, there are a few guys who make sense from the NFL ranks: Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach and Texas great, Jerry Gray; Pittsburgh Steelers secondary coach, Teryl Austin; Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach, Kris Richard, etc.

To be clear, I haven't heard these names, but these guys fit the bill of what I think they're looking for, or at least vetting. I think it's possible, if not likely, the DC hire comes out of left field.

As far as timeline goes for announcements, it just depends. If Harrell and Texas are as close as I think, it could go down soon after NSD. If things still need to be ironed out, or if Harrell's agent continues to thumb through the classifieds, it could take some time or even fall through. Or maybe Harrell will want to coach the bowl? I don't know for sure and if they sign him it doesn't matter.

If Texas is looking to the NFL for a defensive coordinator, which I think is possible, then the DC announcement could take some time.

With the class set to sign in a few days, there really isn't any incentive for Texas to rush the hiring process. I maintain Tom Herman and Chris Del Conte are running a good, orderly process, and those are typically rewarded.

 

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Harrell sounds like he just has a good agent. He's in the driver seat, time is on his side. Wait to see if any other opportunities come up - HC, OC, etc... make Texas and/or SC nervous and raise there bids.  Nothing changes and he just falls back into a high SC position he likes.  Texas pays an outrageous have to have you premium and he's ours.  More than anything he's looking to position himself for a HC gig in 1-2 years.  My guess is we are willing to pay him but the buyout language is higher than he wants.

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  Interesting article from IT on what to expect from Ash's defense in the Big 12.

(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: Scouting Chris Ash

Quote

The most important hire Tom Herman will make this offseason will be the offensive coordinator as this team will go as far as Sam Ehlinger and the offense can take them. Whoever takes over on defense will inherit an exceptionally athletic yet positionally limited group that will need a lot of coaching. In the context of 2020, Texas probably isn’t going to win on the back of a top defense but the improvements on that side will set the ceiling for what the Longhorns can accomplish.

One of the early and obvious contenders for that DC job is Chris Ash, who worked opposite Tom Herman on the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in 2014. Ash also dropped by the Texas offices to do some visiting and consulting before the Red River Shootout, which means he’s seen the situation at Texas when they’re dealing with the toughest offense in the conference. He became available for that visit and for this hire when his stint as head coach at Rutgers resulted in an 8-32 record (3-26 in the B1G) over 4.5 seasons

Hiring Chris Ash would, in many senses, be the classic oversteer to the Todd Orlando era. Beyond moving from a primarily three-down front to the four-down, Ash also has a different philosophical approach to defense. Here’s a snapshot of Ash’s career as a DC as it relates to coaching at Texas in the Big 12.

Out of Iowa

Chris Ash got his initial start coaching DBs at Iowa State, initially for Dan McCarney. He worked there again under Paul Rhoads and Wally Burnham while Tom Herman was the offensive coordinator. His career really got going working for Bret Bielema as a DB coach and ultimately DC at Wisconsin from 2010-2012, then at Arkansas in 2013. That’s where Urban Meyer found him. Bielema himself coached at Iowa under Kirk Ferentz and Norm Parker, before replacing Phil Bennett as the defensive coordinator at Kansas State. The defensive school he comes from is also seen heavily in Ash’s units, which rely mostly on the 4-3 Under front with quarters as the main coverage.

All of these guys have some consistent themes to their defenses, underlying principles which have been the hallmarks of Iowa football for years and years. Those themes are 4-3 base defense, a read and react philosophy, making sure they can get numbers to stop the run, and forcing opponents to earn their way down the field even at the risk of playing static “looks” that offenses can target. Over the years, Ash’s defenses at Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio State, and Rutgers all tend to follow that blueprint while putting an Iowa-esque emphasis on fundamentals from read and react defense.

Ash became a well-known name across college football when Urban Meyer detached him from Bret Bielema and commissioned him to help install the press-quarters defense at Ohio State that Michigan State had been using to dominate the league. They hadn’t been playing that brand of quarters at Wisconsin or Arkansas, typically playing more off coverage, but they also didn’t have athletes at cornerback like they found in Columbus. And Ohio State had Kerry Coombs, the exceptional CB coach who’s now coaching the Tennessee Titans secondary after sending six cornerbacks to the NFL (five as first round picks) from Ohio State over five seasons.

The 2014 Buckeyes took some time to find themselves but after elevating Darron Lee to starting sam linebacker they found their groove in time to play their part in winning the national championship. Their secret was fielding the following unit, coached by exceptional positional coaches at every level that included Ash over the safeties, Coombs over the CBs, current Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell for the LBs, and the legendary Larry Johnson (plucked by Meyer from Penn State’s DL factory) with the DL:

image.png

Over the course of 2014 and then into 2015, this unit became the ultimate ideal of the Iowa approach to playing defense, combining great fundamentals with elite talent. They lined up in press-quarters from an Under front on the majority of their snaps (with a mix of some zone blitz and Tampa 2 from nickel on third and long) and they welcomed attempts to out-execute their athletes playing base defense. That was extremely hard to do, as you might guess from noting how many blue-chippers or overlooked gems that became NFL prizes were lining up for them.

After besting Lane Kiffin’s Tide and the Mark Helfrich/Scott Frost Oregon Ducks, Ash’s star was flying high and after another strong year in 2015 he left to be the head coach at Rutgers. He continued to use the 4-3 Under there but has lacked the first round CB talent he had with Coombs at Ohio State and ultimately failed.

Iowa vs the Big 12

Heading into the Big 12, the obvious question for Ash is how his defense will translate against the lethal spread offenses he'll be asked to stop at Texas. His career has had a lot of checkpoints in which he encountered some good spread offenses, and for the most part his units didn’t hold up well outside of the 2014 postseason run with the Buckeyes. His Rutgers units were routinely abused by Michigan, Penn State, and especially Ohio State who never failed to hang fewer than 50 points on his defenses. Ash was fired from Rutgers right after losing 52-0 to Michigan in the 2019 season in a game where Shea Patterson averaged 12 yards per pass attempt.

You can also go back to his days with Bielema at Wisconsin and Arkansas and find some instances where they encountered good spread offenses. The 2011 Badgers faced the Darron Thomas Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl and were torched for 621 yards (285 passing, 345 rushing) and 45 points in a 45-38 defeat. In 2013 at Arkansas, Ash and Bielema got a glimpse into Big 12 life when they faced the Johnny Manziel Texas A&M Aggies. For that game Ash switched from the base 4-3 personnel to nickel…and they gave up 523 yards (260 running and passing), a 7/13 conversion rate on third down, and 45 points in another defeat.

The challenge of playing a static base defense and relying on read and react fundamentals against spread offenses is that you invite them to formation you into difficult looks and attack your weak spots in space. The 4-3 Under has some particular struggles in that regard because it has a run-stopping mentality. The scheme was designed to stuff the I-formation and modern iterations of it utilize a big strongside end (sometimes in a 4i!), nose tackle, and plugging middle linebacker to spill runs either to a hard-charging sam linebacker on the edge or back to penetrating speed coming from the weakside where there’s a 3-technique, weakside end, and weakside linebacker.

The defense that Ohio State played was mainly adapted to allow the 4-3 Under to continue to get numbers to the ball against the run. Here’s a play-action, dig-post combination of the sort that has menaced the league for years now drawn up against a 4-3 Under quarters defense:

image.png

I can’t count how many touchdown passes I’ve seen thrown in this league on that outside post route to the Z receiver. Texas often runs a similar combination with the H receiver running a deep out and the Z still running a post, a fair chunk of Ehlinger’s deep out completions to Duvernay came on such a play. Against quarters coverage, once routes get down the field it’s all basically man coverage with the corner on the outside receiver and the safety on the slot. If you mix in RPOs or play-action it often becomes zero coverage with the underneath defenders sucked in by run action and unable to help redirect routes by the inside receivers. The smashmouth spread offenses that took over the league at the turn of the decade are designed to show a classic, downhill run game to encourage this sort of style in order to get the desired matchups down the field to light up the scoreboard with deep passing.

Over the years Ash has had a few different solutions for this sort of problem. At Ohio State, where his approach worked best, his solution was to play the ultra-athletic and physical Darron Lee as a Sam linebacker rather than using a nickel to get the most out of that position, and then to play a 5-star, converted cornerback named Vonn Bell behind him at strong safety. Bell made their base 4-3 defense work by holding up in isolation against slot receivers from depth. He’s currently the starting strong safety and second leading tackler for the New Orleans Saints. With Bell playing behind him, Darron Lee was able to blitz and play the run more aggressively at times from his alignment on the hash marks, often dominating games as a sort of super nickel without having to deal with the sorts of counters that Big 12 teams regularly use against that position. Obviously the lockdown play of the Buckeye corners was another crucial factor.

Ultimately the struggles of the 4-3 Under are similar to the struggles of the zone blitz and quarters structure that Todd Orlando brought to Texas. The starting premise of these defenses was that quarters coverage and the 3-deep/3-under coverage of the fire zone was a relatively safe base defense to play behind shifting and attacking fronts. In reality, modern offenses are designed to mercilessly and efficiently isolate DBs in those coverages and attack them down the field. What Ash has done to date has been to play the same coverages as Orlando but with less going on up front in pursuit of great fundamental play from the DL and LB. There have been two teams that have had success playing that sort of “base D with great fundamentals” style in the Big 12 of late after coming to the league with 4-3 Under backgrounds. Jon Heacock and Matt Rhule are both midwestern guys that are well schooled in those defensive philosophies and both adjusted to Big 12 life with the inverted Tampa 2.

The inverted Tampa 2 is a reworking of the 4-3 Under design by starting from the point of answering for modern passing attacks rather than the run game. It’s designed to make sure the defense can get needed numbers deep before working back to stopping the run. The IT2 doesn’t have glaring weak spots in space because it floods the defensive backfield with eight athletes regularly dropping back. At times Iowa State and Baylor have played similarly static looks as the 2014 Buckeyes, although the inverted Tampa 2 is also quite useful for disguising coverages, but the structure is completely different from the approach of making sure they can get get big athletes quickly to the point of attack.

Chris Ash vs the Big 12

When Ash hasn’t had elite athletes to make his static defense difficult to beat even with precision strikes, his defenses haven’t been good. At Texas he’d be in solid shape in terms of having NFL athletes to plug into his schemes, but he’d still need to figure out how to adjust his defense to smashmouth spread stresses that he didn’t really have to deal with at previous stops.

First, he’d need to determine if he was sticking with quarters or not as his base defense. He’s also used some cover 3 and online you can find video of him breaking down Tampa 2, which has tended to be a third down call for him. Texas has good enough athletes in the secondary that they might be able to get away with using quarters (in nickel at least, not in 4-3) as their base, but it’s certainly a risk. Oklahoma has gone that route, mixing press-quarters and cover 3, but they’ve done it from a base defense that basically starts three corners and is very aggressive up front. They’ve also been burned a few times by the passing game and are likely to have their entire system ripped apart by Joe Burrow in the looming playoffs. Ash’s Rutgers/Ohio State approach would be somewhat akin to Mohammed Ali’s “rope-a-dope,” allowing explosive opponents to put Texas on the ropes in hopes that they’d exhaust themselves from throwing massive punches, but without as many “right hand leads” that Orlando and OU’s Alex Grinch mixed in.

Secondly he’d need to get the best LB coach he could find to come with him (Ash has always coached DBs) because there’s a monstrous job ahead for whoever inherits that gig. Texas currently has an overabundance of big, physical safeties and then a shortage of classic inside-backers that know how to read flow quickly and get to their spots. Playing DeMarvion Overshown or B.J. Foster as a “sam” linebacker like Darron Lee wouldn’t be anywhere near enough of a concession to make this scheme Big 12-proof, someone needs to be playing inside backer next season.

In any event, the new staff are going to need to be ready to teach a lot of young and inexperienced guys how to play linebacker in their scheme to make much of the 2020 season. Again, the Ohio State formula involved having legendary teachers at multiple positions in addition to having NFL caliber talent. A Chris Ash Texas defense would necessitate a home-run follow up hire at LB coach. There’s a similar task ahead at cornerback, although there’s a lot to work with on the roster. Playing lots of quarters, either press or otherwise, requires having cornerbacks that can patrol the sidelines without help and find the ball in the air.

Beyond Ash and Herman’s working history together, it would make sense for Herman to want to veer in this simplified direction after the last two seasons. He’s repeatedly emphasized the need for simplicity and allowing the Texas athletes to go make plays in press conferences this season, potentially telegraphing an offseason narrative in which “getting back to basics” is presented as the cure for the defense. Orlando’s emphasis on shifting looks and positionless defense was an obvious detractor every year for Texas getting their players in the right positions until late in the season and in being able to rely on sound principles and fundamentals in big moments.

Chris Ash emphasizes sound principles and fundamentals in big moments that force opponents to beat you, the question with a Chris Ash hire would be whether his principles and fundamentals would be truly sound for the moments that occur in Big 12 games.

 

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1 minute ago, satyanash said:

  Interesting article from IT on what to expect from Ash's defense in the Big 12.

(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: Scouting Chris Ash

 

I posted earlier that Ash is the anti-Orlando in that he’ll run a 4 man front, won’t bring a ton of crazy blitzes, and focuses on fundamentals, but like Ian points out, he makes it extremely easy for offenses to isolate our worst safety on their best receiver in 1 on 1 coverage with no help. If Ash doesn’t have a dominating 4 man rush or a secondary full of elite NFL prospects, he’s going to get picked apart by good teams.  Guys like Overshown and Foster can’t play safety for Ash because they can’t cover a slot receiver with a 10 yard free release. One of them would need to pay the Nickel and I’m not sure what the other would do.
 

If we’re going to go with someone who has a fairly predictable scheme that preaches fundamentals, I’d prefer it to be someone like Heacock where his defense is designed to have multiple levels of help as opposed to someone who will be putting our safeties 1 on 1 constantly without help behind them. 

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3 minutes ago, satyanash said:

  Interesting article from IT on what to expect from Ash's defense in the Big 12.

(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: Scouting Chris Ash

 

I have probably said this before, but part of my worst version of hell is being trapped in a room, forced to sit with legs crossed, while Ian Boyd stands above me, reading his posts out loud and then using a laser pointer to highlight his thinking on projected film, endlessly. Just fucking no. It makes me resent anyone that posts his shit, but I already view sarvanaash as a worthless piece of shit, so I can’t move that needle any lower. 

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9 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Before any names were mentioned for coordinators I stated that sometimes these deals break down for reasons other than money. Reasons other than money are the only way this bargain could break down. I believe some of the issues that need to be negotiated have been who Harrell would bring with him, and how long he'd remain in Austin. I can't see Texas wanting to do this a year from now, and clearly Harrell has his eyes on being his own boss. Concessions may need to be made on both sides to strike an accord.

Everyone I talk to close to the program thinks Harrell would be a home run and likewise, the program would be the final stepping stone to his goal of becoming a head coach.

I'd just like to point out how dumb this section of shit is. Texas should absolutely want to be in a position next year where its new OC hit it out of the park, so much so that he became the next hot commodity for a head coaching position. That means our offense improved mightily and it means our OC position is seen as a massive stepping stone instead of what it is now: a hail mary trying to save our HC's job.

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38 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Avatar checks out, joyless fucktard.

Dissent is fine and good and useful for improvement. Rooting for failure in the name of joy sounds pathological.

Sex might help your attitude. Start with fucking yourself.

"Someone on the internet said something I don't like, make it stop"

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2 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

I posted earlier that Ash is the anti-Orlando in that he’ll run a 4 man front, won’t bring a ton of crazy blitzes, and focuses on fundamentals, but like Ian points out, he makes it extremely easy for offenses to isolate our worst safety on their best receiver in 1 on 1 coverage with no help.

Explain to me so I don't have to read Boyd's article. If you're in 1-on-1 (i.e., man) coverage, why don't you just move a CB with their receiver? Just to "disguise" coverage even though the offense isn't fooled anyway?

Now that the defense is allowed to substitute to match personnel I don't see why a DC would allow this to happen. Even if you want to disguise your coverage you could still change your alignment to a zone look with a CB over their best WR.

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13 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Harrell sounds like he just has a good agent. He's in the driver seat, time is on his side. Wait to see if any other opportunities come up - HC, OC, etc... make Texas and/or SC nervous and raise there bids.  Nothing changes and he just falls back into a high SC position he likes.  Texas pays an outrageous have to have you premium and he's ours.  More than anything he's looking to position himself for a HC gig in 1-2 years.  My guess is we are willing to pay him but the buyout language is higher than he wants.

It's like hiring Hetman all over again.

"We're Texas!" Except when we get tunnel vision and decide we want a coach and let them bend us over."

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51 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I’m sad to admit that I do enjoy much of the stupidity of this thread. 

“Counterpoint: Tom Herman is ass. “ LOL. 

Good lord. If they don’t announce Harrell today, you can safely argue that Texas didn’t land him because Tom Herman is a douchier insufferable cunt than Rex Kramer/Dr. Beeper, and that would be an astonishing accomplishment. It would rival Chuckles Strong not hiring Sonny Cumbie because some bureaucrat in HR told him he couldn’t give someone a 3 year contract and Chuckles saying “okay” and moving on. We’re talking about incompetence in almost indescribable ways. 

But hey, maybe they close this thing out and snag victory from the jaws of self-defeat. 

So you’re it’s like the Saban done deal that mack ruined? Doomed

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48 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I have probably said this before, but part of my worst version of hell is being trapped in a room, forced to sit with legs crossed, while Ian Boyd stands above me, reading his posts out loud and then using a laser pointer to highlight his thinking on projected film, endlessly. Just fucking no. It makes me resent anyone that posts his shit, but I already view sarvanaash as a worthless piece of shit, so I can’t move that needle any lower. 

Need to get him and Daddy98 in a "film" session chalk talk.

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46 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

I posted earlier that Ash is the anti-Orlando in that he’ll run a 4 man front, won’t bring a ton of crazy blitzes, and focuses on fundamentals, but like Ian points out, he makes it extremely easy for offenses to isolate our worst safety on their best receiver in 1 on 1 coverage with no help. If Ash doesn’t have a dominating 4 man rush or a secondary full of elite NFL prospects, he’s going to get picked apart by good teams.  Guys like Overshown and Foster can’t play safety for Ash because they can’t cover a slot receiver with a 10 yard free release. One of them would need to pay the Nickel and I’m not sure what the other would do.
 

If we’re going to go with someone who has a fairly predictable scheme that preaches fundamentals, I’d prefer it to be someone like Heacock where his defense is designed to have multiple levels of help as opposed to someone who will be putting our safeties 1 on 1 constantly without help behind them. 

What defense is that? I dont know of a defensive scheme that prevents good offenses from being able to isolate players. Every single coverage has a weakness. Every single one of them will eventually expose safeties to one on ones 10 yards or more down the field. There is no way to avoid it. But imo, quarters is a much better way to shut down a down the field spread attack than any other. Cover 3 doesnt work, it focuses on shutting down short to intermediate routes and is easy to flood the zones vertically. Cover 2 is a nice change up but is too easy to manipulate corners and safeties as a base or static coverage. Cover 1 or 0 or Man are easy to defeat with mesh routes. To me, Cover4 is the best base defense but being multiple is critical to disrupting the flows of spread offenses. 

If your point is that Ash employs cover 4 statically and only goes to tampa 2 on 3rd and long and is predictable, then i agree with you that it won't work at Texas in the B12.

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57 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Harrell sounds like he just has a good agent. He's in the driver seat, time is on his side. Wait to see if any other opportunities come up - HC, OC, etc... make Texas and/or SC nervous and raise there bids.  Nothing changes and he just falls back into a high SC position he likes.  Texas pays an outrageous have to have you premium and he's ours.  More than anything he's looking to position himself for a HC gig in 1-2 years.  My guess is we are willing to pay him but the buyout language is higher than he wants.

Yes, but also if you believe the word about Harrell really liking Clay Helton, then i doubt he would be announced before signing day at this point. Harrell would not want to submarine the class for a second year in a row even as bad as it is.

Also, I doubt Herman would announce anything two days before signing day because if there is some knee jerk reaction from a recruit they don't want them pushing their commit date back and opening themselves up having to rerecruit bluechip talent during the shit show that is NSD2. If Herman has a feel for his class and his guys who he expects to sign all seem solid, then there is no point in introducing risk to the equation and giving schools a target for any further negative recruiting.

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