2024 Texas Football Coaching and Support Staff Thread

[Dbeasy 14931]

3 hours ago, Sandbagging Steve said:

You're smarter than this. 

Saban won because he cheated. His process can only take you so far.  That was nonsense fed to the media to make him look like the greatest of all time!

And Sark knows his entire system. He coached there.

To the posters jumping off a cliff with ten posts per page while bringing no new information:

A few of you should consider taking a break. I think CTJ and Huckleberry nailed it.

This isn't Watson, Beck, or Stoops. Those guys had proven they can't coach. We don't know anything about this guy. Sark has way more info than we do.

A defensive tackle coach must evaluate/recruit, motivate, and teach techniques. It's not in the same category as a coordinator, QB coach, OL coach, linebackers coach, safeties coach, or even a wide receivers coach. You have to coach way more than technique at those spots. It's not that difficult to get a good feel for Kenny's qualifications in the interview process.

My main concerns on this team are the depth chart at DT left by Bo Davis and our defensive backs running around with their heads cut off. I'm also more concerned with this guy overcoming his resume in the recruiting process than his actual coaching or recruiting abilities. My guess is Johnny Nansen can assist in this process. He has d-line experience and can recruit. Don't forget Johnny Nansen was a nobody until Sark hired him at Washington. It's hard to attract a great tackles coach when the roster is void of future star players. I'd prefer a coach who knows how to find young talent than someone who hires 60-year-olds based on Google search results. Older coaches work sometimes, especially as coordinators. But you need some fresh blood as position coaches to bring energy to the room and someone the kids can relate to.

Let's wait and see how it plays out before calling it good or bad.

 

Jesus you’re apparently not smarter than this. You wrote an entire novel because you completely misinterpreted my post. I simply commented that I wouldn’t have an opinion on this hire just because Saban hired him. That didn’t mean in anyway whatsoever that I think it’s a bad hire. Nor have I anywhere in this thread said it’s a bad hire. I have no opinion on the hire.  Take your sanctimonious bullshit War and Peace post and shove it up your beeper. 

[Hank Kingsley 20592]

Lots of Fangio talk, lol. Funnily enough I've been playing golf recently with a recently retired NFL DB that played almost his whole career(7 years) for Vic Fangio.  They are very close. Fangio tried to get him out of retirement and come to Miami this past year. I'm gonna bring this hire up when we play golf again next week and see if he can share any useful info. 

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13000]

6 hours ago, Ricky Butler said:

Sometimes I feel like the board lacks general wisdom. 

[Sandbagging Steve 982]

32 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Jesus you’re apparently not smarter than this. You wrote an entire novel because you completely misinterpreted my post. I simply commented that I wouldn’t have an opinion on this hire just because Saban hired him. That didn’t mean in anyway whatsoever that I think it’s a bad hire. Nor have I anywhere in this thread said it’s a bad hire. I have no opinion on the hire.  Take your sanctimonious bullshit War and Peace post and shove it up your beeper. 

Not sure how you think anything below the bolded statement had anything to do with you. I thought it was pretty clear the Saban part was the only thing directed at you. I'm not complaining about your stance on the hire. I'm just pointing out that Saban is getting too much credit. I think I also indirectly pointed out you're a good poster. But go ahead and get all pissed off for no reason.

Cheers

[immamac 42389]

6 hours ago, JimmyTwoTimes said:

You guys ever work for companies that hire college grads? You know, people that have never done shit at this level, and you spend time with them and decide, “ shit, this guy is gonna be good!”

It’s either going to work or not. Any of you skeptics want to point out why not? Not a familiar name? Sketchy on technique? Questionable rotations? Not a good communicator? I mean shit, give the guy a chance.

Never hired an NCG to a director level role…no

[DigglerontheHoof 20963]

The hand-wringing on this thread is awesome. 

[Bevo 13468]

4 hours ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Lots of Fangio talk, lol. Funnily enough I've been playing golf recently with a recently retired NFL DB that played almost his whole career(7 years) for Vic Fangio.  They are very close. Fangio tried to get him out of retirement and come to Miami this past year. I'm gonna bring this hire up when we play golf again next week and see if he can share any useful info. 

 

Unless this guy works at 7-11 or hangs out by the porta potties, I'm not sure I should care. But, if you talk to this guy and his first response is, "Who"? please post it, because that would be awesome.

[DixonHur 11017]

7 hours ago, TexasRenegade said:

Dude your original post was equating him not being known or even having a Wikipedia page with meaning he was a bad hire. 

Then the next post I replied to saying sark basically panicked because he couldn't get anyone else to take the job before spring.....seriously 

Maybe I should have gone the comedic route like @6th Street comparing his hire to taking home the "thicc chick" from the bar at closing time.

But expanding on street's metaphor, it feels like Sark spent all night chatting up an 8 (Rod Wright), but when he tried to get her to his house (UT), she tells him she decided to stay with her current boyfriend (DeMeco Ryans) and leaves. 

Sark, wanting, no "needing" to get laid, looks around the room but there aren't many choices left, so he hooks up with a 4 (Kenny Baker).

Maybe she's the best lay ever, with a pussy of gold, and they hook up a few more times (years), or maybe she's just a one night stand.

We'll all find out together.

[DixonHur 11017]

6 hours ago, Coelenterate Fuccboi said:

Who the fuck said anything close to this being a home run hire? Is your menstrual cycle approaching?

I was using the same hyperbole folks were using for me.  

I never said there's no chance Kenny Baker would be good, but to suggest it wasn't an underwhelming hire and had a slight smell of desperation to fill a position of need is the type of sunshine pumping that would make Looch proud.

Ask it another way, who here was legit excited when Kenny Baker was announced as the hire, and why?  

BTW, "trust Sark", "he's from Georgia", and "Fangio hired him" are not reasons to be excited...they are rationalizations.

[SydneyCarton 47809]

12 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Maybe I should have gone the comedic route like @6th Street comparing his hire to taking home the "thicc chick" from the bar at closing time.

 

 

Don’t do that. 
 
 

Quote

But expanding on street's metaphor, it feels like Sark spent all night chatting up an 8 (Rod Wright), but when he tried to get her to his house (UT), she tells him she decided to stay with her current boyfriend (DeMeco Ryans) and leaves. 

Definitely never do that. Pretty soon you’re going to be teaming up with Bobby Batronic on the football board and insist that teams who don’t tackle the QB in practice are pussies and will never win anything. 
 

or was he advocating that the team never practice tackling at all? I forget, it’s hard to keep track of all the bad idea jeans we stumble across on Surly. The point is don’t do it.

[DixonHur 11017]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

Definitely never do that. Pretty soon you’re going to be teaming up with Bobby Batronic on the football board and insist that teams who don’t tackle the QB in practice are pussies and will never win anything. 
 

or was he advocating that the team never practice tackling at all? I forget, it’s hard to keep track of all the bad idea jeans we stumble across on Surly. The point is don’t do it.

Definitely not on board with any of that noise.

I guess I 'm just an old, "we're Texas" guy who thinks we should never have to settle.  

Kenny Baker feels like settling, but I hope with every fiber of my being that I am completely wrong.

[Dbeasy 14931]

4 hours ago, Sandbagging Steve said:

Not sure how you think anything below the bolded statement had anything to do with you. I thought it was pretty clear the Saban part was the only thing directed at you. I'm not complaining about your stance on the hire. I'm just pointing out that Saban is getting too much credit. I think I also indirectly pointed out you're a good poster. But go ahead and get all pissed off for no reason.

Cheers

What could it have been….hmmm… maybe because you directly quoted me? Seriously though, I woke up this morning with a massive headache and a horrific cough and was, one would say, a bit surly. 

ok cool, Hook’Em. 

[FloridaHorn 4729]

29 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

I was using the same hyperbole folks were using for me.  

I never said there's no chance Kenny Baker would be good, but to suggest it wasn't an underwhelming hire and had a slight smell of desperation to fill a position of need is the type of sunshine pumping that would make Looch proud.

Ask it another way, who here was legit excited when Kenny Baker was announced as the hire, and why?  

BTW, "trust Sark", "he's from Georgia", and "Fangio hired him" are not reasons to be excited...they are rationalizations.

 

20 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

What could it have been….hmmm… maybe because you directly quoted me? Seriously though, I woke up this morning with a massive headache and a horrific cough and was, one would say, a bit surly. 

ok cool, Hook’Em. 

So, Sarks Gay and Dbeasy has the Covid...and our pet's heads are falling off.

[SydneyCarton 47809]

29 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Definitely not on board with any of that noise.

I guess I 'm just an old, "we're Texas" guy who thinks we should never have to settle.  

Kenny Baker feels like settling, but I hope with every fiber of my being that I am completely wrong.

Dude, we have the same thoughts. I said upthread I won’t call the hire a disappointment, because he has a chance to prove it right. But it’s an uninspiring hire. I’m just telling you that citing sixth street in anything regarding football related opinions is basically the path to Helobious.
 

 

[Bevo 13468]

Maybe there are some potential transfers at Mercer we are after or maybe he was hired for his DC experience - hard to say.

 

 

Kenny Baker

 

• Title

  Defensive Line Coach

• Email

  baker_ka@mercer.edu

• Phone

  (478) 301-4604

• Twitter

  @CoachK_Baker

 

Kenny Baker completed his sixth season as defensive line coach at Mercer University in 2018, a position he held since arriving in Macon prior to the 2014 season.

Coaching Experience:

• Mercer – Defensive Line Coach (2014-2018)
  • 2018
    • Mentored a defensive line unit that was led by junior tackle Dorian Kithcart, who registered career-highs of 29 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss & 2.5 sacks
    • Saw Isaiah Buehler conclude an impressive career at defensive end as he battled through injuries to total 25 tackles, 4.0 TFL & 1.5 sacks
    • Baker's unit helped Mercer rank 21st in the FCS in red zone defense (74.5 percent)
    • Oversaw the development of defensive end Destin Guillen, who made nine starts
  • 2017
    • Saw Isaiah Buehler emerge as one of SoCon’s top defensive linemen, earning All-SoCon First Team honors with team-leading 7.5 TFL & 5.5 sacks
    • Baker’s defensive line helped Mercer lead the SoCon & rank 28th nationally in red zone defense (.750)
    • Defensive line played key role in Mercer leading SoCon in turnovers gained (25) & turnover margin (+9)
    • Bears ranked third in SoCon in scoring defense (21.6) in league contests
  • 2016
    • Baker’s defensive line helped Mercer tally at least 21 turnovers for the third straight year & rank 23rd nationally in turnover margin
    • Further developed Isaiah Buehler into a focal point of Mercer’s defense as Buehler earned All-SoCon Second Team honors with seven TFL & three sacks
    • Saw freshman Dorian Kithcart claim SoCon All-Freshman Team honors at defensive tackle
  • 2015
    • Bears’ defensive line ranked among SoCon’s best against the run under Baker, allowing 171.3 yards per game
    • Mercer allowed league-low 21.3 points per contest
    • Baker played key role in progression of defensive end Isaiah Buehler, who earned SoCon All-Freshman Team honors
  • 2014
    • Oversaw a young defensive line that helped the Bears lead the SoCon in turnover margin with 24 turnovers
    • Bears finished fourth in SoCon in scoring defense (24.1) & total defense (379.9) while posting two shutouts
    • Mentored SoCon All-Freshman Team selection Austin Barrett at defensive tackle
• Berry College – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers (2013)
• Gardner-Webb – Student Assistant (2009)

Collegiate Playing Experience:

• Gardner-Webb (2005-08)
  • Four-year letterman & three-year starter on the defensive line for the Runnin’ Bulldogs
  • Selected as a team captain & garnered team’s defensive Player of the Year honors in 2007
  • Regular member of school’s Dean’s List & Big South Honor Roll

Education:

• Mercer University, 2018 (M.Ed., Higher Education Leadership)
• Gardner-Webb University, 2009 (B.S., Health & Physical Education)

Personal

• Native of Cartersville, Ga.
• Served as defensive coordinator at Augusta’s Lakeside High School from 2010-12

[The Beast 583]

This is the same conversation all you numbnuts had on Choate too. 

[Laga4 1270]

Shit this thread was better before we hired a coach.  

[DixonHur 11017]

23 minutes ago, The Beast said:

This is the same conversation all you numbnuts had on Choate too. 

Are you sure, because that would have been dumb. Choate had been a LB coach at Boise State, Washington State, Washington, and Florida before becoming a head coach and turning around a sorry ass Montana State team.

But sure, pretty much the same situation.

[DixonHur 11017]

4 minutes ago, Laga4 said:

Shit this thread was better before we hired a coach.  

[closetojumping 62033]

1 hour ago, Bevo said:

 

Unless this guy works at 7-11 or hangs out by the porta potties, I'm not sure I should care. But, if you talk to this guy and his first response is, "Who"? please post it, because that would be awesome.

How is the guy going to say anything outside of “who?”. He wasn’t with the dolphins and doesn’t play DL. Fangio is going to randomly call him up and say “hey man, you’re not going to believe this assistant to the DL coach we hired. he’s unbelievable!”? Right. 

45 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Maybe there are some potential transfers at Mercer we are after or maybe he was hired for his DC experience - hard to say.

 

 

Kenny Baker

 

• Title

  Defensive Line Coach

• Email

  baker_ka@mercer.edu

• Phone

  (478) 301-4604

• Twitter

  @CoachK_Baker

 

Kenny Baker completed his sixth season as defensive line coach at Mercer University in 2018, a position he held since arriving in Macon prior to the 2014 season.

Coaching Experience:

• Mercer – Defensive Line Coach (2014-2018)
  • 2018
    • Mentored a defensive line unit that was led by junior tackle Dorian Kithcart, who registered career-highs of 29 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss & 2.5 sacks
    • Saw Isaiah Buehler conclude an impressive career at defensive end as he battled through injuries to total 25 tackles, 4.0 TFL & 1.5 sacks
    • Baker's unit helped Mercer rank 21st in the FCS in red zone defense (74.5 percent)
    • Oversaw the development of defensive end Destin Guillen, who made nine starts
  • 2017
    • Saw Isaiah Buehler emerge as one of SoCon’s top defensive linemen, earning All-SoCon First Team honors with team-leading 7.5 TFL & 5.5 sacks
    • Baker’s defensive line helped Mercer lead the SoCon & rank 28th nationally in red zone defense (.750)
    • Defensive line played key role in Mercer leading SoCon in turnovers gained (25) & turnover margin (+9)
    • Bears ranked third in SoCon in scoring defense (21.6) in league contests
  • 2016
    • Baker’s defensive line helped Mercer tally at least 21 turnovers for the third straight year & rank 23rd nationally in turnover margin
    • Further developed Isaiah Buehler into a focal point of Mercer’s defense as Buehler earned All-SoCon Second Team honors with seven TFL & three sacks
    • Saw freshman Dorian Kithcart claim SoCon All-Freshman Team honors at defensive tackle
  • 2015
    • Bears’ defensive line ranked among SoCon’s best against the run under Baker, allowing 171.3 yards per game
    • Mercer allowed league-low 21.3 points per contest
    • Baker played key role in progression of defensive end Isaiah Buehler, who earned SoCon All-Freshman Team honors
  • 2014
    • Oversaw a young defensive line that helped the Bears lead the SoCon in turnover margin with 24 turnovers
    • Bears finished fourth in SoCon in scoring defense (24.1) & total defense (379.9) while posting two shutouts
    • Mentored SoCon All-Freshman Team selection Austin Barrett at defensive tackle
• Berry College – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers (2013)
• Gardner-Webb – Student Assistant (2009)

Collegiate Playing Experience:

• Gardner-Webb (2005-08)
  • Four-year letterman & three-year starter on the defensive line for the Runnin’ Bulldogs
  • Selected as a team captain & garnered team’s defensive Player of the Year honors in 2007
  • Regular member of school’s Dean’s List & Big South Honor Roll

Education:

• Mercer University, 2018 (M.Ed., Higher Education Leadership)
• Gardner-Webb University, 2009 (B.S., Health & Physical Education)

Personal

• Native of Cartersville, Ga.
• Served as defensive coordinator at Augusta’s Lakeside High School from 2010-12

Hell, who even knew that Mercer played football? The only things I knew about the place was that it was founded by Roy D. Mercer and that a lot of asswhippings were handed out around campus. 

37 minutes ago, The Beast said:

This is the same conversation all you numbnuts had on Choate too. 

That made you feel better to type out, I bet. These kinds of idiotic missives are one of the irritants of being a board participant.  Because some idiot or two that a poster remembers saying something that tweaked them years ago, we get to get told years later that there was a raging debate of stupid across multiple posters that they were all ultimately wrong on. 

Feel to prove me wrong. I call bullshit. 

Edited January 26 by closetojumping

[CashMcCoy 3199]

41 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Definitely not on board with any of that noise.

I guess I 'm just an old, "we're Texas" guy who thinks we should never have to settle.  

Kenny Baker feels like settling, but I hope with every fiber of my being that I am completely wrong.

This was clear from your concept that having some loser take the time to create a Wikipedia page for a G5 non-coordinator assistant is any sort of defining achievement.

Now excuse me while I finish outlining the section on his transition from Berry College to Mercer.

[SuckitKevin 914]

11 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

How is the guy going to say anything outside of “who?”. He wasn’t with the dolphins and doesn’t play DL. Fangio is going to randomly call him up and say “hey man, you’re not going to believe this assistant to the DL coach we hired. he’s unbelievable!”? Right. 

Hell, who even knew that Mercer played football? The only things I knew about the place was that it was founded by Roy D. Mercer and that a lot of asswhippings were handed out around campus. 

That made you feel better to type out, I bet. These kinds of idiotic missives are one of the irritants of being a board participant.  Because some idiot or two that a poster remembers saying something that tweaked them years ago, we get to get told years later that there was a raging debate of stupid across multiple posters that they were all ultimately wrong on. 

Feel to prove me wrong. I call bullshit. 

Roy D Mercer reference made me chuckle.

[SimkinsMan 4322]

Two things can be true at the same time.

Yes, Kenny Baker does not have a deep resume. One could look at this track record and say he does not have enough skins on the wall to be coaching DTs at Texas. His ability to recruit is unproven. All of these are red flags.

However, Texas under Sark has shown no reluctance to spend money to get top coaches. They were willing to break the bank for Bo Davis, but dude likes to move around and had family reasons to go to LSU. Texas just went and got Arizona's DC to be its linebackers coach. Sark presumably had plenty of cash to chase a wide range of options for a DL coach. He ended up with Kenny Baker. It seems likely that since this process was not rushed, and Texas had resources, that this was a hire Sark wanted to make. So in his view Baker is a plus for the team.

Given his track record in hiring coaches, and Baker's experience in the deep south, it seems prudent to give Sark some leeway and see how Baker works out. Maybe it's a tragic mistake. Or maybe it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Like CTJ said above, the hire is singularly great because it was so out of the blue it is going trigger a lot of debate among the populace of this message board. We get to enjoy seeing morons be morons. A few years from now we'll be able to look back at some people and laugh.

Truth is, we don't know shit about fuck when it comes to how this will all play out. Embrace the chaos.

[Nabad 13]

2 hours ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

The hand-wringing on this thread is awesome. 

I for one feel this board has the right combo of skepticism and homerism..... I was always in 'trust the coaches' and very hopeful of Gilbert/Maddox and Shawn watson and warehime/meh etc... and you realize even with all the resoucea of a big univ.. if the head coach is not objective and can't bring available resources to bear.... then what you see is what you get....

Tldr... Like most others have said here, no leading indicators of sure success... But so far, sark has had a much higher batting average than his past 2 predecessors...

Like the Dr pepper commercial am probably going to be cursing - in delight or anger - after our first 2-3 defensive eries against Colorado state....

 

 

[South Austin 51976]

8 minutes ago, SimkinsMan said:

we don't know shit about fuck 

If there ever was a Surly motto.

[satyanash 14237]

Quoting this list from earlier. There were a decent number of P5 DL coaches we could have made a run at after missing out on Wright. Betting that Baker will turn out to be a better hire is a pretty big gamble. Alternatively we could have gone the separate DE/DT coaches route if the numbers allowed for it.

Has his salary been announced yet? Should be interesting to see what he makes. 

Edited January 26 by satyanash

[RomaVicta 29704]

The important thing is to form an opinion as fast as you can before you get any useful, real-time information. This is particularly important with a negative opinion, the best ones for tiresomely crowing about your genius later on if you happen to be right one time. 

I'll just say that however the hire turns out, it's very insecure to conclude that Texas and Sark were "desperate." 

[boilerhorn 1298]

The hand-wringing on this one makes sense.  He's young, relatively unknown, and has an incomplete track record.  Moreover, he's being handed the position group that has been coached well, but not recruited well.  The concerns make sense.  Sark's hires, for the most part, have been solid.  And, he has a level of introspection and self-reflection that's been lacking in a HC at Texas for a long time.  He'll fix it if it is a bad hire.

It's fair to criticize, but at least we are not in place where we are trying to squint and rationalize how guys like Watson, Gilbert, and all of Herman's drinking buddies are going to be successful assistants.  I am glad we are at a point where we are scrutinizing what appears to be a B- to C+ hire vs. trying to claim success for a D- hire.

[Hornius Emeritus 12387]

14 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Are you sure, because that would have been dumb. Choate had been a LB coach at Boise State, Washington State, Washington, and Florida before becoming a head coach and turning around a sorry ass Montana State team.

But sure, pretty much the same situation.

He wasn't describing the situation, but the conversation around Choate's hiring.  Then again, this is a board with thread titles like "Hey P.K. ---- what would you say you do here?"  and "Lincoln Riley or Bust!,"  so I'm not sure why I'm surprised at some of the takes hereabouts.

[SydneyCarton 47809]

23 minutes ago, SimkinsMan said:

Two things can be true at the same time.

Yes, Kenny Baker does not have a deep resume. One could look at this track record and say he does not have enough skins on the wall to be coaching DTs at Texas. His ability to recruit is unproven. All of these are red flags.

However, Texas under Sark has shown no reluctance to spend money to get top coaches. They were willing to break the bank for Bo Davis, but dude likes to move around and had family reasons to go to LSU. Texas just went and got Arizona's DC to be its linebackers coach. Sark presumably had plenty of cash to chase a wide range of options for a DL coach. He ended up with Kenny Baker. It seems likely that since this process was not rushed, and Texas had resources, that this was a hire Sark wanted to make. So in his view Baker is a plus for the team.

Given his track record in hiring coaches, and Baker's experience in the deep south, it seems prudent to give Sark some leeway and see how Baker works out. Maybe it's a tragic mistake. Or maybe it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Like CTJ said above, the hire is singularly great because it was so out of the blue it is going trigger a lot of debate among the populace of this message board. We get to enjoy seeing morons be morons. A few years from now we'll be able to look back at some people and laugh.

Truth is, we don't know shit about fuck when it comes to how this will all play out. Embrace the chaos.

Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner. 

[Burt Macklin 18984]

11 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Alternatively we could have gone the separate DE/DT coaches route if the numbers allowed for it.

You’ve been too busy worrying the sky is falling to realize this is what we’re doing. PK has coached DE the entire time he’s been here. 

[Chuckie Finster 22571]

24 minutes ago, SimkinsMan said:

Two things can be true at the same time.

Yes, Kenny Baker does not have a deep resume. One could look at this track record and say he does not have enough skins on the wall to be coaching DTs at Texas. His ability to recruit is unproven. All of these are red flags.

However, Texas under Sark has shown no reluctance to spend money to get top coaches. They were willing to break the bank for Bo Davis, but dude likes to move around and had family reasons to go to LSU. Texas just went and got Arizona's DC to be its linebackers coach. Sark presumably had plenty of cash to chase a wide range of options for a DL coach. He ended up with Kenny Baker. It seems likely that since this process was not rushed, and Texas had resources, that this was a hire Sark wanted to make. So in his view Baker is a plus for the team.

Given his track record in hiring coaches, and Baker's experience in the deep south, it seems prudent to give Sark some leeway and see how Baker works out. Maybe it's a tragic mistake. Or maybe it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Like CTJ said above, the hire is singularly great because it was so out of the blue it is going trigger a lot of debate among the populace of this message board. We get to enjoy seeing morons be morons. A few years from now we'll be able to look back at some people and laugh.

Truth is, we don't know shit about fuck when it comes to how this will all play out. Embrace the chaos.

Yep.  We have decent insight as to what Sark looks for in an assistant coach.  Basically every hire to date has made logical sense to us message board hooligans, and there has been very little "I'm smarter than everyone else" displayed in his selections.  There was obviously something here that made Sark break the mold, and it will be fascinating to watch it play out.

[DixonHur 11017]

38 minutes ago, CashMcCoy said:

This was clear from your concept that having some loser take the time to create a Wikipedia page for a G5 non-coordinator assistant is any sort of defining achievement.

Now excuse me while I finish outlining the section on his transition from Berry College to Mercer.

You unwittingly made my point.  Thanks.

[Atticus 3913]

It's only a gamble because you don't know about him. I doubt Sark just threw a dart on a board and it landed on this guy.

The main reason why people think this is settling is because of the lack of information we have to view this. 

He's an ambitious guy and seems to get his guys to play hard for him. 

[crash_davis 23076]

Gundy has a knack for finding no name dudes from BFE. His young DC is good example. 

Should Sark and Texas be hiring no names dudes? I have no idea. But I would think Sark and Texas would be the ones hiring the once no name dudes who someone else took a chance on and proved to be fantastic coaches.

Hoping Baker makes us all look like idiots for questioning his hire.

 

Fuck Bo. Not really. Best of luck to him.

[Reese Bennett 3604]

7 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Fuck Bo. Not really. Best of luck to him.

Nah. Fuck him.

[NoName 16265]

4 hours ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

The hand-wringing on this thread is awesome. 

[NoName 16265]

2 hours ago, The Beast said:

This is the same conversation all you numbnuts had on Choate too. 

people LOVE making terrible comparisons

Choate was a head coach longer than Baker coached at the G5 level.

Choate had a ton of experience with very good coaches at Boise and Washington.

Baker is nowhere near comparable to a guy who had like 20 years of coaching experience (Choate) or who was seen as a rising star and had skins on the wall (Choice)

but Choate to Baker specifically is a lazy comparison that is truly fucking terrible. you think a guy with 3 seasons of experience at the G5 level is the same as Jeff Choate who had 20 years experience, including like 5 as a head coach? lol

 

[ClubWhatever 12082]

Hitler

[Texasrocks 2124]

1 hour ago, SimkinsMan said:

Truth is, we don't know shit about fuck when it comes to how this will all play out. Embrace the chaos.

I was thinking about "good" hires yesterday and remembered Joe Wickline. I was convinced he was a home run hire. And then he wasn't. TLDR - I don't know shit about fuck.

[Skipper 6012]

1 hour ago, Atticus said:

It's only a gamble because you don't know about him. I doubt Sark just threw a dart on a board and it landed on this guy.

The main reason why people think this is settling is because of the lack of information we have to view this. 

He's an ambitious guy and seems to get his guys to play hard for him. 

Texas has a history of hiring more established assistants that get here and feel like "they made it" and get lazy in recruiting and all other aspects of their job (particularly back in the Mack era).   I don't have an issue with Sark taking a flyer on a young guy he views as hungry.  He's earned that leeway in my view.  If it doesn't work out it's not like he's not going to be in a position to cut him loose after 1 season.

[Da Fino 2715]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Hell, who even knew that Mercer played football? The only things I knew about the place was that it was founded by Roy D. Mercer and that a lot of asswhippings were handed out around campus. 

That made you feel better to type out, I bet. These kinds of idiotic missives are one of the irritants of being a board participant.  Because some idiot or two that a poster remembers saying something that tweaked them years ago, we get to get told years later that there was a raging debate of stupid across multiple posters that they were all ultimately wrong on. 

Obviously just a case of a couple bad apples. 

[bejezuz 329]

There's been some smoke here and there that Bo Davis and PK were butting heads because Bo wanted to coach the whole D-Line.  Choate was PK's guy, and Sark replaces him with Nansen, who is a fit for Sark because of their prior relationship and presumably knows PK because they were both PAC guys.  Maybe Kenny Baker was a name they kept hearing, so they brought him in and everything just clicked.  I hope it works.  Only the coaches CDC know what the process was, so time will tell.  

Edited January 26 by bejezuz

[Vertigo 20225]

23 minutes ago, NoName said:

people LOVE making terrible comparisons

Choate was a head coach longer than Baker coached at the G5 level.

Choate had a ton of experience with very good coaches at Boise and Washington.

Baker is nowhere near comparable to a guy who had like 20 years of coaching experience (Choate) or who was seen as a rising star and had skins on the wall (Choice)

but Choate to Baker specifically is a lazy comparison that is truly fucking terrible. you think a guy with 3 seasons of experience at the G5 level is the same as Jeff Choate who had 20 years experience, including like 5 as a head coach? lol

 

Sarkisian obviously has a blueprint of guys that he wants to hire. They have to meet certain criteria and he seems to be pretty unwavering in making sure that they do. If a coach meets the criteria at 35 or 50, it doesn't really matter. If you want to just hire a bunch of coaches with very long resumes to come here as position coaches, then perhaps I can load you up with this group of fine specimens. Jeff Fischer, Bill O'Brien, Gary Kubiak, Dan Mullens, Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Matt Patricia, Eric Mangini. I am sure that all of them could be had on the cheap.  

[BurgleBro 766]

Have to have hope. 

We won't know if the guy Sucks ass until 2 or 3 years at the earliest given the talent drop off on paper heading into next year. 

We have to feed the machine some big talented bodies as the insiders here intimated for spring and into the next cycle or it's going to muddle the coaches overall assessment even further

[Hookem2147 20876]

3 minutes ago, bejezuz said:

There's been some smoke here and there that Bo Davis and PK were butting heads because Bo wanted to coach the whole D-Line.

If this was a big sticking point, they could have just done it and let PK be DC with no assigned position group. Maybe not super common but not unheard of either.

[Poester 109]

2 hours ago, SuckitKevin said:

Roy D Mercer reference made me chuckle.

I haven’t listened to those in years, wow. How big’A boy are ya? 

[Newy25 7629]

1 hour ago, Atticus said:

It's only a gamble because you don't know about him. 

He has never coached the defensive line at a level beyond Western Kentucky. The only reason it has inherit risk is not simply the fans lack of knowledge. It is literally his own lack of experience. 

[Hornlover 8824]

Just now, Newy25 said:

He has never coached the defensive line at a level beyond Western Kentucky. The only reason it has inherit risk is not simply the fans lack of knowledge. It is literally his own lack of experience. 

Shit, I must have stopped watching the NFL for a while. I take it Western Kentucky is now at a level beyond the Miami Dolphins? 

[sith_horn 2364]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, but FCB has an article saying Kenny Baker was mentored by Pete Jenkins. I did a search for Pete Jenkins in this and the Football Forum and found the following post by bar in texas d-line talk thread:

Spoiler

Sark should make the call to this Pete Jenkins for a consulting gig -- he was at Alabama, Georgia, Michigan in the past year: https://www.si.com/college/2021/12/21/when-alabama-nick-saban-calls-pete-jenkins-answers-daily-cover

Quote

During these trips, Jenkins doesn’t work with players. That’d be an NCAA violation. Instead, he coaches the coaches. He identifies technical weaknesses from watching hours of Alabama practice and game footage of its defensive line before making suggestions using his own teaching methods and videos. Those who have been around Jenkins call him the best teacher they have ever seen, a master of detail on the most granular level, right down to the positioning of a defensive line coach during a drill. 

Apparently he does speak with Bo Davis regularly though.

Quote

Many of his former players, now coaching, still send him clips on a weekly basis, seeking help about a technique—maybe it’s hand placement or foot positioning. That includes Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis.

“They don’t make ’em any better than Coach Pete,” says Davis, a former Jenkins player at LSU who nearly quit college football after the school fired the entire staff, including Jenkins, in 1990. “He told me then, ‘Just because you’re mad at the bus driver, don’t get off the bus.’ He’s the reason I continued to stay and play.”

 

 

Sources: New Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker is an 'elite teacher' with NFL experience

Article below.

Spoiler

Sources: New Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker is an 'elite teacher' with NFL experience

In hiring Miami Dolphins assistant defensive line coach Kenny Baker, Steve Sarkisian is getting a young, rising star known as "an elite teacher and developer of talent" with energy to burn on the recruiting trail, sources told 247Sports' Matt Zenitz and me.

AUSTIN, Texas — In hiring Miami Dolphins assistant defensive line coach Kenny Baker, Steve Sarkisian is getting a rising star known as "an elite teacher and developer of talent" with energy to burn on the recruiting trail, sources told 247Sports' Matt Zenitz and me.

Zenitz was the first to report Sarkisian is hiring Baker, 37, as the Longhorns’ new defensive line coach, replacing Bo Davis, who spent three seasons at Texas before taking the defensive line coaching position at LSU, Davis’ alma mater.

Baker helped coach a defensive line for the Dolphins led by Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Zach Sieler and Emmanuel Ogbah as Miami finished No. 3 in sacks (56) behind the Baltimore Ravens (60) and Kansas City Chiefs (57) while also ranking No. 7 against the run, giving up 97.1 yards per game on the ground.

Before joining the Dolphins in 2023, Baker spent three seasons as Western Kentucky's defensive line coach, helping develop DeAngelo Malone into the Conference USA Player of the Year and a third-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.

One source close to the situation told Horns247 that Sarkisian wanted “a young, hungry technician who has helped groom NFL talent” to replace Davis.

Sarkisian also emphasized hiring a coach with NFL experience when he hired wide receivers coach Chris Jackson away from the Jacksonville Jaguars before the 2023 season. Sarkisian's belief is to attract NFL-caliber players in recruiting, it helps to have coaches who've helped develop players in the NFL and know what it takes to make it in the league.

Baker, a native of Cartersville, Ga., has a “relentless work ethic and passion for the game,” said a coach who has worked with Baker.

“Elite teacher,” the coach said. “He’s from Georgia, and he’s going to recruit hard. And as a coach, he’s elite and has gone through every level of college football and worked his way up. He’s earned it, and he’s now a hot name because of his work with DeAngelo Malone (at Western Kentucky) and then now in the NFL.”

The coach said Baker had been mentored by legendary former SEC defensive line coach Pete Jenkins, who has worked at Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn and LSU.

“Just a great developer of talent,” the coach said of Baker. “He’s going to be very precise. He’s going to be technical. And I think the talent development is the biggest piece with him. That’s what they got — an elite developer of talent and an elite teacher. And he’s a monster on the recruiting trail — non-stop — and he’s got the right connections in the southeast being from Georgia.”

Baker served as the defensive line coach at Chatanooga in 2019 and at Mercer from 2014-18. Baker was a three-year starter on the defensive line at Gardner-Webb from 2005-08.

Edited January 26 by sith_horn