Mora - A couple thoughts.

Passion

Not taking into account the Don James-like head coach at a smaller school that may be out there, Mora is probably my #1 choice...but nobody is perfect.

I like him, but my concern is that I just don't see the Don James/Nick Saban attention to discipline, organization, and "the process" of preparation. My observation is that he is a "players coach," meaning that he slaps his guys on the back, fires them up, chews them out when necessary, and perhaps has a beer with them on the weekends (which I don't think is necessarily a good thing).

But does he delve into the minutiae of fundamentals like the great ones do? When he says that he'll call a reporter back in 7 minutes, does he call back in 7, or 8? Does he keep a certain level of distance to instill the mystique, and dare I say 'fear' that Don James was able to instill, and Saban is able to instill?

These are my concerns. Look forward to explanations of why I might be wrong.

RaceBannon

You might be right. There is some sloppiness.

whlinder

Other than Saban, Meyer and Kelly, what college coaches have that? I guess Bill Snyder probably does. Stoops used to. Les Miles might be close.

CFetters_Nacho_Lover

The biggest thing we need from Mora is player development. He can recruit much better than anyone thought but he'll still need a coaching staff that can develop 3 stars players into 4 star talent.

Steve_Bowman

All great coaches leverage mystique and fear (at times) to manage players and the process. Mora is too close for comfort with the players, but it's a damn sight better than what we had. He also understands the need for linemen. (Carol is kind of a cheerleader also and he does pretty well.)

Whatever Mora's bagage, he is a universe apart for the fat, lazy, clueless Armenian hamester. "We shall see," said the blind man.

CaptainPJ

So what you're saying is, "you're going to need to see a Championship?"

Passion

CaptainPJ said:

So what you're saying is, "you're going to need to see a Championship?"

Before I'm convinced he is an elite coach? Yes.

Right now he's my favorite among the list of contenders, but that doesn't make him elite. Somewhere out there does a future Don James or Nick Saban exist? That's the guy I want...but I have no idea who he is.

creepycoug

Passion said:

Not taking into account the Don James-like head coach at a smaller school that may be out there, Mora is probably my #1 choice...but nobody is perfect.

I like him, but my concern is that I just don't see the Don James/Nick Saban attention to discipline, organization, and "the process" of preparation. My observation is that he is a "players coach," meaning that he slaps his guys on the back, fires them up, chews them out when necessary, and perhaps has a beer with them on the weekends (which I don't think is necessarily a good thing).

But does he delve into the minutiae of fundamentals like the great ones do? When he says that he'll call a reporter back in 7 minutes, does he call back in 7, or 8? Does he keep a certain level of distance to instill the mystique, and dare I say 'fear' that Don James was able to instill, and Saban is able to instill?

These are my concerns. Look forward to explanations of why I might be wrong.

It is the sign of a small brain when one needs repetition and predictability to achieve comfort. Rainman buys his underwear at K-mart. Yeah K-mart.

If you haven't noticed, a lot of BCS bowls and national championships have been won by guys who don't seem anything at all alike.

Jimmy Johnson was a watershed coach - someone I'd actually put over James in terms of being an innovator and talent evaluator. Had he stayed at Miami he would have won more titles than anybody.

Jimmy was a hard ass and was clearly in charge of the assylum. The head zoo keeper. But he was not a distant "don't talk to me, I'm the CEO" kind of coach. He slapped ass with the best of them, but he WAS the guy in charge. Always. There was never any ambiguity about that.

Mora is more like Johnson, only with a bigger mouth. It can work.

I was wrong about Mora. I didn't think his personality would work in college - the recruiting, the babysitting, etc. I was wrong.

More than one type of person can get it done. They don't have to be clones of Don James. James was a great coach, but he wasn't great at everything.

Passion

creepycoug said:

Passion said:

Not taking into account the Don James-like head coach at a smaller school that may be out there, Mora is probably my #1 choice...but nobody is perfect.

I like him, but my concern is that I just don't see the Don James/Nick Saban attention to discipline, organization, and "the process" of preparation. My observation is that he is a "players coach," meaning that he slaps his guys on the back, fires them up, chews them out when necessary, and perhaps has a beer with them on the weekends (which I don't think is necessarily a good thing).

But does he delve into the minutiae of fundamentals like the great ones do? When he says that he'll call a reporter back in 7 minutes, does he call back in 7, or 8? Does he keep a certain level of distance to instill the mystique, and dare I say 'fear' that Don James was able to instill, and Saban is able to instill?

These are my concerns. Look forward to explanations of why I might be wrong.

It is the sign of a small brain when one needs repetition and predictability to achieve comfort. Rainman buys his underwear at K-mart. Yeah K-mart.

If you haven't noticed, a lot of BCS bowls and national championships have been won by guys who don't seem anything at all alike.

Jimmy Johnson was a watershed coach - someone I'd actually put over James in terms of being an innovator and talent evaluator. Had he stayed at Miami he would have won more titles than anybody.

Jimmy was a hard ass and was clearly in charge of the assylum. The head zoo keeper. But he was not a distant "don't talk to me, I'm the CEO" kind of coach. He slapped ass with the best of them, but he WAS the guy in charge. Always. There was never any ambiguity about that.

Mora is more like Johnson, only with a bigger mouth. It can work.

I was wrong about Mora. I didn't think his personality would work in college - the recruiting, the babysitting, etc. I was wrong.

More than one type of person can get it done. They don't have to be clones of Don James. James was a great coach, but he wasn't great at everything.

We don't have the recruiting talent base of south florida or los angeles. We have to win by stressing fundamentals - blocking, tackling, and technique. Repetition, discipline, and organization are critical for us. Recruiting is obviously important too (we got Kaufman after all), but our mantra and tradition is being better prepared and more fundamentally sound and TOUGHER than other teams.

We haven't always been the most talented (like miami or usc), but at our best we've been the toughest and most disciplined.

chuck

Good example Creepy. Jimmy Johnson is/was actually a very personable guy. I bet the players who did their jobs well loved the guy. I also bet the players who underperformed were afraid for their lives.