I know he and his wife liked bham, and his son is still here. Was the parting on good terms? One of my children and one of his went to school / played sports together and I always found him to be a stand up guy.....just a thought
Go Blazers!
He would be my #1 choice, and I think he should have had the job a few years ago when they stiffed him and divided the DC responsibilities--and put Christophel over there. I believe it would take some pride-swallowing by his former boss for him to come back, but I think it would be the best hire we could make.
He's a very good recruiter, always represented the university well in every way, and was our best position coach. (Look at the DB's he coached that went to the NFL who, for the most part, were not even recruited by other D-I schools: Sydney, Reece, Brooks, Brown and even Singleton, who did not make it in the NFL but was one of our best DB's ever.)
I agree. John Neal would be a great choice.
I think coaching can only go so far though. It seems to me that the DL is very weak this year. Maybe we got spoiled with the Steel Shield....or did that just set the bar for us to try and top? I say the latter and we will only help in the pass rush and run defense by getting more strength and speed at the tackles and the ends. Bolt probably needs another year to let him get some of the players he wants. Defense is about mindset....anybody can teach a 4-3 and cover 2, our players need to get their heads in the game, it's not all coaching, and I'm not letting the players off that easily. :john:
If we can get John Neal away from the Oregon Duck$, let's get him. Oregon is ranked 22nd and 33rd in the nation in total defense and pass defense, respectively. On the other hand, UAB is ranked 91st and 114th in the nation in total defense and pass defense. :bang: :john:
and having a pass defense rated that high in the Pac-10 is pretty good. i swear all they do is throw the ball out west.
IMHO the biggest shift that happened when we went to the 4-3 was the type of linemen needed. We've got some interior type guys like Abrams who are large enough to play inside, but the DE's are all pumped up linebackers. In the 4-3 I don't think you can be successful matching up with DE's that weigh 230-240. They make an easy kick out block by RB's , where you would never try to match up a RB against a 265-270 lb guy by himself
Well, I'm no coach, but personally, if I had some undersized players, instead of going 4-3 or even 3-4, i'd go 3-3-5; that way, we could use the speed we have to peat those that are stronger.
Just a thought...
