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Troy Calhoun -- Concern and Solution?

Sportsfan101

Well-Known Member
I don't think anyone questions Troy Calhoun's ability with the Xs and Os. He has been widely praised as being very smart and very good from a technical standpoint. I think most people are concerned with the fact that he hasn't recruited at the collegiate level -- AFA doesn't recruit like other schools.

But what if Calhoun brought along Tim Brewster? The former HC at Minnesota has been praised as the best recruiting assistant in the country before landing the Minnesota gig (he landed Vince Young at Texas), and Brewster had some success at Minnesota as a recruiter. Both Brewster and Calhoun know each other -- they worked together for the Denver Broncos in 2003-2004 -- and Brewster is looking for a job. Brewster has spent time in Colorado and loved it (I believe --? -- that he still has a house here). So, what if Brewster joins the Calhoun-led staff as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator (or something like that). For me, this would alleviate a lot of my Troy Calhoun concerns.
 
There is absolutely no basis for giving Brewster the offensive coordinator title.
 
Your basic premise makes sense. If it is Calhoun, CU needs to save a lot of the coaching money for his assistants.
 
There is absolutely no basis for giving Brewster the offensive coordinator title.

I disagree -- he has much more of a pedigree than any of CU's current staff. He was head coach for a BCS program, was an assistant at U of Texas and North Carolina, coached in the NFL under Mike Shannahan and Gary Kubiak -- that's a pretty good background. Add in the fact that he has been called one of the best recruiters in the country, his ties to Colorado and the fact that he's looking for a job, and I think it's a pretty good fit.
 
I disagree -- he has much more of a pedigree than any of CU's current staff. He was head coach for a BCS program, was an assistant at U of Texas and North Carolina, coached in the NFL under Mike Shannahan and Gary Kubiak -- that's a pretty good background. Add in the fact that he has been called one of the best recruiters in the country, his ties to Colorado and the fact that he's looking for a job, and I think it's a pretty good fit.

Everything you just mentioned has nothing to do with being an offensive coordinator. He is a career TE/STs coach aside from the Minnesota gig where he was a miserable failure. I am more than okay with him being an assistant, but he is not offensive coordinator material.
 
Everything you just mentioned has nothing to do with being an offensive coordinator. He is a career TE/STs coach aside from the Minnesota gig where he was a miserable failure. I am more than okay with him being an assistant, but he is not offensive coordinator material.

Good point -- let's bring in Urban Meyer or Chip Kelly as OC.
 
So which part of his resume blows you away for the OC position? The TEs coaching or the 15-30 record at Minnesota. Perhaps the scoring offense rankings at Minnesota during his time there:

89th-2010
100th-2009
63rd-2008
67th-2007

All that screams offensive coordinator to me.
 
The staff is key for this interview and hiring process.

Let's say, for example and the sake of argument, that Troy Calhoun is able to present the following staff as being confirmed that they would work for him at CU:

Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach: Eric Kiesau
Defensive Coordinator: Tim DeRuyter
Special Teams Coordinator / TE Coach: Tim Brewster
Recruiting Coordinator / WR Coach: Bobby Kennedy
Running Backs Coach: Darian Hagan
Offensive Line Coach: Tim Davis
Defensive Line Coach: Tim Cross
Linebacker Coach: Nick Toth
Defensive Backs Coach: Ashley Ambrose

Would you still worry about whether he can recruit the athletes we would need?
 
The staff is key for this interview and hiring process.

Let's say, for example and the sake of argument, that Troy Calhoun is able to present the following staff as being confirmed that they would work for him at CU:

Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach: Eric Kiesau
Defensive Coordinator: Tim DeRuyter
Special Teams Coordinator / TE Coach: Tim Brewster
Recruiting Coordinator / WR Coach: Bobby Kennedy
Running Backs Coach: Darian Hagan
Offensive Line Coach: Tim Davis
Defensive Line Coach: Tim Cross
Linebacker Coach: Nick Toth
Defensive Backs Coach: Ashley Ambrose

Would you still worry about whether he can recruit the athletes we would need?

on paper that's a nice set of recruiters... but how realistic is that list?
for me it would help but at the same time I think EB would bring in a kick ass group of assistants too..
 
on paper that's a nice set of recruiters... but how realistic is that list?
for me it would help but at the same time I think EB would bring in a kick ass group of assistants too..

ITB - that's the point. Presenting a confirmed staff is part of this interview process. Those are names that he or CU or other staff members have a strong connection to. There are more if I wanted to comb the NFL ranks.

But if we assume that Calhoun would not get hired unless he pulled a staff together that was comparable to what I posted, then do people still object as strongly to him being hired?
 
So which part of his resume blows you away for the OC position? The TEs coaching or the 15-30 record at Minnesota. Perhaps the scoring offense rankings at Minnesota during his time there:

89th-2010
100th-2009
63rd-2008
67th-2007

All that screams offensive coordinator to me.

I think it's funny that people are pimping EB and Jon Embree for head coach, both of whom Brewster has more experience than, but you don't think Brewster has the experience to be OC?

And I say that with all due respect to EB and Embree, because I think both are very strong candidates for the CU job.

I also think it's funny that you dog Brewster despite the fact that he has more experience than Eric Kiesau.

In the end, I don't think we can get Brewster on staff as TE coach. He'll have options out there, in large part because of his recruiting prowess. My guess is that we could only afford him if we made him OC. He may fit our pay grade at that level, but I don't think he'd fit it at TE coach level.
 
The staff is key for this interview and hiring process.

Let's say, for example and the sake of argument, that Troy Calhoun is able to present the following staff as being confirmed that they would work for him at CU:

Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach: Eric Kiesau
Defensive Coordinator: Tim DeRuyter
Special Teams Coordinator / TE Coach: Tim Brewster
Recruiting Coordinator / WR Coach: Bobby Kennedy
Running Backs Coach: Darian Hagan
Offensive Line Coach: Tim Davis
Defensive Line Coach: Tim Cross
Linebacker Coach: Nick Toth
Defensive Backs Coach: Ashley Ambrose

Would you still worry about whether he can recruit the athletes we would need?

With that staff, and particularly with recruiting prowess of Kennedy, Brewster, Cross and Davis, I'd be on the Troy Calhoun bandwagon.
 
I think it's funny that people are pimping EB and Jon Embree for head coach, both of whom Brewster has more experience than, but you don't think Brewster has the experience to be OC?

And I say that with all due respect to EB and Embree, because I think both are very strong candidates for the CU job.

I also think it's funny that you dog Brewster despite the fact that he has more experience than Eric Kiesau.

In the end, I don't think we can get Brewster on staff as TE coach. He'll have options out there, in large part because of his recruiting prowess. My guess is that we could only afford him if we made him OC. He may fit our pay grade at that level, but I don't think he'd fit it at TE coach level.

Where am I saying I want Embree, EB, or Kiesau as the OC? I do not want them at OC and I do not want Brewster at OC either. Sorry, but coaching TEs at a bunch of different places does not qualify you to run an offense. The coordinators are huge in game planning, much more important they know schemes than having them on the road recruiting every week.
 
Buff Nation needs three things in a HC:

1. Ability to rally the troops, both players and alum/fans

2. Ability to become a credible FB team right away

3. Ability to build a foundation for long term success (which I define as being a perennial top 20 team)

Only one person fits that bill...and his name is Bill.

Calhoun would utterly underwhelm most of BuffNation because he would be viewed as Hawk part II. Since that is the case, you don't even get past number 1 above because the troops are at home watching on TV or skiing because another I-25 hire just isn't going to excite anyone except a handful of Calhoun lovers. Number one is critical because the fan base has suffered through five years of incompetent coaching delivered by a condescending egomaniac who told us how stupid we all were for not seeing the glory of a team that got it's *** kicked two out of every three outings.

Calhoun would be an upgrade, but so would Skippy the paper boy. Calhoun has won right away at AF but where has he built a long term foundation? Nowhere.

Mac remains the lowest risk, highest return candidate. He's got issues, but if they pass on Mac and bring in a Calhoun type hire, I predict a huge problem....
 
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Buff Nation needs three things in a HC:

1. Ability to rally the troops, both players and alum/fans

2. Ability to become a credible FB team right away

3. Ability to build a foundation for long term success (which I define as being a perennial top 20 team)

Only one person fits that bill...andhis name is Bill.

Calhoun would utterly underwhelm most of BuffNation becasue he would be viewd as Hawk part II. Since that is the case, you don't even get past number 1 above because the troops are at homke watching on TV or skiing because another I-25 hire just isn't going to xcite anyone except a handful of Calhoun lovers.

Calhoun would be an upgrade, but so would Skippy the paper boy. Calhoun has won right away at AF but where has he built a long term foundation? Nowhere.

Mac remains the lowest risk, highest return candidate. He's got issues, but if they pass on Mac and bring in a Calhoun type hire, I predict a huge problem....

+1

I'm firmly in the Mac camp, and almost everyone I talk to agrees that he would be a great, great hire. I think just because people are talking about other candidates may lead some to believe that the "fire is out" on the Mac campaign. I strongly believe that Mac has the most support among CU fans, alums and former players and I'd be really excited if he were named HC.
 
Buff Nation needs three things in a HC:

1. Ability to rally the troops, both players and alum/fans

2. Ability to become a credible FB team right away

3. Ability to build a foundation for long term success (which I define as being a perennial top 20 team)

Only one person fits that bill...andhis name is Bill.

Calhoun would utterly underwhelm most of BuffNation becasue he would be viewd as Hawk part II. Since that is the case, you don't even get past number 1 above because the troops are at homke watching on TV or skiing because another I-25 hire just isn't going to xcite anyone except a handful of Calhoun lovers.

Calhoun would be an upgrade, but so would Skippy the paper boy. Calhoun has won right away at AF but where has he built a long term foundation? Nowhere.

Mac remains the lowest risk, highest return candidate. He's got issues, but if they pass on Mac and bring in a Calhoun type hire, I predict a huge problem....

Methinks you are going to be very unhappy, lefty.

I thought Mac in the beginning, but now I give it almost no chance of happening.

And, besides, your argument doesn't work. Hyperbole aside ("Only one person fits that bill...and his name is Bill.")...

The first time around, it took Mac 7 years to field a good enough team to reach the 8 win mark (4 years to field a .500 team). And that was with the energy Mac had in his 40s. There's no precedent that he can make us a credible football team right away. Throw in that most of his best recruiting contacts have retired or moved on in the past 16 years (and 17 year olds don't know who he is), and I question what kind of foundation he would build. I'll grant that he'd rally the troops. He's great at that. I'd love him to take an AD job like Ceal did or even run our large donations programs (running a charitable organization like Promise Keepers gave him great experience for that role).

But Mac is not the right choice as Head Coach.
 
Does it scare anyone else that Brewster also has Mullen ties? Would Dave Logan be invited aboard the train? Ugh.

I don't think that anyone has issues with Dave Logan as a position coach, actually I think he would be a good get as a position coach. Everyone has issues when his name is brought up as head man.
 
Methinks you are going to be very unhappy, lefty.

I thought Mac in the beginning, but now I give it almost no chance of happening.

And, besides, your argument doesn't work. Hyperbole aside ("Only one person fits that bill...and his name is Bill.")...

The first time around, it took Mac 7 years to field a good enough team to reach the 8 win mark (4 years to field a .500 team). And that was with the energy Mac had in his 40s. There's no precedent that he can make us a credible football team right away. Throw in that most of his best recruiting contacts have retired or moved on in the past 16 years (and 17 year olds don't know who he is), and I question what kind of foundation he would build. I'll grant that he'd rally the troops. He's great at that. I'd love him to take an AD job like Ceal did or even run our large donations programs (running a charitable organization like Promise Keepers gave him great experience for that role).

But Mac is not the right choice as Head Coach.

Well, I have my suspicions that Bill will never get the gig just because he has Christian beliefs that are not PC.

So I would not be a bit surprised if you are right and he gets tossed aside.

I do think he has as good if not better chance than anyone else to turn it around fast. One of the things DH did do fairly well was recruit. There is talent on the roster unlike the debacle Mac inherited in 1982. As to the "17 y.o. kids don't know who he is" argument, I say BS. Nobody knew who he was in '82 either. He built it at CU once before, which is something no other candidate can say.

That said, if I were a betting man, I'd say you are right, Mac won't get the gig.

My guess is MB will swing for the fences, well at least the fences BB and the English Patient point to, miss and end up hiring some other mid-major HC like Calhoun. I'll be disappointed, but still a Buff and give that person a chance, just like I did DH. I am pretty sure MB the windsock and his political hack bosses are entirely capable of effing this up.
 
I agree that Mac is probably the lowest risk hire, but I don't think a 70 year old man who has been out of coaching for 16 years and probably won't be coaching here in 5 years can be considered to have the biggest upside. Mac is the coziest, warmest, safest pick we could possibly make. To me hiring Mac tells me the AD and Admin are scared so sh**less of another Haw-type disaster that they are afraid to put their name on anyone else.
 
The staff is key for this interview and hiring process.

Let's say, for example and the sake of argument, that Troy Calhoun is able to present the following staff as being confirmed that they would work for him at CU:

Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach: Eric Kiesau
Defensive Coordinator: Tim DeRuyter
Special Teams Coordinator / TE Coach: Tim Brewster
Recruiting Coordinator / WR Coach: Bobby Kennedy
Running Backs Coach: Darian Hagan
Offensive Line Coach: Tim Davis
Defensive Line Coach: Tim Cross
Linebacker Coach: Nick Toth
Defensive Backs Coach: Ashley Ambrose

Would you still worry about whether he can recruit the athletes we would need?

I like that staff a lot. Especially DeRuyter and Brewster.
Do you think there would be any chance that Eric Bieniemy would come to CU as the Offensive Coordinator/RB coach? I would take EB over Kennedy, demote Kiesau to QB coach/Passing game coordinator and move Darian Hagan to WR. I would also hope we could keep Cabral at linebacker coach. If EB wouldn't come, maybe Embree. I am much less concerned about EB or Embree as a 1st time OC with Calhoun and Kiesau there too. That staff would recruit lights out.
 
So, mac is out. Well, bohn can go to kansas and mac can be AD. So, that leaves EB and Calhoun? Big NO to calhoun. What offense is he going to run? Can he bring in a good staff that can recruit? Will he get the alumni and donors excited about CU again. Me thinks not.
 
So, mac is out. Well, bohn can go to kansas and mac can be AD. So, that leaves EB and Calhoun? Big NO to calhoun. What offense is he going to run? Can he bring in a good staff that can recruit? Will he get the alumni and donors excited about CU again. Me thinks not.

What offense is EB going to run? Who will be on his staff??

Don't get me wrong, I'm not on the Calhoun bandwagon. But there as just as many questions about EB as any other candidate.
 
The staff is key for this interview and hiring process.

Let's say, for example and the sake of argument, that Troy Calhoun is able to present the following staff as being confirmed that they would work for him at CU:

Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach: Eric Kiesau
Defensive Coordinator: Tim DeRuyter
Special Teams Coordinator / TE Coach: Tim Brewster
Recruiting Coordinator / WR Coach: Bobby Kennedy
Running Backs Coach: Darian Hagan
Offensive Line Coach: Tim Davis
Defensive Line Coach: Tim Cross
Linebacker Coach: Nick Toth
Defensive Backs Coach: Ashley Ambrose

Would you still worry about whether he can recruit the athletes we would need?
One More question about this staff. What do you think the odds are that Calhoun can get DeRuyter to leave aTm and what what are the odds that Deruyter would go back to Air Force as the HC?
 
One More question about this staff. What do you think the odds are that Calhoun can get DeRuyter to leave aTm and what what are the odds that Deruyter would go back to Air Force as the HC?

It was hypothetical. I think if Calhoun left AFA, that the odds would be stacked on the side of DeRuyter getting the HC job at AFA.
 
I like that staff a lot. Especially DeRuyter and Brewster.
Do you think there would be any chance that Eric Bieniemy would come to CU as the Offensive Coordinator/RB coach? I would take EB over Kennedy, demote Kiesau to QB coach/Passing game coordinator and move Darian Hagan to WR. I would also hope we could keep Cabral at linebacker coach. If EB wouldn't come, maybe Embree. I am much less concerned about EB or Embree as a 1st time OC with Calhoun and Kiesau there too. That staff would recruit lights out.

EB has made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to play 2nd fiddle to anyone in a college job.
 
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