Making Progress, One Coach At A Time
posted by Scott Hood on Thursday, December 20, 2007
And they’re not fans of the University of Maine either.
Spurrier’s dual decisions to bring on board Ray Rychleski as special teams coordinator and Brian VanGorder as defensive coordinator was a preemptive strike against apathy and lethargy creeping into the Gamecock players after a season-ending five-game losing streak dashed USC’s bowl hopes.
Rychleski and VanGorder will make sure the players in special teams and defense stay on their toes with their high-energy, Type-A personalities.
Both coaches demand their players compete aggressively, passionately and without fear.
They’ll also be fun to watch on the sidelines when they blow a gasket after a player messes up a play.
But, really, this was mostly about the players, and how poorly they played down the stretch. Of course, some of the coaches didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, either.
Spurrier acknowledged Wednesday in his press conference that, while former defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix would have been welcomed back in 2008, he knew it “wasn’t working all that well.”
That’s a nice way of saying Nix wasn’t getting the job done.
But he also had this strong-worded message for the players:
“Hopefully, we’ll play faster and be a more physical team and play our assignments a lot better. Our players have to know that blowing their assignment is not acceptable. We do those things way too often. (VanGorder) is used to coaching pretty good defenses. I think we have a lot of good players.”
Translation: the defense was too soft, lacked discipline and failed to play up to its potential in 2007.
One thing you should notice about the above statement – Spurrier didn’t blame the poor performance of the defense during the final stretch of the season on the season-ending injuries to Jasper Brinkley or anybody else.
Instead, Spurrier followed the words of the brilliant philosopher Larry the Cable Guy – Git-R-Done!
I’ve seen the hires of Rychleski and VanGorder described as a “home run” or a “grand slam” by Spurrier. I think it’s premature to use those terms.
Why? I haven’t seen these guys in action yet while coaching for the Gamecocks.
I’ll be ready to use such grandiose terms on Nov. 30, 2008. That’s the day after the Clemson game. By then, we’ll know how well the special teams and defensive units performed.
Right now, I’d prefer to describe Rychleski and VanGorder as “solid hires.”
Has Spurrier upgraded his staff at special teams coordinator and defense coordinator? Yes.
Do I expect those units to show improvement in 2008? Yes.
Will coaching have something to do with that? Yes.
The numbers for Rychleski and VanGorder surely speak for themselves. Seven years without a blocked punt? You’re kidding, right? A defense ranked in the Top 10 nationally in several major categories? Blasphemy!
Of course, great coaches are just that because typically they have great players. VanGorder had an impressive group at his disposal while serving as defensive coordinator at Georgia.
Here’s something to think about - six of VanGorder's players at Georgia were selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, including defensive tackle Jonathan Sullivan, safety Thomas Davis and defensive end David Pollack in the first round, and safety Sean Jones and linebackers Boss Bailey and Odell Thurman in the second round.
When was the last time USC had a player in the defensive front seven selected in the first round of the NFL Draft? It’s been a long time.
When that happens, we’ll know USC is making progress.
For the time being, Spurrier’s decision to add Rychleski and VanGorder to his staff is a step in the right direction.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
It’s not a coincidence both assistant coaches hired by Steve Spurrier this week unapologetically act like maniacs on the sidelines during games.
And they’re not fans of the University of Maine either.
Spurrier’s dual decisions to bring on board Ray Rychleski as special teams coordinator and Brian VanGorder as defensive coordinator was a preemptive strike against apathy and lethargy creeping into the Gamecock players after a season-ending five-game losing streak dashed USC’s bowl hopes.
Rychleski and VanGorder will make sure the players in special teams and defense stay on their toes with their high-energy, Type-A personalities.
Both coaches demand their players compete aggressively, passionately and without fear.
They’ll also be fun to watch on the sidelines when they blow a gasket after a player messes up a play.
But, really, this was mostly about the players, and how poorly they played down the stretch. Of course, some of the coaches didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, either.
Spurrier acknowledged Wednesday in his press conference that, while former defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix would have been welcomed back in 2008, he knew it “wasn’t working all that well.”
That’s a nice way of saying Nix wasn’t getting the job done.
But he also had this strong-worded message for the players:
“Hopefully, we’ll play faster and be a more physical team and play our assignments a lot better. Our players have to know that blowing their assignment is not acceptable. We do those things way too often. (VanGorder) is used to coaching pretty good defenses. I think we have a lot of good players.”
Translation: the defense was too soft, lacked discipline and failed to play up to its potential in 2007.
One thing you should notice about the above statement – Spurrier didn’t blame the poor performance of the defense during the final stretch of the season on the season-ending injuries to Jasper Brinkley or anybody else.
Instead, Spurrier followed the words of the brilliant philosopher Larry the Cable Guy – Git-R-Done!
I’ve seen the hires of Rychleski and VanGorder described as a “home run” or a “grand slam” by Spurrier. I think it’s premature to use those terms.
Why? I haven’t seen these guys in action yet while coaching for the Gamecocks.
I’ll be ready to use such grandiose terms on Nov. 30, 2008. That’s the day after the Clemson game. By then, we’ll know how well the special teams and defensive units performed.
Right now, I’d prefer to describe Rychleski and VanGorder as “solid hires.”
Has Spurrier upgraded his staff at special teams coordinator and defense coordinator? Yes.
Do I expect those units to show improvement in 2008? Yes.
Will coaching have something to do with that? Yes.
The numbers for Rychleski and VanGorder surely speak for themselves. Seven years without a blocked punt? You’re kidding, right? A defense ranked in the Top 10 nationally in several major categories? Blasphemy!
Of course, great coaches are just that because typically they have great players. VanGorder had an impressive group at his disposal while serving as defensive coordinator at Georgia.
Here’s something to think about - six of VanGorder's players at Georgia were selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, including defensive tackle Jonathan Sullivan, safety Thomas Davis and defensive end David Pollack in the first round, and safety Sean Jones and linebackers Boss Bailey and Odell Thurman in the second round.
When was the last time USC had a player in the defensive front seven selected in the first round of the NFL Draft? It’s been a long time.
When that happens, we’ll know USC is making progress.
For the time being, Spurrier’s decision to add Rychleski and VanGorder to his staff is a step in the right direction.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.