da skers
Starter
I think more was made of it last year than it really was. It was more of a directive of we need to move this direction fast and here are the people you will meet with to do it and learn the principles. Wats dabbled a little with other jobs but did commit to learning. I just don't think he feels that offense gives you as much diversity with your players. He thinks his offense you can build around passing if you have a drop back passer, around a running game if you have a stud RB, etc. The problem is . . that offense is set to recruit to the best possible player on the board and you end up with a hodgepodge of players. Some geared toward the run, others passing, etc. That's not really a good idea at the college level when your dealing with an unknown commodity (will your players pan out?)Its also why it always takes him 4-5 games to figure out what they have each year. There just isn't any continuity or identity if you will. That's why Bo wants a direction for the offense be it right or wrong. You can recruit guys based on talents that match your offense (or defense)and occasionally you'll get that special player that allows you to diversify a bit more (think Vince Young or Mike Vick).That meeting happened after last year's Holiday Bowl too, though. Watson has known for over a year that he has to fully get on board or find another gig. Last year Watson was basically given the choice of finding a new home or embracing the offensive style Bo wants. It boiled down to a question of how badly Watson wanted a job. He looked around, but of course he stayed, because a paycheck is a nice thing to have.There was a meeting that took place the week after the Holiday Bowl and there are very clear expectations and consequences laid out. There is a very direct and achievable plan in place. Coaches can either get with it or go somewhere else.
Has he fully embraced Bo's desired offense? Hard to say. Doesn't seem so from the cheap seats, but that's rank speculation on my part. I was pretty surprised to see Wats stick around for the 2010 season after what I heard last year, and I'm even more surprised that he's here right now.
I will say Wats tried a hell of a lot harder than Cotton. They obviously talked to lots of coaches in the off season. While I heard he didn't always ask a lot of scheme questions that maybe an OC should have asked he did really try hard when Milt was brought in. He even when so far as to schedule follow up sessions for him and Cotton with Milt. Cotton of course didn't show for those. Its hard to fully commit when your O-line coach isn't that interested in trying to learn the same things you do. No O-line and you're dead in the water.