Watson a candidate for the Miami(OH) head coach position

[Hunter94]

Dang, you would think a coach as horrible as Watson would not get even a look from anyone. But I guess he has Alabama (as an OC), New Mexico, Pitt, Miami (OH), Vandy, among others, all fooled.

 

Eh. Maybe Watson will thrive as a Head Coach in the right place. Look at Craig Bohl - the guy STUNK as our DC, and we couldn't get rid of him fast enough. He moves on to NDSU and has winning season seven out of eight years, including two 10-1 seasons and a conference title. It's not that Watson is evil or the bad guy, it's that he simply doesn't seem to fit in to the culture/system that Bo wants to run. We gave it a go, we kept him for continuity, and now it's time for him to move on.

 

I think so often in these conversations we all try to go to such great lengths to prove our points that it seems like people are wholly polarized, and at least in my situation, that's not the case. I'm 51% in favor of Watson moving on. That 49% encompasses the disaster our next OC could be, the fact that there are valid extenuating circumstances that could explain some of Watson's struggles, and the fact that on occasion Watson's offenses have produced big numbers. If he stays I'll be OK with it, but my preference is that he goes.

 

 

so many excuses made for Watson's offensive implosion, so little time left before we start Big 10 play.

[suh_fan93]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

[Hujan]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

 

http://www.huskerboard.com/index.php?/topic/49576-turning-point-for-pelini/page__view__findpost__p__720067

[Ratt Mhule]

knapplc has made some tremendous points about Watson's work as QB coach. To that end, I've caught wind of an interesting development that also just so happens to support knapplc's remarks about the door being wide open for Watson to get a job elsewhere.

 

The interesting development is that Watson is no longer the QB coach. The reigns have been handed to Tim Beck. Clearly this offense is beginning to head in a different direction with Wats no longer coaching the QBs.

 

Oh and another tidbit I've heard (and many of you will like this) - Ted Gilmore is on his way out. Most likely the bowl game will be his last as a coach on this staff.

 

Thank you God!!!

 

That's "TWO" priceless gifts.

 

 

Yeah, lets hope that we get some different coaches that help us win 10 games each year, Oh!! wait thats not good enough any more. We only want coaches that win them all.

Watch out Bo you could be next.

 

GBR!!!

 

Now name one game we should have lost. We should have one every game had the offense produced anything at all. We could have easily scored over 20 points against Texas. Every other team did, including Iowa St. and Kansas St. A&M only scored 9 points on us! And we still lost. We should have been undefeated going into the CCG. The offense cost us those games. Im sorry but Western Kentucky, Idaho, SDSU and Kansas are gimme games. Washington stinks. Iowa St. is decent but still not good. Kansas St. is about the same as Iowa St. Colorado sucks but thats a rivalry game so Im not putting that in the gimme section. Missouri I thought was overrated, but they aren't bad and we had them at home. And Ok. St. has a good offense, but a crappy defense. So out of our BIG games, we went 2 out of 4. If the offense produced anything, it would have been 4 out of 4. So no, 10 wins isn't good enough for me when we go even on the big games.

[knapplc]

Not much about much here, just passing along what amounts to rumors posted on a news blog:

 

According to a source with knowledge of the search, Buckeyes co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Luke Fickell and Cornhuskers offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson have emerged as leading contenders for the Miami of Ohio head coaching vacancy. The source would not go so far as to say that the two are finalists for the position, rather stating that both “are among a handful who are definitely in the mix.”

 

Watson has spent the past four seasons as the Cornhuskers’ offensive coordinator, as well as previous BcS stops at Northwestern, Illinois and Colorado. The 51-year-old coach has also been a head coach at the collegiate level, guiding Southern Illinois from 1994 through 1996.

 

One of the factors that could swing in Watson’s favor is his ties to the school; he was an assistant at Miami for seven years in the late eighties and early nineties. Athletic director Brad Bates told the Hamilton Journal News late last week that a candidate with a prior connection to Miami would have an advantage “all other things being equal”.

 

LINK

[knapplc]

To extrapolate on the last line of that quote from NBC, here's Bates' actual statement to the Miami JournaNews:

 

Bates said candidates with a connection with Miami, perhaps as a former player or assistant coach, would have an advantage “all other things being equal” but noted that Haywood had no Miami ties when he was hired.

 

LINK

[Nebula]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

 

That's true, but people can grow, adapt, evolve. (They can also regress obviously.) I'm not arguing one way or the other, but who is to say that Watson couldn't undergo the same type of transformation that Osborne did? Tom liked to wing the ball around early on, before he adapted his power running philosophy. When it comes to the Watson argument people like to pretend that he is what he is, it is a state of permanence, and he will never alter his offensive strategies, ever. I think that is an overly simplistic view that assumes an awful lot of stubborn stupidity.

 

Lose Watson and you start all over again. That may not be a bad thing, but remember, we learn by screwing up. Nobody grows as an individual when everything is going perfectly...we grow when we screw the pooch, are forced to look at how and why we screwed said pooch, and think hard about what we can do differently to avoid screwing up again in the same manner. Shawn has made some mistakes the last couple of years, no question. But I can almost guarantee you that he learned from those mistakes, and has grown as a coach from them. If he leaves, another school benefits from the growing pains he experienced here, not us.

 

Or not. Devil's advocate and all.

[knapplc]

Charlie McBride is the best argument for keeping Watson. In the late 80s and early 90s this whole state hated the man. His defenses were getting annihilated in most every major game we played. He adapted, recruited different athletes, and the 90s happened. That's why I've never truly embraced the Fire Shawn Watson mantra. He's got problems, but it's not impossible that he could fix them.

[Redmusky]

Even if Watson stays and has success here next year he would be gone at the end of the year as a head coach somewhere.He has wanted out for a number of years so let him go and stabilize the staff.

[ESPY]

Charlie McBride is the best argument for keeping Watson. In the late 80s and early 90s this whole state hated the man. His defenses were getting annihilated in most every major game we played. He adapted, recruited different athletes, and the 90s happened. That's why I've never truly embraced the Fire Shawn Watson mantra. He's got problems, but it's not impossible that he could fix them.

Charlie McBride had one big thing going for him that Watson does not - a close, loyal relationship with the head coach. McBride and Osborne also shared a similar vision of what they wanted to see on the field, and they took the steps to make it happen. That has not been the case with Watson and Pelini.

 

Clearly there was a reason TO and Pelini brought in Tenopir in the offseason - to teach schematics for a power running attack the offense could depend on in big games. But, and I think the evidence is clear especially in the OU game, Watson (and Cotton for that matter) did not stick to that power running game in the games that mattered most even when that running game was working (i.e. Rex running the wildcat down OU's throat in the 2nd half). Therefore, it can be deduced that Bo and Watson are not on the same page and do not share a like-minded vision for this offense.

[knapplc]

Charlie McBride is the best argument for keeping Watson. In the late 80s and early 90s this whole state hated the man. His defenses were getting annihilated in most every major game we played. He adapted, recruited different athletes, and the 90s happened. That's why I've never truly embraced the Fire Shawn Watson mantra. He's got problems, but it's not impossible that he could fix them.

Charlie McBride had one big thing going for him that Watson does not - a close, loyal relationship with the head coach. McBride and Osborne also shared a similar vision of what they wanted to see on the field, and they took the steps to make it happen. That has not been the case with Watson and Pelini.

 

Clearly there was a reason TO and Pelini brought in Tenopir in the offseason - to teach schematics for a power running attack the offense could depend on in big games. But, and I think the evidence is clear especially in the OU game, Watson (and Cotton for that matter) did not stick to that power running game in the games that mattered most even when that running game was working (i.e. Rex running the wildcat down OU's throat in the 2nd half). Therefore, it can be deduced that Bo and Watson are not on the same page and do not share a like-minded vision for this offense.

 

I agree, which is why I was saying Bo was holding the door open for Watson to leave. Wide open.

[Husker_x]

Dang, you would think a coach as horrible as Watson would not get even a look from anyone. But I guess he has Alabama (as an OC), New Mexico, Pitt, Miami (OH), Vandy, among others, all fooled.

 

Eh. Maybe Watson will thrive as a Head Coach in the right place. Look at Craig Bohl - the guy STUNK as our DC, and we couldn't get rid of him fast enough. He moves on to NDSU and has winning season seven out of eight years, including two 10-1 seasons and a conference title. It's not that Watson is evil or the bad guy, it's that he simply doesn't seem to fit in to the culture/system that Bo wants to run. We gave it a go, we kept him for continuity, and now it's time for him to move on.

 

I think so often in these conversations we all try to go to such great lengths to prove our points that it seems like people are wholly polarized, and at least in my situation, that's not the case. I'm 51% in favor of Watson moving on. That 49% encompasses the disaster our next OC could be, the fact that there are valid extenuating circumstances that could explain some of Watson's struggles, and the fact that on occasion Watson's offenses have produced big numbers. If he stays I'll be OK with it, but my preference is that he goes.

 

 

so many excuses made for Watson's offensive implosion, so little time left before we start Big 10 play.

 

Mark it.

[suh_fan93]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

 

That's true, but people can grow, adapt, evolve. (They can also regress obviously.) I'm not arguing one way or the other, but who is to say that Watson couldn't undergo the same type of transformation that Osborne did? But I can almost guarantee you that he learned from those mistakes, and has grown as a coach from them. If he leaves, another school benefits from the growing pains he experienced here, not us.

Firstoff nice post. I agree that one could cite Osborne as a point of reference but I don't see any guarantee's that Watson has learned from his mistakes, personally I can look back on our most recent game (getting shut out the 2nd half of the OU game) and point out that he was still making huge, huge mistakes with our offense.

 

As conservative as Tom Osborne was even he had the guts and the ability to think outside of the box and throw when people weren't expecting us to, create plays that were innovative (the fumbleroosky, the bouncearoosky) and do things to keep the defense honest.

 

Shawn Watson may call one game a season if were lucky that might keep a defense honest. I'll even dare to say two games but that's stretching it.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that people can grow, adapt and evolve. Our offensive coordinator to me anyway has shown that he's not very good at all three.

[Nebula]

If this is true I have to say I admire our head coach even more for basically seeing the things that were wrong with our program and being proactive about fixing them. I'm all about loyalty but let's face it, if you own a business and hired your lifelong best friend to manage an important part of your business and he isn't getting the job done well...

 

In my opinion if you keep doing the things your doing you'll keep getting the things your getting.

 

I definitely hope these changes occur because Nebraska could not go on like this offensively and expect to compete for a national title year in and year out based on it's defense alone even as great as Bo and Carl and Marvin are at what they do.

 

That's true, but people can grow, adapt, evolve. (They can also regress obviously.) I'm not arguing one way or the other, but who is to say that Watson couldn't undergo the same type of transformation that Osborne did? But I can almost guarantee you that he learned from those mistakes, and has grown as a coach from them. If he leaves, another school benefits from the growing pains he experienced here, not us.

Firstoff nice post. I agree that one could cite Osborne as a point of reference but I don't see any guarantee's that Watson has learned from his mistakes, personally I can look back on our most recent game (getting shut out the 2nd half of the OU game) and point out that he was still making huge, huge mistakes with our offense.

 

As conservative as Tom Osborne was even he had the guts and the ability to think outside of the box and throw when people weren't expecting us to, create plays that were innovative (the fumbleroosky, the bouncearoosky) and do things to keep the defense honest.

 

Shawn Watson may call one game a season if were lucky that might keep a defense honest. I'll even dare to say two games but that's stretching it.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that people can grow, adapt and evolve. Our offensive coordinator to me anyway has shown that he's not very good at all three.

Thanks for the compliment man, I appreciate it.

 

This is undeniably true. With a few exceptions, you're going to have a tough time equating any offensive coach with Dr. Tom. I made the comparison in a hypothetical sense but if forced to defend I'd have to concede it's probably a bit of a stretch to compare Shawn Watson with Tom Osborne at this point in time.

 

(Which is most likely why knapp made the McBride contrast. That is probably a cleaner analogy.)

[BigWillie]

 

Eh. Maybe Watson will thrive as a Head Coach in the right place. Look at Craig Bohl - the guy STUNK as our DC, and we couldn't get rid of him fast enough. He moves on to NDSU and has winning season seven out of eight years, including two 10-1 seasons and a conference title. It's not that Watson is evil or the bad guy, it's that he simply doesn't seem to fit in to the culture/system that Bo wants to run. We gave it a go, we kept him for continuity, and now it's time for him to move on.

 

I think so often in these conversations we all try to go to such great lengths to prove our points that it seems like people are wholly polarized, and at least in my situation, that's not the case. I'm 51% in favor of Watson moving on. That 49% encompasses the disaster our next OC could be, the fact that there are valid extenuating circumstances that could explain some of Watson's struggles, and the fact that on occasion Watson's offenses have produced big numbers. If he stays I'll be OK with it, but my preference is that he goes.

 

Big, big difference in coaching down a level versus coaching at this level. Although I know you were using the most convenient example, it wasn't the best.

 

But the thing is, all these points in the world can be made against Watson, but the simple reality is alot of folks believe in his abilities. Numerous schools and people at this university have shown belief in him (i.e., Pelini, Osborne, Callahan) who all know a thing or two.

 

But really, I do not think it will matter who we put into the OC position. Until we put in an OL coach who fully understands the blocking schemes needed to make our new offense work, then it doesn't really matter. We will continue to be a I-formation blocking team running the spread option.