Grading the Coaching Staff - 2015 Edition

[ColoradoHusk]

Now that the regular season is over, I thought it would be good to give out grades for the entire coaching staff.

 

Mike Riley - Head Coach - F - As the head coach, he's ultimately graded on the win-loss record. A 5-7 record, no matter how many close losses, deserves an F. Adding to the poor grade is terrible turnover margin, penalties, game management, and just an overall terrible season.

 

Danny Langsdorf - Offensive Coordinator - C - I was actually surprised by the way the offense performed this year. It was much better than I expected. However, there were still some crazy play calls during games. Langsdorf could have been downgraded further with the Illinois and Purdue game plans alone. He drove me crazy with his lack of commitment to the run game. While Langsdorf said they would try to incorporate the QB run game this year, it wasn't a key part of the offense. Langsdorf also doesn't get a free pass on the high INT rate. After all, he is the QB coach, too.

 

Mike Cavanaugh - O-line - D - Everyone thought the o-line issues of the past number of years was Barney Cotton's fault. But, this year's o-line wasn't any better. There was a complete lack of consistency in the run game. The pass pro wasn't much very good either, as Armstrong was forced to scramble numerous times each game. I also disagreed with his lack of rotation among the linemen, but that's just my personal opinion.

 

Reggie Davis - RB's - D - The rotation at RB was a complete mess. Nobody knew who was going to be the feature back from game to game. The only thing that appears to be a differentiating factor is the starting RB must be able to pass block. Other than that, I am not sure what is the criteria for getting snaps/carries. It was crazy to me to see a player get a few carries and do well in one game, and not sniff the ball for the next few games.

 

Keith Williams - B+ - I thought the WR position has been NU's deepest position over the past few years. I thought they were well coached under the previous staff, and Williams has improved their play this year. Drops hurt in the Miami game, but I can't remember it being a huge problem throughout the season.

 

Mark Banker - Defensive Coordinator - D - The only thing keeping this from an F is the performance of the last 2 games. Other than the games against Rutgers and Iowa, the defense was abysmal. The D was torched in a number of games, and couldn't come up with key stops when it needed to in the 4th quarter of numerous losses. I am not a fan of the scheme at all, and it appears that most teams realized they could just pass the ball all day on the Blackshirts, and for the most part, they did.

 

Hank Hughes - D-line - C - This was supposed to be the strength of the Blackshirts, but for much of the year, the d-line was disappointing. I understand injuries plagued the front 4, especially at d-end. But, there was a complete lack of pass rush, which is needed in Banker's scheme. The d-line would do well against the run at times, but then give up a big gainer (see Iowa). I think Hughes could be a good coach, if he has some good depth and talent, which was missing this year, especially at DE.

 

Trent Bray - Linebackers - B - The one bright spot among the defensive coaches. Coach Bray had the toughest job this year with very little depth, multiple injuries, and a number of young guys playing. For the most part, I was impressed by the LB play, especially when the top guys were healthy. The one thing keeping it from being an A, is the poor angles that the LB's would sometimes take in run support.

 

Brian Stewart - Secondary - D - This was nearly an F, but the secondary did show glimpses of improvement in the last few games. The secondary had no confidence in the scheme in the first half of the season, and teams passed all over the Blackshirts. The secondary still isn't very good at attacking balls in the air. I am not very confident in Stewart's ability going forward.

 

Bruce Read - Special Teams - Incomplete - I give Read an incomplete because I really don't even know what he has done this year. FG kicking was pretty good with Brown, after some early misses (probably cost NU the BYU game though). Foltz was also pretty good, but he was good before Read got here. The kickoff returns were non-existent, and it was so weird when Jordan Stevenson was installed at KR in the middle of the season. Read didn't even know who the kid was. The kickoff coverage was also very weird at times, when Brown was instructed to do odd squib kicks or other weird kicks instead of just trying to boot it through the end zone. Brown has a strong leg, so I put those odd kicks on Read. The loss of DPE also contributed to the Incomplete grade.

 

What do you all think of coaching grades for the year?

[Bigred_inSD]

Bruce Read gets what ever is below an F, or just followed by a U.

[ColoradoHusk]

Bruce Read gets what ever is below an F, or just followed by a U.

Dangit, forgot about Read. I will add him in.

[RedRex]

 

Bruce Read gets what ever is below an F, or just followed by a U.

Dangit, forgot about Read. I will add him in.

 

Easily done. I'm sure he prefers it stay that way.

[Husker Q]

I'd say Bray is about the only decent coach on the staff.

I would give Langsdorf an F. The play calling was horrendous at times and cost us games.He especially did not play to the players strengths. Armstrong is good at the option and bullet passes, poor at heavy reads and touch passes. So he calls screens like crazy, heavy read plays, few options. As the QB coach, he did not improve TA's technique (throwing off back foot) or reading of defenses.

Actually, taking the team from 9 wins to 5 wins the entire staff gets an F. The only coach I think is decent is Bray.

[Vitalis Jackson]

Solich and Pelini are gone and they are not coming back. Get over it, already.

[The Tall Texan]

A "C" for the OC. Your generous, way to generous.

[ColoradoHusk]

A "C" for the OC. Your generous, way to generous.

Yeah, I'm questioning that grade now. But, the offense was much better in the beginning of the season that I thought it would be. However, he probably deserves a D based on Illinois and Purdue alone.

[ColoradoHusk]

Solich and Pelini are gone and they are not coming back. Get over it, already.

Huh? I never brought up Solich or Pelini. I can't give grades to the coaching staff on their performance this year?

[Branno]

Langs and Read get a big old F. Banker gets a D. Everyone else gets a C. Riley gets an F.

 

Next year better be something special.

[teachercd]

I love that Read was left out! I bet that guy was shocked that he was getting fat stacks while at OSU with no one knowing who he was! He probably hates it here!

[teachercd]

Solich and Pelini are gone and they are not coming back. Get over it, already.

Translation: I hated Bo and had a viagra-boner for Riley...he had a crappy season and now I don't know what to do so I will pretend like this is a Bo, Frank and Dana X Bible thread.

[ColoradoHusk]

I love that Read was left out! I bet that guy was shocked that he was getting fat stacks while at OSU with no one knowing who he was! He probably hates it here!

Read is like the employee in Office Space who has his desk moved to the basement. Of course, Read is making $500k per year, so I guess he is getting the last laugh on us fans.

[BoNeyard]

It would take too long to grade and explain each grade of this coaching staff. To put it simply, these guys would be attending Summer school.

[Husker67]

 

Solich and Pelini are gone and they are not coming back. Get over it, already.

Translation: I hated Bo and had a viagra-boner for Riley...he had a crappy season and now I don't know what to do so I will pretend like this is a Bo, Frank and Dana X Bible thread.

 

I think that's all Vitalis Jackson ever posts. He must have an auto reply in every thread that says "Bo and Frank are gone. Get over it" Braaaaaaaaack, "Bo and Frank are gone"