Assuming mob rule wins out and Applewhite is here at least another year but he does make a change at defensive coordinator, should he hire a defensive coordinator based purely on previous success or also based on the talent he will be coaching the next year or two?
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but I think we have done much better the last couple of years recruiting higher profile defensive lineman than linebackers. If this is true, maybe we think about switching to a 4-3 defense.
UAB, Marshall and Troy are all top 10 FBS in sacks per game. Are any of those schools running a 4-3?
My only problem with changing the scheme is gaps. It opens up gaps for the opposing team with our little to no experience defense and tackle deficient team that sometimes give up when they cant penetrate and leave the passing play for our S,C.
So my Q is do these kids run a 4-3 in highschools that we are recruiting them from? Do we need different blitz “packages” or more people running for the sack and hoping man to man will cover if the release is to fast. I think our woes is on what they’re telling them to do and not what they want to do.
If thats so changing from 3-4 to 4-3 is not the answer. I hope no D wakes up the rest of these games like the 4th qtr of last weeks game to save his job and make us think he can do something. Will it happen i wont hold my breath. I also would like something that is good against pass heavy teams we will play in the future. If i said anything wrong please correct me also. I read like 4 articles that stated advantages and disadvantages of both sides so i know im wrong on alot of it.
While I think to date, the defense hasn’t been as horrible as some have made it out to be, I think also the defense has benefited from the offense facing average to below average defenses all year so far. I think there will be a couple of games where the offense struggles much more than they did in the first and third quarters against Tulsa and in one of those games, it might be too much for the defense and they implode like happened last year against Tulsa. If the game where our offense struggles and the defense implodes ends up costing us winning the division, then I’d only assume Applewhite would change coordinators to keep the heat off himself.
Our D was why we won the game against Tulsa. We have had a change of pace with real blitz packages and held Tulsa to 4 field goals on 5 trips inside the red zones. A lot of Tulsa’s scoring was the result of turnovers by the offense that gave them great field position, including already being in field goal range. We always get Tulsa’s best effort of the year because, whether the opinion is reciprocated by UH, they consider us a big rival.
Let’s just see how the season turns out before we start planning on firing coaches. So far, I am happy with CMA and see improvement in CMD.
Our D is the reason why we lost against Tech. And why Game Day ain’t coming in Week 8 to UH. I’ve just seen the College Football schedule slate for that weekend, and oh my, UH missed a great opportunity of having two 7-0 teams squaring off at The Cage.
You get the best players you can, let the coaches mold them. The secondary and tackling need help, tape don’t lie…talent is what it is, tackling technique is biggest area coaching can improve…sure they’ve been working hard on improving it. Tackling is absolutely atrocious at the HS level in most games I’ve been to…see it over and over again and very seldom do coaches every teach/show them. Its crazy as there are some incredible HS offenses in Texas. It’s like no one has taught the kids how to do it
I agree on improving tackling. Scheme doesn’t matter if the the ball handler isn’t being tackled. Open field & one on one tackling needs to be addressed.
I think overall success is the most important thing. But the interview needs to bring out whether the candidates are in love with a particular “system” or able to adapt the style to fit the personnel on hand.
Do you believe if Applewhite has no division titles after 3 seasons, his 5 year contract still gives him a 4th year? That 4-1 record is a mirage right now. The team that beat us is 2-2 against the FBS and the 4 teams we beat are a combined 2-13 against the FBS. If we get through the next 3 weeks without a loss, I’ll be pleasantly surprised and much more optimistic about where we end up this season.
If Applewhite doesn’t win the division this year and makes no changes to his staff, then he either has a false sense of achievement or a false sense of security going into his third year.
He will have a contract for two more years from an institution that is bleeding cash with a big decision whether to buy out his contract and hire someone new.
So false wouldn’t really the proper term to use for his level of security.
Even promoting briles to head coach would mean coughing up some cash.
25k showing up on a beautiful thursday night (minimum 5k students), less than 20k sticking around past the 3rd quarter for our conference opener against a division opponent and getting an email and a call on my phone from the ticket office the next morning tells me that we can’t afford to keep Applewhite after 3 years if things don’t improve.
We are 4-1 and you want to fire the head coach because of bad attendance? How about firing some people in the marketing department, or better yet how about the dumb ticketing department that can’t even keep the seat pricing the same for one year without changing it. As long as Applewhite is winning he deserves to stay. I don’t remember you all wanting to fire Briles, Sumlin, or Herman whenever we didn’t sell out. We did not sell out every game when Herman was here either.
The next two road games will tell the tale. If UH is 6-1 and playing a ranked USF on 10-27 and still can’t attract a good crowd, it’s definitely not the fault of the HC. Even Big Herm in 2015 didn’t draw crowds until the last 1/3 of the season.
You said if attendance doesn’t approve in thee years we need to fire Applewhite. If he is winning you do not fire a coach based on attendance. It is not his job to sell seats. If the team is winning and people are not showing it is in the marketing department.
Personally watching a blow out every week is boring entertainment. Also going into the season the marketing was terrible. Nobody was producing content on the team except Duarte and the twitter posts from the program. It hard to get a city energized about a team when no one will cover them. Is Applewhite supposed to post articles on the team as well?
You need to go back and read the entire thread. I’ve clearly said that it’s going to take 3 years with no division titles to get him fired and the attendance part was a reply about not being able to afford firing him. It had nothing to do with his evaluation. Nothing