I think more than few eyebrows were raised when the new Off-Coords were announced. I know it comes at a bad time with the team involved in "spring" practice which is in the fall this year. Even so, it's always important to hire well so Coach Spack could have taken time to go outside the program. He chose not to do that so apparently he appreciated the talents of a couple of coaches already on the staff. If he was going to hire an OC from within I thought the choice was obvious. OL Coach Harold Etheridge is highly experienced and he has been an Off-Coord before at the FCS level. Coach Eth was the OC at Indiana St. in 2011 and 2012. ISU Blue was 6-5 and 7-4 in those two years. That may sound like a small boast but if you follow the MVFC you know that Ind St. is at the lower end of the facilities and fan support spectrum. Winning seasons in Terre Haute do not come easily. I had a lot of respect for Trent Miles the HC and I followed the career of Coach Eth. I rooted for him to do well in all games at Ind St. except for encounters with the Redbirds. The Sycs with Etheridge as OC actually won at North Dakota St. in 2012. The Redbirds haven't beaten the Bison since 2010. So if we were looking for an experienced and successful OC we had one, but we're going a different direction.
If all that sounds like serious second guessing it is not meant to be. I'm just saying Coach Eth was a solid option. Maybe there was a better one. Coaches Irvin and Muhammad-Lankford could be up and comers. If you have good young coaches you either promote them or lose them. Back in 1988-'89 Illinois State had a dynamic and demanding young WR's coach. His name was Urban Meyer. He was just a pup so I'm fairly sure Coach Heacock never gave much thought to making him Off-Coord. Too bad, Coach Meyer went on to win FBS National Championships as a HC at Florida and Ohio St. and he is considered one of the best minds in the business. So maybe Coach Spack likes what he sees in coaches Irvin and Muhammad-Lankford. Maybe C. J. Irvin is the next Urban Meyer. Maybe Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford is the next Tony Dungy. Dungy was a NFL Def-Coord by age 29.
Youth has been served
If all that sounds like serious second guessing it is not meant to be. I'm just saying Coach Eth was a solid option. Maybe there was a better one. Coaches Irvin and Muhammad-Lankford could be up and comers. If you have good young coaches you either promote them or lose them. Back in 1988-'89 Illinois State had a dynamic and demanding young WR's coach. His name was Urban Meyer. He was just a pup so I'm fairly sure Coach Heacock never gave much thought to making him Off-Coord. Too bad, Coach Meyer went on to win FBS National Championships as a HC at Florida and Ohio St. and he is considered one of the best minds in the business. So maybe Coach Spack likes what he sees in coaches Irvin and Muhammad-Lankford. Maybe C. J. Irvin is the next Urban Meyer. Maybe Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford is the next Tony Dungy. Dungy was a NFL Def-Coord by age 29.
Youth has been served
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