Arizona's OC Position

**ChrisMWilliams** · 01-25-2010, 10:11 AM

I saw somebody bring up Tom Herman's name with this job a few week's ago. Tim Griffin just blogged about this and no mention of Herman at all.

Could Big 12 play a part in filling Arizona position? - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

**abe2010** · 01-25-2010, 10:14 AM

do you think he even knows who our OC is?

**flynnhicks03** · 01-25-2010, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by ChrisMWilliams

I saw somebody bring up Tom Herman's name with this job a few week's ago. Tim Griffin just blogged about this and no mention of Herman at all.

Could Big 12 play a part in filling Arizona position? - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

Seems like a lateral move to me. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

**ChrisMWilliams** · 01-25-2010, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by abe2010

do you think he even knows who our OC is?

Stoops, yes. Griffin...I don't think so.

**Bobber** · 01-25-2010, 10:20 AM

I was totally unimpressed with Hermen this year myself...

I'm hoping to see better from him before he bolts anywhere...

**jtdoyle1** · 01-25-2010, 10:24 AM

Why would another school want to hire one of our coaches away that has little experience and success in a BCS conference setting.

I'm not too worried about Herman going anywhere for a while...

I said the same thing about Chizik though.

**ISUonthemove** · 01-25-2010, 10:27 AM

Herman still needs to prove himself. He was at Rice for two years. Yes, their offense was explosive in his second year but it could have been from a lot of different factors. I think he needs to have that kind of success again before anyone comes looking for him.

**mt85** · 01-25-2010, 10:29 AM

If I'm not mistaken, this speculation was introduced by a Rice fan that follows Herman's career. Thus, I'm not surprised there is no mention of this outside a Cyclone message board.

**Al_4_State** · 01-25-2010, 10:38 AM

Herman hasn't proven enough here yet. If we blow up next year, I cold see it, but I think he's 3-4 years here. My gut feeling tells me he's going to look for a head coaching job (or coach in waiting situation) before he'd leave.

**erikbj** · 01-25-2010, 10:43 AM

His next step will be a head coach, he gets ISU's offense going then gets a mid-major or door-mat BCS job.

**d4nim4l** · 01-25-2010, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by mt85

If I'm not mistaken, this speculation was introduced by a Rice fan that follows Herman's career. Thus, I'm not surprised there is no mention of this outside a Cyclone message board.

This is true. The guy is a big Herman fan and came to the board after he got hired here.

**jaretac** · 01-25-2010, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Bobber

I was totally unimpressed with Hermen this year myself...

I'm hoping to see better from him before he bolts anywhere...

I was actually impressed. Did we see the high power attack we thought we would, no; but we didn't have the bone headed stupid play calls we usually have. Herman knew that he didn't have the wheels so he used the offense in the way that was most effective instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

**CloneIce** · 01-25-2010, 11:05 AM

Based on the last season, I don't think Herman will be pursued by too many BCS level schools until he shows more. Our running game improved under Herman and our passing game regressed. Overall our offense was about the same as the previous season, probably slightly better. Our offensive line improved alot though, so you would have expected more improvement in the scoring column. I really think both Mcfarland and Herman both did solid jobs for us as OC but neither distinguished themselves from the other.

If there is one thing I am hoping to see from TH's offense next year, is a set where AA is under center for 3rd and 4th down and short. Running shotgun handoffs in short yardage situation killed us this season. It doesn't work for anybody and it always drives me nuts when teams won't switch up their formation for 3rd or 4th and short. I know we are a shotgun team but that doesn't mean we can't line our 6-5, 230 lb QB up under center on 3rd and a foot to run the sneak for a first down!

**Billups06** · 01-25-2010, 11:07 AM

I wasn't overly impressed either. I think it's more because Arnaud is not a true quarterback, he won games this year with his legs and athletic ability. I'm hoping he develops some sort of consistency throwing the ball this winter/spring/fall before the season starts, this Offense needs an accurate QB.

**d4nim4l** · 01-25-2010, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by CloneIce

If there is one thing I am hoping to see from TH's offense next year, is a set where AA is under center for 3rd and 4th down and short. Running shotgun handoffs in short yardage situation killed us this season. It doesn't work for anybody and it always drives me nuts when teams won't switch up their formation for 3rd or 4th and short. I know we are a shotgun team but that doesn't mean we can't line our 6-5, 230 lb QB up under center on 3rd and a foot to run the sneak for a first down!

No, no, no. Unless it's a sneak we cannot go under center.

Herman addresses this issue sometime during the season when someone asked him why we don't go under center more. His response was the blocking techniques taught from a shotgun based set to a traditional under center are very different. We lack the explosiveness and athleticism on our line necessary for an under center running game. We have a package in for times we are backed up on our own goal line (see: Nebraska) but other than that is run very rarely.

I would say our shotgun based running worked pretty well this year. Watch and see that the depth A-Rob is taking the handoff is not much different than the depth he would take one from an under center set. The biggest difference is it is harder for him to get downhill but if our guys cannot sustain blocks from an under center set then it's a moot point anyway.

If there is anything I wanted to see different on 3rd and short it is more use of Austen in just direct snaps and bowling over a defender for the first down. Rice had a couple of big sets that basically used their QB for that exact purpose. I imagine Austen's hand injury didn't help with this.