February 9, 2007
Sporting News: Dorrell’s OC Hire Best Move Of Offseason
The media’s love affair with Dorrell continues. Sporting News college football analyst Matt Hayes is calling Dorrell’s hire of Training Jay Norvell as OC “the best move of the offseason.” Bigger than, oh, say perennial doormat North Carolina hiring Butch Davis? Or say Arizona State hiring Dennis Erickson? How about Louisvillie picking up Steve Kragthorpe? Miami picking up Cam Cameron for OC? Hard to believe that Training Jay, who has never called one single play himself, whom Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan didn’t trust as OC for 3 years to call a single play, is a better pickup than any of those.
Maybe we are being a little unfair here, maybe Matt Hayes really does know what a great play-caller Training Jay is. Let’s take a look what Hayes says:
The best move of the offseason was Bruins coach Karl Dorrell’s luring Jay Norvell from Nebraska. One of the game’s best teachers, Norvell was hamstrung with the Huskers by an awkward coaching lineup: He coached the quarterbacks and coordinated the offense, and coach Bill Callahan called the plays.
Norvell somehow squeezed an All-Big 12 season out of a physically limited player, quarterback Zac Taylor, amid the constraints of Callahan’s eccentric play-calling. If Norvell does the same with UCLA quarterback Ben Olson, a physically gifted athlete with NFL measurables, the loaded Bruins will be competing for a Pac-10 championship — and possibly more.
Our bad, Hayes doesn’t actually say anything about Training Jay’s play-calling. He says he’s a great “teacher,” especially for QBs. Nice. We got ourselves a great QB coach. Just one problem, Training Jay is the OC and will be coordinating the offense and calling plays. Hayes says nothing about that. He doesn’t even provide any critique on Training Jay’s game coordinating at Nebraska. Hayes only talks about his QB teaching. Nice analysis there Matt. “Best offseason move.” Hayes obviously didn’t put much thought into this big announcement.
You know that announcement is going to get thrown around by the Dorrellistas for months on end. And there is nothing to support it. It’s just more of the same year in year out. Last year it was the great hire of Jim Svoboda, the decorated champion in Div 1AA. We’ve seen this before. If this media love for Dorrell helps propel him to the NFL then it will be worth it. That’s the positive we will take from this.
11 Comments on Sporting News: Dorrell’s OC Hire Best Move Of Offseason
February 9, 2007
tradegreeen @ 9:44 am:
Butch Davis was not an offseason change, it was a mid season change. Dennis Erickson is a good coach with very questionable ethics. If it is win at all cost, who cares about recruiting violations, DUIs, academics, or character, he is a good hire.
Looking at the offense last year, we certainly could benefit more than any of these other teams from an OC. If the sporting news is right, and he runs a great offense, he will end up doing more for UCLA than any of those other guys are gonna do for their teams.
I don’t know if Jay is gonna work out or not, but I don’t see any reason not to believe he will. All the newspaper accounts, and stuff I read from Nebraska fans seem to suggest he is hard working, smart, good with kids, competitive, a great relentless recruiter, and if anything, hampered by Callahans need for control.
steve @ 10:35 am:
This is for tradegreen. You’re wrong buddy. Butch Davis was hired by NC during the off-season. It was in November but NC was already done. He has not coached a game.
tradegreeen @ 11:02 am:
Butch Davis was hired 11/14. NC played NC on 11/18 and Duke on 11/25. He didn’t coach those games, but he was put in place before the offseason.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/acc/2006-11-13-north-carolina-davis_x.htm?csp=34
http://northcarolina.rivals.com/default.asp?Type=1
tradegreeen @ 11:02 am:
I meant NC played NC State….
steve @ 11:19 am:
still, technically Butch Davis was not head coach until the end of the season. He is an off season hire.
tradegreeen @ 12:11 pm:
nonsense. his contract was signed during the season. Like Floyd at SUC. He’s only an offseason hire if he is hired in the offseason.
steve @ 1:14 pm:
it’t not worth playing semantics. NC gets Butch Davis AFTER last season. That is the same timeframe that all other newly hired coaches take over their responsibilities. Good on NC for landing Davis before everyone else could get a shot at him. Butch Davis is a much better hire than Training Jay for UCLA.
Trade, you're a true optimist @ 2:47 pm:
Coach Norvell brings absolutely NO RECORD to Westwood. He was the QB coach, and thus credited with “squeezing all Big-12″ out of Zac Taylor. He was not the OC if he did not call plays. Presumably he was not brought in to squeeze talent out of multi-talented Ben Olson, but rather to call the plays, something for which he has proven nothing. In short, Coach Dorrell hired something just like himself, to be put in a program just like he was put in. And how did that little experiment turn out? Coach Dorrell has the WORST THREE AND FOUR YEAR RECORD OF ANY BRUIN HEAD COACH SINCE WWII. (Dump Dorrell put those numbers together several weeks ago.)
I have the good fortune to live in the Tampa area. I have the poor fortune to root for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who since their creation have finished in last place every year. The have a new Japanese third baseman, and a new pitching coach. Based on your reasoning, I should expect the Rays to at least crowd the Yankees for first place, if not win it outright.
The fact of the matter is that Coach Dorrell has once again established the validity of the Peter Principle. He was promoted to his level of incompetence. He simply does not know how to coach a formerly elite D-1 school. His record proves that. His inexpicable hire of a coach with no performance record to evaluate or critique is just the latest example of his shortcomings. Bruin or not, good guy or not, former star player or not, he must go if the football program is to recover.
If you elect to continue the debate, please point to some fact to show that my reasoning is faulty. After you cite to 12-2-06 (for which we will be forever grateful), then what?
mike morgan @ 3:53 pm:
I would say DJ McCarthy is looking (Or asked to look) since he interviewed at u dub for there open spot on offense.
This would allow KD to hire a top notched WR coach.
I heard from one of the bruin wide outs that DJ is a nice guy but over his head as a coach, maybe KD is trying to fix a problem?
DumpDorrell @ 7:40 pm:
Mike … do you have an online source regarding DJ McCarthy?
mike morgan @ 9:51 pm:
Washington papers and a friend of and friend on washingtons staff.