Hire Simon as OC NOW!

That’s great coordinating and quarterbacking.

unlike last week when a wideout dropped a wide out dropped a wide open slant

Everyone makes mistakes.

But yeah, I don't see the current coordinator managing a solid blitz pickup and key conversion against a DL with future high NFL draft picks on it.
 

Can we stop bumping old threads. This is quite triggering for some posters and I think we need some more humility on this board
 

There's WAY more to being a coordinator than calling plays. Breaking down film, gameplanning, self-scouting, creating practice plans, communicating with position coaches, making hard personnel decisions...and the list goes on. Calling plays is obviously a HUGE part of it, and if Simon has a gift for that then I totally agree that Fleck should use it. But it doesn't mean he's ready or qualified to be an OC.
 

There's WAY more to being a coordinator than calling plays. Breaking down film, gameplanning, self-scouting, creating practice plans, communicating with position coaches, making hard personnel decisions...and the list goes on. Calling plays is obviously a HUGE part of it, and if Simon has a gift for that then I totally agree that Fleck should use it. But it doesn't mean he's ready or qualified to be an OC.
Yeah I'm not against a change, and I love what Simon did vs Auburn, that will be a great moment in Gopher history for a long time.

I just don't know if he fits the role outside that. Maybe later? Maybe now? Duno, I'm sure there's a great play caller out there who, can't croot, or can't do well outside weeks of preparation ... so on. Who knows.
 

Yeah I'm not against a change, and I love what Simon did vs Auburn, that will be a great moment in Gopher history for a long time.

I just don't know if he fits the role outside that. Maybe later? Maybe now? Duno, I'm sure there's a great play caller out there who, can't croot, or can't do well outside weeks of preparation ... so on. Who knows.
If we are going to move on from Sanford it makes sense to give Simon a trial run during this season.
 
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There's WAY more to being a coordinator than calling plays. Breaking down film, gameplanning, self-scouting, creating practice plans, communicating with position coaches, making hard personnel decisions...and the list goes on. Calling plays is obviously a HUGE part of it, and if Simon has a gift for that then I totally agree that Fleck should use it. But it doesn't mean he's ready or qualified to be an OC.
Simon made gameplans for Ciarrocca. He was already passing-game coordinator, back then.

And, you know, he was the OC for the Auburn game.


Silly to suggest he's not ready to take over. That's like suggesting Rossi wasn't ready to take over.
 


There's WAY more to being a coordinator than calling plays. Breaking down film, gameplanning, self-scouting, creating practice plans, communicating with position coaches, making hard personnel decisions...and the list goes on. Calling plays is obviously a HUGE part of it, and if Simon has a gift for that then I totally agree that Fleck should use it. But it doesn't mean he's ready or qualified to be an OC.
I think you're right on Simon. The jury is still out on him, but I do think that the verdict is back on Sanford in multiple stops ands it's not good. I'd rather risk it with Simon than have hired Sanford
 

Yeah that's usually the SOP unless you got a guy on the other phone.
True we may not know what PJ has up his sleeve, I am not saying Simon is a gaurantee but you'd hate to not give him a chance if Purdue goes sidways.
 



Simon made gameplans for Ciarrocca. He was already passing-game coordinator, back then.

And, you know, he was the OC for the Auburn game.


Silly to suggest he's not ready to take over. That's like suggesting Rossi wasn't ready to take over.
Why would it be silly to muse whether Rossi was ready. He wasn't a good DC at Rutgers and his stock had fallen so low he was making sure kids went to class when he first got here. There wasn't a ton of evidence that he'd be a panacea when Smobb Rith was canned.
 

Why would it be silly to muse whether Rossi was ready. He wasn't a good DC at Rutgers and his stock had fallen so low he was making sure kids went to class when he first got here. There wasn't a ton of evidence that he'd be a panacea when Smobb Rith was canned.
These are fair points .... if the argument was that Simon won't be a good OC.

The argument was that Simon isn't ready or qualified to be an OC period.
 

These are fair points .... if the argument was that Simon won't be a good OC.

The argument was that Simon isn't ready or qualified to be an OC period.
Good point -- I've said it before regarding Fleck, but he had said he wants his OC to coach the quarterbacks. Thus I don't think Simon will ever be qualified unless Fleck changes the structure of his staff.
 

Why would it be silly to muse whether Rossi was ready. He wasn't a good DC at Rutgers and his stock had fallen so low he was making sure kids went to class when he first got here. There wasn't a ton of evidence that he'd be a panacea when Smobb Rith was canned.
Picking coordinators and head coaches is hard.

Sometimes I think it's one of those industries where the folks who do all the jobs leading up to those top positions ... generally aren't necessarily the best pool take the top positions for those jobs.

Not that picking some rando would work, but the pool and the way things work just might not allow for very many good outcomes when it comes to picking someone to lead.
 



Regardless, I don't trust the media to press Fleck on play-calling. They don't get it.

They want to focus on the players. I guess that sells better.
 

This is a tough spot for Fleck. He wants the Sanford hire to be successful as it reflects on him and I think the last thing he wants to do is fire the guy he brought in. Still - he knows what the Robb Smith firing did for the team. It very well might have saved HIS job because that defense just didn't work and we simply wouldn't have won very many games with it. The offense is the same way. Everyone is pointing fingers at Sanford right now and blaming him but those fingers will be pointing in PJ Fleck's direction if the offense continues to flounder.

And I just don't get it. Some of the coaches that failed here had excellent offenses. Joe Salem's run and shoot (with Mike Shanahan as OC) was fun to watch, Gutey's offense was better, even Jim Wacker's offense was miles ahead of this one. Mason probably had my favorite offense - we could run on ANYONE and I was not happy when Brewster changed it each year to something worse than the year before. Now all of a sudden our offense stinks. Brewster, Kill and now Fleck's offenses can't move the ball effectively, even against Bowling Green with supposedly much better talent.

This might be a very simple fix, just as changing defensive coordinators was a few years ago. One thing we can all agree on -- you have GOT to make some changes because this offense is just stuck in first gear.
 

Simon made gameplans for Ciarrocca. He was already passing-game coordinator, back then.

And, you know, he was the OC for the Auburn game.


Silly to suggest he's not ready to take over. That's like suggesting Rossi wasn't ready to take over.
Does Simon not have any say or influence over the offense now?. If he does I'm a little hesitant to say he's the guy given the performance so far.
 

Does Simon not have any say or influence over the offense now?. If he does I'm a little hesitant to say he's the guy given the performance so far.
Good question. He is the "Co-offensive coordinator", although Sanford is simply the "offensive coordinator" (not co- ... makes sense).

To me that says that Sanford gets to overrule whatever he wants and have the last word on the gameplan and play-calls.

IE, I would guess Simon is still passing-game coordinator de facto, and Fleck just "upgraded" his title for appearances and perhaps to enable him to pay a higher salary.
 

Good question. He is the "Co-offensive coordinator", although Sanford is simply the "offensive coordinator" (not co- ... makes sense).

To me that says that Sanford gets to overrule whatever he wants and have the last word on the gameplan and play-calls.

IE, I would guess Simon is still passing-game coordinator de facto, and Fleck just "upgraded" his title for appearances and perhaps to enable him to pay a higher salary.
This is true and only Fleck knows how much of an impact each is having on the gameplan. He has got to be smart enough to know how he can fix it because it's obviously broken right now. I believe he has the talent to do it - he just needs to know what changes need to be made or they ALL will be out in the streets looking for a job and I am not talking about USC, either!!
 

unlike last week when a wideout dropped a wide out dropped a wide open slant
That's just my point... If Tanner has lost confidence because he's not getting the same level of play from his receivers, it's not gonna go well.

My hope is that the Gophers get CrAB and Wright on the field and throw it all over the field in the first quarter. That would be a big boost to Morgan's confidence.

If he can't get it done, though... I want him yanked. If the OL still has problems, the Gophers might have to put in a running QB. If it's a matter of poor throws, a better passer needs to be found. The Gophers do have options if either scenario occurs.

Obviously, the best thing for the Gophers is for Tanner to light them up. I'm hoping he does, but I'm not holding my breath...
 

This is a tough spot for Fleck. He wants the Sanford hire to be successful as it reflects on him and I think the last thing he wants to do is fire the guy he brought in. Still - he knows what the Robb Smith firing did for the team. It very well might have saved HIS job because that defense just didn't work and we simply wouldn't have won very many games with it. The offense is the same way. Everyone is pointing fingers at Sanford right now and blaming him but those fingers will be pointing in PJ Fleck's direction if the offense continues to flounder.

And I just don't get it. Some of the coaches that failed here had excellent offenses. Joe Salem's run and shoot (with Mike Shanahan as OC) was fun to watch, Gutey's offense was better, even Jim Wacker's offense was miles ahead of this one. Mason probably had my favorite offense - we could run on ANYONE and I was not happy when Brewster changed it each year to something worse than the year before. Now all of a sudden our offense stinks. Brewster, Kill and now Fleck's offenses can't move the ball effectively, even against Bowling Green with supposedly much better talent.

This might be a very simple fix, just as changing defensive coordinators was a few years ago. One thing we can all agree on -- you have GOT to make some changes because this offense is just stuck in first gear.
Yes the offense vs BG was awful. But it’s still a far superior offense to what Brew and Kill had, even with Sanford. Brew lacked talent across the offense (especially rb and oline) and the OC turnover sucked. Kill lacked talent somewhat too (o line, qb, wrs), and the offensive coaching was lacking as well. Fleck has brought in much more talent across the board and this offense is superior even with Sanford, but it’s not at the level it should/could be.
 

These are fair points .... if the argument was that Simon won't be a good OC.

The argument was that Simon isn't ready or qualified to be an OC period
.
Actually, my argument was that there's more to being an OC than calling plays...and because most of us have no idea what goes on behind closed doors in the FB complex we don't KNOW whether Simon is ready or qualified in the other areas. If you know for a fact he's been doing all these duties at a high level already, then you know more than I do...and I'm flummoxed as to why he wasn't given the job when KC left. All I know is he appears to be a very capable WR coach and he calleda good game against Auburn (although the chatter leading up to that game was the KC had already designed the gameplan and begun installing it before he left...but again, that's hearsay).

Simon very well could be ready...in which case his time could come very soon. I'd have zero problem with it.
 

That's just my point... If Tanner has lost confidence because he's not getting the same level of play from his receivers, it's not gonna go well.

My hope is that the Gophers get CrAB and Wright on the field and throw it all over the field in the first quarter. That would be a big boost to Morgan's confidence.

If he can't get it done, though... I want him yanked. If the OL still has problems, the Gophers might have to put in a running QB. If it's a matter of poor throws, a better passer needs to be found. The Gophers do have options if either scenario occurs.

Obviously, the best thing for the Gophers is for Tanner to light them up. I'm hoping he does, but I'm not holding my breath...
You think the wideout dropped it because tanner didn’t have confidence?
 

Actually, my argument was that there's more to being an OC than calling plays...and because most of us have no idea what goes on behind closed doors in the FB complex we don't KNOW whether Simon is ready or qualified in the other areas. If you know for a fact he's been doing all these duties at a high level already, then you know more than I do...and I'm flummoxed as to why he wasn't given the job when KC left. All I know is he appears to be a very capable WR coach and he calleda good game against Auburn (although the chatter leading up to that game was the KC had already designed the gameplan and begun installing it before he left...but again, that's hearsay).
Simon very well could be ready...in which case his time could come very soon. I'd have zero problem with it.
There is no proof that Simon wants the job.
he was the most logical candidate, didn’t get it, and hasn’t left in 2 offseasons to take an equivalent job that he could probably get somewhere else.

this leads me to believe Simon isn’t chomping at the bit for it
 

Actually, my argument was that there's more to being an OC than calling plays...and because most of us have no idea what goes on behind closed doors in the FB complex we don't KNOW whether Simon is ready or qualified in the other areas. If you know for a fact he's been doing all these duties at a high level already, then you know more than I do...and I'm flummoxed as to why he wasn't given the job when KC left. All I know is he appears to be a very capable WR coach and he calleda good game against Auburn (although the chatter leading up to that game was the KC had already designed the gameplan and begun installing it before he left...but again, that's hearsay).

Simon very well could be ready...in which case his time could come very soon. I'd have zero problem with it.
OK, fair enough.
 

If you go with Simon does that mean you add dollars to his contract? As I believe that OC position pays more than a normal assistant receives. so then it would be logical to cut Sandford’s contract by the same amount. Here in lies the rub. I guess a solution would be to keep Simon’s salary as is and tell him that he will be compensated with his next contract.
 

Simon made gameplans for Ciarrocca. He was already passing-game coordinator, back then.

And, you know, he was the OC for the Auburn game.


Silly to suggest he's not ready to take over. That's like suggesting Rossi wasn't ready to take over.
How do you know Simon made game plans for C? I heard C made the game plan for the Auburn game and Simon of course called the plays. But I heard the game plan was complete before C left.
 

Yes the offense vs BG was awful. But it’s still a far superior offense to what Brew and Kill had, even with Sanford. Brew lacked talent across the offense (especially rb and oline) and the OC turnover sucked. Kill lacked talent somewhat too (o line, qb, wrs), and the offensive coaching was lacking as well. Fleck has brought in much more talent across the board and this offense is superior even with Sanford, but it’s not at the level it should/could be.
Yes, the current personnel is clearly better than Brewster and Kill teams. The playcalling has been atrociously simple and predictable, nullifying any advantages the Gophers have against teams like BG and Miami. They seem to get more risk-adverse every game. It's Limegrover-like. Arguably worse last game.

You watch other games and think to yourself, these teams aren't special, yet they are actually capable of using a full playbook and running a balanced offense. At our low points last year, we were basically squib kicking every kickoff, while simultaneously fair-catching every return. Not playing backups in blowouts, when mistakes have no real consequences.

This white knuckle approach comes from the top, and PJ needs to start trusting his players more, not "getting more simple" as he put it this week. Simple is terrible for the football-watching fans, for the players, and most importantly, isn't currently getting results.
 

If you go with Simon does that mean you add dollars to his contract? As I believe that OC position pays more than a normal assistant receives. so then it would be logical to cut Sandford’s contract by the same amount. Here in lies the rub. I guess a solution would be to keep Simon’s salary as is and tell him that he will be compensated with his next contract.
That's how it works at a lot of jobs!
 

The Gopher football season quickly becomes so uncertain. Will Simon be able to fix the problem at this stage?

Did Sanford Jr poison the well by causing players to think too much instead of reacting? TM just simply regressed. There is a failure to quickly acclimate the passing game to the new WRs and the TEs.

With the talent and experience that they have, Sanford Jr is running out of excuses. There are trust issues everywhere. The big one is whether PJ Fleck can entrust the offense to his OC.

Figure out how to establish the run game with a revived passing game. His Offense is now so predictable it is pathetic.

Robb Smith did the defensive game plan on paper that looked like perfect chess pieces. He was trying to shove square pegs in round holes.

Is this happening on Offense with Sanford Jr? He better figure it out quickly.
 

If you go with Simon does that mean you add dollars to his contract? As I believe that OC position pays more than a normal assistant receives. so then it would be logical to cut Sandford’s contract by the same amount. Here in lies the rub. I guess a solution would be to keep Simon’s salary as is and tell him that he will be compensated with his next contract.
There is no rub. Simon is already listed (and paid) as co-offensive coordinator. They aren't going to take away Sanford's title or try to re-negotiate his contract in the middle of the season. If they take away his play calling responsibilities, I'd guess he moves on after the season.
 




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