I hope Simon will be the one calling the plays and Sanford just focuses on developing TM. What we have now (RPO) works, just keep at it. Concerned that this Sanford guy will come in and throw all this BS at TM and confuse him even more.
Sanford has worked at ND and Stanford but he had great players to work with. His success at those places were not all him. When he was at WKY and at Utah State, he pretty much sucked. His “recruiting talents” is yet to be determined.
When I interview for a new team member for my work, the number one red flag in a resume for me as an employer is how a candidate jumps jobs. This Sanford guy’s resume has nothing but red flags all over it. Not only he’s jumping to a new job every year, but none of his accomplishments were that impressive AND there weren’t any “trend of improvement”, if anything his trend went from OK to poor.
I know time will tell but I’m not a fan of this guy, how he looks, where he worked, what he has done, and what potentially he could bring for us.
I would’ve voted for promoting Simon to sole OC and hire an awesome QB coach. If we end up 6-7 next year, it’ll be this Sanford dude’s fault! Yup? Just him.
Change is inevitable, and the Gophers have to adapt and use that as an opportunity for improvement. So, relax. Obviously, the Gophers see Sanford as a good fit. I am sure PJ Fleck made it very clear how he wants the offense run. I think Sanford and Simon will put in some new kinks to improve their version of RPO
based on personnel. Ciarrocca was successful because he knows how to tap the strengths of his players, and adapt and design plays accordingly. Success is in the detailed work and hours of film work. This is a learning opportunity for Simon, the understudy.
I am excited to see what plays and adjustments/improvements Sanford can incorporate into the Gophers' RPO repertoire. The most important thing is that PJ Fleck's organization is committed to success and improvement of coaches and players.
This is opportunity for growth. Of course, growth is fraught with danger. But, you work the details and collaborate with your coaches. Your coaches closely evaluate your players to determine their strengths and weaknesses. You make adaptations based on personnel. You work to help them continually improve in all facets of their life as student athletes. That is how you build a winning team. Not by what their resume or star ratings say. What kind of attitude and will to succeed do they have? People like PJ Fleck seem to have a very good understanding of human nature. They know how to flip switches to make people and organizations become successful.
It is no accident that a team with only 5 4-Star players was able to beat a team loaded with 4 5-Star and multiple 4-Star players. The Gophers have become a well-prepared and a united well-oiled team in all sense of the word going into the Outback Bowl.
As someone has said, Sanford has developed QBs and is a good recruiter which are added bonuses. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. He may surprise.
You seem to look at improvements as linear. I prefer PJ Fleck's Zig-zag chart. Kirk Ciarrocca failed miserably at Rutgers and Schiano fired him. So that is a red flag that you are looking for? Failure is growth. You learn a lot more from your failures.
In my lifetime, HR always seem to line people with perfect resumes. You know what. Those weren't the kind of people you necessarily want. They leave a lot of good candidates out.
