Kirk Ciarrocca Is Back Running the Gopher Offense - Press Conference

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Interesting to hear both KC and PJ talk about how comfortable it was right away, almost like he never left. Here's hoping they can recapture the magic of 2019 when our offense was special. Yes we had a couple great WR but it was more than just that.
 

Yes, they were a little more assertive with their overall play-calling........
 

The Gopher got their pep in their step back!
 

I really like this guy. Reading between the lines it’s interesting how his experience at PSU went - sounds like there may have been a lack of chemistry between coaches and maybe a certain QB but I could be reading too much into it. Given what happened though, maybe not.

Tanner has to be thrilled. I suspect they have real chemistry, and Kirk will give him a chance to shine.



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I forgot how much I like Kirk. His offensive gameplans always had wrinkles and counters to what the defense was giving them. And then he had counters to those counters.

With all the returning leaders on offense, 22 could be a great season for the Maroon and Gold.
 



Hopefully this will be like putting on an old glove that still fits perfectly. Morgan may not have Johnson or Bateman to throw to, but I would think the return of KC alone would give Morgan and incredible boost in confidence, which will help the offense as a whole, not just the QB.

Also found it interesting that he was specifically asked about throwing to the tight ends. That concern obviously extends beyond the Gopher Hole.
 
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KIRK CIARROCCA = SILENT BUT DEADLY

KIRK CIARROCCA + JOE ROSSI = DOUBLE DEADLY

As with Ben Johnson, both are detail guys.
 
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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I always like listening to Kirk.

He says he isn’t great at speaking but I think he is very up front and interesting to listen to.
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He comes across as someone who isn't really comfortable in front of the camera but does a solid job when put in that situation.

He strikes me as the type that will be more than happy to be a coordinator for his career as opposed to chasing the spotlight of being a head coach someday.
 

TE's- He said that he uses their skills. BSF has the tools, Penn State TE's had the tools. Some are really good and knocking the crap out of the other team than catching passes.

Simon- "Was he the CO-OC when I was here? I don't remember" "He's going to be an OC someday."
 

MaxyJR1 said:
TE's- He said that he uses their skills. BSF has the tools, Penn State TE's had the tools. Some are really good and knocking the crap out of the other team than catching passes.

Simon- "Was he the CO-OC when I was here? I don't remember" "He's going to be an OC someday."
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TE talk ;)

Prob a good example how we sweat the “co” stuff but not sure everyone does.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
TE's- He said that he uses their skills. BSF has the tools, Penn State TE's had the tools. Some are really good and knocking the crap out of the other team than catching passes.

Simon- "Was he the CO-OC when I was here? I don't remember" "He's going to be an OC someday."
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I found that piece interesting. Id have to go back and watch PJs presser but I thought he alluded to something about Kirk and the long term plan here. Maybe he is planning on grooming Matt.
We’ll see. Happy to have him back
 

Clearly well liked, and clearly a talented schemer, play-caller, and QB coach.

He left because he does not want to be in the state of Minnesota, physically, and as far as I know that is to do with family situation.

Unless that situation has changed, I don't see why this isn't anything more than a stop-gap measure for both him and the Gophers.


But we'll certainly take it!
 

MplsGopher said:
Clearly well liked, and clearly a talented schemer, play-caller, and QB coach.

He left because he does not want to be in the state of Minnesota, physically, and as far as I know that is to do with family situation.

Unless that situation has changed, I don't see why this isn't anything more than a stop-gap measure for both him and the Gophers.


But we'll certainly take it!
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Do you really think he's make this move if he didn't plan on being here at least a few years, I'm sure that Fleck would have discussed that with him....C'Mon Man! .... as they'd say on ESPN
 

U2Gopher said:
Hopefully this will be like putting on an old glove that still fits perfectly. Morgan may not have Johnson or Bateman to throw to, but I would think the return of KC alone would give Morgan and incredible boost in confidence, which will help the offense as a whole, not just the QB.

Also found it interesting that he was specifically asked about throwing to the tight ends. That concern obviously extends beyond the Gopher Hole.
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Listening to Tanner's interview sounded like he was almost alluding to the fact that things were not really very good under Sanford. He made a comment about needing to fix some things, and there was another comment as well that seemed a little disguised. I think Tanner is pleased to have KC back and I expect his performance to be a lot closer to his 2019 season.
 

MplsGopher said:
Clearly well liked, and clearly a talented schemer, play-caller, and QB coach.

He left because he does not want to be in the state of Minnesota, physically, and as far as I know that is to do with family situation.

Unless that situation has changed, I don't see why this isn't anything more than a stop-gap measure for both him and the Gophers.


But we'll certainly take it!
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Could not disagree with this take more.

There is no way Fleck would have brought him back if he didn't think KC would be sticking around this time. It would make no sense at all to rehire a guy you know hates it in a particular location and is going to jump ship within a short amount of time. That would be a terrible decision for the football program.
 

Triple D said:
Do you really think he's make this move if he didn't plan on being here at least a few years
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Yes.

He was an analyst at WV, because he got tossed out by Franklin at PSU, and the WV coach liked him so much he gave him an analyst position.

He would be WV's OC right now, if he had decided to take that offer after the 2018 season. WVU is very close to Pittsburgh.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Could not disagree with this take more.

There is no way Fleck would have brought him back if he didn't think KC would be sticking around this time. It would make no sense at all to rehire a guy you know hates it in a particular location and is going to jump ship within a short amount of time. That would be a terrible decision for the football program.
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I think you're wrong, on pretty much every assertion here.

It could make all the sense in the world, to hire KC short term. As one wild example: to prep Simon to take over long term, while waiting for an Eastern P5 OC position to open up for a move back home.


He tried to leave after 2018 to WV. He did leave after 2019 to PSU.

I think you're silly to think he won't do it again, unless - like I said - something fundamental has changed about the (family?) situation that was leading him to want to get back more East in the first place.
 


GopherPete said:
Listening to Tanner's interview sounded like he was almost alluding to the fact that things were not really very good under Sanford. He made a comment about needing to fix some things, and there was another comment as well that seemed a little disguised. I think Tanner is pleased to have KC back and I expect his performance to be a lot closer to his 2019 season.
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Yeah, the fixing a lot of stuff comment could almost could be seen as a little bit of a slip, or maybe just “coachspeak” for getting better every day…but could be taken as an insult. Ask Deuce Hogans mom? Later in the presser he kind of thinks and laughs for a second when he is asked about the transition back to Kirk and states helpful Ciarocca understands their offense. Came out a bit awkward, maybe he was just tongue tied or he was trying to state Kirk is a better details guy in a diplomatic way. This could all be construed as criticism of the former OC.

He went above and beyond praising Kirk’s attention to every detail, game prep, and ability to prepare Morgan and the assistants for what he/they was/were likely to see during the game. He sounded relieved, to me.


 

MNVCGUY said:
He comes across as someone who isn't really comfortable in front of the camera but does a solid job when put in that situation.

He strikes me as the type that will be more than happy to be a coordinator for his career as opposed to chasing the spotlight of being a head coach someday.
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Yeah - this dude is an OC through and through. I always loved PJ telling the story of Kirk game planning for the PSU game in 2019. They had a bye week (so did PSU), so all the coaches went out recruiting except for Kirk. He stayed in the football offices all by himself for a whole week. Dudes a grinder and a film junkie...that's how you want your OC to operate.

I wonder how much time PJ spends grinding away at film? I feel like he's got too much other stuff to do and trusts his staff to game plan
 

KoolAid said:
Yeah - this dude is an OC through and through. I always loved PJ telling the story of Kirk game planning for the PSU game in 2019. They had a bye week (so did PSU), so all the coaches went out recruiting except for Kirk. He stayed in the football offices all by himself for a whole week. Dudes a grinder and a film junkie...that's how you want your OC to operate.

I wonder how much time PJ spends grinding away at film? I feel like he's got too much other stuff to do and trusts his staff to game plan
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From the press conferences I get the feeling PJ let’s his coordinators do their thing, but I think he is more knowledgeable than he lets on.
 

MplsGopher said:
I think you're wrong, on pretty much every assertion here.

It could make all the sense in the world, to hire KC short term. As one wild example: to prep Simon to take over long term, while waiting for an Eastern P5 OC position to open up for a move back home.


He tried to leave after 2018 to WV. He did leave after 2019 to PSU.

I think you're silly to think he won't do it again, unless - like I said - something fundamental has changed about the (family?) situation that was leading him to want to get back more East in the first place.
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Sounded like their were some health things going on within Kirk’s family. I assume things have improved if he is willing to come back.
 

MplsGopher said:
I think you're wrong, on pretty much every assertion here.

It could make all the sense in the world, to hire KC short term. As one wild example: to prep Simon to take over long term, while waiting for an Eastern P5 OC position to open up for a move back home.


He tried to leave after 2018 to WV. He did leave after 2019 to PSU.

I think you're silly to think he won't do it again, unless - like I said - something fundamental has changed about the (family?) situation that was leading him to want to get back more East in the first place.
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We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one I guess because we are miles apart if you really believe Fleck would bring KC back knowing he would only be around for a short amount of time.

Flack doesn't need a stop gap or short term solution. The idea that he would go to the trouble of hiring KC to come back and prep Simon for the OC job is laughable.

The two work really well together, so KC wanted to come back and do it again. Obviously we have no way of knowing how it will all play out but I will be shocked if KC leaves for another job at any point in the next few seasons. I would bet strongly that KC remains the OC here as long as Fleck is the head coach.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I always like listening to Kirk.

He says he isn’t great at speaking but I think he is very up front and interesting to listen to.
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Actually, he does have a very good speaking vocabulary, but delivers it slowly. A slow talker but not a slow thinker. Great to have him back.
 

btowngopher said:
I assume things have improved if he is willing to come back.
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Could be a fair assumption.

But it hasn't been addressed as far as I know. Someone can feel free to correct that with a link, if there is.

So I think my assumption is equally fair/valid.
 

MNVCGUY said:
if you really believe Fleck would bring KC back knowing he would only be around for a short amount of time.
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Fleck has never hired a coach that left after a year or two? That's just false.

Other coaches have done it as well.

You just don't know what you're talking about, and are making assumptions.

MNVCGUY said:
The two work really well together, so KC wanted to come back and do it again.
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Except that he would still currently be WV's OC, if he had accepted that job in 2018. Maybe he wishes he had done that, in hindsight.

So there's always that, which blows your assumptions out of the water.

MNVCGUY said:
Obviously we have no way of knowing how it will all play out but I will be shocked if KC leaves for another job at any point in the next few seasons. I would bet strongly that KC remains the OC here as long as Fleck is the head coach.
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No you wouldn't. Not a single cent.

Words are cheap.
 

So, you'd be willing to put $30k into an account, and if KC is not the OC here at the start of the 2024 season, you lose that money and it gets donated to say the U of MN Children's Hospital?


I say that's a foolish bet. How could you possibly be willing to risk that, when he tried to leave after 2018 and did leave after 2019, and it has not been reported at all if the situation has changed??

You're putting full, 100% faith that Fleck "wouldn't have brought him back otherwise", with zero additional evidence or information?

That's just plain silly, in my opinion.
 

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