Offensive Coordinator Hot Board: Candidates to Replace KC

Donate To GopherHole


PitinoFan said:
Well, the people who claim to be “in the know” think he’s the #1 target. Maybe Simon changed that today?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I could certainly be wrong. It just runs counter to how PJ has always liked to manage a game.
 

Well, Simon called a good game to hang 31 on a stout defense (that held LSU to 23). But, it sounds like the game plan was in place prior to Cioracca’s departure, so it might not matter as much.
 



Simon certainly appeared to work magic today. I don't know how much of the game plan he can take credit for, but the play calling kept Auburn off balance all game. But then again, the sec is pretty soft!
 

Simon's O looked sharp today, obviously. This is a very attractive OC job in large part because there's a high quality QB in place for the next 2 seasons.
 

fmlizard said:
Simon's O looked sharp today, obviously. This is a very attractive OC job in large part because there's a high quality QB in place for the next 2 seasons.
Click to expand...
And receivers....and oline
 

@theothermegryan: #Gophers coach P.J. Fleck on beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl Shared via TweetCaster

I posted this in another thread. Around the 1 minute mark Fleck says something like QC guys had to step into position coach roles for the last 2 weeks. KC announced he was going to PSU on Dec. 26. Seems to me like maybe KC was out the door well before the announcement and Simon played a larger role in the game plan than we may have thought?
 



bfriedrichs10 said:
@theothermegryan: #Gophers coach P.J. Fleck on beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl Shared via TweetCaster

I posted this in another thread. Around the 1 minute mark Fleck says something like QC guys had to step into position coach roles for the last 2 weeks. KC announced he was going to PSU on Dec. 26. Seems to me like maybe KC was out the door well before the announcement and Simon played a larger role in the game plan than we may have thought?
Click to expand...
I think your right. Ciarrocca also had a very limited roll in recruiting. I'm guessing this was known quite a while ago.
 

Simon player a role in game planning, all season. He was passing game coordinator.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
@theothermegryan: #Gophers coach P.J. Fleck on beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl Shared via TweetCaster

I posted this in another thread. Around the 1 minute mark Fleck says something like QC guys had to step into position coach roles for the last 2 weeks. KC announced he was going to PSU on Dec. 26. Seems to me like maybe KC was out the door well before the announcement and Simon played a larger role in the game plan than we may have thought?
Click to expand...
I would think the majority of the game plan was in place by Dec 14 or so prior to starting their 15 allotted practices.
 





Simon obviously did great job today, but play calling is just a part of the offensive coordinator's job under Fleck. It sounds like Fleck wants the OC to manage the offense including staff and players. No clue if Simon is ready to step into that much bigger role with a good Power 5 team. I'll trust Fleck on the decision.
 

I haven’t listened to Fleck’s press conference yet, but apparently he said he called some of the plays. I don’t want to take away from the great job Simon did, but none of us know whether he’s capable of taking over that job and performing at a high level.
 

goldengophers said:
Simon has to get the job, nearly perfection in playcalling. Loved Ibrahim at RB1.
Click to expand...

Do you think it's telling that Simon has not been named yet? I would have thought that would happen right after the game if he was the guy.
 

Goldteam said:
Do you think it's telling that Simon has not been named yet? I would have thought that would happen right after the game if he was the guy.
Click to expand...

A coordinator job at Minnesota is becoming more and more attractive.

There is no good reason not to slow it down and go through a vetting process to see who is out there and maximize the opportunity.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Simon obviously did great job today, but play calling is just a part of the offensive coordinator's job under Fleck. It sounds like Fleck wants the OC to manage the offense including staff and players. No clue if Simon is ready to step into that much bigger role with a good Power 5 team. I'll trust Fleck on the decision.
Click to expand...

Great point. Calling plays is one thing. The OC under Fleck has a multi-faceted role. Maybe it is a matter of whether Simon is comfortable at doing those other roles and whether there is someone out there that has experience and can improve the Gophers offensive repertoire.

Maybe there is a reason that Kirk Ciarrocca is not out recruiting as the rest of the coaches. Managing the offense must take a lot of his time. It is no accident that the Gophers Offense drastically improved since PJ Fleck took over as head coach. Detailed planning for the Offense take a lot of time.

So, slowing down the process a bit will be good for everyone concerned. The Gophers are are steering the wheel.
 
Last edited:

I liked the fact that they didn’t have to take a TO as the play clock was winding down. Simon was decisive in his play calls all day.
For that alone, he was much better than KC ever was.
 

All things considered, promoting Simon (or Patterson for that matter) is not a bad choice. Both coaches are familiar with the program and can grow rather quickly into managing all the other roles.

What they may want to look at - Are there someone out there that are better candidates with value added benefits that will improve/add new wrinkles to the offensive scheme?
 

Replacing an OC for a successful offense sure has some difficult... conversations.

Like if we sucked sure do whatever the new OC wants.

Now you have to wonder if the OC is a good short term fit for....the existing offense.
 

The recruiting wrinkle is one that can’t be ignored. Apparently, Yost is very good in this area.
 


hungan1 said:
All things considered, promoting Simon (or Patterson for that matter) is not a bad choice. Both coaches are familiar with the program and can grow rather quickly into managing all the other roles.

What they may want to look at - Are there someone out there that are better candidates with value added benefits that will improve/add new wrinkles to the offensive scheme?
Click to expand...
The concern, of course, is losing Simon and/or Patterson if they're passed over. PJ isn't BSing when he says the secret to their success is good people. Reading between the lines, I think he's facing an obvious dilemma if he's indeed getting surprising external inquiries about the position.
 

Fleck said in his presser that all the people who have helped him along his way, helped him live his dream right now. And therefore he said part of his job is to help them make THEIR dreams happen. That meant helping get his assistants into leadership roles, as their dreams

That doesn’t prove he’ll promote Simon this time, but is a strong indicator.

Another one: in the presser Fleck said he challenged Simon on some of his calls. He didn’t say exactly, but seemed pretty obvious that he was referring to one of the Witham catch plays when he says that he told Simon “are you sure Matt?? You sure that’s the play you want to run??”. He said that Matt replied “yes coach that’s 100% the play I want”. And Fleck let the play ride.

Another huge endorsement.


It’s not a lock. But guys, you need to start wrapping your heads around the strong possibility that Matt Simon is our new OC.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The concern, of course, is losing Simon and/or Patterson if they're passed over. PJ isn't BSing when he says the secret to their success is good people. Reading between the lines, I think he's facing an obvious dilemma if he's indeed getting surprising external inquiries about the position.
Click to expand...
Yep.

Hire him now, or else someone probably will!!
 

hungan1 said:
All things considered, promoting Simon (or Patterson for that matter) is not a bad choice. Both coaches are familiar with the program and can grow rather quickly into managing all the other roles.

What they may want to look at - Are there someone out there that are better candidates with value added benefits that will improve/add new wrinkles to the offensive scheme?
Click to expand...

I'd argue the part in the bold is actually more a gamble. Patterson or Simon would add new wrinkles themselves anyways. A little bit of the grass isn't always greener deal. I do really enjoy all the KC dislike now. My deal is we have two very highly qualified internal candidates that I think keep the train moving forward. I like the idea and find it more sustainable long term to continue to develop from within and find young up and comers for position coaches instead of reaching out for outside guys. Yost would be one of the few I'd be interested in, but I still go with Simon and move Patterson to QBs and Passing Game Coordinator as long as Simon is good with it. I then go find a strong young recruiter and let him work with TE's.
 

The counter-example, as people already have mentioned, is Tim Brewster with four different OC in four years.

Hire Matt Simon!
 

Hiring Simon might be the right move, but hiring him directly after a one game sample size without considering all options would be foolish, IMO. Maybe he is the best choice, but I would proceed with the process before a hire is made. Does not have to be done in the next few days...
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom