Some Reasons Why I Like the Jedd Fisch Hire

[dbaldrich1]

I will preface this by saying that none of us knows how good Jedd Fisch will be as the OC for Gophers. With that being said, here are some reason why I think this is a good choice.

It's a given that every hire includes some praise from former colleagues. But, after seeing what Mike Shanahan, Brian Billick and Dom Capers had to say about Fisch, it sounds like Brewster may have found himself a steal of an OC who has learned from some of the best offensive minds in coaching, including Spurrier, who's no slouch.

I also liked what Fisch had to say about the offense he plans to use -- not west coast, not east coast --- many formations. It sounds like he's planning to install an offense that includes many looks and wrinkles, and that won't be predictable. He sounds like the kind of guy who has studied and learned under very good coaches, to prepare himself to be an Offensive Coordinator with his own style and vision.

I don't expect miracles in 2009 -- my guess is that the offense will be statistically better than 2008, but not necessarily miles ahead. I think we'll see improvements that will bode well for 2010, where the team will have had a full year to learn the new offense, and to grow.

So, while there are no guarantees, it seems like there are reasons to be excited about Jedd Fisch as our new OC.

Go Gophers!!!

 

[lawrence21]

Agree. There are no givens no matter who you hire. He seems to have learned from a lot of great offensive minds and great players. A title is just a title and no "OC" experience does not bother me.

 

[ncgo4]

I, too, am not concerned by the lack of a prior OC position. Often the prior experience in the position was not that positive. No one with a great deal of undeniable success as an OC would be available to the U of M at a reasonable price. If they were that damned good they would already have a well overpaid position somewhere with a 100,000 seat stadium.

 

[Gold Rush]

The only thing that scares me about all that is didn't Everett Withers say the same things when he got hired? Then nobody could pick it up and the defense had to be "dumbed down" halfway through the year.

A good coach utilizes his talent in the best way it can be used. I hope the offense isn't completely revamped and we have to start all over using another system because it will take a while to get to know it. Then again, just about any new offense has my vote because we really struggled with last year's offensive schemes and there were a lot of problems with it.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Exactly. I am always concerned when we get NFL coaches that have been away from CFB too long. I hope Brewster learned that lesson as it was obvious that both he and Withers were out of touch.

It doesn't matter as much where or how the players line up its what they do after they line up.

 

[Gopho Sapiens]

Keep tunin' it..until it works.

I like the hire for the fact that it took place.

When I look at the long term health of the program I am excited about what has happened in the last ten years. Mason brought a measure of stability that laid the groundwork for Brewster. I think Brewster would just be another Wacker without it in place. It was the first baby step that was necessary. He resurrected respectability, but didn't have the exuberence to bring greatness to the program. It had velocity, but lacked acceleration.

Brewster brought some juice, but his lack of experience showed in the inability to put his vision on the turf. on the other hand, you could sense the passion growing on the team.

While there seems to be a merry-go-round on coaches right now, I get the gut feeling that the right combo will eventually fall into place. It may even take a few more changes as the picture starts to come into focus.

I see the changes as simply fine tuning, not revamping. Lacking OL development and running game? Address it. Too far out on the passing game? Address it. Keep adjusting and correcting until it works.

Roof leaving was a bit unforeseen, bringing in Cosgrove addresses the immediate need without completly commiting. Good call. If he is successful, it will show. More importantly, I get the impression that there wouldn't be moments hesitation in correcting the situatuion if there is any slipping of the progress that has been made.

I realize there is a cost burden the athletics budget in this process. Keep in mind though, as buyouts are completed, the funds for keeping the successful coaches at the U will become available. Huge plus.

I can't think of a single time in the past where there was a willingness of the AD and administration to whatever is necessary to bring about success. In less than half a season, corrections were already being considered.

It may take a couple of years to get it right, but I think the mindset is there to fix it, fix it and keep fixing it, until there is a nationally competitive product on the field.

Lacking anything else, I like the hire for that reason alone.

 

[Monty519]

Defense is a little different from offense I think as far as learning intricate stuff. On defense, when your guys are out there thinking way too hard, that's time taken away from just pure reacting to a situation. You get burned cause you were thinking about the defensive set. On offense, I think it's a little easier to put together a simpler offense and build on it piece by piece where you add new wrinkles all the time and not have the offense suffer so much. Don't get me wrong, learning a complicated offense can be an issue if he changes it up too much, but I think the effects are less than they would be on defense.

 

[Schnoodler]

I like the hire because he seems like the kind of guy that will succeed with Brewster. I've got a sense it's hard to match Brew's energy level and passion. He's up and coming and I think might be innovative and will be able to work through and adjust well to the changing game.

I do however think that OC experience is important. As much as I like coach Brew we see over and over again the cost of learning on the job. We'll see that as well with this hire. I think though, that the ceiling is pretty high for this guy and a few stumbles isn't going to get in the way of success.

So overall I'm pretty happy with it and am looking forward to how the program develops.

 

[ditt1605]

The only thing that scares me about all that is didn't Everett Withers say the same things when he got hired? Then nobody could pick it up and the defense had to be "dumbed down" halfway through the year.

A good coach utilizes his talent in the best way it can be used. I hope the offense isn't completely revamped and we have to start all over using another system because it will take a while to get to know it. Then again, just about any new offense has my vote because we really struggled with last year's offensive schemes and there were a lot of problems with it.

The Withers comparision was one that came to mind for me as well after seeing Jedd's quote. I was thinking we were going to run into the same thing and I started to worry.

But then I remembered that Dunbar was the previous OC. If I remember correctly, Dunbar was notorious for having a rediculously huge and complicated playbook. I think there was a story the first year with Weber that showed a picture of him with a thick 3-ring binder (article was about the adjustment from Mason to Brewster).

After remembering that, I really don't feel worried anymore. I just don't think that the players are going to be overwhelmed with what Jedd comes up with after going through Dunbars stuff.

 

[Handsome Pete]

I will preface this by saying that none of us knows how good Jedd Fisch will be as the OC for Gophers. With that being said, here are some reason why I think this is a good choice.

It's a given that every hire includes some praise from former colleagues. But, after seeing what Mike Shanahan, Brian Billick and Dom Capers had to say about Fisch, it sounds like Brewster may have found himself a steal of an OC who has learned from some of the best offensive minds in coaching, including Spurrier, who's no slouch.

I also liked what Fisch had to say about the offense he plans to use -- not west coast, not east coast --- many formations. It sounds like he's planning to install an offense that includes many looks and wrinkles, and that won't be predictable. He sounds like the kind of guy who has studied and learned under very good coaches, to prepare himself to be an Offensive Coordinator with his own style and vision.

I don't expect miracles in 2009 -- my guess is that the offense will be statistically better than 2008, but not necessarily miles ahead. I think we'll see improvements that will bode well for 2010, where the team will have had a full year to learn the new offense, and to grow.

So, while there are no guarantees, it seems like there are reasons to be excited about Jedd Fisch as our new OC.

Go Gophers!!!

I agree. Only looking for energy and creativity until Brewster has his full complement of scholarhip players.