Game for either
3 Likes
Heās the QB we zeroed in on at the start of the portal and the one we chose over other options. No matter what system he ran at North Texas, heās the guy that TE and Des wanted. They will live or die by him next season.
For the record I also have concerns about Morris coming from an air raid. But for better or worse this was our staffās pick and there is upside if he works out.
7 Likes
Thatās fine. North Texasā coach Eric Morris is a disciple of Mike Leach (kid played against us in the Gator Bowl) and his spread is very similar to Robert Anaeās. Heās the coach who found Cam Ward ā coached him at two spots. Anyway, we saw in 2022 that this coaching staff wasnāt able to adapt their scheme to their QB. I worry theyāll do the same thing with Chandler Morris (although the hope is that he knows what heās getting into because Elliottās scheme is similar to the one his dad runs at Texas State and the one Venables runs at OU, where Chandler went first).
2 Likes
Iām sure the expectations of what heās gonna be asked to do were laid out for him when he was being recruited. Whether or not it works out in action is another thing, but I think he understands weāre not gonna be throwing it 45 times a game like he did this past season at NT. Itās gonna be a more balanced approach and heās probably gonna be asked to work more off play action.
Trust me, I wish Des wasnāt our OC going into next year and we had a package deal with Morris and Jordan Davis coming in, or even Morris and his dad. But the main point above was that thereās zero excuses anymore for this staff, especially on offense. Tony and Des were given the money and resources to go out and get difference makers at multiple position groups, and for the most part they got the guys they wanted. Now itās put up or shut up time.
10 Likes
Would belichick be as excited as PJ Fleck to find out that Flavor Flav was about to dump a bucket of mayo on his head? I donāt think Iāve ever been that excited in my life.
5 Likes
Dude youāre way too negative! Lol
2 Likes
To be completely fair hereā¦ I watched a staff who 1) ran a QB draw with no timeouts and time winding down, causing them to have to rush the kicker onto field and ultimately shank a game winning kick from the 2 yard line and 2) rotate 3 QBs every other series in the biggest game of their tenure (at the time) regroup to lead a team to the freaking orange bowl and become offensive juggernautsā¦
Des isnāt great. Agree. Elliott is TBD but the fact that it appears as though heās more than ok with Des is also very not great. But itās beyond me how anyone who sat through the glow up of the last staff wouldnāt at the very least be willing to give these guys a fair shake now that they have the pieces they want.
4 Likes
Anae had proved it somewhere else before his first two bad years running UVaās offense. And in year three it was starting to hum along.
Des led NC Stateās offense to 22.1 points a game his one year as co-OC. That was 107th in the country. Heās had three years at Virginia ā and his best has been 95th.
Itās been three years (plus what he did at NC State). If we had four OL draft picks, Lawrence, Etienne, and Higgins, Iād be far more optimistic. But we lost our only NFL talent on the offensive end.
Anae:
2005 BYU: 33.0 (24)
2006 BYU: 36.8 (5)
2007 BYU 30.1 (48)
2008 BYU 34.2 (20)
2009 BYU 35.5 (11)
2010 BYU 26.2 (70)
2013 BYU 30.2 (55)
2014 BYU 37.1 (15)
2015 BYU 33.7 (40)
2016 UVA 22.5 (115)
2017 UVA 22.5 (107)
2018 UVA 28.5 (72)
2019 UVA 32.1 (40)
2020 UVA 30.7 (47)
2021 UVA 34.6 (21)
Kitchings:
2019 NCS 22.1 (107) (co-OC)
2022 UVA 17.0 (126)
2023 UVA 23.2 (95)
2024 UVA 22.7 (107)
3 Likes
Yeah the situations are not comparable IMO. Anae had a track record and took over a garbage situation and started showing improvement almost immediately. Thatās not even close to the case with Des. I think itās deeply concerning (honestly disqualifying) that a head coach from the offensive side of the ball hasnāt proven he can run a top 100(!) offense.
4 Likes
Those are fair points. But it can also be said after Des one season as OC he had 2 different jobs. First for the 2020 season he was the South Carolina RBās coach. That season South Carolina produced their only 1,000 yard rusher since 2013 and that was the Covid shortened year. From there he got a promotion to Atlanta Falcons RBās coach. That season was when Cordarrelle Patterson took the league by storm.
Again Iām not saying Des is great. But Iām with @UVApride7 in that this is the put up or shut up year. They have very clearly put a plan into place to upgrade certain positions and so far on paper atleast have done that to what is probably the maximum of what could be reasonably considered of them. Another bad season with no excuses left would sort itself.
11 Likes
Idk how to feel about the whole āTony was a successful OC, therefore we should have a good offenseā notion. I used to think this way but there are plenty of examples of coordinators being hired as HCs and the opposite side of the ball being better than their specialty. Tony was hired to be HC not OC and heās not calling plays. Yes, I would hope heād be able to be helpful in fixing things when they go wrong but I think the burden really does mostly fall on the OC.
Bronco is without question a great defensive coach but we all saw what happened when he gave Howell more playcalling authority. He was a great defensive HC with a couple years of some of the worst defenses in P5.
Iāve supported Des to this point but he did a bad job last year. I actually liked the offense in 2023 but he took a step back. I was extremely disappointed he wasnāt able to find a way for Tyree to add value (when healthy). I think the OL next year should let him do what he prefers to do but if we donāt see dramatically improved results from the offense, we should probably move on from Des (even if Tony is staying).
4 Likes
My thing is that sure you donāt have to be great at the side of the ball you came from, but early on it is the best way to establish some identity for recruiting. Like what is our on field pitch to recruits right now? Playing time?
I also donāt think programs that arenāt super resource rich can afford the CEO model coach. Modern coaches at smaller programs have to have some core competency because any successful coordinators they have will the raided by the big boys almost immediately. Longtime coordinators are a dying breed, and frankly I donāt even think theyāre feasible at a place like Virginia, so I do want my HC to show some competence on one side of the ball just for stabilityās sake. We cannot afford to roll the dice on coordinators over and over again like the Bamas and Ohio States of the world, so a HC being a de facto coordinator at a program our size is huge.
2 Likes
Yes, but what about unsuccessful coordinators? Tony Elliott playin chess while others playin checkers
6 Likes
Al Golden with Jason Beck OC
10 Likes
Beck coming back here as an OC would be a downgrade from his current job.
6 Likes
Beck is positioned for a HC job in the greater Utah region. It would take a HC offer to lure him back to Cville.
5 Likes
Honest question: is there a single thread of evidence that Des is a good coach?
Good coach or good coordinator/play caller? Think thatās two different questions/answers.
1 Like
Either
Have you heard of Mr. Malik Washington? Apparently Des was quite influential in that recruitment.
With respect coaching goes beyond game day.
4 Likes